Preschool- 8 misconceptions that can change this Business opportunity into a Quicksand?

Before diving into the analysis of “ Is Preschool an Opportunity or a Pitfall” let us make few things clear to those who are new to the arena of entrepreneurship itself.

Business is sustainable only if transactions between the two parties are of equal value. So if you are delibating with an idea of starting a business please freeze upon the Why Who and What of the business.

•Why do you want to start this business? (the value/solution you provide)

•Who are you going to provide value (target market)

•What do you need to get in return to turn this viable (Pricing Strategy)

Needless to say, the same needs to be pondered upon by anyone trying to start preschool. Diving into the topic we will explore the common misconceptions that often snowball in major setbacks in the business sometimes taking the whole establishment down with it. These are the common eight mistaken thought beliefs that need to be avoided;-

• I love kids so I should start a Preschool as it is are all about taking care of tiny tots. Preschools are much more than taking care of the precious little ones. If you are thinking of starting a pre-school just because you love young kids and have a natural flair to handle them-Think again! Though very enticing, you might be spending very little time actually handling the kids.
•  Starting a Preschool will enable you to work less or Flexi hours. No business treated casually can ever sustain. Even a small investment will ultimately require an ROI and income to sustain. If treated casually and unprofessionally the business would never survive. 
• Pre-school is a good way to utilize the extra space in your house. The location of the preschool should not be decided just because your house is already there or that you have a low cost or no cost rentals. The amount of investment required to make the “extra space” yield income through preschool might exceed the cost of the “extra space” in itself. It is imperative to quantify the costs. The best option would be to calculate the cost of the extra space ( market rate multiplied by the square feet) and compare it with the cost of capital required to start a preschool. You might want to include the cost time you intend to spend on the project. The comparison will give you the data which will help you to make a decision.
• Low investment: The Indian education system does not teach the basics of business calculations in the formative years. We might not get accurate figures by following a vague logic of the expense vs profit. We often overlook some not-so-obvious expenses. Eg while calculating the cost of setting up a playschool do you plan to calculate your salary? If the place that you are using is either owned by you or rented by you already, add the cost of the market rate of the place you intend to use as rental cost. If you are going to appoint domestic help to help you out in your kitchen or a cleaner or a maid because you would be concentrating on the playschool, charge that expense to the school because in real-time circumstances you will most probably end up using their services for the school area as well. You might seek “help” from your lawyer friends or auditor friends for bookkeeping or licensing matters. Don’t forget to quantify and charge those consultations to the school even if you have merely pulled in a favour. As we all know there are no free lunches and this favour might have to be repaid by you in kind. 
• Low risk Any family with kids will swear that kids take up the major chunk of the household resources both in terms of time and money. The seemingly inconsequential tiny tots actually wield a lot of power over us and use up a major chunk of resources. Also, every child is unique coming from a totally different background with his or her individual tastes. Throw in parent’s particularity, at times bordering on idiosyncrasies and the local legal mandates. While handling adults is not very easy, imagining that handling a bunch of tiny tots is going to be a cakewalk or low risk is going to be thoroughly disillusioning.
• Preschool Management does not need any training. Cooking is supposed to be a basic skill which human being has mastered over years of evolutions. However, even that is not left to chance. We have dedicated colleges and a syllabus to it. Childrearing funnily has often left to instincts and new parents often left to tend the kids all by themselves. Today's generation is, however slowly but definitely changing this perception. With the digital revolution, there is a lot of emphasis on learning, upskilling, and accreditations. The millennial parents often form nuclear families and so depend and trust more on accreditations and trained professionals. So if you are choosing Preschool as your business because you want to avoid training or certifications then you can't be further from the truth.
• Preschool is not regulated by law Though past years, playschools have largely been informal and almost unregulated, past few years government has been slowly tightening the regulatory board especially with the safety and the infrastructure standards. With the onset of NEP, the syllabi are under scrutiny, and in near future, we can expect standardization of the quality of the teaching too.
• Social status of Entrepreneurship There are many reasons to start up a business of our own. One small section especially in the Indian middle class is tempted to start a business more to merely create an identity of their own or break the mold of being categorized as “housewife”. Some might want to start a business simply out of frustration of having had enough of the corporate “run of the mill’ in an unfriendly environment.

 If these are the reasons to start a business, preschool is so not for you. This is a business that needs an investment of not merely funds and time but also of your passion and single-minded focus. To know how Preschool can be turned into an opportunity read on