Learning Center Business Plan [Sample Template]

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Are you about starting a learning center company? If YES, here is a detailed sample learning center business plan template & FREE feasibility report.

A learning center is a self-contained section of the classroom in which students engage in independent and self-directed learning activities. Learning centers provide students with exciting and interesting experiences to practice, enrich, reteach, and enhance their learning.

These types of centers are filled with art materials, books, and other instructional tools. It is important to state that there are different types of learning centers; learning centers can vary a great deal when it comes to their design and the results they want to achieve.

But for the purpose of this business plan, we will concentrate on early childhood learning center. Lastly, there are no barriers as regards those who can start a learning center in the united states; educationist, philanthropists, parents, community leaders, social entrepreneurs, religious organizations, businesses, teachers, school districts, and towns can start their own learning centers.

Having said that, if you interested in starting your learning center, then here is a comprehensive learning center business plan template that will give you the needed guide.

A Sample Learning Center Business Plan Template

1. Industry Overview

The Early Childhood Learning Centers industry comprises establishments that provide basic skill and education courses for children between the ages of two and five.

Basically, establishments in this industry, both public and private, provide basic preparatory education courses for children aged two years to those reaching the compulsory school-entry age. This industry excludes establishments that primarily service adults and provide child-teaching services.

Operators offer different programs, which vary by age. For younger children, typically those between the ages of two and three, programs focus on developing early math, reading and interpersonal skills. Children between three and five years old participate in a variety of activities and subjects to prepare them for grade school.

Recent reports released by IBISWORLD shows that over the five years to 2018, revenue fell early in the period as a result of low per capita disposable income levels and the decline in the labor force participation rate of women. However, the unemployment rate has declined each year since 2013.

Statistics has it that The Early Childhood Learning Centers industry in the United States of America, is worth $11 billion, with an estimated growth rate of 2.1 percent annually between 2013 and 2018. There are about 19,482 registered and licensed (accredited) early childhood learning centers scattered all around the United States of America and they are responsible for employing about 247,365 people.

Aside from Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. which has the largest enrollments, no other early childhood learning center can boast of dominating the market; every player can comfortably compete in the industry.

It is important to state that the barriers to entry into the Early Childhood Learning Centers industry are high. As a matter of fact, new entrants find it difficult to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the early childhood learning center is of utmost importance, as the center that has a good history of getting students into prestigious colleges often have the best reputations hence good enrollments.

Reputation indeed is imperative to parents’ decisions when shopping for early childhood learning centers. This is because the quality of education cannot be assessed until after it is complete.

Even though this might seem like a highly competitive industry, the industry is still pretty much open for people to come in and compete. As a matter of fact, if you conduct your research and feasibility studies very well before starting your own center, you are likely going to struggle less to make headway in the industry.

2. Executive Summary

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is an early childhood learning center that will be located in a well – populated residential estate in Little Rock – Arkansas, United States of America. We are a standard early childhood learning center that will offer different programs, which will vary by age.

For younger children, typically those between the ages of two and three, the programs will focus on developing early math, reading and interpersonal skills. Children between three and five years old will participate in a variety of activities and subjects to prepare them for grade school.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is a result driven early childhood learning center that provides broad-based learning approaches and experience at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pocket of our clients.

We will offer professional teaching services in a highly secured and conducive learning environment. We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass all our students’ educational goals whenever they enroll in our center.

At Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc., our students’ overall best interest would always come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professional teachers in various subjects who are passionate at imparting knowledge to students.

We have plans in the future to also offer learning platforms to people with both learning disability and physical disability (especially the blind, the dumb and the deaf).

Our overall business goal is to position our early childhood learning center to become the leading brand in the industry in the whole of Little Rock – Arkansas, and also to be amongst the top 10 learning centers in United States of America within the first 20 years of operation.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is founded by Dr. (Mrs.) Becky Steve – Carson and her immediate family members. She is an educationist par excellence and she has won many awards in the educational sector in the United States.

Dr. (Mrs.) Becky Steve – Carson has both the academic qualifications and experience to run an early childhood learning center that can favorably compete with other leading early childhood learning centers not only in Little Rock – Arkansas, but also throughout the United States America.

3. Our Products and Services

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is going to offer varieties of early childhood learning services in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our early childhood learning center is to soundly educate kids in various subjects and of course to make profits from the industry. Our service offerings are listed below;

Planning and implementing a diverse curriculum for children
Developing activities to introduce math and literacy concepts
Providing child and infant daycare to an extent
Operating Head Start programs

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

Our vision is to build a highly competitive early childhood learning center that will become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Little Rock – Arkansas.

Our mission is to provide professional and conducive learning environment to students at different levels of learning. Our overall business goal is to position Little Rock® Community Learning Center to become the leading early childhood learning center in the industry in the whole of Little Rock – Arkansas, and also to be amongst the top 10 early childhood learning centers in the United States of America within the first 20 years of operation.

Our Business Structure

It is a known fact that the success of any business is to a large extent is dependent on the business structure of the organization and the people who occupy roles in the organization. Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. will build a solid business structure that can support the growth of our early childhood learning center.

We will ensure that we hire competent hands (teaching and non – teaching staff members) to help us build the early childhood learning center of our dream.

The fact that we want to become one of the leading early childhood learning centers in the industry in the whole of the United States of America makes it necessary for our organization to deliberately build a well – structured business from the onset.

We will work hard to ensure that we only attract people with the right mindset to help us achieve our business goals and objectives in record time. Below is the business structure that we will build Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.;

Head of The Early Childhood Learning Center (School Proprietress)
School Administrator
Early Childhood Learning Specialist
Accountant/Bursar
Client Service Executive/Front Desk Officer
Cleaners
Security Officers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Head of the Early Childhood Learning Center/School Coordinator:

Responsible for providing direction for the center
Responsible for handling high profile clients and deals
Responsible for fixing fees and signing business deals (partnership)
Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the early childhood learning center
Coordinates all arms of the center
Evaluates the success of the center
Reports to the board

School Administrator

Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the early childhood learning center
Designs job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for tutors (teachers)
Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders (parents and member of the school board) to review the effectiveness of the schools’ Policies, Procedures and Processes
Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
Carries out induction for new team members
Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
Oversees the smooth running of the daily activities of the early childhood learning center.

Early Childhood Learning Specialist

Planning and implementing a diverse curriculum for children
Developing activities to introduce math and literacy concepts
Operating Head Start programs
Effectively teach subjects as assigned by the school administrator
Accesses the progress of students under their care
Ensures that students abide by the rules and regulations of the center
Contributes his/her quota towards growing the early childhood learning center
Receives complaints from parents and channel it to the appropriate quarters
Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.

Marketing Executive

Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new students, and business opportunities et al
Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts
Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
Documents all customer contact and information
Represents the company in strategic meetings
Helps to increase sales and growth for the school

School Bursar (Accountant)

Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
Provides management with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
Responsible for administering payrolls
Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
Handles all financial transactions for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.
Serves as internal auditor for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.

Client Service Executive

Welcomes/receive parents and students by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
Ensures that all contacts with parents and students (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
Through interaction with parents and students on the phone, uses every opportunity to build parent’s interest in the schools’ services
Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to parents and students when they make enquiries
Receives parcels / documents for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.
Distributes mails in the organization
Handles any other duties as assigned by the School Administrator.

Cleaners:

Responsible for cleaning the school facility at all times
Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
Cleanses both the interior and exterior of the school facility
Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator

Security Officers

Ensures that the school facility is secured at all time
Controls traffic and organize parking
Gives security tips to staff members from time to time
Patrols around the building on a 24 hours’ basis
Submits security reports weekly
Any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.

6. SWOT Analysis

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring with bias in the educational sector to assist us in building a well – structured early childhood learning center that can favorably compete in the United States.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.;

Strength:

As an early childhood learning center, our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team with excellent qualifications and experience in the educational sector especially when it comes to working with toddlers.

We are well positioned in a community with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of students from the first day we open our doors and welcome students for enrollment.

Weakness:

As a new early childhood learning center in Little Rock – Arkansas, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance via reputation in the already saturated education cum Early Childhood Learning Centers industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.

Opportunities:

Demand for day-care services is positively correlated with the number of children aged nine and younger. Increase in the number of children younger than nine, particularly those younger than five, boost demand and profitability for private centers.

The number of children under the age of nine is expected to increase slightly in 2018, representing a potential opportunity for the industry.

Threat:

The labor force participation rate of women, especially mothers, has a major effect on demand for child-care services. The participation rate is influenced by many factors, including social values, expectations relating to child care, the growth rate of employment, after-tax wages and child-care costs.

When the female workforce participation rate rises, it tends to increase demand for child-care services. The labor force participation rate of women is expected to increase slightly in 2018, posing a threat to the industry.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

The trend in the early childhood learning center business is that the keys to attracting students is the educational performance of their students. Any early childhood learning center that has good records will always thrive.

The demand for early childhood learning centers is driven by the fact that most public cum government owned schools cannot accommodate every student in a given geographical location. In some cases, students with special needs cannot cope in public schools hence the need for early childhood learning centers.

Early childhood learning centers are overwhelmingly located in urban areas. Over one-half of all early childhood learning center students reside in urban environments, compared with less than one-third of students at traditional public schools.

Growth in the percentage of the overall population living in urban areas increases demand for early childhood learning centers. The US urban population is expected to increase in 2018, representing a potential opportunity for the industry.

The economic downturn hasn’t really affected this industry, especially in countries that believe in the efficacy of education. The areas you would need to spend heavily on is in ensuring that your school is up to standard, your advertisements, and on insurance policy cover.

Lastly, it is trendier to find early childhood learning centers engaging in extra – curricular activities and as a matter of fact, an early childhood learning center that thrives in sports can leverage on that to attract students who are sports inclined.

8. Our Target Market

As a standard early childhood learning center, Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is going to offer varieties of educational services. Our intention of starting our early childhood learning center is to prepare toddlers to enroll in schools and of course to make profits from the education industry.

Our target market as an early childhood learning center cuts across people (students) of different classes and cultural background whether African, White, Caucasian, Latinos, Indians, and Asians. We are coming into the industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the students at different learning stages in Little Rock – Arkansas.

Our Competitive Advantage

Indeed, the Early Childhood Learning Centers industry is highly competitive and the entry barriers are high. As a matter of fact, the industry is pretty difficult for new entrants to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the early childhood learning center is of utmost importance, as early childhood learning centers that have a good history of getting students into prestigious schools often have the best reputations.

As a major marketing tool, schools need to show parents a track record of admission to elite schools. Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. might be a new entrant into the education cum Early Childhood Learning Centers industry in the United States of America, but the management staff of the center are considered gurus.

They are highly qualified educationists/teachers at various levels of learning in the United States. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the education cum Early Childhood Learning Centers industry and we are going to ensure that we do all it takes to attract students on a regular basis. Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. will generate income by offering the following tutorial services;

Planning and implementing a diverse curriculum for children
Developing activities to introduce math and literacy concepts
Providing child and infant day care to an extent
Operating Head Start programs

10. Sales Forecast

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Little Rock – Arkansas and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six months of operation and grow the early childhood learning center and our student base.

We have been able to examine the early childhood learning centers cum education market in the United States of America, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast.

Below is the sales projection for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc., it is based on the location of our tutorial center and of course the wide range of educational cum learning services that we will be offering;

First Fiscal Year (FY1): $250,000
Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $450,000
Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $750,000

N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. So, there won’t be any major competitor offering same services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there are stiff competitions amongst early childhood learning centers in the United States of America, hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing concerns.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the early childhood learning center.

Our goal is to grow our early childhood learning center to become one of the top 10 early childhood learning centers in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategies that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in Little Rock – Arkansas but also in other cities in the United States of America.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

Introduce our early childhood learning center by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to schools, parents/household and key stakeholders in Little Rock – Arkansas.
Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in schools, libraries and even student organizations.
Creating a website, allows parents to be able to look you up, and also allows you to post general study tips, giving you an added advantage.
Use friends and family to spread word about our early childhood learning center
Introduce Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. to learning specialists, school coaches, school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors especially as they are with students everyday
Post information about Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. on bulletin boards in places like schools, libraries, and local coffee shops.
Placing a small or classified advertisement in the newspaper, or local publication about Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.
Using tutorial referral networks such as agencies that will help match students with Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.
Joining relevant association or body that will enable us network and meet others in same industry.
Advertising online by using an advertising platform such as Google AdWords, that will allow us place text advertisements alongside on websites with related contents, and along results from search engines.
Advertise our early childhood learning center in relevant educational magazines, newspapers, TV and radio station.
Attend relevant educational expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
Engage direct marketing approach
Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We are aware of the potency of a good publicity strategy hence we have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Little Rock – Arkansas which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our early childhood learning center. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.;

Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and educational magazines) and electronic media platforms
Sponsor relevant community based events/programs
Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
Install our billboards in strategic locations all around Little Rock – Arkansas.
Engage in roadshow from time to time in targeted neighborhoods in and around Little Rock – Arkansas
Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in and around Little Rock – Arkansas
Passing general information via our school’s social media handles like twitter, Facebook, Google hangouts etc.
Ensure that all our teaching and non – teaching staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our schools’ logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Early childhood learning centers in the United States of America and of course in all the parts of the world charge students per term/per session and students have the options of either paying their tuitions before resumption or during the school session.

Early childhood learning centers charge students based on loads of factors including location, service offerings and extra – curricular activities.

At Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. we will keep our fees below the average market rate by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our students at regular intervals.

Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. will make available to her clients;

Payment via bank transfer
Payment with cash
Payment via online bank transfer
Payment via mobile money
Payment via Point of Sales Machines (POS Machines)
Payment via check
Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our clients make payment for tuition fees without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials to clients who may want to deposit cash or make online transfer for services rendered.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up an early childhood learning center business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake.

If you intend to go big by acquiring a large facility, then you would need a higher amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are taken care of, and that your early childhood learning center’s environment is conducive enough for the students to learn.

The materials and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a early childhood learning center business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us to start Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. in the United of America;

Business incorporation fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
Acquiring a large facility that will accommodate the number of block of classes, playing field, staff offices and parking lots et al (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $350,000.
Equipping the classes and office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $50,000
Launching an official website will cost – $500
The budget for the payment of salaries for the first three months of operations: $120,000
Additional Expenditure such as Running cost, Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $45,000

Going by the market survey and feasibility studies conducted, we came to the conclusion that we will need an average of six hundred and fifty thousand dollar ($650,000) to start a small but standard early childhood learning center in the United States of America.

Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is a family business that will be owned and managed by Dr. (Mrs.) Beck Steve – Carson and her immediate family members. They are the major financiers of the early childhood learning center which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the early childhood learning center to just three major sources.

Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
Generate part of the startup capital from government, friends and other extended family members
Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $250,000 (Personal savings $200,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000) and we are at the final stages of securing $100,000 education grant from the Government an also obtaining a loan facility of $300,000 from our bank.

All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

It is a known fact that the future of any business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and of course the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.

One of our major goals of starting Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers (students and parents alike) over is to ensure that we offer nothing less than the best, to offer quality education to all our students so much so that they can favorably compete with students all over the United States.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more as determined by the board of the organization. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

Business Name Availability Check: Completed
Business Incorporation: Completed
Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
Application for business license and permit: Completed
Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
Securing a standard facility large enough to accommodate our design: Completed
Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
Generating part of the startup capital from the founders: Completed
Writing of Business Plan: Completed
Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
Design of The Schools’ Logo: Completed
Printing of Promotional Materials: Completed
Recruitment of employees: In Progress
Purchase of the needed furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
Creating Official Website for the school: In Progress
Creating Awareness for the early childhood learning center in Little Rock – Arkansas: In Progress
Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
Establishing business relationship with vendors and key players in the education industry: In Progress