Going independent? See what your franchise really costs.

Check your franchise agreement first, especially the notice period and any clause about pupils. Then arrange your own dual-controlled car and insurance, and set up the things that bring in pupils under your own name: a website, a Google Business Profile and reviews. Start those six to twelve months before you leave so enquiries are already coming in.

Usually yes, but it depends entirely on what you signed. Most agreements restrict soliciting pupils and set a notice period; some go further. Read your agreement and take advice if anything is unclear. Building a site so you are ready for the day it ends is a different thing from taking business with you while it runs.

Because search rankings take months to build. If you launch a site the week you hand in your notice, you will spend your first months as an independent with no enquiry flow at all — which is exactly the pressure that pushes instructors back into a franchise. Starting six to twelve months early means the pipeline is already warm.

For most instructors the honest answer is pupils. The car, the branding and the admin are real, but the reason people stay is the full diary. That makes the weekly fee a lead-generation cost — and lead generation is something you can own outright for a fraction of the price.

That depends on your contract, and it is the single most important clause to check before you plan anything. Assume the franchise treats the pupils as theirs unless your agreement says otherwise, and plan on replacing that flow rather than transferring it.

No. Weekly fees vary from one franchise to another, by whether a car is included, and by how much of the diary they guarantee. Compare like for like using your own paperwork rather than a headline figure, and put your real weekly fee into the calculator above.