The Franchise
The ICPA FranchiseBeyond the Qualification
What lies past the certificateInstitutions that confer qualifications are not few. But institutions that stand by the qualified until they are established in business are scarcely to be found.
In most cases the relationship ends at the moment of conferral. One may have studied with independence in view, and yet the name, the materials, the students — all must afterwards be built from nothing. We have seen, more than once, a person of true resolve come to a halt at precisely that point.
At ICPA it is otherwise. Certification is not the end of study but its beginning. Past it lies the running of a protocol school of your own, in your own region — for which the ICPA Franchise exists.
To establish a school of international protocol from nothing is no small undertaking. The materials must be written, the body of teaching ordered, the backing of accreditation obtained, and the name made known. Every one of these would fall to you. This arrangement places all of it, already made, into your hands.
What This Arrangement Affords
Four things that would otherwise take yearsThe franchise agreement carries a protection of territory. We do not place two ICPA schools within one market. Within that compass, ICPA is your school and no other. You stand not as a competitor but as the only one. This holds in Japan and abroad alike.
established
The years and the expense of becoming known are the heaviest burden in education. To open a protocol school from nothing is to spend years upon the materials, the body of teaching, the accreditation, and the making known of one’s name. The name of ICPA, its international accreditation, its record — all are yours to use. A considerable saving of both time and cost.
throughout
Materials, teaching manuals, the apparatus for students, the systems by which a school is run — all are prepared. You need write none of it yourself. From the preparations for opening to the running of each day, the head office stands behind you.
the school
Counsel from the Founding Principal on the running of your protocol school, continuing throughout. In person or online. The shape of the business, the drawing of students, the manner of receiving them, and the moments at which judgement falters — she walks beside you as a teacher would.
How Territory Is Determined
One school to a market
One school to a market — such is the principle of the ICPA Franchise.
Yet what constitutes a market differs greatly between countries and regions. A city of ten million and a province of a few hundred thousand cannot be treated as one and the same.
Territory is therefore determined according to the scale of the market.
| Scale of Market | Territory | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Large markets | One school to a state, province, or principal metropolitan area | Markets of great population, where custom and demand differ markedly from region to region. One school could not cover such ground — and to permit only one would be to forgo what is there. |
| Medium markets | One school to a broader region | Where several districts together constitute a single market. Sufficient depth for a business to stand, whilst the scarcity of the name is preserved. |
| Smaller markets City states |
One school to the country entire | Where the market itself constitutes a single compass. To divide it would leave neither school able to stand; the country is therefore entrusted to one. |
| Within Japan | One school to a prefecture or region | The compass within which the head office lies and the Founding Principal may attend in person. Determined case by case, with regard to population and demand. |
The above is offered as a guide. The actual compass is settled case by case, upon hearing the condition of the market, your own intentions, and the plan of your expansion.
In every case, within the territory so determined, ICPA is your school and no other.
A Local School, with an
International Institution Behind It
What cannot be built in a few years
A franchisee is received as a member of the ICPA group. A school in one region, and yet behind it stands an institution of international standing.
The sole institution in Japan accredited by the Leading Etiquette and Protocol Schools of the World — the global standard of protocol education.
IPAA
Those who study at your school receive certification from both ICPA and IPAA. A school of one region, yet conferring a qualification of international currency. Certification is held for life.
material
More than three thousand pages composed by ICPA — drawn from history, diplomatic studies, behavioural and social science, and intercultural theory. The foundation of your teaching.
A serving ambassador as Honorary Patron; engagements with the United Nations and US Forces Japan; a strategic partnership with The English Manner of the United Kingdom. All of it stands behind your school.
ICPA, IPAA, The Elegance Academy, and The Gentleman’s Academy — education, accreditation, society, and the cultivation of gentlemen. Four institutions behind one school.
a business
Resolve alone will not sustain a business. The structure of return is ordered such that a franchisee may stand. Its particulars are given at the briefing.
Two Agreements
Standard and Executive
Two franchise agreements are offered, according to the scale of the school you intend and the shape of your ambition.
Both carry every advantage and every asset set out above; they differ in the compass of expansion.
Standard
For those who would establish one school within their own region and raise it steadily. One may begin with a modest complement and build the foundation under the support of the head office.
Executive
For those whose intention spans several regions, or several countries. There is no limit upon the complement, and the establishment of a sub-brand of one’s own, together with joint development with the head office, is open to you.
The term of agreement, the compass of support, the costs, the structure of return, the determination of territory —
of these we speak fully at the briefing.
For Those Who Would Open
a School or Salon of Their Own
Etiquette schools, protocol schools, salons
Those who would open an etiquette school, a protocol school, or a salon of their own. Those already running one, who would raise it to a higher standard. It is for such as these that this arrangement exists.
It is not, however, recommended to all. As the name of ICPA is to be raised in your region, we ask a corresponding resolve and preparation.
Those who would establish
an education business of their own
Those who would open an etiquette school or salon. Those already running a school or training business, who would raise it to an international standard. Those who would open and run a protocol school in their own region. Those whose region lacks an institution of international standard, and who would themselves provide it. Those who would establish international protocol education formally within a corporate training function.
Expansion abroad is equally welcomed. As an institution of international protocol founded in Japan, we receive those who would carry our body of teaching into their own countries.
In every case, the qualification must first be obtained. It is not conceivable that one who raises the name of ICPA should not have studied its body of teaching.
Begin with the Briefing
Understanding first; conversation after
A franchise is not, by its nature, settled upon paper alone.
Those who would open an etiquette school, a protocol school, or a salon
are asked first to understand the arrangement entire, at the briefing.
At the briefing we set out the arrangement entire — the compass of support,
the terms of agreement, the costs and the structure of return,
and the determination of territory — with the papers before you.
Should it then hold your interest, you proceed
to a private consultation with the Founding Principal.
For the qualification programmes, see Certification
For the membership system, see Membership