Education entrepreneurs strive to open a playschool with good infrastructure, curriculum and lots of children playing in it. For this, they meticulously plan and allocate resources for furniture & fixtures, planning curriculum and recruitment of human resources amongst others, but in this race, one may tend to forget considering the most important thing, which is getting the right location. Yes, the location of your preschool is a very important factor in determining its success.
According to Amol Arora, Founder & Chairman of Shemrock&Shemford Group of School, “We take utmost care while choosing a location for our preschool franchise. Numerous points are to be kept in mind before finalising a location and these may vary with different cities and countries.”
Let’s take a look at these factors that drive the decision making process of setting up a playschool, viz-a-viz its location.
Demographics
A preschool should be in proximity with residential areas having families with children, as parents prefer sending their children nearby for their early schooling. Also, nowadays as both parents are working, schools with crèches are preferred. Parents find it easy to drop and pick up their children from a school situated closer to their home.
Parks or other open areas for playing
As preschools are generally opened in a 3-4 bedroom flat, there is a crunch of open spaces for children to play. Thus, the management of these schools must prefer having parks or gardens nearby as it gets easy for them to escort children to such areas. This will attract more parents who would prefer enrolling their kids into a school that ensures both indoor and outdoor activities.
Ease of accessibility to hospitals
Minor accidents can take place any time and as we are concerned with small children here, easy accessibility to clinics/hospitals are a must to ensure proper treatment at the right time. It is an important factor that parents consider these days while enrolling their kids into playschools.
Availability of human resources
Opening a preschool would require recruiting manager and other staff. Hiring faculty near to the location sends a positive signal to the employees along with ensuring their availability without any hassle of long time taken in travelling.
Proximity to marketplaces
Establishing a playschool close to market places does wonders as it takes away the last minute hassles in case of exhausting stationery, food or other materials.
Economic policy
The economic policy or system of a particular region may also affect your decision and choice of location. The management needs to consider government’s policy, taxes applicable in that area and others such rules and regulations. Ignoring this factor can land your school into legal trouble at times.
Psychographics
The mindset of parents of a particular region is also a factor to consider when choosing a location for your preschool. For example, if you site your preschool in a region where people do not believe in sending their children to pursue their early education, then running a preschool would be very difficult.
Size of operation
Is your preschool going to be built in a 3 bedroom apartment or on an area of 500 yards? Your location should be consistent with your particular size of operation.
Competition
Are other preschools located nearby? Preschools situated nearby would share the traffic of children joining preschools, thus, decreasing the revenue and market share. Also, the competitor might make your marketing job tougher, so consideration of competition is very important.
Ordinances
Find out if any ordinances or zoning restrictions could affect your business in any way. Check for the specific location you’re considering as well as the neighbouring properties, you probably don’t want a liquor store opening up next to your preschool.
The building’s infrastructure
Many older buildings don't have the necessary infrastructure to support the high-tech needs of contemporary operations. Make sure the building has adequate electrical, air conditioning, and telecommunications service to meet your present and future needs. It's a good idea to hire an independent engineer to check this out for you so you're sure to have an objective evaluation.
Utilities and other costs
Rent or lease composes the major portion of your ongoing facilities expense, but consider extras such as rate per unit charged for electricity, water etc. If they’re not included, ask the utility company for a summary of the previous year’s usage and billing for the location. Also find out what kind of security deposits the various utility providers require so you can develop an accurate move-in budget.
Insurance rates
Buying an insurance for your preschool is mandatory for its smooth running so as to reduce the losses in case of any mishappening. The premium for the insurance prevalent in the particular area needs to be considered.
Choosing a location for your preschool can be a time-consuming process that's both exciting and tedious, but it’s essential you give it the attention it deserves. While this ensures a high revenue generating school with happy children, parents and faculty, a poor choice of location is sometimes impossible to repair.
