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Is the MATHNASIUM Franchise a Great Business to Own?

Mathnasium franchise owners operate learning centers that provide math instruction using the Mathnasium system of learning.  Is the Mathnasium franchise a great business to own?  What should those considering this investment know about Mathnasium and its franchise opportunity?  See what others are saying and share your opinions below.

Mathnasium

(UnhappyFranchisee.Com)  Mathnasium franchise owners provide math instruction using the Mathnasium system of learning. 

Children typically attend Mathnasium centers two or more times per week for approximately 60 minutes.

According to Mathnasium:

Our experienced math tutors utilize our proprietary teaching materials and techniques, The Mathnasium Method™, to deliver a customized learning plan designed to address each student’s needs. Our instructional approach goes beyond traditional math tutoring to develop understanding and build a love for math.

If math is a problem, Mathnasium can solve it…

According to the 2015 Mathnasium Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), “The total investment necessary to begin operation of your first Mathnasium franchise ranges from $90,750 to $137,610 This includes the $40,000 initial franchise fee that must be paid to Mathnasium.”

Is a Mathnasium  franchise a great business to own?  Are Mathnasium franchisees successful… and happy?  What are the potential pros and cons of owning a Mathnasium  franchise?

We invite those familiar with the Mathnasium franchise program (franchisees, instructors, franchise or corporate employees, parents, educators) to share their opinions – positive and negative – with a comment below.

Anonymous comments are welcome; however, please use a valid email address (won’t be publicly visible).

Mathnasium Learning Franchise Advantages – Opinions Invited

What benefits can those investing in a Mathnasium franchise expect?  Here’s what the company claims.

…our franchise combines all of the factors experts agree are critical to maximize your probability of success:

Exceptional market Demand with a superior Product to respond to that demand.

The right People to teach you the business and Support your efforts.

A proven track record of Success.

Reasonable startup Investment requirements.

And a painless Process which allows you to learn more – and take easy steps to becoming a franchisee.

Do you know of other benefits of owning a Mathnasium franchise? Share a comment below.

Mathnasium Franchise Disadvantages – And Potential Red Flags

Do you know of potential disadvantages of the Mathnasium franchise program?  Please share below.

Item 20 of the 2015 Mathnasium Learning Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) reveals closings and franchisee turnover.

In the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, there were a total of 616 franchise agreements. 

105, or 17%, of these franchises were terminated, taken back by the franchisor, or left the system by other means.

Mathnasium  
Franchise Turnover
Locations

2012
Locations

2013
Locations

2014
Total

Agreements
Closed or

Transferred
Turnover

Rate
 
  337 409 511 616 105 17%  
               
Centers Terminated         3    
Non-renewals         1    
Reacquired by franchisor         4    
Ceased Operations – other reasons         44    
Transferred to new owners*         53    

* In some cases, a transfer could mean a franchise was sold at a profit, but it often means that an owner exited the system at a loss.

Another notable number in the Item 20 is the fact that nearly 100 Mathnasium franchises have been sold but not yet opened. 

What are the disadvantages of the Mathnasium franchise?

Why does it appear that a high percentage (though not high compared to other tutoring franchises) of Mathnasium franchisees exit the system before completing the term of their franchise agreements?

Tutoring Franchises Average a High 25.52% Turnover Rate

Unfortunately, it appears that the entire tutoring services and supplemental education segment of the franchise industry is suffering from high franchisee turnover.

The ten largest franchises in this segment average 25.52% turnover, with several (Tutor Doctor, Sylvan, & Club Z) exceeding 30%.

Tutoring Franchise

Turnover Rates*
Turnover

Rate

2012-2015

Closed or

Transferred

2012-2014

Turnover

Rate

2012-2015

Kumon 20.52% Eye Level 22.6%
Sylvan 31.17% Tutor Doctor 31.8%
Club Z 30.71% LearningRx 26.95%
Mathnasium 17% JEI Learning Centers 20.23%
Huntington 28.9% The Tutoring Center 25.33%

Are tutoring franchises – in general – not thriving in today’s marketplace?

Is the tutoring market overbuilt and saturated with tutoring franchises?

Should prospective franchisees stay away from education franchises in general?

Share your opinion below.  Company responses, clarifications and corrections are invited and encouraged.

Data Sources for Mathnasium and other tutoring franchises are the 2015 Franchise Disclosure Documents, or FDDS, of the respective companies.

ALSO READ:

TUTORING FRANCHISE Posts

TUTORING FRANCHISE GUIDE (Coming soon)

Is the KUMON Franchise a Great Business to Own?

SYLVAN LEARNING Franchise: A Great Business to Own?

HUNTINGTON Franchise: Is it a Great Business to Own?

Is the EYE LEVEL LEARNING Franchise a Great Business to Own?

CLUB Z! TUTORING Franchise: A Great Business to Own?

FRANCHISE DISCUSSIONS by Company

 

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH MATHNASIUM AND THE MATHNASIUM FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

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TAGS: Mathnasium, Mathnasium Tutoring, Mathnasium franchise, Mathnasium franchise opportunity, Mathnasium franchise complaints, Mathnasium tutoring franchise, Math franchise, Tutoring franchise, Tutoring franchise opportunity, Tutoring franchise complaints, Education franchise, Education franchise opportunity, Education franchise complaints, unhappy franchisee

8 thoughts on “Is the MATHNASIUM Franchise a Great Business to Own?

  • George S

    Always check with neighboring franchise owners about like competition and profitability, You may be surprised.

  • Sana Ali

    Is the MATHNASIUM Franchise a Great Business to Own?” NO!

    It was the biggest mistake of our lives. The Mathnasium HQ team is very much only concerned with making their royalty dues. They do not provide support for struggling centers. They do their very best to hire brokers to sell you the franchise, which is an obsurd price. As soon as you complete payment, you can be sure you’re on your own. They have no problem at all shutting existing franchises down as well. Being in the Chicagoland area, we witnessed 5 centers shutting down within two years not including our own. What’s worse is they are concerned only with whether or not you have removed your exterior sign, not with how you might be coping with losing over $100k. Pathetic team, despicable people and dishonest franchise. Save yourself and don’t do it.

  • Sam Nouri

    I have owned food franchise before and the concept of franchise business is known to me, however, I am still looking for a franchise I can own and operate in OC, California. Mathnesium was on my radar but when I read through the costs and numbers, my skeptisism about the whole franchise concept is only grown stronger!
    Thanks for the review… Sana

  • Hey Sam, im in the OC as well, did you find another option? Im looking at franchise, would be open to bounce some ideas.

  • Hi Sana and fellow readers,
    I am in the midst of signing a franchise agreement with mathnasium in Canada. The corporate team sound very helpful but reading Sana’s comments it appears that it may be because they want to sell the franchise and get their initial investment. has anyone else had bad experience?

  • AK, do not take what Sana is saying lightly…have you signed your agreement? The things you want to get answers to are,
    why did these locations close down?
    Why did Sana have such a horrible experience and lose her money?
    If the answers you get from the Franchisor, is…”it’s the franchisees fault, lack of knowledge, lack of ability, they didn’t know how to run the buisiness, they were poor franchisees, they weren’t cooperative” anything of this nature…then you need to run – and fast. under NO circumstances should you be signing with a Franchisor that has had that many closures.

  • I’ve only had positive experiences with Mathnasium as a franchisee. Perhaps this is because the management has changed in 2021 after it was purchased by a big private equity firm. All of the surrounding franchisees and bigger players I met have all shared positive things as well. Seems like they also have the lowest turnover and highest NPS scores in the tutoring franchise business. Just my 2 cents…

  • Adriana Mendez

    Jt, where do you own a location?

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