The Grassroots Hybrid School Founder: Part 2-Your Market

Once you have your vision clearly defined, you want to take a good look at your market.

Your goal in doing this is to make sure your vision fits your market from a business standpoint.

ECONOMY

Your delightful dream of 250 kids paying $3,500 a year for a 2-day program might have no trouble coming to fruition in a well-populated area with a pretty good average income, but in a rural area or poorer area, you may need to cut some expenses or hours/weeks to get your tuition under $3000, or even $2,000. You might need to rely more on volunteers or get a building that will give you a very good deal.

COMPETITION

A very robust program might thrive in a place where there are no other private schooling choices, but not in a place where a local charter or religious school costs $0-$5000. What other choices do people have and how much do they cost? Remember that defining your niche clearly is one of the best things you can do! If you are the ONLY school of any type around that has Nature Study class and multiple recesses… or a classical curricula, etc.., it may not matter that there are four affordable private schools within an hour. Differentiating your offering is one of the best things you can do!

Once you have taken a bit of time to think about what your community will support, take your vision and make any modifications you need to to make it fit reality. This is most likely going to mean a change to your tuition, schedule, or further clarification of your uniqueness.

Assessing your market does not have to be a science. Even economists make an awful lot of guesses and get things all wrong :) But if you know who your competition is, how much they cost, and what they offer; what your potential customer can support financially and practically (think distance of driving and length of day), you will have taken a very useful step toward making sure you make any practical modifications early on in your planning.

Some questions to ask

• What differentiates my program from my competition?

  • Price?

  • Philosophy?

• How far do people need to commute to my program?

  • A lot of people driving far might favor fewer but longer days

  • Dense population might support shorter days

• What is average income?

  • An area with a good economy is more likely to afford a little higher tuition which may translate to more hours of school time

  • An area with a poorer economy or lower average income may need a one day program or shorter days

Good luck!