I love MJ's reply - definitely fits in with some individuals I know!
I'm not a manager, but this thread doesn't seem to have attracted any replies from managers, so I'll have an attempt at a serious reply - don't take this as gospel, but it might get some managers to come out of the woodwork to add their comments.....
> As a school owner or manager, what is most of your time during any one day spent on.
Depends. Some managers are not instructors, in which case they might spend their day in the office, answering calls, greeting students, arranging maintenance, putting together instructor schedules, organising marketing and advertising, etc, etc, etc. If the manager is an instructor, then he will probably be the CFI - quite likely won't have any regular students, but will do progress checks, new member checkouts, fill in for sick instructors, etc. He might also be a qualified examiner, in which case he will probably be the first choice examiner for the school's students. Or he might have other interests outside the school (e.g. a flying for a charter outfit with which the school is associated). If the manager is not in the office, though, he will probably need to hire someone else to be there full-time to answer phones and greet customers in all but the smallest of schools.
> Are you an instructor yourself, or would you not have the time to instruct and run the school.
I have seen it done both ways, and both ways can work. When the manager is also an instructor, though, he will probably need help with the office-work, as I said above.
> How do you cope with the quieter times.
By drinking tea. Or do you mean financially??? By planning for them in advance. After a year or two, you will know what kind of revenue you can expect in each month. Must be a bit hit-and-miss until you've got some reliable figures, though, I'd guess.
> How do you manage when instructors move on unexpectedly, and you can't get a replacement either immediately, or for the forseable future.
By having part-timers available. The two most common sources of part-timers is retirees and ATCers. Retirees are generally happy to work full-time for short periods when schools are short-staffed. ATCers need to fit in around their ATC shifts, but by keeping their shift-pattern quite low to start with, it's usually possible to increase the number of shifts they work when necessary. The same can be said for part-timers from other backgrounds, too.
> Do you enjoy what you do, or are you sorry that you started it.
Does anyone really enjoy their job every minute of every day??? See Mad_Jock's reply!!!
I think that's a fair summary of the schools I've worked for and trained at, but I've seen such a diverse range of schools (and also never been a manager of a school) that it can't possibly be a complete answer.
FFF
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