In my years as a FranNet franchise consultant, I’ve helped hundreds of entrepreneurs find the perfect match for business ownership across a wide spectrum of industries. With thousands of individual franchise concepts on the market today, there’s literally something for everyone to consider. But one category in particular is fairly meaningful to me, as it should be to anyone who’s also a parent. I’m talking about kid-related business opportunities.
Franchise opportunities that cater to children and youths are enjoying quite a bit of popularity at the moment. The majority of franchise owners who run kid-related businesses are often parents themselves, uniquely qualified to understand the value proposition of the products and services these concepts offer. Though I had both of my children a little later in life than most, I’m currently right in the midst of childrearing—a full-time job of its own, as many others can relate. If you’re considering a kid-related business, here are some statistics you should know about:
Childcare and Educational Services
Childcare-related expenses have reached an all-time high. According to data and statistics from the Brookings Institution, a middle-class family will end up spending approximately $310,605 to raise a child through the age of 17. Childcare alone accounts for between 12-29% of this figure, a business sector that includes several franchise opportunities. Some of the most common concepts include daycare, educational centers, after school programs, summer camps, and even tutoring. It’s estimated that parents spend $4,000 per child on these activities, and I’m now one of them. I recently signed my daughter up for lessons at Mathnasium for additional help in a subject that wasn’t exactly my strongest subject in school. And did you know that some early childhood and preschool programs have wait lists that stretch to one and a half years? No matter how you look at that statistic, it’s evidence of the robust level of demand in the childcare marketplace.
Sports, Sports, Sports!
Then there’s sports! As parenting has gotten more competitive over the years, so has the proliferation of sports-related businesses. And if there’s one thing that the franchising industry isn’t short on, it’s sport-related business opportunities. There are special camps for soccer, football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, and tennis. Drilling down further, there are franchise opportunities that only focus on building speed, muscle, coordination, and highly specialized skills. I’d be remiss if I failed to mention swimming schools, which ultimately provide a lifesaving skill. According to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, 88% of parents believe sports benefit their child’s physical health, and 73% believe sports benefit their child’s mental health.
Family Entertainment & Gaming Centers
As any parent can relate, kids have an unrelenting appetite for amusement and fun. Family entertainment centers, arcades, trampoline parks, gyms, and the increasingly popular esports gaming leagues. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, families spend an average of $250 each month on entertaining their kids, which equates to $3,000 a year! If you’re interested in owning a family entertainment franchise opportunity, look around your own community to see what’s missing. With franchise ownership, you could close that gap quickly.
According to some of the latest statistics compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, there are approximately 73.6 million children in the U.S. under the age of 18 years old. From one parent to another, I hope you now have a better understanding of the opportunity that awaits you in the childcare-related industry. I recently hosted an online webinar on the value of investing in a kid-related franchise opportunity. In case you missed it, you can view an archived version by following this link.
Click here to connect with me. I’m Diana Trondsen, FranNet Market President, Franchise Consultant serving Houston and the Gulf Coast Region of Texas. To schedule a no-cost, no-obligation appointment, you can call, email or attend one of my upcoming webinars on franchise ownership. Together, we can find a perfect match for the business you were meant to own and operate.