How to open English courses? With languages ​​in life: opening a school of foreign languages ​​What is needed to open an English language school.

Knowing a foreign language is the key to getting a prestigious job abroad, so an English language school is a fairly promising business idea. This idea can be safely implemented, since such services are in great demand, even during the economic period. Accordingly, the English language school will bring you a stable high monthly income.

Business registration

Before you open an English language school, you need to choose a legal form. Starting businessmen usually register an individual entrepreneur. They can hire staff and train students, but they are not authorized to issue IP certificates. The work book will not record a teacher, but a specialist in foreign languages.
If you have a small start-up capital on hand and are confident in your abilities, you can register a company. There are many more nuances in this case, but in this case your school will have a certain status and will be able to issue full-fledged certificates. After that, you should register with the tax office. This process takes 5-20 days.

In order to engage in educational activities, it is necessary to obtain a license from the territorial bodies of education. To do this, you need to provide information about the premises and the level of qualifications of teachers.

Choose a room

It is better to open a foreign language learning center near educational institutions or near a shopping center.

You should not place the school in a residential area, because in such a place you will not be able to find a sufficient number of clients. Also pay attention to the fact that there are no similar educational institutions nearby that can take students away from you.

Equipment and furniture

When drawing up a business plan for opening an English school, do not forget to include the cost of acquiring furniture and equipment.

There are no special requirements for equipping the premises, since you can learn languages ​​anywhere. But in order to create an image, you need to purchase stylish furniture, as well as teaching aids that you will need in the first place.

For each audience, you need to buy media materials - video and audio recordings, as well as various interactive programs. Since technological progress does not stand still, the school needs to purchase several laptops in order to offer students new teaching methods.

When the business begins to expand and make a profit, you can purchase projectors and interactive screens.

teachers

Now you know how to open a private language school. It's time to talk about how to find good teachers for her. The success of your business is 95% dependent on the work of teachers. But in order to find highly qualified teachers, you will have to spend a lot of time, because good specialists are always in demand and they are in no hurry to leave their homes.

If you want to open an English language school for children, invite teachers who have worked with schoolchildren. They must be able to interest children and attract their attention. For students and adults, it is better to invite teachers who are native English speakers.

Advertising

Like any other business, a language school needs advertising. It is best to conduct marketing activities in the global network. Order specialists to develop your own website. On it you can post information about teachers, teaching methods, as well as the advantages of your school. Advertising can be placed on forums, social networks or other thematic sites.

Standard advertising tools are:

• Radio;
• A television;
• Flyers;
• Advertising banners and posters.

Come up with all sorts of promotions. For example, if a student brings a friend, he can get a 30% discount on tuition. In this type of business, the flow of customers must be constantly stimulated by advertising, so it is advisable to hire an experienced specialist for this purpose.

The choice of teaching methods

Aspiring entrepreneurs who are interested in what it takes to open a private school sometimes lose sight of the choice of training program.

This issue can be resolved in three ways:

1. Standard programs;
2. Programs created by teachers;
3. Cooperation with large companies (buying a franchise).

Each of the proposed options has its own advantages:

• Standard programs please with the efficiency of organization and simplicity.
• Training programs developed by employees can be quite effective. In addition, no school of foreign languages ​​can offer such a system of education.
• The third option provides you with the patronage of an experienced giant who will provide the necessary assistance and give practical advice. But you will be doing business on its terms, so this option is not suitable for everyone.

Children's programs

Special attention should be paid to the development of educational programs for children. Many parents strive to ensure that their child receives quality knowledge at an early age, so children's educational programs are always in great demand. Teachers should use game elements in the lessons, such as modeling or drawing. In addition, you can connect outdoor games or soft toys to the educational process.

Kids love to learn different songs and rhymes. They sing them and tell their friends and parents. On holidays, you can put on theatrical performances in a foreign language.

Expenses

To open a foreign language school, you will have to allocate money for:

• Room rental;
• staff salaries;
• Equipment;
• cleaning;
• Stationery;
• payment of utility services;
• Other minor expenses.

All this will have to pay about 600 thousand rubles.

Profit and profitability

On average, the income from a school for the study of foreign languages ​​is 30-60 thousand rubles per month. Large companies get more decent profits. The profitability of such a business is quite low. It is only 8%.

To open a small school, you will need about 100 thousand rubles. Some businessmen invest millions in such educational institutions. It all depends on the financial capabilities of the owner.

conclusions

You can make a good profit from an English language school. Despite the fact that there is a lot of competition in this area, this business remains profitable, as the demand for language services is constantly growing.

Teaching foreign languages ​​is a promising, profitable and noble business. After all, in this way you can help a large number of people who want to improve their level of knowledge of a foreign language, without which it is difficult to be successful in the modern world. It is possible to make money on the provision of progressive knowledge that will contribute to intercultural communication if you draw up a business plan correctly.

Relevance

The opportunity to learn a foreign language today is interesting for almost everyone. Such knowledge will be needed even if you have no plans to emigrate abroad - to get a promotion at work, read books in the original and watch films without dubbing.

The pace of development of society has led to the fact that knowing only 1 foreign language is no longer enough, and not everyone can learn them on their own. At the same time, 46% of Russians plan to study foreign languages. Despite different motives, they create a constant demand for the service.

At the same time, to start a business, you do not need much investment. If you develop a plan correctly, the business will quickly pay off.

Market analysis

It cannot be said that by opening a foreign language school you will become a business pioneer. Today, such organizations are everywhere, and if we are talking about cities with a population of over a million, there may be more than a dozen different language schools.

At the same time, school teaching of foreign languages ​​is recognized by experts as outdated, inconsistent and fragmented, and therefore, in order to really master English, German, French, etc. many have to go to special courses.

If competition in business is not terrible, when drawing up a plan, be sure to study not only how the work of competitors is built, but also what customers lack. Usually we are talking about the following shortcomings:

• insufficient level of qualification of teachers;
• lack of special training programs, for example, English for business or preparation for IELTS, TOEFL;
• lack of exotic languages.

It is also necessary to familiarize yourself with the list of languages ​​offered, the level of training of teachers, prices for their services and marketing policy. This will help you understand what exactly customers in your area lack and draw up a business plan highlighting your features, which will distinguish the language school from competitors and attract the population. It can be exotic languages ​​to learn, competitive rates, native speakers as teachers, unique lesson plans, etc.

The results of a sociological study showed the following results of what languages ​​people would like to learn:

• English - 25%;
• German and French - 5%;
• Spanish - 4%;
• Chinese - 3%;
• Italian - 3%;
• Japanese - 1%.

In general, in recent years there has been an increase in interest in learning Asian languages, this should definitely be taken into account when drawing up a business plan.

The target audience

To determine the portrait of the ideal client in the plan, you first need to segment the audience. This can be done in a variety of ways:

• according to the purpose of the application:
  - for professional growth;

- for traveling;

- to improve the level of their education;

- for admission to a school or university;

- as part of advanced training;

• according to the requirements for foreign language lessons:

– training in small groups (4-6 people each);

- wishing to receive individual lessons;

• according to the age:

— students and schoolchildren;

- working people;

- pensioners.

Working people represent the largest group by age, followed by students and only a small part of potential business customers are pensioners. However, it is recommended to design a training plan in such a way that it is interesting and useful for different categories of clients, as well as to offer at least several options for training programs in order to satisfy as much demand as possible.

Legal side of the issue

Before starting a business, it is necessary not only to draw up a plan, but also to officially register the activity. For a foreign language school, ANO (autonomous non-profit organization) or NOU (non-state educational institution) is suitable. You can also register as an individual entrepreneur, but then you will not be able to issue diplomas of additional education to graduates.
On the other hand, then a license is not needed to provide services, which greatly simplifies the implementation of a business plan. But only clients who need to study the language for personal purposes will contact you.

If this option is not enough, you will need to obtain a state license. This can be done at your local education department. The presence of a license will allow issuing school graduates a certificate of language proficiency, a certificate of additional education. This document will be a great addition to your resume. The good news is that now the license does not need to be confirmed every 5 years, having received it once, you can provide services indefinitely.

After the business plan is drawn up, the time comes for registration - without this, it is illegal to start a business. Language schools are encouraged to register as a non-state educational institution. For this you will need:

• full name of the organization;
• legal address;
• Contact phone numbers;
• passport data of employees;
• information about the founders;
• the chosen system of taxation;
• charter of the organization (developed in accordance with the requirements of Law No. 3266-1 "On Education";
• print sketch.

When preparing the plan, pay special attention to the charter of the organization. It must include the following data:

• Name of the organization;
• address;
• information about the founders of the business;
• types of training programs envisaged in the plan;
• languages ​​of instruction;
• school admission rules and expulsion criteria;
• the duration of the lessons;
• ownership of the property where the language school is located (documents for ownership or lease agreement);
• rules for hiring workers;
• procedure for the liquidation of the enterprise.

Full compliance of the document with this plan will allow you to register with the Ministry of Justice without any problems. Do not forget to obtain permission from the SES to operate the premises.

When registering, indicate code 85.41.9 “Additional education for children and adults, other, not included in other groups, including teaching foreign languages” of OKVED activities. You can also add Interpretation and Translation Activities.

The process of officially registering a business can be simplified by contacting a licensing agency. Services will cost about 100 thousand rubles, taking into account the payment of state. duties (7500 rubles).

Choosing the right school space

When choosing an office, it is important that it has a convenient location. It may be close to schools and universities, large shopping centers and busy streets. A big plus for business will be convenient transport links with other areas of the city, as well as the availability of parking. Check out the office:

• on well-organized lighting;
• for the availability of bathrooms;
• for compliance with sanitary standards.

At the initial stage of the business, the optimal area of ​​the center will be 100 m2. This will be enough to accommodate 2 separate classrooms and a reception area. You can provide a small office for private lessons.
One of the classes will be designed for English lessons - as the most common language, the second will be used for other foreign languages.

It is not necessary to open an office in the city center from the start of a business. No less result will give a location in one of the sleeping areas, but in a place where there is a lot of traffic. This will save on rent, which will cost an average of 15 thousand rubles.

Decor

The room does not require special repairs if the building is in good condition, however, school decoration will definitely be included in the plan. You can hire a designer to design the style of the room. Since clients pay for classes, they expect to receive them in a comfortable environment. Let the rooms be spacious and bright. Each classroom should have a blackboard. You can hang world maps in foreign languages, educational posters on the walls. In the foyer, you can place educational certificates and diplomas of employees and the language school.

It will be useful to buy a projector or DVD player. This will allow the class to watch educational films and videos. The total cost of this item of the plan will be about 80 thousand rubles.

No matter what anyone says, knowledge of foreign languages ​​(English, French, German, etc.) is the very cherished key to getting a prestigious, well-paid job, perhaps even abroad. That is why the school of foreign languages ​​is a truly promising business idea, by competently implementing it, you can, like the character of the famous Disney cartoon Scrooge McDuck, swim in gold! Well, perhaps the last phrase was an artistic exaggeration, but it’s really worth thinking about bringing this idea to life.

Step 1. Choosing the form of organization and registration with the tax

How to open a school of foreign languages? You should start by choosing a legal form. Beginners, as a rule, are limited to registration as an individual entrepreneur. This will allow you to teach students and hire staff, but you will not be able to issue certificates. And in the work book there will be an inscription “specialist in foreign languages”, but not “teacher”.

In practice, it turns out that if there is some start-up capital and an entrepreneurial streak, it is much more profitable to register an LEU. Of course, there will be much more responsibility and all sorts of subtleties in this case. However, you will receive a higher status and will be able to issue full-fledged certificates to your students.

In addition, the NOU has more chances to gain a foothold in the city, as experienced and qualified teachers will go to work in a reliable organization with a clear social package.

After that, you will need to register with the tax office. Depending on the chosen form of organization, this process can take from 5 days to 1 month.

Step 2. Obtaining a license for educational activities

This document is issued by the local education authority. In order to get it, you need to provide a certain set of documents (the full list is specified in the body itself). This may be documentation related to the premises, course instructors, their level of qualification, etc.

Step 3. Choosing a room

Be sure to decide where your language learning center will be located. There should not be any particular problems with finding a suitable place. You can buy or rent premises near large shopping centers, near various educational institutions (from kindergartens to universities).

If possible, try to avoid accommodation in sleeping areas. Also, find out if there are schools close to your direct competitors - a more popular and well-known organization will steal a fair amount of students from you.

Step 4. Buying furniture and equipment

When talking about how to open a foreign language school, be sure to consider this expense item. In principle, there are no special requirements here: you can learn a language even sitting on the floor. But to create a prestigious and credible image, you see, this is not enough. Stylish tables and chairs, bookcases, basic teaching aids (textbooks, workbooks) - all this you will need in the first place.

In addition, media materials should be present in each classroom. These include audio and video recordings, interactive language learning programs, etc. Ideally, you should install interactive whiteboards in the premises and purchase several laptops - progress is moving forward, new methods of learning are replacing traditional methods of learning.

As your business grows and develops (this can also be included in the business plan of a foreign language school), you can buy new teaching aids and equipment - interactive screens, projectors, etc.

Step 5. Search for teachers

The success that your foreign language school will have is 95% dependent on the quality of teaching. However, here you will have to sweat - a few talented and experienced teachers will decide to leave their homes for the sake of a new project.

First of all, you need to decide which languages ​​you want to teach. According to statistics, the most popular are English, Spanish and Italian. But German and French, oddly enough, have faded into the background in recent years.

You can search for employees both through acquaintances and through specialized sites related to job search.

It is important to keep in mind your target audience. So, for teaching children and adolescents, it is best to invite teachers who have worked at least a few years at the school. They know how to interest children, attract their attention and help consolidate new knowledge. But if we are talking about teaching a business language for students and adults, it would be more logical to choose as teachers those people who have lived for several years abroad.

Step 6. Recruitment of students

When thinking about how to open your own language school, try to prepare everything in such a way that you can start work in late summer or early autumn. It was at this time that classes began at schools and universities. And even adults who have long forgotten about such a thing as summer vacation will be more willing to go to get new knowledge when the unbearable heat subsides.

Step 7. Advertising

Of course, you have already imagined an audience full of enthusiastic students who are actively taking notes on new material and trying to discuss in the language being mastered. When you are interested in how to open a foreign language school, be sure to think about how you will advertise your services. Indeed, without this, your potential customers simply will not know that you exist!

The most effective way at the moment is advertising on the Internet. Many underestimate her, but in vain. By creating your own website, you will be able to provide people with detailed information about each course and training conditions, talk about the teaching staff, the experience and achievements of each employee.

Tatiana Lepassar , especially forExecutive . en

In 2016, the share of paid services (transport, communications, medicine and education) accounted for 2/3 of the value added of GDP. The growth in the share of paid services in the value added structure of Russia's GDP has steadily grown in line with the global trend. It is important that in the context of the ongoing recession in 2017 and against the backdrop of falling demand for durable goods, the forecast for the development of the industry by 2018 is generally positive.

What is the driver of demand, what are the growth points for a company that provides paid educational services in the new economic reality and new trends in education - tells Anna Berkovich, owner and director of a network of foreign language schools Alibra School.

English for 5-8 months

Tatiana Lepassar:Your company has been operating on the market for 17 years and you can already be called experts. What are the market trends in the last few years?

Anna Berkovich: Among the trends typical for the market of paid educational services, I would single out the growing interest in the so-called "blended learning" - blended learning. The new economic reality requires people to be flexible: in life planning, in education, in travelling, in everything! Speed ​​and efficiency, the main trends of the time, reflect the essence of our product: we offer intensive English training in 5 months.

The Alibra blended learning format is most similar to the Face to Face Driver model: that is, the main material is given in face-to-face classes, and electronic services are used to consolidate and deepen knowledge. We work according to our own unique methodology. Thanks to her, we managed to reduce the training period from 2-3 years to 5-8 months. During this period, our students progress to the "Above Average" level and pass the Cambridge exams four times faster than students from other schools.

Another trend is that today training courses are becoming not only a place for learning, but also a real community of interests.

T.L.: How is your school different from others?

A. B.: We have know-how - a unique method of fast learning, without cramming and boring memorization of the rules. Grammar rules are given in simple and understandable schemes, which makes it easier to create a coherent structure of the language. In the minds of students, a kind of language matrix is ​​formed, close to the algorithms of thinking of native speakers.

The study of vocabulary is the most difficult and time-consuming task - it is solved with the help of direct association. It works like this: we teach a person to memorize not a mechanical translation, but an image of a word. This is very easy to do with a picture, either with an association or with a context.

To support memory, the 7-fold repetition method is used, but not the usual one, but the “smart” one. To do this, we have developed mobile applications. Now there are four of them. Three in English is 6000 words from zero to Advanced and one in German. Applications themselves calculate the days of repetitions and send reminders at the right time. It remains only to spend 5-10 minutes to repeat.

In addition, we have created an interactive learning platform Alibra Online- with it, our students can study English where and when they want. Anyone can purchase an online course. All of these are our own creations. They are already used by more than 85 thousand people.

In 2000, we assembled a strong team of methodologists and teachers who created this methodology. In the same year, we began cooperation with University of Cambridge and officially accredited by him.

Our schools are located near the metro. All of them are well equipped, comfortable and pleasant to study in in every sense of the word. We have a “fad” on working with staff and improving the quality of service and an unusual friendly atmosphere, this is not a cliché for us, but a reality, forgive the pathos.

Demand for foreign languages ​​is growing

T.L.: How would you characterize the demand in this area in general?

A. B.: We constantly analyze the feedback from our regular customers. We want to get an assessment of the quality of our services, identify demand and categorize it. When asked what foreign language they would like to learn, about 77% said they wanted to learn English, 12% German, 8% French and Italian. The remaining queries are in Chinese and other languages.

At the same time, 46% of those who do not speak foreign languages ​​would like to acquire this knowledge. According to forecasts in 2017–2021. The "digital" part of the market promises to grow by an average of 23.36% per year - faster than the industry as a whole (according to EduMarket)

Traditionally stable demand for children's programs. Parents are ready to invest big money in the development of their children against the backdrop of conservative public education. And according to our ideas, this direction will go online to a lesser extent. With children, there is a rather big problem for online services - children cannot be kept at the computer for a long time. Therefore, in this segment, we also prefer the classic approach. Our courses are developed using the Cambridge method of teaching children English and taking into account the age characteristics of young students.

T.L.: Now there are already a lot of big players on the market, is there a chance for another new school to rise?

A. B.: The competition is high. There are large reputable schools with a good reputation that play a leading role in the market, there are small companies operating in a certain region. Private teachers and tutors are still in demand. But the demand for language training is also high. People need languages, and they need them not for show, but really - for work, for communication while traveling. Firstly, all large companies require good English and international certificates from applicants, which, by the way, online language courses cannot yet provide. Secondly, a foreign language will soon become a mandatory subject in the Unified State Examination. So there is definitely a chance.

If we take the world context, then in terms of the growth rate of learning foreign languages, Russia ranks 10th. Among the leaders are China, Romania, Ukraine and Malaysia. At the same time, the EF2013 Index, developed by the international educational center, defines Russia as a country with a low level of knowledge of foreign languages. We attribute this to the fact that the school curriculum and the curriculum of universities is still outdated and fragmented.

These factors are the main points of growth for those who decide to open a business in the field of paid educational services.

How to create a successful business in the field of foreign languages

T.L.: Are there any "pitfalls" that should be paid attention to by those who want to start a business in this area?

A. B.: The most important thing is to monitor the quality of the services provided, i.e. the quality of teaching. This is why clients will come to you. We need a strong teaching staff, a good methodological base, thoughtful programs. If listeners do not see results, do not feel progress, they will leave, no matter how chic conditions you offer them.

The second is the level of service. We have 60% of sales come from loyal customers. Learning languages ​​is a very good area for repeat sales. Few people stay on one course. People improve their knowledge or start learning a second or third language, attend conversation clubs.

And the third point is compliance with the requirements of the time. Online courses, learning apps, platforms are all relatively recent, but all the market leaders have been quick to adopt these innovations.

In management, you need to focus on marketing - that's for sure, deal with issues of operational efficiency and do it every day. Hire people who know how to do this, attract consultants. This is often written about, but rarely can anyone really bring it to life.

T.L.: And what about those who can not organize it all?

A. B.: (laughs) Buy a franchise from us! Working under a well-known brand is always easier than starting from scratch.

T.L.: What are the benefits of franchising your language school?

A. B.: Firstly, ALIBRA is a bright brand with clear competitive advantages and a clear strategy, you are not afraid of competition with it. Secondly, it is a small amount of capital investments; thirdly, - quick payback.

To start the project, you will need a room with a total area of ​​100 sq. m. Target audience - the population of the city aged 16 to 45 years, families with an average income.

The volume of initial investments is from 1.3 million rubles. The total net profit for the first year will be from 2.5 million rubles, and the return on sales is 15%. Upon reaching the targets, the initial investment will pay off after 5 months of work.

The Alibra School network of foreign language schools has been on the market since 2000. 170 thousand graduates. Training is conducted in 7 languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Russian. Accredited by the University of Cambridge, is an official partner of IELTS MOSCOW.

Learn more about how to open a franchise foreign language school on the Alibra School website.

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27.06.18 44 928 1

The story of an entrepreneur from St. Petersburg

In 2010, Ksenia sold the car and opened the Lingvoexpert English school in St. Petersburg with this money.

Lena Kiseleva

talked to the founder of the school of English

Today the school has 200 groups, 100 lessons a day and a profit of 700,000 rubles a month.

1. Start small and expand as you grow.
2. Furnish the room, get your study materials.
3. Promote from the very beginning. At the start, the main thing is that as many people as possible learn about the opening school.
4. Focus on teachers. There are few good free teachers.
5. Consider seasonality. It is better to open an English language school by the beginning of September.
6. Looking for corporate clients.
7. Delegate, don't try to do everything yourself.
8. You yourself constantly learn the language and teaching methods.

Idea

Ksenia has been working as an English tutor since school. In 2010, she worked as a brand manager in a perfume and cosmetics store, and continued to teach in the evenings. I found clients through friends and acquaintances. Then the idea came to open my own language school.

Ksenia's husband sold the car - the couple received 450,000 rubles for the Honda Civic. This money became the starting capital for the school. In August 2010, Ksenia quit her job and registered Lingvoexpert LLC.

room

We decided to start from the premises. At first they were looking for an office in a large residential area - Primorsky, but when there was no place there, they turned their attention to Vasilyevsky Island. It is located near the center, but there were few language schools in 2010. Xenia searched the Internet for them and personally went around potential competitors, just to see their offers and prices.

At the start, we decided not to rent a large room. First, it was necessary to understand whether the school would have clients at all, and not to invest in repairs and expensive rent. As a result, in August, Ksenia rented a small office of 25 m² in a business center on Vasilyevsky Island. The deposit and the first two months of rent cost 75,000 rubles. For the first time, such a room is enough.

Preparation

By the beginning of classes, it was necessary to furnish the premises and buy teaching materials. For the advance payment received from the first customers, they bought 6 desks and 12 chairs in Ikea - the furniture cost 12,000 R. Another 50,000 R was spent on teaching materials and new office equipment: a photocopier and a printer are required for preparing for classes, and tape recorders are needed for listening.

At the same time, the first version of the Lingvoexpert website was made. They paid 50,000 R for development, for promotion in Yandex Direct- 20 000 R. Another 20,000 R ordered a logo.

50 000 R

paid for website development in 2010

From the very beginning, they began to engage in promotion: for a school at the start, the most important thing is to attract students. Ksenia printed and handed out leaflets, held joint promotions with a nearby fitness club, did advertising in business centers: she hung advertising posters in their elevators. There was a fitness club next door to the office - Ksenia invited its visitors to free classes in a conversation club. In parallel, they launched the “Bring a friend and get a discount” campaign: both students paid for classes 30% below the usual cost.

At this stage, the main task was to get as many people as possible to know about the opening school. We decided to start classes in August, before the high season. A month of study cost 3,000 rubles.

Launch costs - 315,000 R

Rent 25 m² (deposit + 2 months)

75 000 R

50 000 R

20 000 R

Educational materials, furniture

50 000 R

salary fund

100 000 R

Website promotion

20 000 R

teachers

Ksenia graduated from the philological faculty of St. Petersburg State University, so at first she was looking for teachers among her acquaintances from the university. At the start, she laid wages for herself and the first five teachers 100 000 R.

With great difficulty, it was possible to lure teachers from other places: few people wanted to leave stable and reputable schools for a new one, unknown on the market. It is impossible to combine: the most popular time for classes is the evening, and all evenings in schools are usually scheduled.

100 000 R

salary fund at the start for English teachers

Ksenia appointed teachers an hourly rate - 250-300 R per hour. At that time it was the average rate in the market.

When the acquaintances ended, they began to look for new teachers at Headhunter.

Class time

By August, Lingvoexpert recruited six groups of different levels: from beginners to "upper-intermediate". Almost all groups wanted to study in the evening, after work, although Ksenia made special allowances for morning and afternoon classes. Until 19:00 the room was empty, and in the evenings there were too many people.

Ksenia rented several rooms adjacent to the office. The rental price has increased to 60,000 R per month.

Corporate clients

A month after the launch, one of the students asked if it was possible to organize English courses for employees on the company's premises. So in September 2010, the first corporate client of Lingvoexpert was dh-al company.

For the school, such a scheme of classes turned out to be very profitable: you don’t have to spend money on renting your premises, you just need to send a teacher to the customer’s office. Companies provide normal facilities, as a rule, there are already markers, whiteboards and other materials necessary for classes.

DH-al formed four groups of employees. Students paid for classes on their own, the company simply provided them with space in the office. We studied twice a week for three academic hours.

An academic hour at Lingvoexpert cost 500 rubles - the price tag was not high for a client even at that time. Half of this amount is the teacher's salary, the other half is the school's markup. Ksenia was sure that the low cost of classes would be suitable for a start. The calculation was as follows: other corporate clients will learn about Lingvoexpert by word of mouth.

Within a year after DH-al, employees of three other large companies came to Lingvoexpert to study.

seasonality

The main difficulty faced by language schools is the seasonality of classes. In the summer, everyone goes on vacation, and in September they abruptly begin to study. During the holiday season, the premises are empty, and by September the demand for them rises sharply. The entrepreneur has to give up the lease in May, and sign the contract again in August.

In May 2011, Ksenia refused to rent additional classes and again left only a 25 m² room for the school.

In order to keep teachers busy during the summer, Lingvoexpert launched a promo with the Groupon coupon service in advance, back in the spring. Two months of intensive training in summer groups, 4 classes per week, were sold at a 75% discount - for 1990 rubles. During the May holidays, Ksenia processed applications and called everyone who bought coupons. As a result, she sold 500 coupons, went to zero and did not earn anything from it. But she ensured the employment of teachers so that they would not run away.

In the fall, many students who came through the campaign continued to study in groups at the usual price - 5,000 rubles per month. someone recommended friends school. Ksenia had to rent a second office in the Petrovsky Fort business center, because the students no longer had enough space in the old building.

Focus on corporate clients

In 2012-2013, new language courses began to open on Vasilyevsky Island. Lessons from competitors cost less, students began to move to other schools. At the same time, large corporate clients came to Lingvoexpert: Pit-Product, Transas Group of Companies, Ensto, Ilim Group, Baltika.

To attract large customers, Ksenia personally called companies whose employees might need English. Usually these are well-known foreign companies, such as Ford or Coca-Cola. Then word of mouth started working. One day, Ksenia found out about the correspondence of St. Petersburg HRs in a professional chat. One of them asked colleagues where it is better to order corporate English training. Several people immediately advised Lingvoexpert in response.

The most popular direction for corporate clients is business English with an emphasis on negotiations and presentations. English for narrow specialties, for example, for programmers, is not popular at all: people already understand specialized documentation in English, the spoken language is more important to them.

Employees with zero knowledge of the language of the company, as a rule, are not trained - it is too expensive. Most popular level "pre-intermediate". And they usually end up with an “upper-intermediate” - it’s enough for work.

To pull the tongue away "pre-intermediate" before "upper-intermediate", it will take about a year and a half of classes several times a week.

The main difficulty for the school: companies take a very long time to decide who will teach their employees the language. Sometimes it lasts for months and sometimes for years.

Abroad, corporate training is popular in large groups of 10 or more people. According to Ksenia's experience, in Russia people love an individual approach and ask to do small groups of 2-3 people, so 50-60 groups can work in parallel in one large company.

The academic hour of a Lingvoexpert teacher in 2018 costs 1200-1350 rubles. The price depends on the remoteness of the office from the center and the time of classes. For example, a group of three people costs the company 1200 rubles per academic hour. A group can have 8 lessons of 2 hours per month. This means that a month of training for three employees for the company costs 19,200 rubles.

1350 R

worth an academic hour of a Lingvoexpert teacher in 2018

Today the school has 63 corporate clients. Another 100 periodically apply for the services of teachers. In order to find new contacts, Ksenia and her husband join business associations and participate in their events, where they get to know HR people. For example, they entered the St. Petersburg International Business Association and the American Chamber of Commerce. Such participation costs 10,000 rubles per month.

Team

For the first two years, Ksenia managed without an office manager. I thought that I should manage all the processes myself: answer calls, find out what clients need. But the number of tasks grew, and there was not enough time for everything. Now there are several managers and an administrative director on the staff.

In 2014, Ksenia's husband Stanislav quit his job and joined the Lingvoexpert team. He took over the finances and development, and Ksenia is responsible for the product and teachers. She no longer leads the group.

The school has 50 teachers. The same number of students work under a contract during the main season of classes - September-October. Ksenia is looking for new employees at conferences for teachers, which she regularly attends.

teachers on the staff of the school. The same number of people work under a contract

According to statistics, in 2017 Lingvoexpert conducted interviews with 10-12 candidates in order to eventually hire one. A diploma from a well-known university does not guarantee either a good knowledge of the language or experience in different teaching methods. Ksenia still personally interviews each candidate and selects those who have focused their careers on teaching and are developing in this area.

Now the Lingvoexpert team is renting two offices. The main one moved closer to the metro - to a business center on Vasilyevsky Island. The administrative staff remained there, they also conduct interviews and train new teachers. Rent costs 55,000 rubles per month.

Two more employees who sell a new product - internet learning, work in a coworking space. This is convenient, because the rent is flexible: there is an employee - the premises are paid. If Xenia decides to downsize or expand the sales team, she doesn't have to rush to find a new location. Renting a coworking space costs 30,000 rubles per month.

Plans

In 2016, Ksenia and Stanislav began to develop internet learning in "Lingvoexpert". More than 100 people bought Skype courses - Ksenia and Stanislav earned 2 million rubles from this launch. The couple added webinars and group classes to the services of the online school, and invested the proceeds in the development of new courses and Internet Marketing.

At the end of the year, Ksenia and Stanislav realized that they wanted to find a solution that would minimize the human factor. Skype one-on-one is effective if the classes are held with an experienced teacher. It takes time to find such teachers.

During a trip to America in 2017, Ksenia and Stanislav learned about the Voxy Internet platform. On it you can perform language exercises and practice spoken language with native speakers. To do this, the student connects to the lesson, which is taught by the teacher from anywhere in the world, and communicates with the teacher and other participants. In 2018, the entrepreneurs added Voxy to their product line and plan to sell it in the corporate segment in Russia. Access to Voxy costs the company about 24,000 rubles a year per employee.

In the same year, Lingvoexpert launched a beta version of a new product - the Telegram chatbot @lindaexpertbot, which teaches subscribers vocabulary and grammar. This is a micro-learning format that takes a person 5 minutes a day. You cannot learn English with a bot, but you can maintain the current level of the language. The beta version is currently free. Later, Ksenia and Stanislav plan to offer chatbot services to corporate clients for money.