The Benefits of Owning a Children’s Education Franchise

There are about 74 million children under the age of 18 in the U.S., and in an era where parents are spending massive amounts of money on their children’s health, education and overall well-being, the children’s education segment represents a near recession-proof opportunity for franchisees. 

Increasingly shrinking school budgets are pushing parents to look elsewhere for supplemental education opportunities, access to the arts and other opportunities to be active and gain valuable skills through ancillary businesses. Plus, throughout COVID-19, more than 97% of educators reported some sort of learning loss in their students compared to previous years. In efforts to bridge the learning loss gap, McKinsey & Company suggests 50 minutes of tutoring a day. 

With the unparalleled demand for tutors, franchisees have the chance to step up in their communities and help students grow more confident in the classroom. This makes the education category not only full of financial potential but also one full of some of the most meaningful and enriching franchise opportunities out there.

Susan Valverde is the Chief Franchise Operations Officer for leading childhood education franchise Sylvan Learning*. Before joining the brand’s corporate team, Valverde was a franchise owner of a Sylvan center in McAllen, Texas. She says helping struggling high school students resulted in some of the brightest highlights of her career.

“I had one student who was on the verge of dropping out, and the counselor was concerned about him,” said Valverde. “But Sylvan got him back on track. I sat in the front row at his graduation. He even went on to college, something his parents never thought possible. Now, he's a small business owner and is an adjunct professor at a local university. And recently, he brought his young daughter to Sylvan to make sure she starts off on the right track, too. That speaks volumes about how much his experience changed his life. I couldn't be prouder of that.”

In addition to a rewarding career, education service franchisees can tap into a lucrative business model, with many franchise concepts offering access to multiple revenue streams. For example, education franchisees can offer everything from STEM classes, ACT/SAT prep, after-school courses, virtual tutoring, summer camps and so much more. 

“If you are going to enter into the education industry, it makes sense to offer the largest gamut of services to help as many students as possible,” said Maureen Eichholz, executive director of franchise development for Sylvan. “Ultimately, the emotional reward is there because you’ve helped so many kids, but you’re also not limiting yourself financially.”

And with a wide range of services, evergreen demand and a meaningful offering, education-based businesses are oftentimes easy to ramp up quickly without heavy marketing spending, as word spreads organically through local parents and school systems. 

Becky and Brian Grovenstein, for example, are multi-unit Lightbridge Academy* owners who were the first to introduce the early education and child care brand to the state of North Carolina. While Becky says the idea of building brand recognition from scratch in a new state was daunting, she quickly found that the business was selling itself and she could barely keep up with demand.

“We have a lot of people who call both of our schools looking for care, but we do not have the space to provide it for them,” said Becky. “I am in both of my schools as an owner-operator throughout the week. I teach music classes in our schools. I know every child and all of the teachers. As the town grows and new families come to the area, they ask their neighbors and hear about Lightbridge. That is how we get the word out about who and what we are. We also have a lot of marketing events, but word-of-mouth is a huge benefit.”

For entrepreneurs eager to make a tangible and meaningful difference for families in their community, while also running a personally and professionally rewarding business, the education category is hard to beat.