Little Elly believes that learning is a continuous and lifelong process and ability to learn and grow is unique and special in every child. Vittal Bhandary, Founder and Managing Director, Little Elly shares with Elets News Network (ENN) about the role of preschools in child’s education, Little Elly’s franchise system, quality standards, future plans and more
As we know preschool is often a child’s introduction to the world of education, what role a preschool educator and facility play in the child’s future?
At Little Elly, our strong belief lies in the fact that the childhood is meant to be enjoyed and cherished. We believe that learning is a continuous and lifelong process and every child does it at his or her own pace. The child’s ability to learn and grow is unique and special. Our teachers ensure that each and every child get proper guidance to grow, in a mutually accepting and nurturing environment.
Our concept rooms make the children’s transition smooth, hassle-free and provide an environment that jump-start their developmental process, to acquire knowledge and understanding of various concepts through creative learning and play. Our programmes help children develop their latent creative, language and math skills through the Rudolf Steiner and Montessori Method.
The stimulating combination of academic, artistic and practical activities that we offer, surrounded by a caring environment, ensure that children learn without actually being aware of the teaching process.
“Franchises enable not only sharing of expenses, but also knowledge, experience, brand image, as well as technical expertise.” How far do you agree?
As Little Elly franchisees, they enjoy a lot of leverages as we provide them marketing support, ongoing operational support, ongoing logistics support, staff recruitment and training. All our franchisees are with us for a distant future as they not only share the brand image, but also the knowledge, experience and technical expertise with us.
Parents have high expectations from preschools in terms of ensuring compliance to the standards of teaching methods. At Little Elly, we provide career opportunities to people who are ready to impart knowledge and educate the new generation through our Initial Teachers Training (ITT) Programme, which offers courses on early childhood and preschool teaching.
Owning a Little Elly franchise means you can enjoy the freedom and flexibility of running your own pre-school while having the support of a strong, recognised brand at every step.
What is the set of quality standards which your brand is associated to?
Little Elly provides a nurturing and stimulating environment responsive to the changing needs of children, parents, faculty, staff and the neighbourhood. The school’s Early Learning programme provides something unique for each age group, with a multitude of activities and experiences, encouraging children’s natural curiosity and sense of learning.
In Little Elly, we instill and encourage passion in teachers because building relationships with the children and teachers has allowed us to continuously improve ourselves and influence a positive change in the school culture.
Are you planning to expand your preschool franchise further? If yes then how?
Yes, we are planning to expand our preschool franchise further. Our brand’s preferred franchise model is franchisee–owned franchisee–operated (FOFO).
Franchising a brand promotes the brand from within. With strong support from community and passion for startups in the education sector, our brand Little Elly plays a huge role in encouraging entrepreneurship and to have a rewarding and challenging career.
For people, who always want to be a part of something bigger, Little Elly provides complete support in starting their own business through franchise opportunity.
What is the investment required for starting a preschool?
For setting up a preschool, you need to invest good amount of money depending on the scale at which you want to operate your preschool. The investment would range between Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, depending upon the location and area chosen.
What is the first step towards establishing a brand or buying a franchise?
Little Elly’s dedication in helping our franchisees is second to none.
In the beginning, they work with a team who lend their expertise in areas such as real estate, marketing, education, operations, and accounting.
Once the school is open, they receive guidance from LE coordinators in operations, marketing, and curriculum, who assist them with staffing, scheduling, managing costs and more. Our hands-on support also extends to comprehensive training programmes for the franchisees and the teachers.
Our pre-setup guidelines follows the orderly steps:
- Sign the LOI (Letter Of Intent) by paying 50 per cent of Franchise Fee
- Business Entity Registration
- Site Selection
- Agreement Sign up
- Training and Support
- Place Order for Toys, Teaching Aids and Furniture
- Improvise the Property
- Setup Support
- Local Branding Support
- Inauguration
What are the advantages of taking a preschool franchise?
Starting a preschool is one of the profitable business options available today. Franchising can help you succeed in business with their franchise models, training, promotions, as well as support.
Preschool business receives support of a corporate establishment with years of experience and gains excellent support services to set up, launch and operate a successful preschool.
The preschool sector definitely has a low entry barrier. For people, who always want to be a part of something bigger, preschool business provides complete support in starting their own business through franchise opportunity which offers 15 per cent ROI (return on investment) within the first year itself.
