Ducklings Early Learning Center

Early education and childcare
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Franchise 500 2023
Franchise 500 Rank
N/R Not ranked last year
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Initial investment
$893K - $2.1M
Units as of 2023
11 Increase 83.3% over 3 years

Jody Thompson founded the Ducklings Early Learning Center in 1994. She took this opportunity to combine early education with childcare. Combining these allowed her to further enrich the lives of the children with which she worked. 

Ducklings Early Learning Center began franchising in 2016 and expanded its reach, continuing to provide play-centered preschool education.

Ducklings Early Learning Center is headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania and is looking to add more franchisees to its name.

Why You May Want To Start a Ducklings Early Learning Center Franchise

Ducklings Early Learning Center offers childcare services for most of the week, watching children from six weeks to kindergarten age. Ducklings Early Learning Center teaches mental, physical, and interpersonal skills and strives to instill a love of learning in its students. They also offer daily communication to families on what children have done and learned.

Franchisees with Ducklings Early Learning Center don’t need to be teachers or have a childcare background. However, they do need to be passionate. One area of passion should include helping children and others in the community. Because of this, it is beneficial to enjoy working with children and adults. Franchisees should also display traits that the Ducklings Early Learning Center seeks to teach children, such as high self-esteem, cooperation, and good manners.

What Might Make a Ducklings Early Learning Center Franchise a Good Choice?

Opening a Ducklings Early Learning Center franchise may offer a more predictable outcome than investing in a completely new brand that could struggle to thrive in an already crowded and competitive industry.

Ducklings Early Learning Center franchisees will need to find a site and hire staff and teachers. They will also be responsible for implementing the Ducklings Early Learning Center curriculum and facilitating communication with parents about their children. While the responsibilities may occasionally seem daunting, Ducklings Early Learning Center has a team of people ready to help franchisees every step of the way. The Ducklings Early Learning Center franchise team is built from others who have worked in the company, and they are prepared to coach and support franchisees who want to grow with the Ducklings Early Learning Center brand.

How To Open a Ducklings Early Learning Center Franchise

With Ducklings Early Learning Center, franchisees are several dozen hours of on-the-job training and many more hours of classroom training. Ducklings Early Learning Center also supports franchisees with location selection, safety and security procedures, and operation instructions. Some other support that is offered includes proprietary curriculum and software, marketing help, and website development.

A typical franchise agreement with Ducklings Early Learning Center runs for ten years and includes exclusive territories. Franchisees may be allowed to renew their agreement if they meet the Ducklings Early Learning Center requirements.

To be part of the Ducklings Early Learning Center team, you should make sure you’re financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. In addition, you should prepare yourself for ongoing fees that will include advertising, royalty, and potential renewal fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company’s set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

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Company Overview

About Ducklings Early Learning Center

Industry Children's Businesses
Related Categories Childcare, Children's Education/Enrichment
Founded 1994
Parent Company Ducklings Early Learning Franchise
Leadership Kimberly Collier, Director of Franchise Development
Corporate Address 1414 Lenape Rd.
West Chester, PA 19382
Social Facebook, LinkedIn

Business Overview

Franchising Since 2016 (8 years)
# of employees at HQ 9
Where seeking

This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming

# of Units 11 (as of 2023)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Ducklings Early Learning Center franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Information Circle
$75,000
Initial Investment Information Circle
$893,400 - $2,059,000
Net Worth Requirement Information Circle
$500,000 - $1,000,000
Cash Requirement Information Circle
$150,000 - $200,000
Veteran Incentives Information Circle
5% off franchise fee
Royalty Fee Information Circle
6%
Ad Royalty Fee Information Circle
1%
Term of Agreement Information Circle
10 years
Is franchise term renewable? Yes
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Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing Ducklings Early Learning Center has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training 34 hours
Classroom Training 86 hours
Ongoing Support
Purchasing Co-ops
Newsletter
Meetings & Conventions
Grand Opening
Online Support
Security & Safety Procedures
Lease Negotiation
Field Operations
Site Selection
Proprietary Software
Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support
Ad Templates
National Media
Regional Advertising
Social Media
SEO
Website Development
Email Marketing

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed? No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Information Circle
No
Can this franchise be run part time? Information Circle
No
# of employees required to run 25-40
Are exclusive territories available? Information Circle
Yes
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The information on this page is not intended as an endorsement or recommendation of any particular franchise or business opportunity by Entrepreneur Media. Our listings and rankings are solely research tools you can use to compare opportunities. Entrepreneur stresses that you should always conduct your own independent investigation before investing in a franchise or business opportunity. That should include reviewing the company's legal documents, consulting with an attorney and an accountant, and talking to former and current franchisees/licensees/dealers.
Updated: December 12th, 2022