3 COMMON MISTAKES 70% OF SMALL-SIZE PRIVATE SCHOOL OWNERS MAKE THAT KILL THE GROWTH OF THEIR SCHOOL AND HOW YOU CAN AVOID THEM

Around March ending, I received a call from one of my clients, Mrs. Agbo, who told me she's in serious debt.

The next question I asked was, "Ma, how come?" and she said her personal account (OPAY) that she also uses for her Montessori school was hacked, and all the money inside was wiped out.

The teachers in her school don't care; all they want was their salary, and they don't even try to consider her situation.

To cut the story short, Mrs. Agbo later took a loan from the microfinance to pay the teachers in her school and use the rest to keep her Montessori school moving.

Why am I telling you this story, and how does it relate to you as a small-size private school owner?

As a software automation consultant for small-size private schools, some common mistakes I have seen small-size private school owners make are:

1. Using their personal bank account for the school.

If there's one mistake you must avoid as a small-size private school owner, it is using your personal bank account for the school.

Do not make this same mistake just like Mrs. Agbo. From the short story I told you, look at how using her personal account for school landed her in debt.

So how can you avoid this mistake?

Very simple.

Go and open a separate account for your school.

You know why?

When you open a separate bank account for your small-size private school, you can track your school expenses and know whether you are gaining or losing.

Opening a separate bank account for your small-size private school also makes it easier for you to manage your school finance effectively.

I find it worrisome when I see most small-size private school owners using banks like OPAY, MONIEPOINT, etc.

One thing about these OPAY, MONIEPOINT, etc., is that they are not safe and secured - in other words, they are easily hacked.

Do not get me wrong; OPAY, MONIEPOINT, etc., are not bad, but as a small-size private school owner whose school is just growing, you have to be extra careful in whatever decision you make concerning your school.

Again, remember you are not the only one in this school business; you have competitors, so you have to be professional in anything you do for your school, and one of them is putting your school money in a safe and secure place.

Talking about a safe and secure place for you to keep your school money, then you need to be looking at opening an account for your school in a commercial bank like Zenith, Access, GTB, etc.

One commercial bank I usually recommend for small-size private schools I have served is Providus Bank. A lot of small-size private school owners focus on the big names like GTB, Zenith, ACCESS, etc. Providus Bank is a very good and suitable bank for your small-size private school.

Are you getting value at all?

There's two more to go so continue reading.

The second mistake small-size private school owners make is using their personal phone number as the school number.

I beg you in the name of God, if you fall into this category, go and buy a new SIM card for your school.

You know why?

When your school has its own separate line and you start using it to follow up with parents who are owing, you can easily track how much you are spending on telephone calls daily and also stay within your budget.

I hope you understand.

The third mistake I see small-size private school owners make is using their personal email address as the school email address.

If there's one thing you should not joke with, it's this email address.

You know why?

Your school email address makes you stand out.

How can you be running a school and you are sending an email to a company to request something with your - chiamakaeze@gmail.com?

This is not the right way to go; please avoid this kind of mistake.

How then do you avoid this?

By opening a simple Google business account for your school.

This is not something difficult to do simply because you can even use your phone and set up a Google business account for your school in just 2 minutes.

So how do you open a Google business account for your school?

Step 1

On your phone, open your Chrome browser and type "gmail.com".

Once it opens, you will see "create account," and you will be asked to choose if you want to create an account for "Yourself, Work, or business."

Step 2

Choose "work or business."

Step 3

You will be asked to select the date of birth - here just put a random date of birth.

Step 4

You will be asked to type the email you want to use, and this is where you put the name of your school in full. You should have something like this - greaterheightschool@gmail.com.

Step 5

You will be asked to Input a password. Here please use something you can remember like your child or spouse's name.

Step 6

You will be asked to provide a phone number. Here please use the separate number you bought for your school. A code will be sent to that number, and once it's confirmed, your Google business account will be ready to use.

Before i forget , my name is Adeleke Femi David and i help private school owners save cost, stay within their budget, save time and increase their profits using cloud technology tools. My contact details are on my profile or call it signature.

Thank you for reading.

Till i write again

Informative!!

Just to add... might not be in line

I was at ogba the other day and I saw a school bus drop off some kid

Then I asked myself...'How did this school manage to survive the fuel crisis in Lagos and Nigeria generally. How did this school bus manage to fuel itself '

Because from what I know, these school already collected money for transportation and sundry from these school children parents and failure to deliver their kids home after paying transportation as part of their school fees wouldn't bring good reputation to the school

It made me ponder for a while really.

Did they buy fuel AT CURRENT PRICE OF #600 or thereabouts and store it in bulk in a corner in their school.

the. I thought again ' what happens when the fuel price crashes eventually. What happens to the bulk they bought'

All these thinking for a road side guy. Now imagine how deep these school owners have had to think

Damn
It's not easy being a school owners or having a business running

Kudos to all Business owners!
May you all have the needed wisdom to steer your business positively in a financial direction

LOL