When you start a new career as a driving instructor, there will be a few concerns that you naturally have. Read this blog here to see how the BIG TOM franchise takes the risk out of starting your new career. 

 

Will I be given enough work? 

One of the benefits of being self-employed is that you have the freedom to work the hours that you desire, based on your circumstances. We take time to walk you through different sales forecasts in your business plan and show you the true earning potential of this franchise. We have been doing this business for long enough now to know that just one intensive course per week, with a handful of pay as you go driving lessons, can create gross earnings of over 50k 

It is a choice as to how many working hours a franchisee wants to have scheduled into their diary. One intensive course for example would typically be a 4 hour commitment per weekday. BIG TOM Admin will know what your preferences are for working times in the day when they liase with customers. Remember that the reason why you can expect above-average earnings is that the service we provide to customers is above average.  

Take a recent customer who wanted to spread a 40 hour course over 16 days. The customer had work commitments on the first week so did the first 5 days of 6-9pm. The remaining hours were done in 4 hour blocks. The customer was very keen to limit the amount of lost work time as possible, because being self-employed, that would have been lost revenue. As you can see, it would be perfectly possible to bolster a week of 6-9pm sessions with another course if desired – but that would be your choice. So for a financial investment in his course of £2496, the customer receives a premium driving training programme, aligned to his personal schedule, and obtains his full driving licence after 16 days. The customer said of his experience: 

 “I did a 40h course with Tom he was very helpful and helped me get my driving ability to a good standard which got me to pass my test on the first run his mock tests are very accurate. He is very patient and will try explained things in different ways to help you understand anyone looking to do lessons I recommend Tom” 

 

Another customer who is in the forces (BIG TOM gets a lot of business working with service personnel), had a strict deadline that she needed to be passed by – due to her work schedule. She purchased a 20 hour intensive course run over 5 weekdays for £1297. She passed her driving test on the 5th day. This is what she said of her experience: 

“I just completed an intensive driving course with Tom and passed my driving test first time. From the moment I signed on for the intensive course, Big Tom Driving School was very devoted to my learning and making sure I had all the resources necessary to make the most of my experience. Communication from Big Tom was amazing- leading up to and throughout my course. Any queries I had were responded to swiftly and concisely. With regards to the in car learning time, Tom was very engaged in my learning throughout the course. He really cared that I got the most out of my time with him. It didn’t feel like I was driving to pass a test, but that Tom genuinely cared that I was a safe, confident driver, ready and comfortable to drive unaccompanied by the end of the course. He’s a candid, patient driving instructor who is very good at creating a stress-free environment to learn in. I would definitely recommend him/ his company to anyone learning to drive.” 

 

Both customers were motivated, focused on the task in hand, and as is often the case, very determined to achieve the goal. Unsurprisingly, when customers of this kind have the quality of resources that BIG TOM offers, successful outcomes often result.  

There is an abundance of customers wanting BIG TOM courses, far more than can be supplied – we have automatic and manual car courses available right now. So the answer most certainly is yes, there is enough work for you. 

 

Does it matter if I don’t have a driving school car? 

The supplying of a driving school car is how the national driving schools entice newcomers into the industry – it costs newly qualified driving instructors dearly for having the vehicle provided to them. We have factored into our Sales Forecast plans the provision of a driving school vehicle, independently – it need not cost you a small fortune. To put things into perspective for you, the fixed franchise fees of some national driving schools will be around £800-£1000 per month. Sourcing your own driving school vehicle can be achieved for a quarter of that amount. Anything that you spend above that is clear profit going from your bank account into their bank account.  

 

Is it stressful providing an intensive course? 

We do provide induction training for franchisees because we are not in the business of providing mediocre training. It would only be stressful if there were factors occurring beyond your capability and we make every effort to ensure that driving instructors in this franchise is a good fit. We understand the importance of self-care.  You would not be working alone – our training programmes are backed up with support, guidance and clear communication channels between BIG TOM Admin, the instructor and their customer e.g. driving test bookings are done on your behalf. Also, another benefit to you is knowing that all customers receive quality additional resources before and during the in-car training. When you also consider that you receive prompt payments prior to the delivery of customer training and that cancellations are virtually zero, you start to see how good being a BIG TOM instructor really is for your well-being. But we do take mental well-being seriously in terms of the working environment for pupils and instructors, and our programmes have this designed into them. 

 

Do you cover my area where I live? 

As you might expect we do have guidance on the set territory each franchisee has and we can advise you accordingly when you contact us. We do a number of initial checks in your locality because we are a responsible franchisor and have the integrity to take care of advising newcomers as appropriate. It is not in either of our long-term interests to simply register you with the franchise as quickly as possible – successful outcomes rarely result from poor preparation.  

 

For access to our free, no-obligation, Franchise Information Memorandum call us now on 01928 508 833