School Of Rock Franchising In Mexico

Music may be the international language, but sometimes you still need to translate the franchise manuals.

When School of Rock signed a contract with two musicians-turned-business-consultants in Mexico, the Burr Ridge, Illinois-based franchise didn't have to make major changes to accommodate a different culture. And even better, both of the investors spoke English, so the contracts and negotiations were in English and only the documents for employees and instructors needed to be translated into Spanish.

Enviable, School of Rock has a built-in franchisee pool: musicians who are no longer touring full time and want to pass the talent torch to the next generation of rock stars. Parents of students are also prime candidates. The three schools already opened in Mexico teach the traditional rock curriculum, which includes the likes of Led Zeppelin, but also Mexican-style music, says Aaron Delfausse, vice president of development for the music-education company. The developers have opened two schools in Monterrey, one of Mexico's wealthiest cities, and one in Mexico City, the capital, with plans to open more. An instructor at one of the locations is now opening his own school in Guadalajara.

While they do have core requirements, Delfausse says,such as signage in the lobby and outside the building, individual classrooms and instructors who are current or past touring musicians, the physical location can vary to accommodate the community. (That's true for the U.S. as well.) One of the two schools in Monterrey, Mexico, is located in a one-story concrete house in a residential neighborhood, that has a clubhouse, homey feeling. It works in Monterrey, Delfausse says, just like country-singer Taylor Swift works in Kansas City, but neither Swift nor homey would fly in New York City. The second Monterrey location is in a retail environment, serving a different, less suburban, clientele.

Real estate and labor are cheaper in Mexico, Delfausse says, but importing musical equipment across the border, even with NAFTA, is expensive. Lessons tend to be on the lower end of the range for U.S. schools. School of Rock concentrates on instruction, not retail sales, Delfausse says, because the Internet has created a buying scenario where people can check out instruments in brick-and-mortar locations and then order them cheaper on the Internet.

Delfausse's advice is to work with your vendors�everyone from lawyers to credit-card companies�to help smooth the pathway. Most of the obstacles to expansion outside the U.S. can be overcome, he says, they just need to be addressed. "We're not pioneers in doing this," he adds, "so we rely on others."

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Franchise 500�: #216 (2014), #211 (2013), #289 (2012), #318 (2011),
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