How to Start a Microschool
Interested in starting your own tiny school? This course explores the steps you must take to create a legal and financial foundation for success, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each microschool entity, marketing and funding basics. Participants will leave this course with a list of concrete tasks, including a better understanding of vision, mission and focus. Cost: $25/members, $45/non-members.
Session 1: Legal and Financial Foundations presented by Carol Topp, CPA, HomeschoolCPA.com
• Choose your business entity: for-profit or nonprofit and what’s the difference
• For-profit types including sole proprietorship (most popular) and LLC status
• What it takes to start a nonprofit organization
• Regulations for microschooling including paying workers, zoning, day care licensing and insurance
• Resources for operating a school
Session 2: How to Market a Microschool presented by Anne Wintemute, Director at Highlands Micro School
- Understand how customers are drawn to new ideas
- Learn to tell a compelling story about your school
- Learn messaging pitfalls and how to avoid them
- Understand misconceptions about microschools and how to use messaging to overcome them from a position of strength
- Learn about the importance of synergy between your marketing and PR
Session 3: Funding Your Microschool presented by Jodi Dean, Principal Consultant at Dean School Consulting
- Funding basics
- Types of funding appropriate for microschools
- Fundraising donor profiles
- Fundraising stewardship