Transform lives with a public speaking and debating coaching franchise

Communication skills are one of the few things in life that are absolutely necessary for everyone to have, but are routinely poorly taught or ignored in many educational settings.

Having identified this gap in 2014, Mark Slaven – a former lawyer and the Founder and Managing Director of SSA – found his calling. He recognised that as the world evolves, the ability to communicate with one another is going to be one of the central human skills children currently in school will need to thrive.

Mark’s background suited this particular endeavour well. A graduate of St Aloysius’ College, one of the top debating schools in the country, Mark obtained his Bachelor of Laws (with First Class Honours) and Psychology from Macquarie University, followed by his Master of Laws at the Australian National University. Whilst studying, Mark was heavily engaged in the world of competitive debating, competing in scores of tournaments (and winning a few along the way) and running over a dozen more. He also looked to pass this knowledge on, working as a coach at various prestigious private schools, the Chief Adjudicator of the FED Interschool Debating Competition, and the Business Manager of Speak Out Education.

This all culminated in him founding Speaking Schools Australasia (then Sydney Speaking School) in August 2014, where Mark brings a unique blend of expertise and insight to public speaking and debating.

Under Mark’s guidance, SSA’s team of dedicated coaches has improved the confidence of tens of thousands of students, which led to the organisation being recognised at the North Shore Local Business Awards as the Most Outstanding Education Service in 2023, and Mark personally being recognised as Businessperson of the Year in 2024.

When you invest in a Speaking Schools Australasia franchise, you’ll receive a comprehensive franchise package crafted to launch your business.

This package encompasses:

• Access to the Speaking Syllabus, an extensive set of public speaking and debating coaching resources with hundreds of modules, worksheets and session plans.
• A thorough training program for Franchisees and their staff.
• An extensive ongoing training and assessment program for coaches, provided by the franchisor at no extra charge.
• Start-up stationery packs and course materials.
• An exclusive marketing territory, plenty of marketing collateral and ongoing support from the franchisor.
• Access to exclusive competitions as part of the SSA network.
• A comprehensive and regularly updated online Operations Manual.
• A range of tried and tested business systems with integrated software enabling seamless backend operations.
• A five-year term with an option to renew for an additional five years.

No formal qualifications are required as an SSA Franchise Partner, but experience in debating and public speaking is a definite advantage, as is previous work with children. Additionally, excellent verbal communication skills are key (with a good understanding of the English language).

Importantly, we are looking for franchise partners who are self-motivated and want to work to build a successful business.

You can find more information about what we’re specifically looking for above!

The upfront Franchise Fee for purchasing an SSA Franchise is $19,500 + GST for a new franchise territory. Additionally, there is an ongoing competitive royalty fee based on a percentage of revenue.

Established territories with existing operations will attract an additional upfront premium.

You get the right to operate as a Speaking Schools Australasia franchise for a period of 5 years with another 5-year option to renew.

You also receive:

• Extensive and exhaustive training, so franchise partners are well prepared and confident in operating their business.
• Launch a campaign for each new area, so you can hit the ground running!
• A business model complete with tried and tested programs, evidence-based curriculum and integrated software.
• A well-established online presence with thousands of followers online.
• Branded uniforms and marketing collateral so your business looks professional.
• Ongoing support and training from the SSA team, so you have peace of mind knowing you can ask experienced operators for help or support.

Head Office provides a range of training services for its franchise partners.

As part of the initial Franchise Fee, new partners can expect a week of formal training before their first session kicks off, as well as an intermittent further week of ongoing training after classes have begun at their centre to ensure that they are comfortable with the processes involved and everything is running smoothly.

However, the support doesn’t end there – Head Office is committed to providing the best possible services to our students, which means that we are committed to providing the greatest possible support for our franchise partners who are delivering those services. We enter into arrangements with our partners with the expectation that we will be speaking regularly – we are always ready to lend a hand where necessary.

In addition to this, we also provide induction and training sessions for coaches free of charge as part of the normal course of the arrangement, helping ensure that franchise partners always have someone qualified on hand to provide exceptional programs for their students.

As part of the negotiations, we’ll allocate an exclusive marketing territory for each franchise partner – you will then be able to choose where within that area you want to set up classes.

Whilst some franchise partners rent fixed premises that are outfitted with classrooms, others license existing spaces (such as community centres, libraries or school rooms) that are already set up and ready to go.

Given the exclusivity of your territory, there is also nothing stopping a franchise partner from setting up multiple locations within their territory – something that many franchise partners already do!

As part of the Franchise Fee, you’ll be provided with a range of materials – such as palm cards, branded stationery and booklets – that will allow you to hit the ground running for your first class.

From here, it depends on whether you’re setting up a new fixed premises – which have some important requirements for their classrooms that we are happy to discuss – or a mobile premises (such as a community centre, library or school) which are already set up for teaching students.

If the latter, all you’ll need in addition to the start-up pack will be a phone and a laptop to get things going!

Definitely not!

All our franchisees are strongly encouraged to hire coaches in order to run their classes.

Head Office will, as part of the initial in-depth training, go through how to locate, interview, recruit and employ coaches in a way that ensures that the franchise partner is able to effectively maintain high quality classes for their students.

In addition to this, Head Office also runs regular inductions for new coaches employed by franchise partners, as well as multiple ongoing training sessions every term to help keep coaches at the top of their game.

Whilst each franchise agreement is only for one specific territory, franchise partners with an established record are invited to apply to run a second (or even more) territory – we will assess each application on their own individual merits.

Unlike most education franchise networks, SSA encourages their franchise partners to branch out and run multiple education businesses from one location (to the extent that those other businesses don’t involve public speaking or debating education).

As long as a franchise partner’s ability to effectively run their allocated franchise is not compromised, running classes in multiple disciplines can be a great way to develop strong, ongoing relationships with students and their families.

Whilst new franchisees are allowed to continue working another paid role, we do recommend either reducing their role to part-time, or employing a centre manager who is able to look after classes.

It is the expectation that franchise partners will be able to offer weekly programs on multiple days per week, as well as reserve at least a week of each school holiday to run holiday workshops.

Absolutely!

The above territories are only suggestions as good locations to start a franchise that are currently available – should you be interested in another location, please simply reach out, and we would be more than happy to discuss the available options.