Work as an ADI

So, you’ve thought about becoming a driving instructor?

Done your homework on a training provider, worked out how much it will cost (money & time).

Feel confident in both your & your trainer’s ability.

Now you need to look ahead!

Once you’ve qualified, then what?

Take out a franchise with one of the “big” boys, franchise with a local small school, or go alone?

All of the above have good & bad points, but, the most important thing to remember is, you are “self-employed”, whatever any organisation, or individual tell you, promises you, infers, suggests, the responsibility for keeping your diary full is yours & yours alone.
The term “SELF-EMPLOYED” says it all.

This is not for people who like to sit at work & moan that things aren’t right & it’s the bosses fault, (yes, sometimes it is, but….. )
In this role, you are the boss, marketing, sales, accounts, PR, HR. There is no one to blame if things aren’t going right, if things don’t get done. If the task takes all night, no one pays you any overtime.

It’s not 9.00 – 5.00, go home, then pick up where you left off when going back into the office tomorrow.

So, a large franchise has country wide presence a large marketing budget, will be top of any internet searches, but, charge a lot for the privilege.
Local franchise, good local reputation, smaller (but often targeted) marketing budget, tends to be less costly than the large national ones.
Go alone, on the face of it the least costly, but, you now need to do all the marketing, so what you save on franchise fees, expect to invest in your own marketing.
Personally, I started with a franchise, built my reputation, started getting referrals, once I realised most of my work came via other routes than my franchise, I chose to go alone.

I meet people who complain they struggle to get work.

To them I say, you have to look at every opportunity to market yourself, leave your headboard on, even when not teaching. Wear branded clothing, always have business cards to hand out.

When working for yourself, you are always “at work”.

The upside of all this, any success is yours and yours alone!!

Keith Gambles

WDS (Wokingham Driving School)