Frequently Asked Questions

You will be the owner of your own professional, exciting stage school. Each Saturday morning you will manage your team of teachers and of course your amazing classes for ages 3yrs -18yrs*.  On Saturdays or at your holiday schools you will be face to face with your students/teachers and parents/carers, you will ensure that everything is running smoothly and effective, engaging classes are taking place. You will be well using your skills in recruiting and retaining teachers, account management, marketing and keeping your social media bang up to date!

#WeDoThingsDifferentlyHere is our motto and since our founder is Manchester Born and Bred thought this was very fitting!  We go the extra mile at Footlights for not only our franchisees, but your clients too. We have many strings to our bow, our founder is teacher trained as well as being an entrepreneur,  she has the complete picture of what your clients (their children and young persons) needs – how to maximise and deliver the best teaching and learning in performing arts as well as ensuring you reach a HEALTHY bottom line.

A Footlights Theatre School franchise offers you the opportunity to run part-time performing arts schools at weekends during the academic year, training children in Drama, Dance and Singing. Most franchisees start with a single school and open further schools once the first has filled. A full school encompasses 90 pupils in one 3.5 hour session, broken down as 60 main school pupils across three classes and 30 Tiny’s across two classes. For the right person, it is a chance to combine an ambition to have a performing arts school of your own with a significant part-time income. Some franchisees make it a full-time career, extending the classes to evenings during the week. A Footlights Theatre School franchise combines job satisfaction with the capacity to invest for the future. When you franchise with Footlights you are buying into a tried and tested system. The viability of the business is evident and you gain the benefit of our experience and knowledge with none of the stress and administrative headaches associated with setting up a business from scratch. You will receive comprehensive training and ongoing support to help you overcome any problems you may encounter, and benefit from our advertising, marketing, research and development and enhanced purchasing power

You will be trained not only in our proven system, but also in policies that can only enrich your business knowledge, such as Safeguarding, Child Sexual Exploitation, First Aid, GDPR, how to manage your accounts and our top secret marketing expertise.

What we offer:

• An induction and initial training course at our Head Office in MediaCityUK, Greater Manchester due to Covid 19 we can offer sessions via Zoom in the first instance.
• The opportunity to talk to other franchisees either via skype, zoom, phone, email or in person.
• A dedicated current franchisee to mentor you throughout your training, including the opportunity to work alongside them in real time.
• 10 day sales and marketing course including the opportunity to visit primary and high schools (which is where your clients are based).
• The full A-Z of how to set up and run your business.

A tailor made training plan based on your existing skill set.

Social Media training with a specialist in that field.

• First Aid, GDPR and Safeguarding training – with a Nationally recognised certification.

Ongoing support

We know how important it is for franchisees to receive ongoing support; we provide you with either the same franchisee who mentored you initially, or a dedicated business support manager, whichever suits your needs more effectively.

• We want you to be successful and, once up and running, we will provide assistance and advice to ensure your business runs as smoothly as possible.

• We offer a range of advice services from staff training and copyright to Law and safeguarding.

You won’t need any more training on our PROVEN system but of course, we can also offer you some optional pre franchisee training to improve your business skill set – shhh don’t tell everyone – but we have wonderful resources to equip you with the skills you are going to need.

We provide refresher training on a regular basis as well as networking sessions for Franchisees to discuss new ideas and any issues they are facing. In addition, the Footlights Head Office team is always on hand to offer support and advice. We also offer EXCLUSIVE TEACHER TRAINING which you can embark on for just £349

Don’t worry we are looking for motivated individuals with a passion to succeed. An interest in performing arts will serve you well, also a overall knowledge of how ‘out of school’ activities can  enrich children’s education.

Footlights offers its partners a robust support system, a trusted brand to succeed with and the opportunity to run your own business within an encouraging support network, we train you on administration, recruiting teachers and setting you in a turn key business, with you in control.

Whilst applicants with experience within the performing arts or teaching profession are welcome, we do not see this as essential. The teaching staff are there to fulfill this role. it is more important that the Franchisee has enthusiasm, motivation and a passion for building confidence and skills in young people, as well as business sense.

We recommend that Footlights Directors do not teach, even if a teacher is off sick. This helps them to oversee the running of the school, maintain standards and be available should any issues arise.

We have moved with the times and we now offer SUPER AFFORDABLE options for everyone.

We are passionate about brand new starters to business and understand the financial constraints of starting out, which is why we have changed our package for 2020/2021.

Our new pricing plans give you the opportunity to recuperate all your initial costs in the first year or even less.

Footlights’ ethos is developing young performers so why not develop new business owners too?

We now offer a range of funding options to help you get started.

Option 1 – The Quick Start

• Franchise fee: ZERO
• Marketing launch & training fee: £3995 plus VAT
• Working capital: £5,000 plus VAT
• Monthly royalty fee: 20% for 3 years, reduced to 10% after 3 years (target dependent)
• Monthly marketing fee: ZERO for the first 6 months then 1% after the first six months.

Option 2 – The Slow Burn

• Franchise fee: £9255,00 plus VAT
• Marketing launch & training fee: £3995 plus VAT
• Working capital: £5,000 plus VAT
• Monthly royalty fee: ZERO for the first six months, then 10% after the first six months.
• Monthly marketing fee: ZERO for the first year – then 1% after the first year.

No problem, that’s what we are here for – we will provide you with a comprehensive TOOLKIT with all you need to know with ongoing support.

Our systems are simple and easy to manage. There is paperwork, but our System Procedures allow you to manage your business easily so that you can concentrate on the enjoyment of running your school, and the artistic and educational progress of your students.

We pride ourselves in supporting YOU.  have a closed Facebook Group for our Franchisee’s and even Jo Fisher is in it  – you get to ask any questions, queries or just rant and another franchisee is sure to answer or Jo herself. 

Footlights will provide comprehensive advice and help to ensure that you have all the tools you need to run a successful franchise. We will assist you in selection of the most suitable venue; recruiting the best teachers; publicising your school and events; administration through the provision of our System Procedures; and a full A-Z Manual on running your school. We are also able to offer advice on safeguarding, creative issues, marketing and printed material, contracts etc. We support you in every aspect of running and controlling your business.

Applicants must be over 18 years. We have franchisees from all age groups – so you will always have someone to identify with.

We would love for you too, so, if it’s an available territory then of course – we thrive best in business with established connections and contacts and of course it means you can rope your family and friends into helping!