How to Attract Homeschoolers to Your Business

The number of homeschoolers has been growing at an impressive rate over the last decade, and that growth has rapidly accelerated in the past two years. People who never thought they would be homeschooling were pushed into it due to Covid, and are now discovering the joys and flexibility, and sticking with it.

If you have a business that caters to or includes programming for children, you may be wondering how you can tap into this growing market and attract homeschoolers to your business. It’s a viable idea, as homeschool groups can be large and, if they enjoy the programming you offer, counted on to return year after year. Homeschoolers do tend to be different than the regular schoolers, with different needs and expectations, so it’s imperative that you know your client and cater to them to ensure the success of your programming.

Fit Your Programming to Homeschooler Needs

I’ve been homeschooling for the past 6 years, and I happen to be a person who loves to plan and organize- so I inserted myself into my local homeschooling groups as a leader and planner right from the get-go. I’ve organized co-ops, courses, lessons, parties, and more field trips than I can count. Here’s what homeschoolers are looking for when they decide what to organize and businesses to patron:

1.???Offer your programming during the daytime, weekdays.

Homeschoolers have the luxury of planning their activities in the quieter hours of weekday daytimes. They consider extra-curriculars, like lessons and field trips, to be part of their educational experience; they are not sitting at the table doing book work from 9:00-3:30 every day. One of my favourite pros of homeschooling is that we eliminate the “extra-curricular rush”. That’s the get-home-get-dinner-get-off-to-class-get-back-home-get-ready-for-bed-so-you’re-not-too-exhausted-for-school-tomorrow rush. Evenings and weekends are for family bonding time, not sports and activities. We want your programming to be offered during the day and on weekdays!

2.???Offer your programming at a discounted rate.

We know that places that cater to children are sitting vacant for the most part during the daytime weekday hours. A dance studio, soccer dome, art class, or gymnastics club are all empty during school hours, paying your overhead regardless. Even at 50% off, a large group of homeschoolers are a great catch. And whether you feel it’s fair or not, we’re used to getting steep discounts on programming. It’s so common in fact, that it’s regularly mentioned as a pro to homeschooling. My daughter wanted to try gymnastics, but at $300 per semester on Saturdays it was financially out of reach for us. When we started homeschooling, she was able to do gymnastics on Tuesday afternoons, with her homeschool friends, for $65 per semester. Homeschoolers see themselves as offering you business in a time slot where you were otherwise empty, so they expect a discounted rate. Like it or hate it, it’s an expectation you should be aware of.

3.???Offer programming to as broad an age-range as possible and be flexible in your age groupings.

Another thing about homeschoolers, is this is a family affair. Where there’s programming for a 12-year-old, there’s three siblings that want to go too. Try to offer classes and programming that can accommodate a wide variety of ages, or have multiple groups running at the same time. It’s much easier as the homeschool parent to put all the kids in an activity, than to figure out childcare for some, or worse, have to entertain them yourself in a waiting area. Also remember that homeschooled children don’t adhere to the public school understanding of “only play with kids your age”, so you’ll have best friends that absolutely must be in the same class but are 2-3 years apart in age.

4.???Individualize pricing and payments

The biggest pain-point of the homeschooler planning a group event is figuring out the costs and collecting payments. The busy homeschool mom is not getting a cut-back on organizing this event for their group, they’re doing it voluntarily, so please make it as painless as possible. Pre-set group rates, like for birthday party type events, with a max number of kids allowed, are a nightmare, because now the cost per child changes based on how many sign up. And no one will sign up and fully commit until they can be told the price. Group pricing will make me hesitate to carry on with planning a class or event for our homeschool group every time. Also, collecting money from everyone is a pain as well. E-transfers coming in to me, and setting that money aside. 12 people gave me cash and three wrote me checks and 18 sent e-transfers and 4 haven’t paid yet. It’s the most time-consuming part of the planning. Have a rate PER PERSON, even if that’s not how you normally operate, and be able to accept those individual payments from participants, so the main mom-organizer isn't ever stuck holding the bag. Set a deadline for “must pay by…” so the organizing mom doesn’t get stuck paying for no-shows.

5.???Offer a Social Component

This relates back to the point about being flexible about age integration. Homeschoolers do activities not simply for the activity, they do it for the social aspect for their homeschooling children. Being in the same group as their closest friends is very important. Having time and space before or after programming for the kids to just hang out and socialize is wonderful. Having limited adult participation, even if you need parents to stay on site, is huge (because us moms want to socialize too!) My kids took gymnastics long after either of them cared about being a gymnast, but it was a fun way to spend an hour horsing around on the gym equipment with their best buddies. It was cheap, so I didn’t mind paying for that time, and to be honest, I also looked forward to spending an hour a week in the viewing room with the other moms, literally just socializing. This company was needing to do very little to get our business, and everyone was happy.

?Get Your Business in Front of Homeschoolers

You’ve tailored your offering to homeschooling parents. They’re going to LOVE your programming! Now you need to figure out how to let them know you exist.

1.???Look for groups in your area.

Homeschoolers tend to congregate, either formally or informally. Look for local groups and chapters of established homeschooling organizations. There are many Facebook groups by region where you can ask admins if you can advertise. Be forewarned, many of them will say no to allowing you into their spaces. Instead, have a graphic or informative pamphlet ready and ask the admin to just share it with their members. You don’t need to be in the group, and they will feel like it is a genuine opportunity rather than an attempt at gaining an audience to spam.

2.???Most formal groups meet.

Ask if you can present to the group at one of their meetings. Some groups meet briefly and infrequently, so they may limit your time or prefer you just give them information they can hand-out. But if you have programs designed specifically for the homeschool community, they will hand it out!

3.???Advertise.

Remember that homeschool parents are in most of the same arenas as public-school parents, so advertising your homeschool-friendly or homeschool-catered programming via the usual social media platforms and marketing spaces will still reach parents. Offering a free trial or free first class will help ease concerns about your validity. You can also advertise internally to catch current clients who are also homeschoolers.

?Educate Yourself About Homeschooling

I mean, at least a little. You certainly aren’t expected to be an expert in home education but ensuring that yourself and your staff that will be interacting with the homeschoolers are informed beyond the basics, will go a long way.

1.???Don’t make assumptions about what homeschooling is or how homeschoolers behave.

You really don’t want any of your staff to accidentally say something offensive or ask the same asinine questions these kids and parents get asked every. time. we. go. anywhere. If you know enough about our lifestyle to steer clear of the major pitfalls, you’re going to improve the experience immensely. Note: Do not ever ask a homeschooler, “but what about socialization?” They’re at your business socializing, aren’t they? If you have assumptions or pre-conceived notions around what homeschooling is or what homeschoolers are like, please check them at the door and inform yourself. Homeschoolers talk, and I know every business in my city that has ever said anything negative about homeschooling to a homeschooling friend. We’ve pulled 100+ paying customers from a venue because the attitude of the business owner made it clear they did not like homeschoolers.

2.???Don’t expect the kids to behave like public schoolers.

One thing we often find amusing when our homeschoolers go to events, is that they have no idea how to line up. That thing where everyone holds hands and then steps back until their arms are outstretched to make a circle? Our kids have never done that. Don’t ask them to separate themselves by grade- they may not know what grade they’re in, because their family may not subscribe to grades, or they may be one grade in math, another in language, and yet another in science. If your program uses examples or scenarios, ditch the ones about being in a class or having a teacher. Stick to groups they may be familiar with, like co-op or scouts.

I hope you were able to find value in some of these tips. Encouraging homeschoolers to your business is a great move that will open up a potential new market and revenue stream to your child-based business!