How to open a children's developing club from scratch. The concept of business in the commercial sector of education

You have small savings and a great desire to have your own simple business that does not require special professional training and is not associated with suppliers and receivables and creditors. Quite possibly, kids club opening, a small entertainment center for children of preschool and primary school age, is what you need.

The owners of large supermarkets and shopping centers were the first to open children's clubs, fighting for customers and satisfying the needs of parents who nowhere to leave small children to take your time shopping. The idea was liked and not only supermarket visitors began to use the services of the playrooms: parents, waiting in lines for a place in the kindergarten, began to bring "home" children to the playrooms so that they would have fun and learn to communicate with their peers. So the opening of the club turned from a successful marketing move into an actively developing business that brings a stable income with a relatively small investment.

Unlike a private kindergarten or an early childhood development center, you do not need to obtain a license to open a children's club. Other documents to open are extremely simple:

registration of an individual entrepreneur with a patent form of taxation established since 2013 and the choice of OKVED code 92.7, which regulates “other activities related to the organization of recreation and entertainment”;

registration in the tax cash register or strict reporting forms;

permits from Rospotrebnadzor and Gospozhnadzor for the premises for opening a children's club.

Choice of location and equipment

When choosing a place to open a children's club, you should not reinvent the wheel. Suitable room or area of 30 square meters. m in any places with high traffic of potential customers who need to leave children under supervision for a while: a shopping and entertainment center or a hypermarket, a cinema, a fitness center, a beauty salon, a spa center and even a large children's goods store. As an exception to the rule, but sometimes successful - a room in a residential area, where there is a complete lack of leisure infrastructure for both children and adults.

Standard set of equipment for a children's play club - this is a corner with soft toys, a dry pool filled with balls, tables for drawing, designers for kids aged 1.5-4.5 years.

For older children, it is desirable to install a labyrinth. It can occupy an area of 15-20 square meters. m, which means that the area of the room should be 60-70 square meters. m.

Personnel and organization of work

When recruiting staff to open a children's club, give preference to responsible people who know how to work with children. These may be senior students of pedagogical universities or colleges, as well as retired teachers who have the opportunity to work in shifts.

Usually, working hours children's entertainment center - from 9 am to 9 pm in the evening, and two employees work 6 hours each. The cost of staying for one child is 100-120 rubles per hour on weekdays and 150-180 rubles per hour on weekends and holidays. Parents of small children under 3 years old can usually stay in the playroom free of charge. If an adult wants to accompany a child older than 3, he must pay an additional 20-30 rubles.

The employee has the right to accept only a healthy child to the center by checking the parent's passport and entering the time of admission into the computer accounting program or into a special notebook. The time spent by one child in the game club should not exceed 4 hours. Failure to follow these rules will create a negative reputation for the club, and, as a result, will lead to the loss of customers.

The peak of attendance at children's entertainment centers falls on the time from 16 to 21 hours, when parents, having taken their child from kindergarten or school, go on business. Therefore, for the first half of the day, you can set discount system to increase attendance at the expense of non-working mothers with small children. For regular visitors, it is also desirable to develop a system of bonuses and discounts. When planning a business, do not forget about its seasonality: in the summer, when children are taken out of the city, and in the city they try to spend more time walking with them in the fresh air, the attendance of playrooms decreases significantly.

Costs of opening a kids club and profitability

Taking into account the cost of renting and repairing the premises, purchasing equipment, registering a business and staff salaries in the first month of operation, the cost of opening a children's club will not exceed 300,000 rubles. If the place is chosen well and the attendance is good, monthly revenue may amount to 100 thousand rubles. Approximately 50 thousand rubles a month will have to be spent on maintenance, then the net profit will be 50 thousand rubles. The initial investment should fully pay off in 3-4 months.

In the future, the profitability of the club can be increased by developing and offering new services: the creation of a children's cafe, the organization of children's parties and competitions, creative circles.

According to the forecast of the author of the book "Children's club: how to open and make it profitable" Zarina Ivanter, over time there will be as many children's clubs as beauty salons. While this market is far from saturation. Clubs are unevenly distributed: sometimes there are only one or two clubs in a large residential area, while in the neighboring area three clubs are located on the same street.

The launch will cost 1-1.5 million rubles, and it will be possible to start making a profit not earlier than in six months or a year, since the first months will be spent on recruiting and gaining the trust of customers. A subscription for eight classes during the month will cost 4,000-6,000 rubles, of which about 30% will go to the teacher. As a rule, one child attends 1-2 circles. One lesson lasts 30-50 minutes, so with eight hours of work and three rooms, theoretically, you can conduct up to 48 lessons per day. In practice, there are about 5-15 of them a day, which, with a group of three to five people, means revenue from 200,000 to a million rubles a month. The organization of a mini-kindergarten, holidays on weekends and a small toy store and benefits can provide additional income to the club.

Network clubs sell franchises: for example, the franchise "" costs 800,000 rubles, "Syoma" - 80,000 rubles. The disadvantages of working on a franchise are not only that part of the profits will have to be given to the creators of the network. Parents are an audience that is largely guided by reviews, and if someone did not like Syoma in Mitino, a shadow falls on the reputation of the new Syoma in Butovo.

room

A room with an area of 70 to 150 sq.m is suitable for a children's club. on the ground floor of a residential building or in a separate building. The best option is when there is a fairly spacious (20-30 sq.m.) waiting room for parents, from which two or three doors lead to the study rooms. You should immediately discuss with the landlord who will pay utility bills (at least 10,000 rubles per month), whether a fire alarm is installed, whether there is a permit for a sign, and whether a landline telephone is installed.

But the main thing here is a good location. The best option is the center of a sleeping area, preferably with a large number of new houses. It is there, as a rule, that the majority of the population is made up of young families, where there are already or will soon be children. It is good if the club opens near a place where children often visit with their parents (for example, a clinic or a large playground). Opening a club in the city center or an old residential area is more risky: as a rule, there is already an established infrastructure there, and the population is too heterogeneous.

Renting a place for a club in a residential area of Moscow can cost from 1,500 rubles per 1 sq.m. per month, or 100,000-200,000 rubles for the entire room per month.

Repair

Repair depends on the condition of the premises. According to the experience of the Baby Club, in Moscow it will cost about 8,000 rubles per sq.m.; including materials, the cost of equipment - from 475,000 rubles.

Despite the fact that SanPins and other requirements for children's clubs have not yet been developed, it makes sense to install a fire alarm (from 40,000 rubles), appoint those responsible for fire safety and hang a fire extinguisher and an evacuation plan in each room.

To create a favorable impression with parents, it makes sense to invest in a cozy atmosphere in the waiting room: sofas, tea and coffee, cookies, magazines. Equally important is a clean bathroom, convenient for both children and parents (it is better if there are both children's and adult toilets). All these little things will let visitors feel the difference between your club and the former home of pioneers or a recreation center, where, unfortunately for the creators of private clubs, part of the classes for children is still free.

The documents

Most kids clubs call themselves leisure or family centers. So they avoid the need to obtain a license for educational activities and comply with the standards adopted, for example, for kindergartens (have at least two exits, be in a building no higher than four floors, etc.). If you decide to follow this path, you should not use the words “education”, “lesson”, etc. in the club documents, and it is better to register teachers for work as “instructors”.

Program

Children now most often go to developmental classes (including with their mothers), English and preparation for school. By studying the offers of competitors and asking parents, you can find what is missing in a particular area. For example, few people offer classes related to physical activity - it may make sense to organize children's fitness classes.

The wider the club's program, the more likely it is to quickly recoup the investment, so it makes no sense to focus on any one group of clients or in one area of activity. In the morning, kids up to three years old can come to the club, in the afternoon - schoolchildren, in the evening - they are also kindergartners.

Children often get sick, and parents really do not like to pay for missed classes. Therefore, it makes sense to think over a system of incentives for those who hardly miss classes, and compensations for “truants”. For example, to sell cheaper subscriptions with the possibility of "working off" missed classes in other groups and more expensive ones - with the possibility of transferring classes to the next month.

Today, goods and services related to children in one way or another are gaining more and more popularity. One of the first places in this area is occupied by preschool development centers. Due to the catastrophic lack of places in the state, as well as their widespread dilapidation and impoverishment, various developmental centers for kids are a great idea.

That is why many mothers, who are concerned about the lack of quality development of their children, as well as those who are looking for opportunities to earn money "without leaving the child," are increasingly thinking about how to open a children's center. What needs to be done for this in the first place and how much effort and money will have to be spent at the initial stage. We will try to answer these and many other questions in this article.

We analyze the market

So, you have decided to open a children's development center. Where to start and what to pay attention to first of all? As in any other business, it is best to start with an analysis of the existing service market. In order for the upcoming enterprise to be successful, first of all, you need to carefully look around and soberly assess the presence of potential competitors. Before opening a child development center, find out if there are such institutions in your area:

State kindergarten. The advantages of such an institution include the relatively low cost of services and the fact that children are supervised all day long. Disadvantages - a large number of kids in the group, which negatively affects the quality of assimilation of educational material. In addition, the qualifications and level of interest of educators often leave much to be desired.
From the good - small groups and high interest of teachers. The negative is the high level of pay.
Sport sections. A rather narrowly focused development, besides, children are usually accepted there no earlier than from the age of three or four.
Fitness clubs. Approximately the same as sports clubs, but the cost of attending them is much more expensive.
Circles in various interest clubs. The advantages include low pay and the ability to often change direction - if you didn’t like one thing, we’ll try another. The disadvantages include the “age limit” - such institutions usually accept children no younger than 4-5 years old. In addition, the pedagogical level of the team does not always meet the expectations of parents.

If you already have enough of the above in your area, consider whether you can offer your customers something that will withstand quite a lot of competition.

How to open a children's development center: a business plan

As you know, any good business begins with careful planning. Of course, it will not work to draw up a detailed business plan within the framework of this article, because each region, city and village has its own prices, and everyone has different starting opportunities. But a few general recommendations can be considered. Before you open a children's development center from scratch, you need to:

develop the very concept of the business - think about what services you will provide;
prepare and issue all permits;
select and issue documents for the premises in which the center will be located;
purchase the necessary equipment, teaching aids, toys, and so on;
determine which specialists can help you in your work, arrange a casting for recruitment;
conduct a competent advertising campaign, arrange a presentation of a new development center;
establish a workflow, eliminate minor problems that cannot be clarified until the center has started working;

Now let's dwell on some of these points in more detail.

Choose a room

Of course, the choice of premises will primarily depend on your financial capabilities and the availability of proposals. However, those who already know exactly how to open a children's development center from scratch can confirm with confidence that there are several mandatory requirements that must be met when choosing a room.

If you do not plan to open a full-fledged kindergarten, even with a mini prefix, then a room with a total area of 50 to 100 m 2 is quite enough for you.
Pay attention to the height of the ceilings - at least 3 m.
The room should be divided into several isolated rooms: a locker room / reception area, a place for conducting classes, a games room, a toilet / washbasin. If your center is designed for long stays of children, you should also provide a separate room for sleeping and eating, as well as a room for attendants.
The decoration of walls and ceilings in all rooms should be such that regular wet cleaning can be carried out. Ordinary paper wallpapers will not work, you will have to make repairs.
In bedrooms and playrooms, the temperature regime must be observed - 19-21˚С.
All switches and sockets must be located at least 1.8 m above floor level.
The room must have a fire exit and be removed from the housing stock.

Hiring staff

Before you open a children's development center from scratch, think about what services you will provide. We can say that recruitment is the most important stage in the opening process. How skilled and dedicated your employees are will determine whether your center will be successful and popular. The minimum set of employees you will need looks like this:

director/manager;
accountant;
teachers / educators by the number of selected areas;
assistant teacher / nanny;
nurse;
security guard;
cleaning woman;

If you plan to organize meals, you will also need a cook and a dishwasher. Of course, in order to save money, employees can work part-time: a security guard, for example, can perform the duties of a plumber and electrician, and a nanny can combine babysitting with the work of a dishwasher. If at first relatives can help you as attendants, then the selection of teachers (educators) should be treated with special attention. If the kids are bored in the classroom, and the mothers remain dissatisfied with the level and speed of development of their child, your center will very soon be left without a clientele.

Advertising

Now let's move on to the next step. What else needs to be done to open a children's development center? How to start attracting clients? Well, of course, with advertising, it is known to be the engine of trade.

Of course, it all depends on your financial capabilities, but in general terms, methods for attracting customers can be as follows:

colorful leaflets-invitations (distribution on the street, you can agree with the teachers and leave them in the locker rooms of kindergartens or in clinics);
banners and banners on the streets of the district;
advertising in transport (routes passing through your area);
events with the invitation of animators for residents of the microdistrict, at children's playgrounds;
creation, development and promotion of your own website;
creation of a group in social networks and forums of the region;
viral advertising;
advertising on a local TV channel or radio station;

Payback period and profitability

Before opening a children's development center, it is necessary not only to study the activities of competitors well, but also carefully calculate the costs. The main monthly expenses will be as follows:

rent of premises, utility costs;
wages of hired personnel;
taxes;
security during the day and at night;
There are also one-time costs:
indoor repairs;
purchase of furniture, toys and sports equipment;
the cost of processing a package of documents and permits from various authorities (SES, firefighters, etc.);
purchase of household and office equipment (boiler, TV, computer, music center, etc.);

Based on the experience of people who have already opened such centers, we can say that, depending on the region in which you live, the total costs can range from 50-70 thousand rubles (UAH 20-25 thousand) to half a million (UAH 150-160 thousand). UAH). The payback of such projects is estimated at the level of 2-3 years, and the profitability is 20-25%.

So if you dream of quick profits and high incomes, you should look for another way to achieve what you want.

How difficult is it to open a children's development center for a franchise

If all of the above seems too complicated for you, and you are still afraid to take the first step, you can consider purchasing a franchise. This means that for a certain fee, an already existing and successfully operating company will provide you with all its developments. You will only have to repeat the path you have traveled step by step. The specialists of the franchisor (the one who shares their experience) will accompany the opening of the center from the first to the last day, they will bring you, so to speak, “to the result”.

So, what does it take to open a franchise children's development center? On the Internet you can find a lot of offers, it remains only to carefully study them and choose the most suitable for yourself. At the same time, be sure to carefully study the terms of the franchise, as some companies may put forward conditions that may subsequently be unacceptable. For example, it may be too large monthly deductions (royalties).

What you need to open a center in Russia

Before you start your work, you need to formalize everything and obtain the appropriate permits. Here is a list of what you need to open a children's development center:

register individual entrepreneurship;
choose the OKVED codes that suit yours; these can be: 93.05, 85.32, 92.51, which means personal services, childcare and childcare and the organization of club-type establishments, respectively;
register and open a bank account;
become registered (register) with the tax service at the place of residence;
choose a taxation system - in this case, many advise choosing the simplified tax system, this allows you to significantly save on the services of an accountant;

If the activities of your institution will be related to education, then in order to open a children's development center, you will additionally need to obtain a license. This is a rather troublesome business, but there is one unwritten rule here - if the full official name of your center does not contain the words "educational", "educational", you can not issue a license. But it is best to get the advice of a qualified lawyer for each specific case. It is not so expensive, but it will allow you to avoid troubles and fines in the future.

Features of opening a center in Ukraine

To be honest, the opening of such a center in Ukraine is not much different from the Russian counterpart. The biggest difference is that it is quite difficult to open such a center without issuing a license. Therefore, before opening a children's development center in Ukraine, it is necessary to get legal advice. Most often, it is advised to choose the following OKVED codes:

47.90 - retail sale outside the store;
96.06 - provision of other individual services;
93.29 - organization of other types of recreation and entertainment;

In Ukraine, you will also have to register a private enterprise, or rather, an FLP - an individual entrepreneur. For work, it is best to choose the second group of taxation, so you have to pay less taxes. And one more small nuance: in Ukraine, the contract for hiring employees is tripartite - they must be registered at the employment center.

Now you at least in general terms know how to open a children's development center from scratch. At the end of the article, I would like to add some useful tips that will help you save some money and reduce the payback period of a young enterprise.

If you have chosen "unlicensed" OKVED, do not write "teacher" or "teacher" in the work books of employees. It is better to use the wording “consultant” or “instructor”, the same applies to the employment contract.
Come up with a zest for your center - something that will distinguish it from other similar establishments. For example, let only you have clowns performing every first day of the month, or in the month when the child has a birthday, he will be given a discount on the subscription. Anything, as long as people remember it.
Conduct monthly/quarterly parent surveys. Find out what other skills they want to develop in their children, for which they are willing to pay extra. Maybe moms want to invite a children's yoga instructor, but they are not interested in classes with a French teacher.
In order to partially recoup the cost of renting a room, you can sublease part of it hourly for classes with a psychologist or speech therapist.
Introduce a bonus system of invitations according to the principle: "bring 3 friends and get a discount for the next month." This will allow you to provide your center with an additional influx of visitors.

And, of course, love your new undertaking. Remember: in order to open and successfully develop such a center, first of all, you need to love children.

A growing number of entrepreneurs are striving. It is not surprising, because thanks to state support, the birth rate in Russia has slightly increased over the past few years.

Parents do everything possible to ensure that their child is diversified, so they send him to a variety of developmental institutions. An excellent substitute for an ordinary kindergarten is a children's development center.

Is it profitable to open a children's development center?

The current study of this issue shows that residents of large settlements have already used or visit child development centers more than once. The age of the children attending classes is from 8 months up to 8 years.

Not so long ago, it was quite expensive to use such services. Now they have become more affordable. All this makes the business idea of the development center profitable and relevant.

However, it should be borne in mind that there are quite a lot of similar centers on the educational services market, but finding a good one that would combine quality and cost is quite problematic. There are more and more babies in the country, so investing in opening a development club for children is a great profitable business option.

How much does it cost to open a children's development center from scratch?

When forming a business plan for a children's center, one must take into account the presence of systematic and one-time costs. For example, in order to quickly prepare documents, entrepreneurs often resort to the help of special firms. Their services cost about 30,000 rubles. Also, you will spend more than 300,000 rubles on the purchase of equipment. But these are not fixed costs.

Systematically, it will be necessary to spend money on food for children (2,500 rubles every day), rented premises (65,000 rubles per month), salaries of employees (about 100,000 rubles) and security (10,000 rubles).

Additional expenses include the purchase of stationery, dishes and other necessary household items. Money is also needed for promotion.

The payback of such an institution takes 24 months. Ideally, 1 year.

To organize a children's development club, you will need:

Furniture. It is much more profitable to make it to order. This will be more economical. Ready-made furniture for children of good quality and inexpensive at a price in stores is almost impossible to find.
Toys and consumables. On the contrary, it is not worth saving on this. By choosing more expensive toys, you can be sure that they will last longer.
Methodical materials, textbooks. Depending on the type of classes that will be held, it is necessary to purchase the appropriate number of notebooks and textbooks.
Technical equipment: copier, TV for broadcasting educational programs and programs (cartoons), printer.

Advice! The work of previous students can be hung on the wall. This will serve as a good motivation for parents who are going to bring their children to the center.

Business plan

To open any type of activity, you must first consider a business plan. It takes into account all organizational issues and business costs.

Consider a business plan for opening a children's development center from scratch:

The main idea or concept of the future educational institution.
Business registration.
Obtaining a license to operate.
Search and design of a room for classes.
Personnel search.
Selection of clients.

Step-by-step instruction

Step 1. Determine the direction of the future center. This is an educational institution, not a kindergarten, where dads or moms can bring a child for 1 hour. Adults should have a clear idea why the child needs these classes, to whom they entrust their baby and what they give money for.

At this stage, it is worth determining:

duration of classes;
areas of study, for example, creative or physical, intellectual or comprehensive. Maybe it will be lessons with an emphasis on foreign languages;
children's age;
criteria for the formation of a group of children;
methods and programs of education;
additional services: psychological or correctional lessons, individual lessons.

It should be borne in mind that further actions will depend on which concept you choose. If the center is an economy class, then you can use basic services, a small room and a small number of staff. Premium class centers are designed for well-to-do children, so the premises must be expensive, and the teachers must be the best.

The pedagogical stage ends with the choice of the class schedule, work schedule, type and number of lessons, as well as the composition of professional teachers.

Step 2 IP needs to be registered. Individual pedagogical activity allows you to engage in tutoring, children's leisure and preparatory services without a license.

IP does not make it possible to hire teachers to teach kids. Without a license, an entrepreneur who has opened a development club can only hire technical staff and administrators.

Advice! There is another option - to hire teachers who are also IP.

If you have decided to open your own club for children for the first time and do not really understand the education system, the first option will be cheaper and easier for you. In the documents, your organization will be referred to as IP Full Name. In life, you can come up with any name for your company.

What to do in step 2:

submit documents to the tax office for registration of IP;
write a statement in which indicate the type of services provided for OKVED;
select a taxation system;

open a bank account.

Step 3 Obtaining a license is an integral part if you decide to form an LLC or hire professionals for your IP.

List of documents for obtaining a license:

charter of LLC;
a lease agreement or ownership of the premises, the conclusion of the fire inspection and SES;
education program;
a document confirming the state registration of the company;
information about the composition of teachers;
information about educational materials.

All these papers must be submitted to the education committee. Then, wait for approval.

It is more expedient to open an IP first without involving professional teachers. In this case, step 3 can be ignored.

Step 4 Finding and arranging a room is not easy. It must meet certain requirements:

there must be an emergency exit;
there must be a fire alarm;
the room should not be the basement and basement of the building;
ceilings must be at least 3 meters;
the building must be non-residential.

In case of repair, SanPiN also established certain rules:

wall covering only with paint or wallpaper that is resistant to moisture;
the room should be divided into zones: undressing, classes and games, a bathroom;
floor covering must be non-slip and even;
ceilings are whitewashed or torn with a water-based solution;
switches and sockets must be at least 1.8 meters above the floor.

A kids club doesn't have to be educational in nature. In this case, you can purchase the necessary equipment, toys, furniture and start working.

The operation of the premises for the purpose of conducting educational classes with kids implies coordination with Rospotrebnadzor.

Important! Toys, inventory for lessons must be certified and be harmless.

How to choose the right location for the children's center?

In an area with a small population, it is enough to choose a room on a site with the highest traffic. Alternatively, you can rent a place in a shopping center, approximately 50 sq. meters in area.

In big cities, be aware of the competition and do not organize a developing club next to similar institutions. You should also keep in mind the target audience. For example, it is more convenient for a family living in a working-class district of the city to take a child to classes near their home. And, conversely, an elite center should not be located in a residential area.

Important! The interior of the future institution should justify the concept of your children's club.

Step 5 In order to keep order and solve household issues, you will need to hire, ideally, 2 administrators and a cleaner.

The selection of teaching staff is determined by the list of services provided by the children's club. A real development center should ideally have teachers in dance, drawing, English, and a psychologist. The staff can be increased gradually by introducing new directions.

Finding teachers is not easy. When studying the applicant's profile, pay attention to personal qualities, work experience and education of a person.

Necessarily! Do not neglect the opinion of your parents, control the activities of your teachers, go to classes from time to time.

Each developing educational center, unlike an entertainment center, should bring a positive result. In this regard, teachers should develop a system for evaluating the activities of their students. Otherwise, how will parents know if attending classes at your center is worth it?

And, most importantly! Toddlers should be happy to attend developmental classes. Teachers can motivate them with their attitude, support and professional skills.

At the stage of preparation for the opening, you can place information about your imminent appearance.
Use a bright sign.
Distribute flyers at playgrounds.
Create your site.
Create business cards and place them in the nearest trade centers.
Call customers through forums and social networks.
The opening of your center should be memorable, organize a small celebration with balloons and music.

If there are funds that can be spent on advertising, there will be many more ways.

conclusions

The income from the developing children's center is quite good. And, most importantly, it will not lose its relevance. The only thing you need is to do your job well. Classes with kids are a noble cause that can bring you material benefits at the same time as spiritual satisfaction.

The ancient Chinese thinker Confucius once said: “Find a job you love, and you won’t have to work a single day in your life.” Two charming women Sofia Timofeeva and Anastasia Shevchenko decided to follow this aphorism and turned their life's work into a very successful and profitable project. Being teachers not only by education, but also by vocation, they opened a wonderful children's eco-club "Umnichka", which for the past 5 years has been continuously delighting kids with its exciting activities.

However, they decided not to stop there and last year they founded a new business project, Your Club, whose main goal is to provide practical assistance to everyone who dreams of opening their own children's center. In their interview, they told how to start a business, how to develop it, and what mistakes to avoid.

How and when did you get the idea to open your own kids club? Why did you choose this particular type of business?

S.T. I am a primary education teacher by profession. After graduating from LGPI them. AI Herzen I worked for several years at school, where I gained invaluable experience, because working with children allowed me to more deeply absorb the knowledge that I received at the institute. After working at the school for several years, I returned to my native university and became a teacher in the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology.

I really liked my work, and I could not even imagine that someday I would have to part with my department, where I held the position of deputy dean. But fate decreed otherwise. My husband is a soldier. He was transferred to Moscow. His transfer and our move coincided with the birth of Yaroslav's daughter. At first, I enjoyed my wonderful family life, fully knowing the joys of motherhood. However, a year later, a quiet, measured life no longer seemed so beautiful.

I wanted vigorous activity, activity, with results and achievements. And then I noticed that for a long time I was seriously interested in the features of the development of very young children. I didn’t have enough of my own knowledge, I wanted to communicate with the same enthusiastic mothers, and I began to take my daughter to the kids club. In total, we traveled there for about a year.

And from lesson to lesson, I was struck by the unprofessionalism of the methods. The children were given tasks that were not suitable for their age. It was then that I had the idea to open my own children's club and do everything in my own way, to put my many knowledge and rich experience into my own business. I wanted to create something special, where the best teachers will work, and the children will study according to the best programs and attend the best classes.

A.Sh. I had the idea to start my own business at the age of 13. However, I had no exact idea of what exactly to open. After graduating from school, I entered the pedagogical university at the defectological department with a degree in speech therapy and successfully completed it. During my teaching practice, I had the opportunity to see how all educational institutions work from the inside, as well as to observe how children learn in kindergarten and at school.

Most institutions had huge record keeping requirements, while teacher salaries were very low. It was in practice that I realized that I definitely would not work in budgetary organizations. Already in the last years of university, I began to look for a job where I could realize myself. So I came across an ad that determined my choice. This announcement was about the search for teachers in a new children's club.

The club was not far from my house and suited me in all respects - employment, salary, as well as creative work with children. I actively participated in the life of the club, played the mouse for free at all New Year's performances, designed the club with interest, and composed various activities for children. The work fascinated me completely and gave me great pleasure.

At one point, I realized that my desire to create something of my own had not gone anywhere and began to pop up in my head more and more often. Coincidentally or not, it was at this moment, after only a year of work in the club, that I received an offer, which, of course, I could not refuse. So, at 21, I co-founded a wonderful kids club.

How to start opening a children's club? What is the first step to take?

S.T. In order to open a kids club, you need to determine the initial investment in the business, and for this you should. This is an obligatory stage of business planning, since the profitability of your club will directly depend on how carefully you think over your place among competitors, designate a pricing policy, and decide what range of activities to offer in your club.

Before drawing up a business plan, you should definitely decide on the mission, decide what exactly your club will be like, what goals and objectives you will set for yourself. Will it be a theater studio, where the creative abilities of children will be mainly revealed. Or it will be a club with an English bias, where the first acquaintance of children with the magical world of foreign words, songs and poems will take place.

Then you should analyze the target audience, monitor competitors and form at least an approximate image of your children's club: draw up a clear schedule of classes, determine the mode of operation of your institution, think over advertising methods, choose the legal form of registration of your enterprise, etc. And after that, proceed to clear calculations - the financial part of your business plan.

Where to get initial capital? And how much should it be?

S.T. Good question. I know that many people who are going to start their own small business are very afraid to take loans. Of course, they can be understood, since the realization that you will owe a decent amount to the bank, and the sword of Damocles will hang over you in the form of a loan, inspires fear and inspires genuine anxiety. And in the minds of some people there is still an illusion that you can get by with your own means.

But, unfortunately, this is practically impossible, unless, of course, there are rich relatives. I didn’t have such an opportunity, so I opened my club with borrowed funds. My friend, the owner of a successful business in another city, offered an interest-bearing loan. So the first 300 thousand rubles were found for our "Umnichka".

A.Sh. Completely agree with Sophia. It is difficult to do without borrowed funds. I am from the most ordinary family, I don’t have wealthy parents and rich relatives either. At the time of opening the club, I was only 21 years old, so there were no personal savings either. I had to take out a loan. And so our kids club was opened.

Expenditure:

Legal registration: registration of an LLC with a legal address: 15,000 rubles
Repair: (wallpaper, carpet, iron door, curtains): 160,000 rubles
Furniture (tables, chairs, shelves, reception desk, sofa for parents, aquarium): 65,000 rubles
Toys, educational materials: 65,000 rubles
Cash register, copier: 16,000 rubles
Payment for the last month of rent: 145,000 rubles
Large colorful sign: 32,000 rubles
Authorized capital: 10,000 rubles
Tape recorders: 2 pcs. - 6 500 rubles

Total: approximately 660,000 rubles

What is the approximate cost of providing services in this business segment?

A.Sh. Pricing is influenced by many factors: the region where the children's club is located, the social status of the area, the level of the club - premium or economy class, the qualifications of teachers. Therefore, the prices for classes are different everywhere. But thanks to such variability, parents have the right to choose a children's center depending on the size of the family budget, the ability to take the child to classes, etc.

Is there a bonus payment system, promotions, discounts?

S.T. Benefits and bonuses play a very important role in the development of the kids club. Because they help to solve a number of serious issues: they help increase the number of customers in the kids club, help keep the customer, stimulate the first purchase and timely payment for services.

Some bonuses help keep groups full during the summer and during long public holidays. There are also benefits of a social nature, for example, for single mothers or parents with a disabled child. Therefore, benefits, discounts and promotions are a very important marketing tool that should never be forgotten.

Is your activity subject to licensing?

S.T. This is a rather slippery moment, since there are legislative subtleties here. In accordance with the law "On Education", the activities of preschool educational institutions are subject to mandatory licensing.

However, here it is necessary to understand the terms and define what a preschool institution is. In accordance with the same law, a preschool institution is an organization that, in addition to educational activities, also provides supervision and care for children. Thus, if you conduct classes with underage children in sections, clubs and studios, then according to the Law "On Licensing Certain Types of Activities", such activities are not subject to licensing. Therefore, if you open a children's club, and not a kindergarten, then you do not need to obtain a license.

A.Sh. At the first stage, the entire advertising campaign of your club should be aimed at attracting the target client. In this case, outdoor advertising media begin to work actively. : a sign on the house, showcase windows of a children's club, pavement signs, banners, streamers, signs, etc..

In addition to outdoor advertising, you can distribute leaflets on the street, hang ads in the elevator, etc. Advertising in the headings of magazines and websites dedicated to children's leisure and development, publishing information about your club on relevant forums, blogs and online communities will be very effective. And, of course, we should not forget about word of mouth, since the best advertising is the satisfied reviews of parents.

Personally, I have never treated my club only as a business. Our clients for me are, first of all, friends with whom it is always interesting to communicate, listen to their suggestions and improve our club accordingly. Personal trust in our business is the key to success and the best advertisement.

What methods are used for training in your club?

S.T. In our club, methods are given very close attention. As a teacher, I understand that the technique should be effective and give a guaranteed result. So that any child with different levels of development can learn to read, distinguish a square from a circle, make a plate, etc. However, one of the main advantages of our club is our own teaching aids.

Anastasia and I are the authors of numerous methodological books for the children's club, published by the well-known pedagogical publishing house Yuventa. These are "Development of color perception in children", and "Outdoor games", and "Modeling for children", and "Finger gymnastics" and much more. All these are unique teaching aids, which are the result of our many years of experience working with children.

In addition to managing your Umnichka eco-club, you are co-founders of the Your Club business project, within which you conduct training seminars and master classes for those who want to open their own children's club. Tell us what inspired you to start this project?

S.T. We know from our own experience that starting a business in our country is a very difficult task. Before our eco-club "Umnichka" became a successful and profitable enterprise, we had to break a lot of firewood. We collected all the information bit by bit. There were many questions to which I had to look for answers, studying numerous literature, delving into various sites.

And now we understand that if we had then had a professional consultant who would have warned us at every step, then many problems and unnecessary expenses could have been avoided. Over the years of managing our eco-club, we have accumulated a lot of useful and necessary information about the opening, operation and development of a children's club. We know how to find good teachers, how to advertise ourselves, how to avoid problems with tax authorities and fire departments, etc.

Like any other commercial undertaking, opening a children's center cannot be done blindly. Therefore, all beginners will definitely need theoretical knowledge and practical advice. And our project is ready to help you with this, the website of which contains materials related to the opening, operation and development of the children's center.

What topics do your seminars cover?

A.Sh. We try to devote our seminars to the most relevant topics that concern our clients. People from all over our country come to our lectures: from Syktyvkar, Nizhnevartovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Vladivostok, as well as from neighboring countries: from Kazakhstan, Ukraine, etc. Therefore, all our seminars are purely practical.

The person who attended our lesson should receive all the answers to his questions on the stated topic. At the seminars, we talk about the motivation of teachers, and about the features of organizing and conducting complex classes for children of different ages, and about accounting nuances. Moreover, all information comes to our visitors, as they say, firsthand.

How profitable is it now to open children's clubs in the regions of Russia?

A.Sh. There is certainly competition. There is no escape from this. But I prefer to see the positives in everything. Competition makes you never sit still, constantly move and develop: improve your club, come up with new directions, develop new methods. Of course, the rules for doing business are the same, but the success of the club largely depends on the personality of the leader, his values and beliefs. In your club, you need to implement the idea that you believe in. Only then will the club be real, alive, feeling the care and warmth of its owners. And this means that with a large selection of children's clubs and development centers, there will be a client for everyone, since the clubs still turn out to be different.

S.T. In our club, everything is arranged for us. I love the smell of wooden furniture, I love the cleanliness of the club and the nice plasticity of expensive toys. This is all for me and for our clients. In addition, my club has everything my children need. My daughter wanted to sing - we found an excellent musical director and we have formed a wonderful vocal group that participates in festivals, competitions and wins well-deserved diplomas.

How many projects do you currently have? How do you plan to develop your business? Are you planning to sell a franchise?

S.T. Now we are running the Umnichka children's eco-club, we have opened dance studios that have their own names and participate in competitions and festivals, our children are invited to auditions in TV shows and advertising. Now we are developing a new direction - mini garden for children 2.5 to 4 years and 4 to 9 years.