Driving school as a business idea: let’s organize our business competently

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Opening a driving school is not difficult, but aspiring businessmen do not take into account important aspects and face problems that hinder the development of a startup.

Everything needs to be planned in advance. Let's look at what steps to take to make your business quickly profitable.

• Analysis of the relevance of a driving school as a business
• Creating a business plan, calculating investments
• Target audience analysis
• Registration of a driving school with the Ministry of Justice
• Coordination with the traffic police
• Obtaining a license to conduct educational work
• Choosing premises for a driving school
• Equipment and visual aids
• Should a driving school have its own fleet of vehicles?
• Does it make sense to build your own race track?
• Selection of qualified personnel
• Profitability of a driving school as a business

Analysis of the relevance of a driving school as a business

Despite the rise in prices for cars, components and obtaining a license, more and more citizens are seeking to acquire a driver’s license. Data for 2020 in the average Russian city show: there are 365 cars per 1,000 people. Calculations show that in 2018-2019. The increase in the number of cars among the population may be 10% per year . Young people between the ages of 18 and 28 are eager to obtain their license, and the process has almost become part of basic higher education. Students are ready to attend driving courses during the training period, and they go to a driving school without having a vehicle.

Competition in this segment is growing, but this does not reduce the income of entrepreneurs due to the constant flow of customers - demand continues to exceed supply. Opening your own driving school from scratch is a profitable startup.

Why open a driving school?

A car is no longer a luxury. No matter how banal this phrase may sound, the fact remains: there are more cars every year. According to some estimates, their number increases annually by an average of 15-20%. This means that the number of people wanting to learn to drive is growing at a comparable pace. How can you build a business on this? Read our material.

The main task of a driving school is to prepare a person to pass the traffic police exams. To do this, he must obtain a certain amount of theoretical knowledge in the field of car construction, traffic rules and the principles of first aid. And of course, master basic driving skills in urban conditions.

Creating a business plan, calculating investments

Step-by-step, detailed instructions for creating driving courses do not imply many points, but completing each one will take time and effort.
What you need to open a driving school:

• register the organization with the authorities;
• calculate the space for arranging training rooms and driving areas;
• obtain a license;
• equip offices and machines;
• hire employees;
• obtain permission to open from the traffic police, sanitary station and fire department;
• start promotion;
• start learning.

The first thing you need to figure out is financing, since opening a driving school is expensive. An approximate financial calculation looks like this:

• equipment for the lecture room - 150,000 rubles. ;
• purchase of three cars - 1,200,000 rubles. ;
• car customization - 50,000 rub. ;
• obtaining a license and registering an NPO - 30,000 rubles. ;
• advertising expenses - 200,000 rubles. ;
• other expenses - 50,000 rubles. ;
• reserve - 200,000 rub.

Important! A business plan for a driving school implies approximately the following expenses for its launch. But there are points on which you can save (for example, on the purchase of cars and equipment of the premises).

You need to invest monthly in marketing, office rent, salaries, car maintenance, and also allocate money for unexpected expenses.

Opening a driving school - step-by-step instructions

A driving school requires serious financial investments as the business grows. The process of creating driving courses includes the following steps:

1. business plan development;
2. obtaining a license, registering an organization;
3. rent or purchase, equipment of training rooms, driving areas;
4. hiring employees;
5. obtaining permits from the traffic police, sanitary station and fire department;
6. advertising, promotion and commencement of classes.

Target audience analysis

Before opening, you should analyze your city for the number of driving schools, their popularity, and also figure out who the main consumers are.
According to statistics, the vast majority of cadets are students. But there are cities where there are few of them, so the ratio and target audience may change. Typically these are men and women aged 18 to 28 years. In large cities, the prospects for driving courses are high, but further research is recommended:

• level of wages of the population;
• number of potential clients;
• number of competitors;
• financial indicators.

Use these materials to get complete information about future clients and earning prospects.

Analytics

Let's do a little niche analysis so that we can make a proposal in which direction to move when starting a business.

Market

The first thing to do as part of a business plan is to analyze the market situation and identify the main competitors. Oddly enough, the situation in big cities looks more successful: in small towns, as a rule, there is a monopoly school that will not give up its clients so easily.

You should also consider:

• The solvency of the main audience (people aged 18-35 years), this will help create adequate prices for services.
• Number of driving schools nearby. If there are direct competitors nearby, a new driving school may simply not “float”, especially if there is not enough investment to provide sufficiently comfortable conditions and advantages that will set you apart from your competitors.

Business in Moscow

The idea of ​​opening a driving school in Moscow has both advantages and disadvantages. A large number of motorists, the wealth of the general population, and the absence of monopolists in the market will “work” for you here. On the other hand, in such a large metropolis there will inevitably be fierce competition, which will require careful planning of the development strategy.

So, for example, much more attention will have to be paid to promotion on the Internet: unlike provincial towns, which are not so focused on high technology (although progress is gradually reaching there), in Moscow almost all information is obtained from the Internet.

The target audience

The next step is to clarify what your average student will be like. Typically, the audience of driving school students is quite young: from 18 to 35 years old. Most of them are students, so it is better to open nearby universities, schools, and colleges. Moreover, you can enter into a lease agreement directly with the educational institution - sometimes this becomes a very profitable solution. Social surveys on the streets or on social networks will also help to study the target audience.

Competitors

The easiest way to find out what conditions are offered by direct competitors is to call them under the guise of a potential student. This will allow you to find out in detail all the training conditions, pricing policy, etc.

But you don’t have to limit yourself to just this approach. Firstly, you can come to the driving school in person. First, study their website or social media pages.

When conducting an analysis, you should highlight the points that you can organize better than your competitors: make the cost of training more profitable, expand the categories of training, introduce more convenient working hours, etc.

Registration of a driving school with the Ministry of Justice

Important! The laws of the Russian Federation provide the opportunity to register a driving school as a NOUDO (Non-state educational institution of additional education) or LLC (Limited Liability Company).

When choosing the first option, you should contact the local Ministry of Justice (processing of the application takes up to 30 days ), and in the second case - to the tax department (processing will take up to 10 days ).

After receiving the registration certificate, go to the Social Insurance Fund and the Pension Fund of Russia to register. Next, you need to open a current account in a state or private bank.

If you have an LLC, you can change its charter and register a new type of activity with the tax office using OKVED (All-Russian Classifier of Types of Economic Activities) codes.

Coordination with the traffic police

Before this, you need to register a premises that meets all standards, with the necessary equipment. Otherwise, the traffic police officer may not register the apartment, and the driving school will not be allowed to operate. After you recruit students, submit their lists for verification to the traffic police.

Obtaining a license to conduct educational work

You need a document giving the right to open an establishment where the issuance of a certificate is provided. Without it, you will not be able to present this certificate, as it will be invalid.

To obtain a license, a list of documents is submitted:

• statement;
• a copy of a certificate from the tax office or the Ministry of Justice;
• documents for rent or ownership of the premises where lectures will be held;
• photocopies of constituent papers;
• documents for the race track (if there is one);
• list of equipment and materials for training;
• employment contracts;
• receipts for payment of duties to the state.

Important! It can take up to a year to obtain a license, so submit all paperwork early.

You can skip these steps if you decide to open an external driving school. It does not require permits, but the profit from the business will be low.

Formation and distribution of driving school income

The main income of a driving school is tuition fees. If you believe the information from the traffic police, then driving schools do not experience a shortage of people willing to undergo training. Therefore, in order to properly manage income, it is necessary to work out in detail how the proceeds will be spent in the business plan. Income distribution:

• If all the driving school’s property is rented, then a significant part of the income will go to pay rental payments (about 20%)
• 20% of income should go to staff salaries
• 20% for taxes
• 10% for development

If, after the driving school was registered, a bank loan was taken out to equip it, the entrepreneur will have to spend some time repaying the loan. With the average income of a standard driving school being about 1.8 million rubles per year (3 courses of 30 students each with tuition fees of 20 thousand rubles), the profit can be about 540 thousand rubles per year. As you can see, this type of business can be called profitable. With a reasonable approach and care for an impeccable reputation, a driving school can become a reliable business for everyone who took part in its creation and for those who work in it.

Victor Shemyakin Author #ВЗО. A young entrepreneur, he managed to open several projects of varying degrees of success. He shares his experience and opinions with our website. He will talk about what a novice businessman should know and do to make it easier to run his business and avoid possible problems.

[email protected]

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Choosing premises for a driving school

Lecture rooms must meet the following requirements:

• compliance with sanitary standards;
• large lecture hall area (accommodates from 15 to 30 people);
• favorable location so that people can easily get there.

An economical option is a university premises: it has everything you need. An additional plus is a large flow of students who benefit from listening to lectures on driving within the walls of their university.

If you can’t rent the required classroom from a university, then look for apartments with 2 m2 of space for each student. The optimal room area is up to 80 m2.

To obtain permission to conduct classes there, you will have to contact the sanitary and epidemiological station and the fire inspectorate.

List of documents for SES:

• BTI plan;
• constituent documents of a legal entity;
• classroom documents;
• contracts with public utilities and maintenance;
• lease contract;
• production control program document.

List of documents for the fire inspection:

• evidence of training of one of the employees in minimum fire safety skills;
• acts of measuring insulation resistance;
• fire alarm plan.

It is recommended to collect materials before your first visit to the services, so as not to delay the process of obtaining permits.

Important! Before going to the organization, call its employees to clarify the list of documents, as it may change.

After registration and obtaining permits, it’s time to move on to equipping the auditorium and cars.

How to stand out from your competitors?

How can you stand out in such a competitive market? Specialize in a specific category of students. For example:

• Driving school for women;
• Driving school with premium cars;
• Driving school for advanced training;
• Driving school for learning to drive off-road vehicles;
• Driving school in Strogino;
• and so on.

As you can see, there are a lot of options. A well-chosen segment will allow you to firmly occupy your part of the audience without fear of competition.

Equipment and visual aids

The main thing you need to buy is manuals on the design of the car, as well as books with the latest sets of traffic rules, and instructions for providing first aid. The materials are publicly available, but you need to check that they are approved by the Ministry of Education.

If you are creating classrooms from scratch, you will need desks, chairs, hangers, a table for the teacher, a blackboard and clothes hangers.

Important! You should familiarize yourself with a complete and current list of equipment and materials on the website of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

Business registration

An LLC is chosen as the form of business activity, since three co-founders will be investing in the project. The simplified taxation system “income minus expenses” is selected to optimize payments to the state treasury.

We select OKVED code 85.42.1 “Activities of vehicle driver training schools.”

To complete the licensing procedure for a driving school, a specialized consulting organization is hired. The cost of obtaining a license will be 100 thousand rubles. In addition, it is required that the race track site meets the requirements of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Registration of these documents will require another 80 thousand rubles.

The premises for conducting theoretical classes will be rented; priority will be given to those for which the necessary documentation has already been completed.

It is necessary to develop training plans and approve routes for practical training in the traffic police. We will allocate an additional 30 thousand rubles for these purposes.

In addition, we will need a cash register that meets the requirements of Law No. 54-FZ, and a terminal for paying by bank card. This will require another 35 thousand rubles from the budget.

Should a driving school have its own fleet of vehicles?

There is no clear answer to this question.
Having your own cars has a number of advantages, but there are also advantages to hiring instructors with a private car. Advantages of own vehicle fleet:

• the dependence on teachers and their personal cars disappears;
• instructors will not spare the means of transport, so practical training will be complete and intensive.

The advantages of working with trainers in your cars:

• no expenses for cars and their maintenance;
• no need to pay for parking.

Important! A minimum of 3 cars is required (including domestic and imported ones). One rear-wheel drive vehicle is required (about 20% of cadets will prefer it).

If you decide to buy them, then pay attention to whether the warranty on the machine is not lost if it is converted into a training one. Installing a second set of pedals and steering wheel will cost up to 50,000 rubles . Receive a certificate from the traffic police that confirms the customization of the car and its new status.

Risks and guarantees

Considering the rather tough competitive environment, the difficult economic situation in the region, as well as the need to adhere to the pricing policy of the budget segment, special attention should be paid to the risks associated with the successful development of the project. In addition, it is necessary to use the strengths of the enterprise to provide additional competitive advantages. For this purpose, a SWOT analysis of the enterprise is carried out (Table 8).

Table 8. SWOT analysis

Thus, the main threats are associated with the lack of its own training base in some areas. Risks associated with a breakdown in relationships can be avoided by creating a base of alternative subcontractors. In addition, a site usually used by city residents for self-study, located 7 minutes drive from the city border, can be used as a training ground.

To achieve established revenue targets, high-quality work with clients is required in order to obtain further recommendations, as well as high advertising activity. If it is critically impossible to ensure the required group occupancy, a price increase can be used as a fallback option. It is estimated that an increase in tuition costs of up to 15% will not have a critical impact on demand.

Does it make sense to build your own race track?

Building your own race track is a difficult task, because you will have to look for a large free area, and it is difficult to find it within the boundaries of a densely populated city. New standards require road markings to be applied to the site, traffic lights, railway crossings, intersections to be installed - everything to do to bring it closer to the real road. These manipulations require high financial investments, and the payback will take several years.

It’s easier to rent ready-made training parks. It is inexpensive, and you will get rid of many problems. To begin with, this is a more acceptable option, and over time you will be able to build a race track for yourself if you feel the need for it.

Choosing a work format

Marketing analysis showed a significant reduction in competition in this area in our region and a strong gap between supply and demand. Therefore, it is planned to create a professional driving school with a rich material and technical base and a high level of service, which has the prospect of becoming one of the leaders in the regional market in a short time.

It is planned to build our own racing track that meets all legal requirements. To do this, a plot of municipal land will be leased for a long term (10 years under an agreement with the right to buy or extend upon expiration) for the construction of a site from scratch. It will be used for internal purposes and rented out to middle-class driving schools for training and examinations and to individuals for additional practice.

High demand is expected, since the city has a very high need for a high-quality modern race track. The existing racetracks were built more than 30 years ago and do not meet the new requirements.

The educational base is equipped with computer equipment in accordance with all the requirements of Order of the Ministry of Education and Science No. 1408.

The study showed that the most promising direction in the region will be the middle price category. Therefore, we will ensure high profitability of the driving school by attracting the maximum number of students. This problem is solved by a broad advertising campaign using offline and online methods, setting the cost of training no more than 10% above the regional average, and holding regular promotions to attract new clients.

Selection of qualified personnel

In order for the school to operate without interruption, to be able to support itself and provide high-quality services, it is necessary to hire:

• traffic rules teacher;
• from three driving instructors;
• first aid teachers;
• administrator;
• lecturer on the technical design of vehicles;
• Mechanics.

At the start, you can reduce the number of staff and combine some positions. Often, teachers from universities related to driving education agree to work in a driving school. Interview friends who have taken courses, or create an ad on the Internet.

Give preference to experienced workers who understand their topic. They must present the material well, be able to select an approach to the audience or individual student, and communication with them should evoke positive emotions.

When planning your budget, prepare for the fact that you will have to allocate up to 40% of your income for employee salaries. You shouldn’t skimp on advertising, especially in the early stages. The responsibilities of a marketer can be taken on by an administrator (if he has the appropriate skills) or a freelancer.

Attracting clients

Advertising a driving school is the most important point of your business, which needs to be given a lot of attention. If you don't invest money and time in advertising, then most likely you won't collect enough clients every month to break even for your business.

Own website

Having your own website is a must for popularization and advertising, since the main target audience is young people. Much of today’s information is obtained from the Internet, and this channel of interaction with potential clients cannot be ignored.

The website must contain correct information about the schedule, training format, and cost. Also post all the necessary documentation, brief information about instructors, vehicle fleet, and premises.

You can also create an application form that can be completed online. This will greatly facilitate contact with the audience.

Registration in catalogs

There are many resources and directories on the Internet that contain various companies. It is important to choose a trusted resource that contains accurate information. Sometimes listing in the catalog is paid, but in some cases it makes sense (if the resource is popular and trusted).

Banners

Another effective and relatively economical way to express yourself is advertising banners. It is only important to think through the design and place it in a place with maximum traffic. For example, in local parks, shopping centers, educational institutions, markets, sports fields, etc.

Internet advertising

In addition to creating your own website, it is important to promote yourself on the Internet through advertising. It is best to work in two main areas: advertising in search networks (PPC) and in social networks (SMM).

To competently organize an advertising strategy in each individual social or search network, versatile knowledge is required, so it is better to involve specialists for this purpose. Moreover, don’t just hire one person, but contact a marketing agency , where a team of specialists will work on the promotion of your project.

However, be prepared that the services of experienced marketers are not cheap.

Stock

Every client wants to pay less, but get the maximum - this is an axiom. That is why do not forget to periodically hold various promotions, discounts, and bonuses. You can time the promotion to coincide with the opening, holidays, give bonuses for each person referred, etc. This will attract people, endear them to you, and increase loyalty.

By the way, the most convenient way to conduct sweepstakes is on social networks - there the response to such events is quite high.

Nice cars

Today, the automotive industry is developing at a rapid pace, and few people drive cars that are 20-30 years old. So you shouldn’t buy something for your fleet that would be more reasonable to scrap. Few of the clients (even if they are students) will want to drive worn-out “sixes” and “kopecks” - at least because they do not intend to drive one in the future.

So, when creating a fleet of vehicles, you need to balance expenses and the condition of the cars: of course, you don’t have to buy top-class models, but you also need to save too much.

Profitability of a driving school as a business

Three-month courses can cost from 12 to 15 thousand rubles. First, you will be able to take 6 groups and earn up to 2,700,000 rubles . In the future, we should strive to gather 10 groups for evening-day training on weekdays and 4 groups on weekends. This is an indicator of successful driving schools. Calculations show that over a year, work according to this schedule will approximately bring 6,300,000 rubles .

At the beginning of the article it is written how much money it may take to open a driving school. Car purchases have been taken into account, but costs can be reduced to improve profitability.

After a while, you will be able to buy cars on your own and think about expanding your business. An example is an extreme driving school. The cost of training is high, so profitability will not be long in coming. If you want, you can organize branches in other cities and reach a new level, increasing profitability.

Financial plan

Calculation of income and expenses must be done in advance so that the planned budget is correctly distributed to all areas of the business.

Investments in opening a driving school

At the start, organizing a small driving school includes the following expenses:

• rental of premises – 150,000 rubles;
• repairs and landscaping – 500,000 rubles;
• equipment and teaching aids – 200,000 rubles;
• purchase of cars and re-equipment into a training vehicle - 2 million rubles (based on 3 cars at an average cost of 600,000 rubles + installation of an additional set of pedals for 50,000 rubles);
• registration of business activities and permits – 50,000 rubles.

Result: 2.9 million rubles.

Expenditure

Considering that the training period for driving a car is at least 3 months, the costs are taken into account for this period of time:

• rent – ​​450,000 rubles;
• salary – 540,000 rubles (based on 6 people receiving around 30,000 per month);
• other expenses – 300,000 rubles.

Result: 1 million 290 thousand rubles in 3 months.

Income

Profit is calculated based on the number of students and groups, as well as the cost of training.

Example:

• in 3 months the driving school graduates 6 groups of students;
• each group includes 20 people;
• total of 120 students;
• the cost of training is 20,000 rubles.

Result: 2.4 million rubles.

Profit calculation and business payback period

Net profit is calculated taking into account all mandatory payments.

From 2.4 million, the tax fee is deducted (approximately 6%, which depends on the taxation system), as well as expenses for 3 months in the amount of 1 million 290 thousand rubles.

Result: 966,000 rubles.

Do not forget about the costs of advertising, which are permanent or periodic. You need to allocate at least 200-300 thousand rubles for this. From here the net profit will be slightly above 600,000.

Profitability is the ratio of net profit to dirty income, multiplied by 100%, which ultimately amounts to 600,000/2,400,000*100=25%.

The payback period for a driving school will be 8-10 months, but you should always count on a somewhat longer period, namely 1 year.

Opening your own driver training business is a profitable and relevant business. The number of car enthusiasts is growing exponentially, so the time is not far off when every young man or girl, upon reaching adulthood, will receive a license to drive a vehicle.

Preparation of the site and premises

For the construction of the race track, we rent from the municipality an area of ​​suitable size within the city.

Primary requirements:

• Area of ​​at least 0.24 hectares.
• Placement near densely populated areas of the city, but away from well-traveled roads to reduce the cost of the site.
• Availability of access for vehicles.
• The absence of nearby pedestrian paths and residential areas, which will prevent random people from entering the territory.

The estimated cost of municipal land of this area will be 150 thousand rubles per month. Based on an agreement with the municipality, the tenant performs all work on the territory at his own expense and receives the land for free use for 1.5 years. Starting from the 19th month, the rental cost will be 150 thousand rubles per month. The lease agreement is concluded for 10 years with termination conditions specified for both parties. In addition, clauses on the priority right to prolong the lease or purchase the space into private ownership upon expiration are included in the agreement.

The site must be equipped for classes:

• Laying high-quality asphalt pavement.
• Creating an inclined surface.
• Marking.
• Purchase and installation of restrictive cones.
• Installation of fences around the perimeter of the site.
• Installation of a barrier.
• Installation of an observation post.
• Installation of a waiting area with sofas, TV and vending machines.
• Installation of lighting masts.
• Electricity supply.

The total cost of work is estimated at 5 million rubles.

To ensure a sufficient number of students, 3 points are equipped in different areas of the city for conducting theoretical classes. One of them will be combined with the central office, where the company’s management will be located and where clients will come to conclude contracts.

The cost of renting the main point in the center will be 35 thousand rubles per month, two additional ones - 18 thousand rubles each. A total of 450 thousand rubles will be spent on cosmetic repairs and the purchase of furniture.

Purchase of equipment

The main equipment of the driving school will be cars. For work at the first stage, it is planned to purchase 5 cars, then gradually increase their number. Cars will be purchased from an official dealer on lease for 2 years on a 30% prepayment basis.

We are purchasing 4 LADA Granta cars in the initial configuration. Of these, 3 cars with manual transmission at a price of 380 thousand rubles and 1 with automatic transmission at a price of 490 thousand rubles. Also, 1 Hyundai Solaris car with automatic transmission is purchased at a price of 670 thousand rubles. The total cost of the cars will be 2.3 million rubles.

According to the terms of our business plan, the initial payment will be 690 thousand rubles.

For the remaining amount, leasing is issued for 24 months at 10% per annum and a monthly payment of 74.5 thousand rubles.

All cars are retrofitted in accordance with legal requirements and are branded.

To work on the theory, training equipment is purchased at the rate of 170 thousand rubles per point (total cost - 510 thousand rubles).

At the first stage, 2 standard vehicle simulators with a manual transmission and 1 vehicle simulator with an automatic transmission are purchased. In the future, it is planned to install 2 simulators per school, and in the central department - an additional simulator for people with disabilities.

Total starting costs in the table: