Option 1

Sign up for a commercial children’s cookery franchise.

Cost – Research shows this likely to involve an upfront investment of between £4000 - £6000 with ongoing management fees of £100-£250 per month PLUS royalties on your earnings (average 8% per annum).

Restrictions – as a franchise, you are likely to have a limited geographical territory in which to operate and be targeting a restricted demographic or limited to classes for one age group.

Questions to ask - how long have they been in business? How many customers did they have last year? How broad is their customer base? Do they work with schools and childrens’ centres as well as individuals? Have they secured any long-term funding or contracts? How robust and varied are the income streams they can offer you? How do you get out of the contract if it’s not for you? What if you move? Or get pregnant? What impact are they making as an organisation in the local community?

Option 2

Start from scratch and do everything yourself

Just as we did in 2004  - research competition, legals, write policies and procedures, devise marketing strategy, create and test course materials, commission logos and branding, set up social media and website, build relationships with schools and children’s centres.

This is a totally viable option and great if you don’t want to make an upfront investment, have a lot of time on your hands and feel confident about writing policies, health and safety and due diligence.

Cost - as much as you want to spend

Questions to ask yourself - How much do I have to invest in research and legal support? How much time do I have to do the work? How confident am I in the brand I want to create? Would I prefer go it alone or be part of an established brand?

Option 3

Apply for The Organic Cookery School Community Cookery School Business Academy Training.

This gives you the choice of applying your learning to your own business model or completing the training and registering for a licence as accredited Organic Cookery School tutor.

Well, clearly, I’m going to be biased here, but if you are looking to launch your business in 2017 knowing exactly what you are offering and to whom, how much you can charge and with a waiting list of families and schools wanting to work with you (as well as feeling confident in your policies, health and safety and safeguarding procedures and statutory requirements) this must be the option for you.

Cost - £995 one off Business Training , optional tutor licence and initial registration £1000 per year (includes one programme toolkit and starter kit of aprons).

Ongoing fee – annual renewal of licence starting at £300.

No monthly management fees, no royalties, and the chance to contribute back into our community learning hardship fund, which funds innovative project requests from charitable organisations working with vulnerable families and young people.

Furthermore, if you join us as a licensed Organic Cookery School tutor, you won’t be restricted to a limited geographical area (you can move and take your business with you!) and you’ll have full access to programmes ranging from weaning babies through to University student survival courses.  You’ll have the option to diversify your income streams, either through developing your own products for our online academy, or by earning the top tier of affiliate income on any eligible course your families go on to enrol in.

What will you be able to teach:

During 2022/23, we’ll be releasing toolkits and trainings for the following flagship Organic Cookery School programmes:

• Cooking for Baby

• Food Explorers/Toddler Nutrition classes

• After School Clubs, Holiday Camps and Weekend Workshops

• Cookery Birthday Parties

• Courses for Teenagers (currently Duke of Edinburgh Award, Grub Club, and Jamie Oliver Home Cooking Skills BTEC)* subject to additional registration and approval with Pearson Education)

• Training for Nannies and Au Pairs

• Wider Community Cookery Programmes

Your annual license comes with one toolkit of your choice, and as your business grows you can add more programmes to your repertoire.

The Business Training covers:

• Choosing the right structure for your business

• Legal and statutory requirements, policies and procedures and Safeguarding and insurance

• Identifying your local target audience

• Financial planning and pricing, accessing funding and contracts

• Creating a brand, marketing your business and networking

• Quality assurance

• Growing your business and diversifying your income (and how to pause and tick along without losing everything)

• Giving back to your community

Questions to ask – Can you really afford to launch your cookery classes, without this support?