How to Compete With Free After-School Programs (Ep. 5)

Episode 05 · April 20, 2026 · Solo episode

You compete with free after-school programs by making the outcome obvious. A parent should be able to answer one question from your flyer: what will my kid be able to do that they can't do now? Lead with that outcome, hold your price, reward early registration, and offer payment plans so the total is easier to carry. Discounting your way toward free is a race you lose.

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This is my written companion to Episode 5 of The Youth Enrichment Leader, "Kids Enrichment Business: 5 Hard Truths Nobody Talks About." Competing with free is truth number three, and it lives in my head. I'll start there, then cover the other four: grants, admin hours, instructors and isolation. If you've felt any of these, nothing is wrong with you. They come with this kind of business.

Why do parents compare my paid program to free ones?

Because in a parent's mind, "after-school program" is one category, and some programs in it are free. Free has a halo. It doesn't have to be better. It only has to be free. Your program can differ in scope, quality, topic and outcome and still land in that same mental box.

Meanwhile your costs rise every year, so the gap between you and free gets wider.

Here is what I missed for a long time. Some of what feels like price sensitivity is a value communication problem. Some of it is real. Families make trade-offs every day. I know because I'm that customer. My own kids are in enrichment programs. Respect that, and still refuse to underprice your programs and underpay yourself.

How do I show parents what a paid program is worth?

Lead with the outcome. Features are what kids do. Outcomes are what kids walk away with. "We teach robotics classes" is a feature. "Kids build their first working robot in six weeks and walk out with a skill they're proud of" is an outcome.

Write one value statement that answers: what does a kid gain here that a free option doesn't give them? Make it specific. Use the same language on your flyers, enrollment emails, website and in conversations with school coordinators. At Journey to STEAM we lead with quality and rigor, and our materials say exactly what kids will learn.

Your best salespeople are parents who were skeptical about the price and enrolled anyway. Ask them for a testimonial.

Should I lower my price to compete with free?

No. A permanent discount lowers what your program is worth in everyone's mind, including yours. Do this instead:

1. Write your value statement and put it everywhere.
2. Collect testimonials from parents who hesitated on price.
3. Offer early-bird pricing with a firm end date.
4. Offer payment plans.
5. Plan scholarship seats into your budget.

Early-bird pricing rewards commitment without cutting your price for good. It also protects you from what I call the schedule shuffle. You commit to schools months out. Two weeks before the term, one site's enrollment is way down, and it's too late to put another partner in that slot. A made-up example: a $240 program with a $220 early-bird price. If 10 families register early, you gave up 10 × $20 = $200. In return you know that class runs. For the call itself, see when to cancel a class for low enrollment.

Payment plans take the sticker shock out of a lump sum without changing the price. That same $240 program in 4 payments is $60 at a time. On enrops, you set how many installments and when they fall, with no interest, plan fee or late fee. More in payment plans for camps and classes.

Scholarships are open to you. You don't have to be a nonprofit to offer them. We build them into our plan and cover up to 100% of the cost for kids who couldn't join otherwise. One operator I know offers a scholarship seat in every program each term and splits the cost with the PTO.

Can a kids enrichment business get grants?

Rarely, if the grant funds educational programs for kids. Those are nearly always limited to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, even when the eligibility language is vague. I learned that one application at a time.

My rule now: if the application doesn't say in writing that businesses are eligible, leave it alone. The funding levers a business does have are school and district contracts, corporate sponsorships, your own scholarship model and PTO cost-sharing. Some operators run a nonprofit alongside the business. That adds real complexity, so talk to an attorney first. I compare the structures in nonprofit, LLC or franchise.

How do I cut the admin hours I lose every term?

Run a time audit. Write down everything you did in the last seven days that was repetitive or built from a template. That's your automation hit list.

Most of us stitch together tools made for gyms or daycares, plus spreadsheets. Flyers were my example on the show. Every site, program and season needs its own, in color and in a print version. If flyers take 10 hours a term and you run 4 terms, that's 10 × 4 = 40 hours a year. AI tools now connect to design tools and can draft them from your program details. I did the wider math in what spreadsheets really cost a kids program.

What else makes this business harder than it should be?

Two things: keeping instructors, and working alone.

Instructors are your product. They leave when they feel underprepared, unseen and stuck. A chaotic first week starts the clock. How managers treat people matters as much as pay, so give every instructor a check-in at least monthly, show them a next step, and praise as fast as you correct. My companion to Episode 3 covers hiring and keeping instructors.

Isolation costs money. I once priced a new program with no benchmark and nobody to call. I handled an instructor no-show 45 minutes before class with no playbook. Another operator had already solved both. This week, message one operator on LinkedIn who does what you do in another city. Swap notes. Message me too.

Who should listen to this episode?

Listen if your business feels harder than it should and you're wondering if it's you. It's 40 minutes.

Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts

Frequently asked questions

Is early-bird pricing the same as discounting?

No. It has an end date and it rewards something that helps you plan: early commitment. Your full price stays your price.

Do I have to be a nonprofit to offer scholarships?

No. Any business can set aside seats or funds. Plan them into your budget before the term so they don't come out of your own pay by surprise.

What should my flyer say first?

What a kid will be able to do at the end that they can't do now. Dates, times and price come second.

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Arielle Hammond, Ed.D. is the founder of enrops and host of The Youth Enrichment Leader, presented by enrops.