Kids Franchises

by Jill Abrahamsen

If you love children and are looking for an opportunity in a high-growth industry, then a children's franchise may be for you. There are options for every lifestyle and for every budget, from massive play gyms and child care centers to tutoring services that can be run out of your home. Some brands run better with passive ownership while others need hands-on owner-operators to be lucrative. Whatever the size or the model, they all have one thing in common: They are fun to own.

Here, we take a behind-the-scenes look at very different and creative concepts in this sector. If you're up for laughs and giggles and a great business opportunity, read on. You might just find your perfect fit.

PASSIVE OWNERSHIP IS WHAT SHARKEY'S CUTS FOR KIDS IS ALL ABOUT. Entrepreneur magazine recognized Sharkey’s as a top 100 brand under $150K for 2018. Sharkey’s proven business model works best when the owner is hands-off in the daily operations of the business. “We seek franchise partners who want to keep their day jobs. Franchisees can run their businesses from home, the kitchen table, or a remote location. We offer a recession-proof investment… not a job,” says Scott Sharkey, founder and CEO.

Sharkey, and his wife Linda, created Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids to offer a different kind of hair-cut experience for children ages 0 to 14. They saw an opportunity to take the drudgery out of kids’ haircuts and turn it into a fun and lucrative business. The first location opened in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 2002, and has grown steadily. “We do not sell a haircut, we sell an experience,” says Sharkey.

From toddlers to tweens, Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids has something for everyone. “We don’t just cater to the youngest of children or one gender. We have positioned ourselves in the market as the only true kids’ salon franchise for ages 0-14! With our unique design and technology, we are able to keep the kids coming to Sharkey’s for an additional 8 years over other kids’ salons. This allows Sharkey’s to have the highest and longest retention rate in our industry,” says Sharkey. While they are getting haircuts, younger kids are thrilled to sit in novelty chairs and watch shows and older kids get the latest in technology and have a blast playing their favorite Xbox game.

Multiple revenue streams come from a variety of services, including birthday parties and proprietary product lines. A membership program guarantees repeat business. With the recent acquisition of The Hair Genies Lice Treatment Institute, Sharkey’s will be adding a Lice Treatment Clinic franchise to its portfolio.

Sharkey is excited for the growth of the business, which doubled in 2018. “Our franchise offers people the opportunity to invest in a brand that has longevity, is fun to run, is recession proof, and has very little competition. Kids always need haircuts and you cannot get that on Amazon,” Sharkey says.

For more information, visit SharkeysFranchisingCompany.com or take a virtual tour at SharkeysVirtualTour.com

GETTING KIDS OFF SCREENS AND MOVING AROUND IS A CHALLENGE FOR all parents. With this in mind, Funtopia offers a creative solution that not only gets kids off devices, but gets them excited about adapting healthy lifestyles. As the name suggests, this active entertainment park is all about fun and activity.

Funtopia takes rock wall climbing to the next level. Visitors experience imaginative scenarios like riding dinosaurs, jumping off skyscrapers, or climbing beanstalks. “They get to use their muscles and their imaginations,” says Yassen Nikolov, general manager of Funtopia. Rope courses, zip lines, ninja courses, artificial caving, and many more active entertainment adventures add to the mix. “Instead of focusing on one activity, we have several mini-concepts, which keeps it interesting. It’s all about active entertainment,” he says. Funtopia’s dedication to promote healthy living goes way beyond activities. At the snack bar you won’t find junk food. “We only offer healthy options like baked chicken, fruit smoothies, and juices made without sugar,” says Nikolov. Parties and memberships create multiple revenue streams.

With its original site in Bulgaria, Funtopia franchises are spreading around the globe, including locations in Australia, Israel, and Pakistan. Since 2016, franchise opportunities have been offered in the U.S. and Canada. Although different ownership structures are available, Nikolov wants to partner with a certain type of investor. “We’d like to see some passion for the business. It has to be the right fit,” he says. “Most importantly, we want franchisees who follow the system and like our culture.”

For more information, visit www.funtopiaworld.com

CHALLENGE ISLAND® WAS BORN FROM OUT-OF-THE-BOX THINKING and innovation, and the franchise teaches those same traits. Originally launched as an afterschool program, Challenge Island has a curriculum designed to excite kids about learning.

CEO and founder Sharon Estroff, a former teacher, developed the concept as a way to engage students. Inspired by her favorite reality TV show, Estroff had an epiphany back in 2002. She wondered, “What if I turn the classroom into an island, divide students into tribes and create challenges that promote higher-level thinking?”

She tested her concept as an after-school enrichment program, and it was an immediate hit. Today Challenge Island is a rapidly growing franchise operation that attracts various kinds of investors, including teachers. Estroff personally creates and constantly adds to the curriculum, which incorporates science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). While having fun, kids develop important life skills such as collaboration, compromise, resilience, and critical thinking. The hundreds of themed lessons, “Fantastic Fiction,” “The Cat in the Hat Challenge,” and “Mythology Challenge,” for example, target specific age groups.

Estroff is passionate about her business and looks to partner with investors who love children and want to make a difference.

“At Challenge Island, we consider the needs of both the child of today and the adult of the future,” she says. “For today’s kids, we offer whimsical, engaging journeys into new worlds of adventure and imagination; a welcome reprieve from the increasingly digitalized and high-pressure childhood experience. For tomorrow’s adults, we offer the foundation for building the skills required to thrive in a competitive, 21st-century global society.”

Her unique concept has won accolades for several reasons. It’s wildly popular with children, and it allows franchisees to be creative and mold young lives in positive ways. Challenge Island’s many revenue streams include camps, enrichment classes, birthday parties, scouting events, and senior programs.

The franchise also offers something that’s missing from other brands: the ability to customize and be creative. Challenge Island provides a flexible, mobile, and home-based model with low overhead and high margins.

“We give tremendous support to our franchise partners and think of them as family,” Estroff says.

For more information, visit www.challenge-island.com

IT'S REALLY OK TO HAVE FUN WHILE YOU'RE LEARNING. IN FACT, MANY experts agree that children are meant to learn through play. That’s where Snapology comes in. An interactive educational program, Snapology engages children with hands-on, playful activities that teach STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics).

As a mother and businesswoman, founder Laura Coe saw a need for an enrichment program that was fun. “Kids are under so much pressure these days. It’s a competitive world, but childhood and learning shouldn't be stressful,” Coe Says. Partnering with her sister, Lisa, they started the first Snapology in 2010. Focusing on the whole child, the program puts an importance on teamwork and collaboration. “We have brilliant kids coming out of college these days that have poor social skills. We want to change that.”

This low-cost, home-based business teaches robotics and STEAM principles through classes, camps, and parties. After six months, franchisees can add a brick-and-mortar Discovery Center. “We have more than 60 different program topics and themes, and we’re always updating our curriculum,” Coe says.

In the works is a 40-foot charter bus that will be offered as an add-on to the business. “This will create opportunities to work with day-care centers and preschools that might not have the space to accommodate outside programs. The buses even come equipped with pop-out tents and tables for outdoor activities. This will work well for birthday parties, too. Parents can keep the mess outside,” Coe says.

As a former franchisee herself, Coe knows the importance of support and training and has put a lot into perfecting the franchise systems. “We make it easy for our partners to run and market the business. If they have a problem, we find a solution,” Coe says.

For more information, visit www.snapology.com.

THE EARLIER THAT CHILDREN BEGIN SWIMMING, THE FASTER THEY learn and the less likely they are to become afraid of the water. With that in mind, Kids First Swim Schools starts lessons for children as young as 3 months old.

Kids First founder Gary Roth, who designed the program in 2001, believes that every child should know how to swim. With a trademarked curriculum, he took a methodical approach to lessons, having children master the basics before moving to the next level. “The program not only teaches children lifesaving skills, but the proper mechanics of swimming,” says Sandy MacIver, director of franchise development. “Unlike recreational pools, our training pools are designed specifically to teach children how to swim. As a franchise company we offer our franchisees more than 18 years of intellectual capital. We offer a big, upfront savings to investors because Kids First Construction Company oversees the retail space construction, as well as the build out of the pools,” she says.

As they say, location is everything. With that in mind, the swim schools are built in children-centric retail centers giving the schools a tremendous amount of marketing exposure. With a structured teaching environment, parents can enjoy watching their children through one-way class, and the 90-degree pool temperatures allows students to stay focused on their lessons without the distractions of being too cold.

The company is intentionally growing at a moderate pace to ensure franchisee satisfaction. “We want to make sure our franchise partners are successful. We help them find the perfect location,” with sites averaging 6,500 to 9,000 square feet, McIver says. “We guide them every step of the way.”

For more information, visit www.kidsfirstfranchisecompany.com