The acting school business is perfect for those who are professional actors or related to the acting industry and realize the business potential of an acting school. The acting industry is increasing very fast worldwide. Different technology innovations and applications made the industry rich with quality productions and talented actors also.
Read: Top Profitable Education Business Ideas
Initiating an acting school is obviously a management and cash-intensive business. Here in this article, we have crafted some of the basic steps that need to be considered in starting an acting school business.
11-Step Acting School Business Plan Guide
Here are the 11 steps to start a profitable acting school:
1. Know The Industry Before Starting An Acting School
Having adequate knowledge about the industry and current trends is a must. Today is the era of digitization. Digital media is more effective and powerful than conventional acting opportunities. Apart from commercial films and television serials, the demand for documentary short films and business ad films is also increasing.
Advertising media has given an extra boost to the acting industry nowadays. Conduct market research properly as much as possible. Also, find out the competitors and how they are operating the business.
2. Create an Acting School Business Plan
Crafting a detailed and comprehensive business plan is important in this business. You will need to determine business objectives, courses that you will be offering, marketing strategy, pricing, placement issues, and resource planning. Pay attention to financial planning.
Calculate the startup budget with establishment, manpower, and equipment cost. Craft a projected balance sheet with an expected revenue return. These simple tasks will help you in starting and operating the acting school, and also in arranging finance.
3. Acting School Legalities
According to your state law, you will need to register your business first. Every country and state offers varied forms of forming business structures.
For example, if you are from the United States, forming an LLC is a much popular business structure among business owners. The reason is primarily that this type of business structure allows owners to protect personal assets if the business fails.
You also need to apply for certain state and federal taxes as required to run the business. Applying for EIN is mandatory in order to register for taxes in the United States.
As per the courses or curriculum that you are offering, you will need to take affiliations either from the recognized universities or from the education board. Initiating an acting school as an affiliate of any acting university will attract fewer formalities and investments than a fully phrased acting school.
You can also consider purchasing an acting school franchise. In that case, the parent company will take care of your business operations procedures, certifications, and brand promotion also.
Do not forget to open a business bank account for your venture. Transacting through a business account not only protects your personal assets but also helps in filing taxes and accounting processes.
4. Create Courses For Acting School
Apart from bachelor’s and degree courses acting schools offer generally two types of courses. They are basic and advanced. Basic courses are modeled with acting, camera, performance studies, movement, speech, voice, improvisation, etc.
In the advanced course, students learn the acting scene study, movement exploration, embodied voice, speech accents and dialects, a camera with lights, and a final audition.
You can craft courses for business professionals also. Yes, an acting school is not only for aspiring actors but for individuals also who want to boost their self-confidence. More than that acting classes can help individuals since they become confident enough in job interviews and in the career they want. People are also taught to learn the value of teamwork.
5. Acting School Location
Selecting the right location is important in acting school initiatives. Location nearby studios is preferred. Consult with an interior expert about the floor plan and interior decoration.
6. Buy Necessary Inventories
Equipment is a major part of establishing an acting school. Keep technically upgraded equipment. Procure equipment and instruments from reliable and renowned companies. Check after-sales service feedback before placing the final order.
7. Set up business accounting
Setting up a proper accounting process is a must for acting school business. You must buy suitable accounting software to make business entries smoothly. It not only helps you in understanding the financial health of your business but also tax filing easy at the end of the year.
8. Hire Manpower
Hire skilled experienced manpower for taking classes. Try to keep established actors and actresses who are successful in their acting careers.
9. Fix Pricing for Courses
Fix the pricing of your courses. If possible keep the EMI facility for the students who pursue long-term courses.
10. Promote Your Acting School
There are many ways to promote your acting school. Invite as many people as you can on the launch day. Publish advertisements in career and fashion magazines. Prepare a media kit. And send it to the media houses for publication. Do some outdoor brand promotion activities.
Use social media platforms extensively. Keep posting stories and events on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
11. Create a Website
Having a website in the acting school business is a must. It enhances your brand credibility with customers. A website also helps in reaching prospective students from far and wide. Keep your website always updated with current programs and recruitment information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Cost to Open an Acting School Business?
In starting an acting school, the biggest cost component is the space. The cost of space will depend on the location and the amount of workspace area. Roughly one can expect investment in the range of $5000 to $12,000 per year as space costs.
If you are short in budget, you can also start by renting space on weekends in nearby schools, churches, or community halls. If your home has got an additional space suitable to conduct acting classes, you save a lot of money.
Apart from space, the other investments involved are promotional costs, equipment if any, and legal costs.
How Much to Charge for Acting Classes?
The best way to fix charges is to talk to other local acting school business owners and know how much they are charging students for similar courses. You can take fees on a per-hour basis or one time. For example, tuition fees for online after-school & weekend acting camps modules at New York Film Academy(NYFA) in New York presently is $300.
Editorial Team at 99BusinessIdeas is a team of experts led by Rupak Chakrabarty with over 25 years of experience in starting and running small businesses. Started in 2010, 99BusinessIdeas is now one of the largest free small business resources in the industry.
