7 pieces that you definitely don’t have to do when opening a robotics club. Here it is absolutely not necessary to do

For 2 years I have been developing robotics in Russia. Probably loudly said, however, having recently arranged an evening of memories, I realized that during this time 12 circles around Russia were opened under my leadership. Today I decided to write about the main things that I did in the process of opening, but you definitely do not need to do this. So to speak, concentrated experience in 7 points. Allocated only the juice itself. Enjoy reading.

1. Open immediately in an expensive room that puts the entire financial model on the shoulder blades located in a shopping or business center.



Open strictly in a residential area, close to its customers. If you live in a very small city - open near schools. You can always find a suitable room. During my journey, I looked at at least 50 rooms for a robotics club and always managed to choose the one that becomes outdated by the main parameters.

2. Hire a teacher with no experience with children.



At first, I thought that almost every big-headed man could be a teacher, and I took these to work. My first teacher is a former policeman with a correspondence higher education lawyer involved in painting cars. A small city imposes great restrictions on the search and choice of a teacher, but you can find him.) Believe me, you can definitely find. You just need to search in advance. It is best if you will conduct the lesson first yourself to feel the inner kitchen and keep abreast in the future.

3. Do not use interactive in the classroom .



In the modern world, knowledge is far from the only reason why children come to the technical circle. In Soviet times, there was a competition for recordings in the stations of young technicians and other institutions. Getting there was not so easy. The children were fully trained in cool things and gouging the way there was closed. Now the situation has changed radically - you have to fight for each client, and very often not all clients of the quality you need. I very rarely kick children out of school because of bad behavior. But there has not yet been a single circle in which I would not expel children. Their impudence greatly exceeds my pedagogical skills. The key to solving is interactive in the classroom. Before teaching children, he settled on the most important step - to interest children. At first, the surroundings of the room and the story that you tell when recording. In the future - interesting activities,

4. Choose the wrong class format.



Have you ever tried 50 people dock in groups for 1 hour 2 times a week? One of the basic rules of business is to make money easily. We are often afraid to test some points, citing fictitious reasons. This is called a limiting belief. We pulled for a long time with the transition to the format of classes - 1 time per week for 3 hours. They thought that this would not work, that a tangible percentage of children would stop walking. As a result, they worked 6 days a week. It happened that there was only 1 lesson per day, and you need to spend time on the road. The schedule was not very pleasing. When we switched to the format - 1 time per week, 3 hours, at the same time, classes were taught only on weekends - only a few children fell off, and much more new ones arrived. You work 2 days a week - you work 5 days too, but on expensive work.) Or you relax. In general, such a schedule is much nicer.

5. Do not count finances.



It would seem, why maintain a financial model with a turnover of 100 - 200 thousand rubles? And so all plus or minus is clear. 20,000 for rent, 5,000 for consumables, something for taxes, the rest in your pocket. Yes, that's just such an approach will lead you into the cash gap. At such a small speed it will be very small, but still. Do you consider that in the summer there will be some sort of revenue shortfall? And in January? And the fact that in December there will be practically no new records? That you spend the advertising budget on a poorly configured advertising company? - How will the money be spent, but the customers will not come? Drive a complete financial model from the start. She will save you from the most serious mistakes that you will not see point blank.

6. It is not thoughtful to buy equipment.



Equipment and tools in the circle should be with a small margin, and this is understandable. However, many already at the start of the circle are thinking about buying CNC and laser machines, soldering stations and much more. As a result, the budget for the most necessary is not enough. Children come to classes, new beautiful soldering stations are waiting for them on the tables. Yes, but did you just buy all consumables for them? Solder, flux? Did you get a hood with charcoal filters? Have you bought safety glasses? A first aid kit with ointments for burns? Strippers and wires? Third hands? Braid for soldering? And this is not a complete list. How not to forget to buy all the equipment? When the circle is ready, sit in it for a couple of days and do all the projects for half a year in advance, which you will give to the children. Look at the tool that you will use, and multiply by the number of children in groups. Record and buy, what is missing. On the one hand, you will be sure that there will be no shortage of tools and equipment in the classroom, on the other hand, you will receive models of projects that children will do. You can demonstrate them. The level of involvement in this case will be an order of magnitude higher.

7. When registering for classes, the parent sells the classes.



What is the main product of your robotics club? It is important to understand that you are not selling membership cards for classes, you are selling a client’s pain solution. What is the pain of parents who enroll in children? If you understand this right away, then absolutely everyone who called you will come to classes. 100% conversion! How do you like it? For example, in our classes, the child engages in practice 80% of the time. In the first trial free lesson, he will already work with the tool. He learns what types of saws are and what needs to be cut. What is the difference between emery papers and which is better to grind a tree, than a bolt differs from a self-tapping screw. Learn to use a square, a ruler and a tape measure. And this is only in the first lesson. Can you imagine what will happen in a month, when we add reading skills and programming to these skills? Work with machines? Soldering. We will grow in your son all the skills of an engineer on real projects. You will notice the changes in a week. At the time of graduation, your son will know exactly where to go to study further, because in our circle he will try and study in all areas of engineering.

What else?

In fact, the question regarding the opening of the circle is a lot. I have identified 22 questions that need to be worked out in detail before, during, and after the opening. Only by studying each question in detail will you minimize the risks of failure of your circle. Over the past year, I have received many messages and applications asking for help in certain opening issues. This year I had several difficult periods associated with a cash gap of 5 million rubles, and at that time I openly merged requests for help, but at another time it was open. Therefore, I’m ready to help in any of your endeavors.)

Actually 22 questions that need to be worked out when opening a robotics club:

Concept and traffic

1. Market
analysis
2. Search forlocations3. Scheduled opening
plans 4. Advertising
5. Points of contact with CA
6. How to record for classes.
7. Sales

Financial planning and equipment

8. Financial model
9.
Pricing 10. Purchasing furniture
11. Purchasing electronics
12. Purchasing computers
13. Room
design 14. Repair and placement

Legal issues and curriculum

15. Forms of classes
16. Study programs
17. Opening IP
18. Age groups
19. Agreements with parents

Finish

20.Robo day
21. First lesson
22. Hiring teachers

Each question is a topic for a separate article. Perhaps someday I’ll get so charged that I’ll draw up detailed articles for each item, but I can’t promise it.) It will definitely help to understand that there is interest in this topic, so I beg you in comments.