Leaving Teaching: The Honest Truth About Franchise Costs and Income

If you're a teacher thinking about leaving the classroom, the money questions are probably the biggest things holding you back.

What will it cost me to get started? Will I actually make enough to live on? Is this a risk I can afford to take?

These are completely reasonable questions on leaving teaching with its reliable, steady income. So I want to answer them as honestly as I can, because I feel strongly that anyone joining a franchise should be able to make an informed decision, not one based on vague promises or numbers that don't add up.

So here's what I can tell you right now* and I'll be up front and start with the costs.

*More information below about how you can find out even more.

There are costs. But they're knowable - and manageable.

Growing your business is a team effort

Starting any business costs money - that's just the reality. But one of the biggest differences between buying a franchise and starting something from scratch is that the costs aren't a mystery. You know what you're getting into before you commit to anything.

Right now, our founding franchisee investment at Inventors & Makers is £5,000. This is a significantly reduced rate from our full franchise fee of £10,000, and it won't stay at this level for much longer as we continue to grow.

That £5,000 gets you your full onboarding and training, all your workshop materials and resources, your systems, your marketing and software setup, and everything else you need to start delivering sessions and building your business from day one.

You're not paying to set things up - you're paying to step straight into something that's already working. If I could have paid £5,000 to have my whole business built for me from the start I'd have bitten your hand off.

If the upfront investment feels like a stretch, it's worth knowing that government-backed Start Up Loans are designed for exactly this kind of new business venture. They offer low interest rates, no penalty for early repayment, and are genuinely accessible for first-time business owners. We can help you explore this if it's something you'd like to look into.

Ongoing costs: what you actually pay each month

Once you're up and running, your costs are straightforward and reflective of how most franchises work.

One of our Inventioneers in training

There's a percentage-based royalty fee, which covers access to all our content, workshops, training, marketing support, materials, and essentially a built-in business coach in your corner. Crucially, this is percentage-based with no minimum monthly payment - so if you're not earning, you're not paying royalties. That aspect is very different from many franchise models - we want to encourage you to make your business work, not penalise you if it doesn't.

There's also a small additional percentage that covers all your national and local marketing, including online advertising - all handled for you. No need to become a Facebook ads expert or spend all day worrying about social media algorithms.

Beyond that, there's a very small monthly software fee that covers all the tools you need to run your business - email and Drive, website, CRM platform, and other online platforms you'll use. Economies of scale mean you're paying a fraction of what it would cost to access each of those tools independently .

And as for costs that's genuinely about it. No expensive premises. No big stock orders. No hiring staff. You can be pretty clear from day one what you'll be paying out.

What can you actually earn?

This is of course the real bit you want and need to know.

A sold-out after-school club, full of energy

The income potential as an Inventioneer comes from three main streams: after-school clubs, school workshops, and nursery sessions. Most franchisees build across all three, which creates a really solid mix of regular weekly income and more flexible daytime work.

After-school clubs are your bread and butter. You can run as many clubs as you want across the week, and every single one of our franchisees has had at least one sold-out club with a waiting list from their very first term. Scaled across a term, across multiple children, and across a full year, clubs alone can generate a significant income. To give you a concrete example: running just five sold-out clubs across a year could generate around £25,000 in income. And that's with no other work in your week.

School workshops build your reputation locally, and with workshops covering everything from Roman engineering to Space to Robotics - from EYFS to Y6 - they can bring in income from a variety of school budgets (science, topic, history, D&T). Schools that book once tend to come back every year, and often expand what they book. Over 70% of our bookings at head office this year are rebookings, which tells you something about how this compounds over time.

Nursery sessions bring in recurring daytime income between clubs and school visits, often on a monthly or termly basis - steady, predictable, and a lovely part of the week.

Put this together, and based on what we're seeing from our franchisees so far, it's realistic to make back your initial investment within around four months of first contacting schools. Within the first year of operation, all of our franchisees have made over £20,000 - and for those who have really gone for it, £40,000+ in year one is possible.

A note on self-employment after leaving teaching

One thing that often gets overlooked is that working for yourself comes with genuine tax advantages. Travel to and from sessions, equipment, materials, a portion of your home working costs - these are all legitimate business expenses that reduce your taxable income. The take-home picture often looks quite different once you factor this in, and it's worth speaking to an accountant to understand what this could mean for you specifically.

One more thing worth knowing - looking ahead

Your franchise isn't just a job - it's an asset.

If you build a successful Inventors & Makers franchise, you can sell it on in the future.

That initial investment becomes something with real value attached to it, not just a fee you paid to get started. It's worth holding that in mind when you're weighing up whether a franchise makes financial sense.

Want to see what the numbers could look like for you?

I can jump on a call to talk things through

Every area is different, and income will always depend on factors like your local market, the time you're able to put in, and your own drive and enthusiasm. I'll always be honest about that.

But what I can do is walk you through everything in detail on a call - including giving you a straightforward spreadsheet you can fill in yourself to model what the income could realistically look like in your specific area with the time you want to put in.

If you're curious, and you've already read the brochure, the best next step is to book a call with me. No pressure, no hard sell - just a proper, honest conversation about whether this could work for you.

You can find out more and download our brochure here: https://www.inventorsandmakers.com/franchising-download