Franchisor Interview - Baby Sensory Franchise Director Ian Sharland on growth in Child and Baby Franchises
Franchise for children and babies are amongst the most popular franchise investment opportunities on the femalefranchise.co.uk website. In recent years, classes focussing on early years development have been increasingly popular, and will continue to be so, as proud parents look to give their children the best start in life. This demand has created a thriving market, so we spoke with Ian Sharland, Franchise Director of Baby Sensory, one of the UK's leading baby development organisations, that operates a growing franchise structure throught the country. 
Baby development classes have really become popular in the last few years. What sort of classes are there for mothers and babies and what are the recognised benefits?
"There are a significant range of Baby Development classes available to parents with young babies. These include baby massage, baby yoga, baby signing, baby swimming, baby exercise and, baby music to name just a few.
The benefits of the different classes vary but they all provide the opportunity for new parents to meet and they all provide some form of development benefit to the babies. For example the sing and sign activities help to develop communications skills.
We recently had a call from a really excited mum who attends one of the classes run by our founder, Lin Day. Her husband had woken her to ask her to take a look at their baby who was “acting strangely”. Their baby was rubbing his wrists together. The mum was delighted to inform her husband that their baby wanted to have his nappy changed, a sign used at the Baby Sensory classes they attend."
If there is such a wide range of activities available to parents with young babies, what makes you think that Baby Sensory will succeed in an already active market place?
"Although the market is becoming established, four features of the Baby Sensory programme set it aside from the other programmes on offer. The Baby Sensory Programme is specifically designed for babies from birth to 13 months. Many of the other activities that are available are either not suitable for newborn babies or they cater for slightly older children.
We operate two age-groups: birth to 6 months and 7 to 13 months. Activities are devised with these age groupings in mind. Each Baby Sensory session contains a variety of activities including singing, signing, fibre optic light shows, puppets, bubbles and bells. This variety provides a wealth of sensory experiences to the babies and ensures constant interest and enjoyment for parents.
Each session combines group activity and developmental play in our specially designed sensory area. This approach allows time for parents to enjoy group activities with their babies as well as being able to socialise with other parents whilst their babies play in the sensory area. Every session is different. New and exciting activities are introduced every week and thus parents and their babies look forward to each session and share the enjoyment of each new experience."
Are there any particular services that are unusual, new or different to other Baby Development businesses?
"Every session is designed around a specific theme where the activities and music are selected to create a complete themed experience. For example we have a Baby Pirates session which includes water activities and nautical music. Some of the themes are also seasonal so we have a “Babies First Christmas” session. Whilst the babies may not necessarily recognise the themes these add to the enjoyment of the parents and they keep bringing their babies back to see what we are going to be doing the following week."
How popular are the Baby Sensory classes?
"Once parents have been to one session, they invariably want to sign up for a full term and they also tell their friends. The challenge for any new franchisee is getting the word out about their particular classes when they first set up.
Lucy Thomson, our first franchisee, has nearly 200 parents and babies signed up to attend her classes in Kent every week, within her first year. New franchisees are given a range of ideas about how to promote their classes during training and coached and supported when they first establish their new business."
What are the main reasons for Baby Sensory Franchisees having chosen to start and run their franchise?
"The Baby Sensory franchisees have varied backgrounds although most have
been working in some form of child care. The main reasons for them choosing to run a Baby Sensory franchise are flexibility to work hours that fit in with their family life and the opportunity to work with parents and babies in an exciting and challenging role.
One of our franchisees, who runs classes in Southampton, had her own successful Baby Massage business. She was keen to continue working with parents and babies but wanted to work with her customers for slightly longer than the 6 week baby massage course.
Another franchisee who is starting her franchise in Bristol in January 2008, attended Baby Sensory classes with her own baby. She enjoyed the classes so much that she decided to set up her own franchise when she moved house."
What is the scope for earning potential if a Baby Sensory franchisee were to run their business full-time or part-time?
"Our franchisees are able to determine their own earnings potential. Our franchisees charge between £50.00 and £65.00 per 10 week term dependent on the economic circumstances of the area they are working in. Each session can accommodate up to 20 babies and it is possible to run 4 sessions in a day, although we recommend that franchisees build up their number of sessions.
Some of our franchisees also run baby parties and special Saturday sessions for dads. The franchisees then need to consider their costs, which include equipment, venue hire, insurance, promotion and franchise fees. We have now been offering franchises for just over a year and a number of our franchisees are asking if they can buy a second territory and employ staff to run classes for them. This creates the opportunity to considerably improve the earnings potential."
For people trained in Baby Massage, what are the benefits of becoming a Baby Sensory Franchisee against developing local classes directly?
"This is a very interesting question as we have had a number of Baby Massage instructors who have expressed an interest in running their own Baby Sensory franchise. This is an excellent background from our perspective as these ladies are experienced in running their own business, often have excellent contacts with local Health Care professionals and are well known and respected by parents in their local community.
The benefits a Baby Sensory franchise offers to Baby Massage instructors are:
- The Baby Sensory programme last 13 months and not just the 5 or 6 weeks of most Baby Massage courses. Thus the franchisee is not constantly looking to find new parents to attend their programme;
- A Baby Sensory session can accommodate up to 20 parents and babies. Most Baby Massage courses are for far smaller groups. Thus the earning potential per hour is significantly greater;
- The franchisee will have their own territory where no one else is allowed to run Baby Sensory classes whereas there is often significant competition between Baby Massage instructors in a specific area;
What kind of skills are required, in an individual, to run a Baby Sensory business?
A successful Baby Sensory Franchisee will need a range of qualities. To be really successful they need excellent interpersonal skills to promote and run classes. It is essential to build strong working relationships with Health Professionals who are in touch with parents and babies and often refer them to Baby Sensory classes.
Equally it is important to entertain the parents and babies who attend as this ensures parents return and recommend Baby Sensory to others. We also look for the following qualities when talking to potential franchisees;
- Self Confidence and Enthusiasm – You will be running sessions with up to 20 parents and their babies. You will lead varied sessions including singing, signing, puppet shows and the other activities and your confidence and personality will shine through;
- Self Motivation and Drive – You will be running your own business and the rewards you reap will be directly related to your own efforts;
- Caring and Thoughtful – Baby Sensory is committed to delighting its customers. You must share with us in our dedication to providing excellent service and ensure that all our parents and babies are captivated by the Baby Sensory experience.
We welcome enquiries from serious and suitable people throughout the UK as we look to establish further successful business relationships with franchise partners."
Baby Sensory is owned and managed by two married couples. Lin and Howard Day who are responsible for the development of the Baby Sensory concept and Keeley and Ian Sharland who are responsible for marketing and developing the business. Lin Day (Dip. Ed. BSc. PGCE. M. Phil) is the originator of the Baby Sensory concept.
Lin has numerous professional qualifications and has worked with young children and babies for over 30 years Howard has worked closely with Lin during the development of their successful nursery and their Wakeup UK business providing valuable business support and managing the supply chain.
Ian has over 20 years senior management experience. As Managing Director of LogicaCMG’s Enterprise Services business (£80m turnover, £8m profit) he had a team of over 800 staff. Most of Ian’s career has been in creating and growing new businesses.
Keeley has worked for a number of large organisations in both the private and public sectors including The Crown Prosecution Service, British Telecom and LogicaCMG. Her experience includes a range of customer services and technical support roles. She has also been responsible for establishing processes and procedures to meet rigorous quality management systems.
Keeley and Ian have developed business development plans and supporting procedures which help new franchisees to promote their business and provide constant support during the challenging early stages when franchisees are establishing their new business.
To explore the franchise opportunities available through Baby Sensory in this high-demand and fast-growing business sector, click here to Request Information or click here to visit the Baby Sensory profile page on this site.
