Best in Class Offers Educators Franchise Fee Discount Through Teacher Incentive Program
Ruchika Arora didn’t think she’d want to franchise with an education brand.
As a teacher who wanted to go into franchising, she thought she’d prefer to stay away from the education industry, but she ultimately decided that education was her true passion.
She ended up learning about Best in Class through a friend who was already a franchisee with the Seattle-based brand.
“I looked at other brands and I compared all of them,” Arora said. “When I got a chance to see the curriculum for Best in Class, I could see that it was exactly what I wanted from a parenting and teaching perspective. It was very organized.”
Since she was an educator, Best in Class also offered something to Arora and professionals like her that can be rare: a franchise fee discount.
Thanks to its Teacher Incentive Program, Best in Class offers a discount on the franchise fee for educators who want to franchise with the brand. Individuals who are licensed childcare providers, credentialed educators, college educators, instructors who work for accredited K-12 schools, and current and former state-certified teachers can qualify for the discount.
Those who qualify get a $3,000 discount off of the franchise fee for each of the first three centers they launch. Also, during the first three months that a center is open, the royalty fees are waived.
Many brands offer franchise fee discounts to veterans, as does Best in Class, but by providing educators as well with their own special discount, the brand can be inclusive and cast a wider net for qualified franchisees. So far, fifteen Best in Class franchisees have been able to take advantage of the program.
“Best in Class does not require its franchisees to have experience in education, but when they do it’s always a huge plus,” Vice President of Franchise Recruitment and Development Sharon Peterson said. “Educators understand and appreciate our curriculum, which is why they gravitate towards our brand when they make the decision to franchise. Being able to offer these financial benefits through the Teacher Incentive Program is a huge advantage not just for educators looking to franchise but to the entire Best in Class family as well.”
Arora first opened her Moorestown, New Jersey franchise in March of 2015. She learned about the discount from Peterson once she was deeper in the discovery process.
“That was a really nice perk for me,” Arora said. “Sharon told me about it when we got more serious. Initially, it just gave me the courage to go ahead and start. At the time, I was not a business owner. I was a teacher. Getting that discount and seeing how the brand believes in teachers gave me that courage to move forward. That little push helped.”
Arora loves how the brand’s values align with her own.
“They want to see their kids succeed,” Arora said. “That’s my number one goal, whether students are using Best in Class for tutoring or for enrichment. Best in Class is so versatile that students can use it either way.”
Best in Class franchisee Kelly Chen is another educator who was able to take advantage of the Teacher Incentive Program. The San Francisco-based franchisee was a certified substitute teacher before franchising with Best in Class and worked with kids from kindergarten through the twelfth grade.
“They mentioned the program to me at headquarters and told me I was qualified, and it definitely sounded like a good fit,” Chen said.
Chen had been looking at other franchising opportunities, but the Teacher Incentive Program made her decision to choose Best in Class.
“The $3,000 discount is certainly a good thing,” Chen said. “When you go shopping and you have a 10 percent discount, you feel more comfortable with that.”
Chen was also attracted to the Best in Class brand by the flexibility it offers prospective franchisees.
“Best in Class allows franchisees to franchise in addition to working their regular jobs,” she said. “Allowing us to have that flexibility with our schedules was a huge draw for me.”
Chen opened her San Francisco franchise in 2015, and she has greatly enjoyed franchising with the education brand.
“The schedule works very well for me, and I get to keep up with my passion for education,” Chen said. “That passion has been growing since day one, and I love helping students meet their performance goals. It really pushes me to work hard to help them and to grow my business.”
The startup costs for a Best in Class franchise range from $63,800 to $125,480. The franchise fee is $30,000. To learn more about franchising with Best in Class, visit https://www.bestinclassfranchise.com or call 425-880-2688.