1. 1. Is it necessary that the Tutorial should be run by a Trust or can it be run by an individual?
You must run the Tutorial under a non-profit Trust (minimum 2 members) or Society (minimum 7
members).
2. Does our Trust/Society need any experience in the education field?
No prior experience is required, as our training and support programmes will provide you with all that
you need to run Tutorial in your area.
3. I currently own a Tutorial, but I am interested in turning it into a HLC Tutorial so that I can
benefit from your brand, systems, support and programming. Is it possible?
If you are interested in converting an operating Tutorial into Happy Learning Center, simply fill up the
Questionnaire to get started.
Investment
4. Do you also provide any funding facility and at what cost?
No, we don’t provide funding from our side but we have tie-up with financial institutions. However, the
financing will be at the sole discretion of the funding institution and the rate of interest applicable
would be determined by the institution only.
5. What would be the investment amount?
The initial investment amount is decided after studying the potential of the area, the number of
students the Tutorial is targeting and the fee structure that can be expected. Based on this, we do a
reverse calculation to arrive at an investment amount. In addition, a certain amount has to be invested
in advertising and for working capital for the first couple of years.
6. Why is there large cost variation?
Each potential location is different and has different characteristics. Land size, dimensions, location,
economic status of the area, density of population etc. can ultimately affect the cost to open a
Tutorial. The exact amount of investment will be decided after a market study of the paying potential
of the local area and what other Tutorials are offering and charging.
7. Is it possible to start with a low investment? We are considering a low investment initially
and wish to expand slowly based on the response.
This is not possible because if you don’t invest properly upfront, people will return disappointed and
later on, no matter how much you spend on advertising, people will not change their perception easily.
Hence, it is important that when you launch the branch you create only that much hype or publicity,
which you can fulfil. However, you can construct the HLC in phases, but whatever is constructed
should be up to HLC Standards.
2. 8. Are there any other hidden costs?
Absolutely not, we have transparent policies and there is no hidden cost.
9. What Franchise fee do we have to pay you? Is there any part of the franchise fee, which is
refundable?
The Franchise fee is non-refundable and consists of 2 parts – an initial license fee and an ongoing
royalty (which is a percentage of your revenue).
10. When is the licence fee payable to you?
The license fee is to be paid at the time of signing of agreement.
11. Is the royalty payable on revenues or on net income? What is the frequency of payments?
Royalty is to be paid on revenue and is to be paid to HLC through an escrow account and settled
monthly.
12. What is an ideal location for HLC? What is the criterion for approval of location?
The branch can be situated at any good location where students can have easy access. For approval
of location, there are various criteria that need to be fulfilled, such as the land size, accessibility,
visibility, neighbourhood, lease rental to be paid (if leased), competition etc.
13. Would you help in finding out a suitable place to start the Tutorial?
Yes, once the agreement is signed, a site selection professional will work with you as well as with
local brokers or developers to evaluate sites in your market and help identify the proper location for
your new HLC.
14. How much space is required and of what kind is required (Residential, Agricultural,
Institutional or Commercial)?
Any type of land will do as long as it is allowed by the local civic authorities or the conversion is
permitted.
15. Is it compulsory that the land should be owned or rented?
No, you may lease it. The lease has to be irrevocable and for minimum 30 years.
16. Will you help me to construct the building?
The construction of the HLC will be as per the specifications of our architect.
17. Does the Tutorial require a licence?
We shall guide you through the process.
3. 18. How long will it take to open a Tutorial?
It depends upon the quality and condition of the existing infrastructure. Accordingly, it may take from
1-3 months.
19. What will happen during this period?
During this period, you will obtain the furniture, attend your training programme and obtain other
educational equipment. At the same time, pre-marketing will be conducted in your area using various
forms of advertising media and you shall be making preparations for the implementation of the
Marketing Plan designed by our marketing staff for your HLC. We will manage this process with
checklists and active support, in order to get you started as soon as possible.
Teachers & Training
20. Will HLC provide the qualified teachers? What would be the earning and remunerations of
the staff?
The quality of staff has a huge impact on the quality of education offered in the HLC .We personally
supervise the recruitment process to attract the best talent. The teachers and other staff have to be
recruited at local level and we shall provide you with assistance at the time of recruitment and training
of staff. The number of staff members will be decided keeping in mind the response to the
admissions. The earning will be performance linked.
21. How will I learn to run my HLC Tutorial?
Apart from the Work books, we conduct training programmes for all our branches. The experts from
the Corporate Office put forward their hands on experience to provide support and guidance with
respect to teaching methodologies, running a HLC etc. These training sessions allow us to
communicate with all our branches about various HLC issues and operational improvements.
22. How much does training cost?
The cost of the initial training is not included within the License Fee. The only items not covered are
your own travel, accommodation and food expenses. Further trainings may be chargeable.
Operations
23. Does HLC provide the books, study material, uniform, etc or we have to organise the
material locally?
Yes, HLC provides the books, uniform, study material like worksheets etc. and you don’t have to
procure the things locally. We will have our own suppliers from whom you have to buy the prescribed
books and uniforms. For other HLC requirements, we have a recommended list of suppliers.
However, you are free to have local suppliers if they work out to be cheaper, provided the quality is up
to the mark and approved by us.
4. 24. How much involvement will I need to commit to the HLC, as a franchisee?
Most of the day-to-day communication can be directly withHLC. You need to recruit & manage your
staff, monitor the financials and look after some administration work.
25. Can I offer additional services at the HLC location such as sports coaching, tuitions and
hobby classes?
If you have the space for value-added services in your location and you are licensed to provide them
or you would like to employee or contract with people who are licensed to provide these services, you
may go ahead with our permission. We reserve the right to approve any proposed additional services
and require all applicable licenses, when we grant approval.
Financials
26. What fee will be charged from the parents?
Our fee structure consists of only Monthly Fee. We do not have a fixed fee structure as the cost
structure depends upon various factors like, population, paying capacity, salaries, real estate costs,
local market conditions, running expenses, cost structures ,amount of investment done, may vary
between city to city and within cities as well. Similarly, on the revenue side, the paying potential is
different for different areas. So, we fix the fee in consultation with the franchisee keeping in mind all
the above factors. The right fee can be set with a combination of our experience and your local
knowledge.
27. How much will it cost per month to run such a HLC?
The amount can be devised from calculating teachers’ earning, salaries of other staff members such
as Manager, Administration, Accounts, Security Guards, Drivers, Attendants etc., Electricity Bills,
Telephone Bills, Property Tax, Maintenance of Building, and Marketing& Advertisement Expense.
28. How many students can the HLC expect?
We do not provide any projections or authorize anyone else to provide this information because this
number can fluctuate a lot. Your HLC strength will depend on a number of factors such as geography,
competition, investment, site location, size, your local market, you’re advertising & promotional efforts,
you’re working acumen, current economic conditions and how well you run you’reHLC according to
the specified HLC Standard Operating Procedures and so many other factors. Due to these variables,
there is a range in the number of students you might expect.
Agreement
5. 29. Who will sign the franchise agreement from our end?
The agreement will be signed by the Chairman of your Society/Trust along with a copy of a resolution
by Trust /Society confirming the approval of the same. We will send 2 copies of the agreement and
you will return both of them, with 2 copies of: (a) Address Proof of the Trust/Society (b) proof of the
authenticity of the signature of the person signing the agreement (c) the initial licence fees.
30. What are the obligations of a franchisee in case he/she does not want to continue after the
period of agreement?
In case you do not wish to continue beyond the agreement you will no longer be allowed to use our
brand name, curriculum, our HLC system & support, proprietary software’s and other material related
to day-to-day operations.
31. Do you grant exclusive territories?
We believe our model is robust enough to be able to operate successfully in a wide variety of
locations and demographics, it would be nearly impossible to create a set of one-size that fits all
restrictions that would be fair to both our associates and to us. For example, one city might be able to
easily accommodate 20HLC in a 10 km radius, while another suburban town could accommodate
5HLC and yet another area might only be able to accommodate a single HLC over 3 or 4 towns. It is
critical that both our associates and we have the freedom to grow intelligently and respectfully and
make decisions based on information provided on a case-by-case basis. Due to all this, we believe
the fairest way to approve a new branch is to assess each location as it is proposed to us, based on a
variety of factors and approve locations that we believe will allow for maximum opportunity for
success. It is our goal in selling territories that are large enough for you to realize your full growth
potential, but not so large that potential students are not served. However we do give you an
exclusive radius of 3 kms within which we shall not open another HLC branch.
32. How long is the term of a Franchise Agreement?
The term is 3 years, beyond which a renewal will be done.
33. Do you offer a master franchise or you just have unit franchise?
Yes we do give unit as well as master franchise.
34. Can I start more than one franchise?
Yes, you can start more than one franchise but we would advise you to start the second about 6
months after the first one as you should be giving your full efforts to kick start the first one.
35. Can I start more HLC branches in the same location or in the city centre?
Sure, however you will have to sign a separate agreement for each HLC location.