Why Child Care?
Child care makes sense, because it makes solid business sense. The commercial child care industry is currently generating annual revenues of more than $40 billion. Top line revenue gains for the industry have been running at about 10% each year since 1999. The industry is expected to grow in excess of 9% annually, reaching total revenues of nearly $60 billion by 2005. There are many reasons behind the health of the commercial child care industry. To begin with, there is an increasing need for both parents to become wage earners. Accordingly, there are more working mothers today than ever before. Sixty-five percent of mothers with children under six are in the labor force. More than 70% of single mothers have jobs outside of the home and 59% of mothers with children under one year of age work outside the home. As a result, more and more children under the age of 6 are in the care of someone other than their parents.

In addition, we are experiencing a rising birth trend as the baby boomers come of age. About four million babies are born every year in the United States. The population of children under the age of five is expected to grow from almost 19 million today to over 21 million in 2015 and close to 30 million in 2050. Finally, baby boomers are having children later in life and have the financial resources to spend on their children’s education, development and social integration. Added to these compelling statistics is the growth of single-parent families, an overall preference of parents for center-based child care, such as that offered by Kiddie Academy® Child Care Learning Centers, and the move away from home-based child care.

Why Kiddie Academy?
Support is very important to franchisees because the typical franchisee has little or no experience in selecting appropriate sites, the complex and potentially difficult environment of governmental regulation, zoning issues and the ongoing operations of a child care center. As a Kiddie Academy® franchisee, you will receive support and assistance through all stages of your business, including assistance in site selection, obtaining third-party financing, obtaining proper zoning approvals, facility design and construction, child care licensing, training, start-up procedures and on-going operations.
We are involved in an extensive site selection process for each potential Kiddie Academy® Center, using our trained real estate and design staff. A market analysis is conducted to ascertain whether it would be desirable to develop a Kiddie Academy® Center in a particular market and to determine the location of suitable areas within that market. The market is evaluated by collecting and analyzing demographic data, such as population, age, household income, employment levels, growth and the local economy. Several geographic areas may be identified within the market under study.

Within each geographical area, supply and demand for child care are evaluated through a detailed analysis of the demographic characteristics of each area. In addition, state and local laws, including zoning requirements, development regulations and child care licensing regulations are reviewed in order to determine the timing and the potential of obtaining the necessary approvals to construct and operate a new child care center. A host of sites are analyzed within each geographical area. Each potential site is measured against the Kiddie Academy® standards regarding location, convenience, visibility, traffic, size, layout, affordable economic terms and functionality.

During the construction phase of your Kiddie Academy® Center, you will participate in our training program which is divided between formal classroom and hands-on experiences in an operating Kiddie Academy® Child Care Learning Center. Our staff is available to assist you in recruiting, hiring and training your Center Director. In addition, your initial Center Director will attend a separate training course at our corporate offices.

You will utilize our proven marketing system that has been developed to obtain initial enrollment and to build and maintain enrollment at your Center. This marketing system concentrates on your Center only and uses targeted advertising. All Kiddie Academy® Centers host a grand opening for the local community. Localized, targeted advertising precedes this event. At the grand opening, parents tour the facility and have the opportunity to talk with the staff while the children enjoy entertainment, visit classrooms and play with educational toys. Community awareness is the key for your Kiddie Academy® Child Care Learning Center.

The Kiddie Academy® Business Management System enables you to monitor financial activities of your Center on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. As a Franchisee, you are supplied with detailed monthly financial reports that assist you in evaluating the financial performance of your business and maintain continuity in your operations.

Each Kiddie Academy® Center is required to utilize the procedures set forth in the Kiddie Academy® Manuals that govern marketing, finance, administration, curriculum and safety procedures. Our service support team provides ongoing guidance in all areas of operations through on-site visits and frequent telephone conferences. In addition, our corporate personnel monitor each Center to ensure that the services each Center provides are of the highest quality, and are in compliance with Kiddie Academy and governmental requirements.