What makes a good location?

The key to any service-oriented business is visibility. Having a good location for your I Can Read centre will help you hit the ground running. There are three key points to location and they include high traffic, good visibility and good neighbours.

Our business model has been proven to work well in places with high density (around 30,000 households in a 5-kilometre radius) of middle-income families. It is vitally important for the location to have ample parking space too.

Although I Can Read centres function a little differently according to the particular country, there are always some constraints. The location ideally should have places where parents can tend to their own matters during or after class time such as in a mall that has supermarkets or other retail outlets, where families enjoy going to every week.

However, some centres also benefit from a relatively quiet location such as villas or standalone buildings. For locations such as these, it is advisable to be in a place with other complementary enrichment centres and should also have food and beverage outlets nearby for parents to wait for their children.

"A 'quiet' location may also be suitable for a second centre as you can direct traffic from your first centre where it is visible," said Elga who owns two I Can Read centres in Hong Kong SAR, including the centre with the highest number of students. 

One of the key factors that help parents decide on enrolling their children is they can attend to an alternative task, such as weekly grocery shopping, while waiting for their children. We can consult with you on your unique location issues and help you find the ideal location.

Our experienced support team will help you narrow down the locations based on traffic, visibility as well as the clientele in your chosen area. We will offer our professional recommendations by reviewing and rating your possible locations. We may possibly be able to help negotiate better rental rates through our existing relationships with Property Developers and Building Management Companies.

Be a Friendly Competitor
One of the best pieces of advice we have for new centres is to send our flyers to retail neighbours and surrounding condominiums and houses. This will help you cast your net, create visibility for your centre and the brand and get people talking about you. There should be a new centre opening promotion such as a course fee discount for the first 50 students who register. A generous beginning will let you build presence in the community. 
 
Ample Space
An I Can Read centre should be large enough to accommodate at least five classrooms as well as a reception area with a customer service counter. It should have a relatively comfortable customer waiting area, a library and a teacher’s room.
Phan owns a master franchise in Hanoi, Vietnam. One of his centres is among the top performing in South East Asia. He attributes some of his success to the centre’s location.

“I knew nothing about the education enrichment business at all. That’s actually one of the reasons I decided to take up a franchise instead of building one from the ground. I knew I needed help to learn the ropes. I Can Read has certainly taught me a lot.

“The team helped me recruit a passionate centre manager and zealous teachers who are always at their best. These are the reasons why my centres are successful. Together with a great location, these factors are what you need to have a successful I Can Read centre,” he said.