The rush to develop childrenÍs potential and to fill their time with meaningful activities continues unabated. Despite the odd rumble of dissatisfaction by parents and parenting experts concerned at the 24/7 whirl of action dominating small peopleÍs lives, there will be more and more opportunities for franchising set-ups. Pick up any children/parents newsletter or free publication, like Sydney’s Child, and the pages are jammed with ways to make the day go faster and with more fun by outsourcing entertainment, art, sport or education.

Dance classes have always been popular with young girls who adore flitting around in pink tutus and ballet pumps. But for all those prima ballerina hopefuls longing to join the big girls padding off to the local scoutsÍ hall for ballet lessons, there is a fresh opportunity with Kindy Dance Time. This pre-school program was redeveloped in 2005 by new owner Lara Gandini to include a 30 lesson plan dance syllabus for specific age groups, and appeals to boys too. A measure of the popularity of this programme is that since Gandini took the helm with 22 students at just two locations, the business has grown to reach more than 600 students with at least 200 waiting in the wings.

Gandini took the view that this local demand would be reflected across Australia and decided significant expansion was needed. A dancer herself, Gandini had 15 years dance teaching experience when she revamped the business.

ñIt was extremely important for me not to lose the quality and philosophies of the program we were offering. If I remained entirely company owned, how would I maintain the standards that exist now? Also how would I be able to motivate, train and manage these teachers myself from Perth? After researching the options I believed franchising would eliminate these issues as long as it was detailed enough. We now have very concise operations manuals in place. I have been working with DC Strategy in Melbourne for the past 18 months to develop the expansion plans and we are now ready to roll it out.î

The goals for the business are to use franchising as a vehicle to expand the business nationwide, starting in regional WA, then Victoria, NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and finally South Australia. The target? Fifty franchises in five years. Franchisees, who pay $15,000 plus start up costs, source their own venues.

The franchise offers three models: the first is for the owner operator and is perfectly suited to a mother with school age children as the majority of the work can be done in school hours. Teaching is limited to mornings with administration easily completed at home, and school holidays also viable for home-management.

ñOf course it is also available to a person who perhaps would like to operate a franchise themselves, but not have the burden of a full-time business,î says Gandini.

The other models are targeted to dance schools that may choose to employ other teachers to operate the classes. The added benefit of this model is it then acts as a great feeder of enrolments into their own dance school, cutting costs on advertising and marketing.

Play zones

When the Chipmunks Playland and Caf_ launches its four Indonesian stores this winter, it will already have racked up 12 years trading in New Zealand and 12 months intensive research and development work to get it ready for international trading. The franchise also has very strong interest coming from the US as well as in The Middle East and South Africa.

According to Mark Chan, director of international marketing, ñIt is no wonder that there is so much interest globally for this innovative New Zealand originated franchise as it focuses on the power of play. Worldwide everyone loves their children and through playing at Chipmunks, children gain good physical well-being, self-confidence and better self-esteem within a safe, clean and wholesome environment. There had been so much emphasis on academic pursuits so why not let children have some fun and enjoy learning as well?î

The franchise has developed smart card technology, animations, branded merchandise and songs. ñOur innovations are continuous but for certain markets our introduction of certain new developments will be gradual as ultimately the key to the brand success is to ensure that our franchisees get a fair return for their investments. It is no point investing in very expensive technology or fit out if the centre is located in a rural township which has different requirements compared to some of our stores in the best malls in Indonesia,î says Chan.

Australian franchise managing director, Ika Setiawati, believes there is a demand for an easy to manage, highly profitable and multi-income streams franchise business that offers not only a great lifestyle but also enjoyment to franchisees.

Australian growth could be ñmeteoricî says Setiawati of the Chipmunks playcentre franchise. ñClearly with working parents there is a niche in the market for our all encompassing franchise. The children will have fun in a clean, safe and happy environment and enjoy wholesome food and beverages,î she says.

The franchise has created a personality with the brand and Charlie the Chipmunk is on hand for kidsÍ parties. She believes the branded products and visuals will keep reinforcing the dynamism of the franchise.

A further source of income would be after school care and vacation programs, she adds. ñConsidering the multitude of income streams and also low costs of operation the financial return would be substantial and also it can be all performance related as committed franchisees would explore utilising the premises for after hours functions or even have Monday to Friday after school programmes – $20 for three hours per child and with 50 kids for a five day week this all adds up.î

More than music

Multiple income streams are possible with hey dee ho music too. The main basis of the business is presenting a music programme for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Alongside this is a retail arm selling CDs, instruments and puppets, as well as entertainment and performance opportunities. The programme is designed to be run on a part time or full time basis and sessions may be set up in the mornings during school terms only or throughout the day most weeks of the year dependant on the franchiseeÍs lifestyle. There are provisions to run the business in a participatory manner or by employing staff.

In October 2000, two employees of hey dee ho music (which was established in 1987) purchased the first two franchises. Now more than 1000 children attend parent and child classes each week with regular programmes set up at around 200 child care centres each week. The franchise provides entertainment at council events, libraries, playgroups and private functions with hotels and clubs the newest venues; launching this year will be a yoga program.

A focus on Sydney has at least another 10 franchises planned for the city while an existing franchisee is moving into Queensland to develop the business there.

The interactive program designed to stimulate childhood development has developed over the past 21 years to reflect the changing needs and interests of families. ñWe include such things as Auslan signing, languages, yoga, spatial awareness, active after care and singing and performance classes within the program,î explains founder Jenny Wilkinson.

While the focus is on outsourcing entertainment and musical education, it is not a babysitting service. ñWe have established the Australian Institute of Music and Childhood development to ensure that all programs meet the National Childcare Accreditation requirements. This body also develops new programs and maintains the standard of training for our staff.

ñThe focus on children and education has never been higher _ more places are being provided in child care centres and today parents are aware of the need for their children to be involved in many different activities so the demand for our service is growing.î

Mental muscles

For David Cordover, each day is not just about building a business, but also building youth interest and involvement in chess across Australia. He is the man behind Chess World (a Melbourne shop and online store) and Chess Kids, which provides chess mentoring, coaching and interschool competitions for primary and secondary children.

At the age of 15, he left school to pursue his passion for playing chess and started a chess club at a local primary school; other schools were keen to be involved and before long he was running chess clubs at 10 schools and neighboursÍ houses _ riding his bike from venue to venue.

In 1998 David won a Nescafe Big Break award for the business concept. ñWe have a simple business plan, a simple value proposition, building mental muscles, and that produces a very successful business.î

Chess Kids now works with 645 schools around Australia. Interest in chess and the program is growing rapidly; the Chess Kids National Interschool Chess Championships have grown from 821 players in 2002 to 8389 players in 2006 _ a growth of more than 900 per cent. The competition is also spreading to every corner of Australia from the cities of Melbourne and Adelaide, to rural areas like Alice Springs and Mildura.

The business is now a franchise opportunity with one established in Melbourne and one in Adelaide. Perth and Hobart are the targets for this year.

ñThe franchise is a particularly appealing business because of its flexibility. Some business owners will choose to drive the business to great financial heights, while for others the lifestyle of 10 to 20 hours work per week, 32 weeks per year is just what they are looking for. It is particularly good for investors with children of their own because the work week can be limited to school time,î says Cordover.

The initial franchise investment is between $25,000 and $50,000. With an average hourly income of $84 it doesnÍt take long before the investment is providing very strong returns, he adds.

ñThe key to business success is always the people. You can have the best systems, best marketing and best product – but if the people delivering the product arenÍt exceptional you have no business.î

Far more important than chess skills are a rapport with children and a belief in education and knowledge says Cordover, describing the ideal franchisee. ñPassion for chess and ability come fairly low down. ItÍs our business to teach people to play chess.î

Chess Kids also runs a very large company business doing exactly what franchisees are doing _ so product innovation and response to the market is quick.

There are three programs to the business: a recreational club where education is the spin-off; an educational development programme which focuses on concentration, creativity and problem solving; and a regional one day program, which equips a school to run the program by themselves.

Schools, children and parents appreciate the value of learning chess, he says. ñKids get really engaged and parents see the impact on their educational development. Schools realise the benefits, there is no coercion needed.î

For schools, outsourcing the skills is a time-saving exercise he believes. ñBecause we are specialists itÍs quicker for us to teach the children. We are expert and have a methodology and curriculum to develop ideas. We apply order and sequence and any five or six year old can pick it up in an hour or two.î

Game on

Entertaining children, with their parents, is building up a business for games company Timezone, which has two distinct elements to its business, depending on location. In the livelier neighbourhoods popular with the nightclub and bar crowd, a business outlet will cater for young adults, while the majority of franchise businesses foster family custom. In either case, school hours are not prime times, indeed, says general manager Rob Moran, ñwe have a rule: no kids in school hours.î

In the minds of some people, gaming attracts a seedier crowd, particularly when there is plenty of cash to be had. Not so at Timezone, insists Moran. ñWe stay away from cash, we have bright lights and no criminal elements and work to a code of ethics. We like people to come in and spend $10 and walk away with a prize with a perceived value of $10. We are making money out of the prize market.î

He claims some serious game players will put $800 on a card, win tickets and exchange these for prizes. Timezone is part of LAI Games, which includes a manufacturer of games in the Phillipines. It has a whole buying division purchasing toys.

The company is very value conscious, he believes. A recent introduction is a debit card system exclusive to Australian franchisees: the customer puts on $6 and plays for half and hour and accrues 100 points. This debit card was a big advantage to Replay, a Queensland company which has just done a deal to rebrand its stores to Timezone.

ñThe key to the business is that itÍs like fashion,î he adds, referring to the introduction of games like Deal or No Deal.

Franchisees pay from $400,000 to $750,000 for an average store and the cost includes games valued to $350,000, and a franchise fee of $25,000. Royalty fees are 6 per cent, marketing fund payments are 1.5 per cent.

So what sort of return on investment can be expected? Well, games costing $9,000 should see takings of $2,000 weekly.

The company also invests about 12 per cent of sales on new equipment and decommission games in arcades, private homes and the growing market in India. ñWe already have five stores in India and plan to open one a month for the next two years.î

But there hasnÍt always been a rosy glow around the marketplace. Between 1998 and 2002, says Moran, there was a real downturn in the entertainment market and TimezoneÍs Australian business, which at its peak at 40 company stores, crashed. Timezone concentrated on the Asia market. But since 2004 the industry has rebounded and the local venues have experienced tremendous retail sales.

In November the company will open in the Docklands in Melbourne and Moran is looking for NSW sites and predicts the strongest growth in this state. ñWe plan to open 10 Australian stores this year _ we currently have 14.î

There are four stores in Perth with three opening, seven in NSW and two in Victoria and a themed store in the Gold Coast, a 4,500 square metre flagship. The Westfield centre in Liverpool, in Sydney, will have a Timezone outlet.

The ideal location is adjacent to cinemas and cafes, with trade after 5pm. Most stores are open till 10pm or midnight but now bigger format stores, as seen in the US, are on the cards.

ñWe are looking for entertainment environments _ 10 pin bowling, cinema, health clubs, childcare, all-in-one destination facilities. An incentive would be low rents, but itÍs early days yet. WeÍve only been franchising for two years.î

Entertainment is big business and increasingly time-poor parents are relishing the out-sourcing opportunities. A recent Sunday Telegraph report reveals in the 10 years from 1996 to 2006 single parent families increased by 23 per cent, overtaking the growth of the traditional two-parent and children family. There are more parents with greater single responsibility for their kids, and as any parent knows, the more help you can get in entertaining the children, the easier your life. ItÍs a great chance for leisure-based franchises.n

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