 |
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
| |
 |
Becoming my friend is really simple and beneficial. It's not a one-way relationship where I charge you fees and royalties and get my share irrespective of how well the centre performs. I care about you and want you to give only when you get! We co-own the centre, but you call the shots. I remain in the background just holding your hands so that neither of us ever feels lonely.
My typical centre consists of a toy & book library, an online shop and a classroom for conducting a variety of classes all of which are geared towards the learning and development of children.
What is the structure of opening up a new centre?
We are looking to enter into partnership arrangements in different cities whereby we will put up a part of the capital alongside you and therefore earn a part of the profits as you would too. There are no fixed franchisee fees / royalties etc. payable and we make profits only when you do.
The main reason for following this structure is that we strongly believe in our business model and therefore are willing to put part of the capital to back it up.
What is the eligibility criterion for selecting your local city partner?
While there are no defined set of qualifications that are needed to start this centre, the two most important things that we look for in our partner are - trust and a commitment to provide quality service. Additionally, since the platform will be online, a level of comfort with computers would be beneficial.
Importantly, the target market must be large enough to be a financially viable opportunity for both, our partner and us.
What are the different avenues for revenue?
There are three distinct revenue models that exist:
a. Toy & Book Library: Members pay a rental fee for the toys and books they rent
b. Shop: Parents can order books and toys online. Since we procure these directly from distributors, and maintain no inventory, we shall be able to offer them these products at a discount as well as offer home delivery services for these purchases
c. Classes: Once we get a reasonable number of members, we will run lots of different classes, summer/winter camps and other activities for these children.
What is the initial support you provide?
Online integration: Being an online structure, we will ensure that the initial catalogue is properly organized, members can register and queue up items and you can manage their accounts online. Ensuring that our new centre is properly integrated into our online systems is our responsibility.
Product procurement: Since we have already done this for previous centres there is no point reinventing the wheel. We have spent a large amount of time creating a list of products that each centre should have so. We will ensure that these are procured in the most cost effective manner. Physical procurement from local distributors shall have to be done by the local partner.
Marketing: We will provide marketing material in the form of flyers, cards, etc. and assist you in putting up stalls or counters in exhibitions of kids’ events at intervals to increase awareness. Apart from this, we will run online promotions in the form of having dedicated pages on social networking sites as well as advertisements on other websites.
Others: Templates of visiting cards, membership forms and other material will be provided by us.
Training: While the systems are fairly easy to use, we will provide the initial training to you and the staff to ensure that they are well versed with the systems and can manage the centre even in your absence.
What are the initial responsibilities of the city/local partner?
The city partner will have the following major responsibilities in the lead-up to starting operations:
Identification of Place: Since we expect the local partner to know his/her city better and the demographic profile within the city, it is important that he/she identifies where the centre should be located.
Hiring of Staff: We will provide support in conducting interviews and providing a profile of the kind of person needed to be hired, but the ultimate responsibility of hiring staff will be the local partner’s.
Local Marketing: The marketing efforts in schools, handing out of flyers etc. will be done by the local partner. We will provide the necessary material and support for this.
Others: Printing of cards, forms etc. ordering of delivery bags, etc. All specifications and samples will be provided for this. We need you to only identify a good, economical local vendor who can do this.
What is the amount of space needed?
Ideally we need about 300 sqft of space to start the library. Beyond that, the space should be expandable so that classes etc. can be held in the future. It may also make sense to take up the larger space at the very beginning itself if it is reasonably priced. We can then start the classes immediately.
What is the ongoing support that you will provide us?
Since the platform shall be online, the ongoing technical support and back-up will all be provided by us. In addition, we will continuously help you update the stock and add new products to the existing stock. All the back-end work will be handled by us while you can focus on adding new members and providing quality service to them. We will regularly make visits to the centre and will be there to provide you any sort of assistance we can.
What is the amount of capital required to start a centre?
As a broad indicator, the capital required would be in the region of Rs. 4-7 lakhs, part of which will be put up by us as our stake in the partnership.
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © Nutty Newton Enterprise. All Rights Reserved |
|
|
