The Rising Popularity of the Preschool Franchise

The internet today is flooded with queries of how to open playschool. This makes one wonder at the reasons associated with such high demand. Why has the preschool franchise become so popular with entrepreneurs and businesspersons alike? To get to the root of this, one needs to understand the basic concept of preschool franchising.

What is a preschool franchise?

Education plays an important role in building the foundation on which a child builds his future. This education was initially provided for by mothers who were rightfully called the first teachers of the kids. With time, families disintegrated and became nuclear. Both parents started working and the kids were left either with nannies or at crèches. The concept of preschool arose from the need to ensure that kids spend a fruitful time at the crèches.

As the demand for playschools increased in the metros, people in the other cities also started to understand the benefits of sending kids to playschools. However, not many preschools could open up a chain of preschools across the country. Thus the concept of the playgroup franchise was developed.

In this, an entrepreneur with the required space and finances could tie-up with well-known and branded preschools and open up a franchise branch elsewhere. Herein the franchisor shared its goodwill and brand value with its franchise. It also helped guide the franchise owner to set-up and start running the franchise. Marketing strategies, course curriculum, interior designing, etc., were all shared by the franchisor thereby assuring the success of its franchise.

Growth catalysts for preschool franchise

Several driving factors helped popularize the concept of a preschool franchise like:

• Low-cost low-risk option: Franchising is a low-cost option. The initial financial requirements are relatively low and hover in the range of 25 lakhs to 35 lakhs. This investment is a one-time requirement and even though a franchise takes some time to break even, it rarely fails. Thus, a play group franchise is affordable and it allows preschool market biggies to penetrate and capture the markets better.
• Market shift towards the organized sector: The preschool education sector is yet unorganized. However, it has shown constant growth of over 20% in the past years. The contribution of this unorganized sector is about 90% with 10% being contributed by the organized sector. With the organized sector growing by over 45% annually, there is a paradigm shift towards the organized education sector. The introduction of the franchise amply justifies this shift.
• Rise in parental awareness: The educated, workaholic, ambitious and aware millennial parents are equally ambitious to carve out a great future for their kids. The fact that spending quality time at playschools lays the foundation for the same is well-accepted within these circles. The knowledge that values, morals, discipline, education, etc., can be easily inculcated in kids within the age group of 1 to 6 years has further fuelled the growth of the preschool franchise sector.

Thus, entrepreneurs are constantly hitting the internet with queries like how to open play school. Along with giving them a chance to be their boss and make a difference, the option of the preschool franchise assures them of success even if they are not experienced or have the required expertise in this sector.