As I mentioned in my letter last week, I visited her design institute in my hometown.
So here I am – breaking down the finances, marketing and other business details that you might need if you decide to start a design institute.
She is a friend who has now turned into a successful businesswoman running a design institute.
When I saw her office and institute, I was awed! 😮
Big beautifully designed classrooms for Animation & VFX, Fashion designing, Interior designing and Graphic designing.
And a lavish cabin where she had a setup! 🤩
(Ah! No matter how hard we remote workers try, we simply cannot match the experience of an offline business)
So yeah – coming back to the topic.
Let me introduce you to Vidhi Shah, the director of INSD Institute in Amravati 🔥
More than her institute, I appreciate the sweat and blood she shed to raise this empire.
She’s managing almost everything there – teaching, operations, sales, marketing, finances and everything 💪
That’s what running a business does to you!
You grow exponentially 360° as a person 🚀
Vidhi was not the same person that I met at an offline event in 2018.
She was in a sales job in Mumbai.
Now, there was nothing wrong with her job, but sales was clearly not lighting a fire for her.
Because Vidhi’s background screamed creativity – a bachelor’s in animation and a VFX diploma.
So what next? 🤔
I still remember we had a 2 hour long consultation call.
Conclusion was clear ✅
Vidhi decided to ditch her sales job and open a design institute in Amravati.
3 Reasons (+ notes for you) –
1) Interest: The sales job wasn’t fueling her creativity. This might sound obvious, but it’s crucial to find a project that excites you.
2) Collaboration: Vidhi’s mom had an interest in education, and together they saw an opportunity. Think about your skills and network. Maybe a friend or family member has complementary skills that can supercharge your project.
3) Beyond Mumbai: Vidhi saw a gap in design education in our hometown. This is a fantastic approach! Metro cities already have too many institutes. Real exposure is required in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
(I still remember I just knew medical and engineering as career options!)
She opened a franchise of International School of Design (INSD) in Amravati.
Let me break the business down for you –
📈 STATS
♦️ Degree Fees for Students = Rs 75,000 per year
♦️ Diploma Fees for Students = Rs 60,000 per year
♦️ Number of Students = 40
Can you imagine impacting the careers of 40 students within such a short span of time!
🏫 SET UP COST
♦️ INSD Franchise Fees (one-time) = Rs 6 Lakhs
♦️ INSD Royalty Fees = 20% for Diploma Students and 15% for Degree Students
♦️ University Fees (yearly + varies with number of students) = Rs 28,000
🎓 MONTHLY MAINTENANCE COST
♦️ Staff Salary = Rs 24,000
♦️ Real Estate Rent = Rs 40,000
♦️ Electricity Bill and WiFi = Rs 5,000
🔊 MARKETING CHANNELS
♦️ Social Media Ads = Rs 5,000 (~75 leads)
♦️ Flyers in top 4 newspapers = Rs 30,000
♦️ Banners behind Auto Rickshaws = Rs 100 per month per auto
♦️ Press Conference & Newspaper Ads = Rs 2,000 for 3-5 features
HER VERDICT
👍 Best working marketing channels = Auto Banners, Flyers, Social Media Ads
👎 Marketing channels that didn’t work out as expected = Press Conference and ads on local news channels
MY VERDICT
🟢 Social media ads are targeted and she has data. Can be scaled and if it is working out.
🟢 Banners and Flyers can have a stronger CTA with a direct “Whatsapp Me Link” QR Code. Can be experimented to see how it works.
🟢 TV ads are generally for branding purposes and not for direct sales. I am sure it might have created a recall value but it’s tough to track ROI. Technically, she’s right.
Personal observations that I liked –
1) The Institute’s inauguration was done by Navneet Rana (Member of Parliament) – Political influence might not bring direct sales in business but it brings a big chunk of traction and media attention. Also some cool bragging rights!
(This was purely done by relationship building)
2) Students are marketers of the institute – All of them are budding designers. Whatever they design, is used in the institute’s marketing activities + they are building their portfolio. Win–Win!
✍ LESSONS FOR YOU
If you are seriously considering starting a business or already into it –
👉 Find your interest (and maybe a partner in crime)
👉 Look for gaps in the market, especially in underserved areas.
👉 Be smart about marketing. Local options work even in today’s era. Don’t ignore it.
👉 Don’t be afraid to experiment. Some marketing tactics might not work, but that’s how you learn!
✔ WHAT I DID THIS WEEK
I watched this movie called “The Dictator” and expected it to be a serious political drama, but boy, was I wrong! It’s one of those movies where you’re laughing so hard, you’re not even sure what’s going on half the time 😂
Then, I completed this book “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” which is a hilarious book about the relationship and mischiefs of 2 brothers – Greg and Rodrick 😁
For almost half of the post-office hours, I worked on creating a landing page for a website. I must confess that I spent way too much time researching and playing around with designs without actually making progress. No research, no ready-to-go copy – just me and my browser.
Needless to say, it was a recipe for disaster and a waste of time 😑
Overall, if I look back on this week, I spent most of my free time reading.
How was your week?
🌐 AROUND THE WEB
For writers and creators who want to try out comics and cartoons – check out Story Tribe. It is a web-based storyboarding application. Within your web browser, anyone can illustrate your ideas and concepts.