RSS feedsStudying abroad has become increasingly popular in recent years. Students are hungry for cultural experience and spending a year abroad impresses prospective employers.
So, for founder of International Student Services, Chris Holliday, attracting students to a country rich in culture and history like Great Britain has never been a problem. However, over the past few years the business has experienced something of a lull and whether this is due to terrorism anxiety or the increased cost of tourism in London, Chris is keen to get her business back on track.
The idea for the business originated from Chris’s first-hand experience, having provided accommodation for foreign students herself for a number of years. Chris was offered a job as home-stay coordinator, a role that involved finding suitable families for housing American students. A year into the role she took over managing the financial side of the business and four years later she branched out on her own and set up International Student Services to cater for foreign university students who want to study abroad.
‘The idea was to create a study abroad programme that stood out from the others. Other programmes can be inflexible in what they offer. Our programmes can be tailor-made to suit students’ needs.’
As part of the International Student Services package, the entire student programme is organised for the universtiy. Students are placed in home-stay families, transport is arranged, classroom space is booked and faculty to teach the classes are provided. Chris also organises excursions that tie in with the study programme, such as trips to Stratford-upon-Avon for literature programmes, the Houses of Parliament for politics programmes, and the Lloyds building in London for architecture programmes.
Chris acts as first port of call for the students in case of emergency. ‘Ongoing support for students during their stay means sometimes you get students who are homesick, have had their purse stolen or have broken their leg looking the wrong way as they cross the road. That happens a lot. Basically we’re their first port of call in an emergency,’ says Chris.
The company has experienced moderate success over its 14 years, but business has recently slowed. Two regular programmes have stopped coming due to students being unable to afford the rising costs of living in London.
‘Since 1998, an architecture programme from Washington State had come bi-annually. This year they decided that London was too expensive and chose to take their programme to another European country. This was a blow to the business. Another programme from Louisiana that came to London every autumn has also folded,’ she says
The major challenge facing Chris’s business is marketing. ‘The majority of my business has come from word of mouth, the contacts I’ve made from working in the industry.’ Tackling the American universities has proved problematic, however. New contacts must be forged, but Chris is unsure how to access the right people within the institutions. ‘Eight years ago I travelled to America and toured some universities. Although I received a good response at the time, nothing came out of it long term.’
Because of this set back Chris has a cautious approach to investing in her market. ‘I know I need a website, but again I don’t know how to go about it. To be honest I’m afraid of wasting a huge amount of money.’
But Chris’s plans for International Student Services don’t stop short at study abroad programmes for American students. ‘In the future I’d like to offer programmes for different groups of people. I could apply the same methods to a landscape gardening programme or a women’s institute, for example. At the moment, I only offer programmes to Americans, but I’d like to see the business offer services to students from all over the world.
Main challenges:
• How to market the business
• Expanding client base beyond the US
• How to go about setting up a website
• Building contacts and relationships with foreign institutions
