Right time to own driving school?

I'm getting a lot of searches asking the question if it is the right time to become a driving school instructor or become self-employed?

Most people asking this question don't even know what the requirements for becoming an ADI are, nor the time it takes to actually qualify, because if they did then it would not be a question that they might be asking. If you have already qualified as an instructor have another job, and are contemplating giving it up to run a school business, then maybe you should think twice if you have the option of staying employed.

Obviously times are difficult in the UK right now, and many people are postponing driving lessons if it is not job related, that coupled with a surplus of ADI's from the agressive red driving school marketing means that there is more supply than demand and because driving lesson prices are not regulated many instructors are being undercut by cheap offers from all over the place, including illegal instructors.



Just because there is a recession doesn't mean it is a bad time to become self-employed if you find the right business, but teaching learner drivers is not lucrative at the moment. Even for an established school owner like me, earnings have dropped, and I've had to adopt more aggressive marketing ideas to keep my head above th water.

So if you are thinking of investing a couple of thousand pounds in a new business, I would suggest you think of something else, and not a driving school.