Article: . There are many business plan models you can work with ranging from a one page "lean canvas" to 100 pages of complex questions. You will have to figure out which kind works best for you! Your business plan will describe your goals for the school, the reasons they are attainable, and how you plan to achieve them financially. A business plan will be necessary to begin raising funds and fulfilling the incorporation steps necessary to start a school. Consider conducting a feasibility study to determine whether or not opening a school will be a viable option. Early in the startup process, it is essential to take a hard look at your vision and determine how best to proceed. You'll need to determine how many students you're likely to enroll, budget costs, operating costs, upkeep of the grounds, and all other facets of the school's operation to determine if it will be likely to succeed. You may also want to interview people in your community about whether there is a need for this type of school You won't be able to do this by yourself, so one of the first steps in starting your school needs to be appointing like-minded administrators to make up a board of directors who will jointly make all financial and operational decisions, hire faculty, and oversee the school. While an increasing number of micro-schools are run by a single teacher, in general, no school is run by a single "leader." While it's important to establish good leadership as a group, a school is more of a corporation and less of a dictatorship. To find a good board of directors, consider enlisting local members of the education community who may be dissatisfied with their local options and be interested in a more forward-thinking school, like yours. . Your board of directors needs to carefully fill out the articles of incorporation with the state in which you'll be based and register as an educational non-profit. Often, there's a corporate filing office or business bureau with which you can fill out the papers. Usually, there is a fee of several hundred dollars associated with the forms. By filing as a non-profit, you'll be able to receive grants, donations, and other types of funding that wouldn't normally be available to a for-profit organization. To obtain non-profit status, the organization must be organized and operated exclusively for religious, educational, scientific, or other charitable purposes and fulfill the following requirements:  Net earnings may not inure to the benefit of any private individual or shareholder. No substantial part of its activity may be attempting to influence legislation and may not intervene in political campaigns. The organization’s purposes and activities may not be illegal or violate fundamental public policy. Visit the IRS website or a local office to apply for an Employee Identification Number (EIN). This acts as your corporate SSN, basically. It distinguishes you as a non-profit educational corporation with the IRS, including tax-exempt status. To register your EIN, fill out the IRS form found here. The tax-exempt status can be somewhat time-consuming, and you may want to consult a lawyer to go over the paperwork with you and ensure that you're interpreting and filling it out correctly. To file for tax-exempt status, fill out IRS form 1023, found here.

What is a summary?
Prepare a business plan Gather a board of directors. File for incorporation in your state Register as a non-profit. Obtain an EIN and file for tax-exempt status.