Is Franchising the Future of Education?

The franchise model today has become one of the most viable option today in the field of education. It comes with the obvious advantages of not having the burden to begin everything with scratch, and ensures a certain surety to the investments made. The franchise knows they will have the backing of an established brand, who will also act as a helping hand in almost every aspect of setting up a franchise. Thus, looking at from a vantage point, it is not hard to believe why the franchise model has become so popular with the growth in the private sector of education. Let us then, through the article, look in detail into the factors that contribute to the growing popularity of franchising.

The Legal Factor

Probably one of the biggest factor, the law and the legal aspect of starting any business in India is one of the biggest hindrances that anyone will face. It is, after all, for a certain reason that India is ranked so low in the ease of doing business index. To navigate through various legal and administrative channels is a task not easy to accomplish. The costs are high, and it takes a really experience team to figure out the multiple legislations and ways in which they have to be complied with.

In such a scenario, taking up a franchise seems to have a natural advantage to it. The franchisor comes in with a vast experience of having dealt with all the legal problems in the past, and the importance of such an experience can never be emphasized enough. From applying for registrations to finalizing land and figuring out all other legalities is a process that requires a lot of handholding.

Profiting from the brand name

Although, there is no doubt about the primacy of legal challenges as being the toughest anyone can face while setting up a new business, there are certain other fundamental challenges too that cannot be ignored in a market economy. One such challenge is the challenge of survival itself. With the increasing amount of contribution that private sector is making in the field of education today, it has invited a lot of public spirited corporate giants to invest in the field of education. While the benefits that society accrues from such investments, it is also not easy for any new player to make a mark in the field, for the chances are that they will be consumed easily. Free markets operate are competitive and nobody wants to lose out.

In such a scenario, it only seems wise become a franchise than start up a whole new operation with a lot of uncertainty of survival. The education sector demands stability as schools cannot afford to operate according to their own whims & fancies.

Getting access to resources

Another aspect of cutthroat competition is the difficulty of accessing quality resources. In relation to education, it amounts to hiring professionals who are good in their respective fields and have a lot to offer to the institutions they are associated with. A franchise associated with a brand name definitely has an advantage when it comes to hiring from the pool of talent, as compared to someone who is starting out on its own. There is a reason why some of the best institutes in the country today are engaging with teachers & professionals who are the best in their respective field. The cushion of working with an institute that they know has a wide outreach & can have a huge positive impact on the society ensures the faculty of the importance to associate with such institutes.

Also in terms of exposure & support that a franchisee gets at the start of the business itself is unmatched. Any established brand has a neatly organized structure that the franchisee can fall into. There are no requirements of voluntarily setting out to establish chains of doing business. The peculiarities of education field make such benefits all the more important. An educational institute cannot afford to learn by trial and error as it carries responsibilities that cannot be compromised with. An established business model with certainties in the ways of operation & who to work with, is certainly a very crucial factor.

Overcoming Geographical Challenges

Probably one of the biggest advantages of the franchise model has been its ability to expand itself to the most remote areas of the country. Access to education is such areas is still a problem that the government is grappling with. Any such effort requires great amounts of resources and various other challenges in terms of quality of education. However, the franchise model has helped to overcome these problems to a certain extend. With its ways of functioning, whereby a franchisor ensures all sorts of organizational help, while requiring investment by local players, some of franchisors have managed to reach out to the farthest locations of the country that were hitherto devoid of educational institutions.

This vast outreach has not come at the cost of quality at all. The institutes present in these remote areas follow the same standards & educational techniques that other well-established institutions follow. The franchisors ensure that the standards of education are maintained that go with their reputation. Also, this model ensures that capable tutors travel to these remote areas without any worries of security & stability.

This image tells the advantages of owning franchise in education.

 

Conclusion

There is a clear indication that going forward franchise is a crucial and most important way of getting into the education sector. The numbers tell the story that no one can deny. In the past decade or so, there has been a constant growth in the field of education & most of it has been through franchise acquisition. More & more franchise are being acquired and that seems to be the preferred option for some obvious reasons. The stability that some of the best-known names offer is unmatched & unparalleled. One only needs to look around themselves to discover the positive impact & the huge role franchises have come to play in the today’s world.