All kidding aside, the numbers look great for children's
business owners: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, American
births have averaged about four million each year since the
beginning of the 1990s, and American Demographics estimates the
number will continue at this rate through the rest of the
decade.
Because the children's business market is a uniquely
regenerative one-as kids grow up, younger children take their
places-new opportunities within the children's business
industry are constantly springing up. This month, we've
profiled five unique and thriving business that profitably cater to
the development, security and creativity of children.
Children's Furniture
For some, business inspiration dawns after years of research. For
others, it grows out of necessity. For Laura Mann, it came in the
form of a giraffe.
"When my husband, Christian, and I were visiting his parents,
we noticed a small giraffe chair he played with as a child,"
recalls Mann. "I'll never forget the look on his face when
he saw the chair again, and I thought to myself, 'what a great
gift idea for someone having a baby.'"
It was with this inspiration that Mann, now 26, started Wood
Design, her homebased children's furniture business, in
Pasadena, California. She presented her first chair as a baby
shower gift in 1991, and by the end of the party, half-a-dozen
interested guests asked for Mann's name and phone number.
Within two weeks, she received her first four orders.
From there, it was a classic case of word-of-mouth advertising.
Happy mothers, doting grandmothers and impressed shower-goers
spread the word on Mann's behalf, raving about the young woman
who made beautiful chairs for children. Now, her product line has
grown to include children's toy chests, high chairs and
bureaus. One client even hired her to customize an entire nursery,
including a canvas mural to match the personalized furniture.
Mann estimates that the chairs, depending on the level of detail
requested, take between four to six hours to complete. She
purchases the furniture from an unfinished wood store, then sands,
paints, personalizes and lacquers the pieces, selling them to
customers for $150 plus shipping charges. At one point, Mann
completed up to six chairs a week, but now that she and Christian
are expecting their first child, she's slowed down production
to prepare her own nest.
"I don't want the quality of my work to suffer because
I'm overwhelmed with orders," admits Mann, who'd like
her business to remain a one-person operation. But if you have a
talent for creating children's furniture and the means to
produce on a larger scale (space, materials, assistants, etc.), you
can present samples of your work at children's boutiques, craft
shows and swap meets. Mann, who also works part-time at a floral
design shop, showcases some of her chairs in the store's
children's section.
Most craft supply stores sell materials at affordable prices, so
your greatest investment will likely be your time, patience and
creativity. Personalizing your work is another way to appeal to
children's gift purchasers; an item with a new baby' name
is always a sweet treat for new parents.
"People love heirlooms. I get inspired thinking of the
children looking at the furniture for the first time, having it
with them throughout their childhood and then passing it down from
one generation to the next," explains Mann. "I try to
make each piece different, so they're all special and
unique."
Reader Reference Source:
Juvenile Merchandising, a monthly children's
merchandising magazine, provides further information about
marketing children's products. Annual subscription/$25, single
issue/$4. To order, write 2125 Center Ave., #305, Fort Lee, NJ
07024, or call (201) 592-7007. Entrepreneur Magazine Group
publishes Business Start-Up Guide #1304: Crafts Business. To order,
see page 93, or call (800) 421-2300.
Nanny Referral Service
For Jacqueline Foote Clark, college was a great place to learn
about business; She first researched a nanny referral service plan
while working toward her MBA degree in 1983.
"The demographics and statistics were staggering,"
explains Foote Clark. "The Department of Labor had predicted a
50 percent increase in working women with children under five years
old between 1986 and 1990, and I didn't think the day-care
centers would be able to handle it."
Her hunch was accurate; the increase actually exceeded the initial
projections, and the number of working moms grew from eight to 13
million in just three years, making child care-and nanny
referral-among the most widely needed children's service
businesses available.
Unfortunately, at the time, Foote Clark's college professor
didn't find the concept "substantial" enough for her
degree project, and instead requested a plan for a computer retail
store. But, convinced about the demand for child care, impressed by
the exploding market opportunity and a mother, herself, looking to
go back to work, Foote Clark set aside her MBA plans and started A
Choice Nanny referral service from her home in 1983.
Now, with 14 franchise locations reaching from New York to Florida,
A Choice Nanny continues to fill a growing market niche. "I
saw the trend for child care heading away from personalized service
and into an impersonal, mail-order-like nanny operation. But I just
didn't see the industry that way," remembers Foote Clark,
whose child-care consultants interview both prospective nannies and
families to maintain a personalized business approach.
Once extensive reference checks are conducted, qualified nannies
receive training in employment etiquette, child development,
discipline, safety and emergency procedures and post-placement
maintenance program benefits that include a quarterly newsletter,
birthday greetings and follow-up calls to monitor progress.
Nanny placement services are built on the reputations of child-care
providers, so establishing a secure screening process is vital. A
Choice Nanny checks with each nanny candidate's former
employers (in both child care and unrelated work), to maintain
their personnel quality. Families are often checked, as well, to
help assure that nannies will be placed in an acceptable working
environment.
Also important is getting word of your business to busy parents
needing homebased child care. "On a small scale, we did
guerilla marketing," says Foote Clark of her initial
advertising efforts, "by placing tear-off strips at grocery
stores, attending local chamber of commerce luncheons, marketing
door-to-doo_r and visiting schools and maternity
stores."
But the nanny referral business is far from kids' play.
"People think running this kind of business is a piece of
cake," says Foote Clark, "but it takes dedication, hard
work and a desire to help the customer. What's more, it takes
an understanding that you are a professional and need to charge
enough money to make you want to stay in business."
Reader Reference Source:
The International Nanny Association (INA) is an advocacy
organization for the in-home child-care industry, serving nannies,
nanny placement agency owners, nanny educators and parents who
employ in-home child-care providers. The INA publishes a start-up
brochure for new agencies, and provides members with access to
health insurance, a membership directory and a bimonthly
newsletter. The 1996 annual INA conference will be held June 20-23
in Stamford, Connecticut. For membership information, write the INA
Membership Services Office at 125 S. Fourth St., #214, Norfolk,
N.E. 68701,or call (800) 297-1477
Children's Computer Training
"Children who have little or no experience with technology
early in life may have little comfort or facility with it as
adults," writes Susan Mitchell, contributing editor of
American Demographics. "Unfortunately, the next boomers are
divided into "haves" and "have-nots," according
to their access to technology and their ability to build important
skills early in life."
To help more kids become part of the technological
"haves," Steve Gray, owner of Computer Discovery in Lake
Oswego, Oregon, runs a computer summer camp for children.
"You'd be amazed how fast kids can learn this
technology," attests Gray, who started offering children's
computer instruction, in addition to his regular adult instruction,
in 1993.
During Computer Discovery's eight, one-week summer camp
sessions, children are grouped together by level of computer
literacy and skill. Less experienced campers concentrate on
hand/eye coordination by practicing with the mouse and keyboard,
while the more advanced learn software programs and are introduced
to various adult computer applications, such as financial
spreadsheets, the Internet, e-mail and word processing. Classes
last for three hours each day, and cost $115 for the total 15 hours
of instruction.
Computer Discovery, located in a retail shopping center ten miles
south of Portland, has 18 computers and three instructors during
its summer camp sessions. Although Gray does little formal
advertising, relying instead on word-of-mouth recommendations from
parents and schools, the program has increased in popularity and
attendance every year since its inception.
"One of our most difficult problems is getting the kids to
leave at noon so we can get ready for the next session,"
admits Gray. "They usually want to stay longer to work on the
computers."
After the success of the summer camp program, parents looking for
year-round instruction convinced Gray to start an after-school
program as well, which he now offers from 4-6 p.m. each weekday.
"Many of our students have exposure to computers either at
home or at school, so this helps to reinforce their skills,"
says Gray. "And for those who don't, this helps to refine
them.
"You can become certified in various software programs, but
the most important qualification is the ability to work well with
children," claims Gray, who hires local college students to
lead his classes.
Local schools and community publications are the best places to
advertise your services. Be sure to highlight the advantages of
being computer-friendly in your ads. With a computer, the know-how,
a lot of patience and a string of eager students, you, too, can
conduct computer instruction seminars of your own.
Reader Reference Source:
Entrepreneur Magazine Group publishes Business Start-Up
Guide #1378: Computer Learning Center. To order, call (800)
421-2300.
Opportunities:
Futurekids: national children's computer learning center
franchise. Start-up cost: $53.5K-88.5K; (310) 337-7006. The
Fourth R: national computer training center franchise. Start-up
cost: $23K-54.5K; (800) 821-8653.
Children's Event Planning
Voted one of BSU's Top 10 businesses to start in 1996,
children's event planning, a specialized division of the event
planning industry, has busy parents jumping for joy. As the number
of two-income families continues to rise, children's event
planners provide parents the freedom to spend their precious free
time celebrating with their children instead of organizing the
festivities.
Sheila Gilbert and Sue Marshall have been friends since they were
kids and business partners for more than two decades. The pair ran
a full-scale catering service until 1993, when they started Party
Gamut Productions, a Los Angeles-based special-event planning
business.
"Since we started this business, our motto has been that we
want our clients to be guests at their own events," says
Gilbert, who estimates that 25-30 percent of the parties they
coordinate each year are thrown for children.
For these celebrations, Gilbert and Marshall consult with parents
about the party's theme, menu and entertainment itinerary, then
visit the site to offer ideas and suggestions. Next, they present
an itemized proposal of the costs to the client. "We don't
like to have any financial surprises," explains Marshall,
"so once the plans and fees are approved, we put the whole
thing together, producing the party from start to
finish."
Some of the activities Party Gamut Productions has arranged for the
young guests' entertainment include bead stringing, clowns,
face painting and petting zoos. They also handle the party
decorations, refreshments and meals, freeing parents to join in on
the fun.
If you're interested in starting a children's event
planning service, your contact list for caterers, entertainers and
decorations will be your most important resource. "In this
industry, it can take a while before you can put your
finger-1-2-3-on what you need for an event," says Gilbert, who
credits the pair's extensive resource list to years of business
experience within the same city.
While Party Gamut relies on its years of contacts for references,
publicity is crucial for start-ups in this industry; children's
boutiques, toy stores, schools and local parenting and community
publications are great places to advertise your new service.
Reader Reference Source:
International Special Event Society (ISES) membership benefits
include an industry education program and free subscription to
ISES's quarterly magazine, Event World. For more
information, write ISES at 9202 N. Meridian St., #200,
Indianapolis, IN 46260, or call (317) 571-5601. To receive a one-
page start-up guide for children's event planning, send a SASE
to Special Event Business Advisors at 638 Camino de los Mares,
#C240-493, San Clemente, CA 92673.
Children's Transportation
Every morning before school, eight year-old Toby Hildre wakes up at
6 o'clock, gets dressed, eats breakfast and drives with her
dad, Scott Hildre, around the local neighborhood. Hildre, president
of Kids' Express Inc. in Fargo, North Dakota, is responsible
for getting Toby-and eight other children on his morning route-to
school safely and on time for their daily instruction.
"I wasn't looking to get into a business, but there seemed
to be a real need," says Hildre, a former homebased marketing
and sales consultant, of his introduction to the children's
transportation industry. "While waiting in the parking lot for
my daughter after school one day, I counted 70 different vehicles
that came through to do the same with their kids."
Hildre began research for Kids' Express in the fall of 1993,
and by May 1994 had incorporated his new business. "I sent
anonymous questionnaires to parents to determine the market
need," explains Hildre, "and the response turned out to
be greater than I expected. So my next step was to look into
licensing through the city, state and federal
governments."
Kids' Express now operates four 15 passenger vans and maintains
one 12 passenger van for emergency backup, each equipped with
private two-way radios to enable communication between the central
dispatch station and the six regular route drivers. "I tried
to keep costs down in the beginning by driving, myself," says
Hildre, "but when there was an emergency with another driver,
I was in a real bind." Now, aside from his morning route with
Toby, Hildre focuses exclusively on the office
administration-scheduling routes, coordinating drivers, billing
clients, taking sales calls, arranging client contracts-and only
occasionally fills in for drivers.
While most regular passengers are preschool, kindergarten and
elementary school students, Kids' Express also taxies the
occasional junior high and pre-driver's-licensed high school
student. Rides cost anywhere from $3-6 each way, depending on the
student's annual contract; regular, round-trip fares cost less
than infrequent, one-way trips.
"As soon as we started this business and were successful, we
started noticing it in other areas," exclaims Hildre, who,
seeing an incredible growth potential in the industry, plans to
franchise his business and offer consulting for other
children's transportation start-ups.
Regulations for transporting children are strict; if you're
interested in starting a children's transportation service,
contact your state's transportation or utility commission for
the particular requirements. Insurance is a must-have in this
business; Hildre estimates that his insurance payments, to cover
his 5 vans and office equipment, total about $10,000 annually. But
considering the precious cargo you'll be delivering, it's
money well spent.
Reader Reference Source:
National Child Transport Association (NCTA), a trade organization
for private child transportation services, provides educational
materials, conferences and a newsletter. For more information,
write NCTA at 381 Hidden Valley Dr., Naples, FL 33962, (941)
775-5200.
Opportunities:
Kids Kab International: national children's transportation
franchise. Start-up cost: $33.9K-65.69K; (810) 362-8280. Kids on
the Go: a national children's transportation business
opportunity. Start-up cost: $12.5K-20K; (813) 791-7433.
This story appears in the April 1996 issue of Startups. Subscribe »
