Frequently Asked
Questions

Mobile Studio Business Model investment range: $60,550-$124,395

Brick & Mortar Studio Business Model investment range: $118,990-$330,895

The franchise fee is what allows the new Franchise Owner access to our proven business model, including our award-winning curriculum, proprietary technology for attracting new customers and managing existing customers and everything else that goes into making this business a proven success. The franchise fee does not include studio build-out, supplies, or additional operational expenses.

We’re really evaluating your potential to be our next Owner with three specific criteria:

1. Sales Skills: You’re not afraid to promote your products and services to excited parents and community organizations in need of more art programs.

2. Passionate about Art: You don’t have to be able to replicate the Mona Lisa, but you should really love the idea of helping bring more creativity through art to children in your community.

3. Community-Minded: You want to get out into your community, create new partnerships and become known as a force for good!

Wondering if you meet the full initial requirements to own a Kidcreate Studio? Fill out our 5 minute, no-cost, no-obligation Questionnaire and we will be able to answer you on that! Start your Questionnaire HERE

An award-winning line-up of lesson plans that we continue to improve upon every single day!

Over 1000 lesson plans jam packed with FUN. They are updated monthly to ensure our lessons incorporate themes and concepts that are popular with kids.

They also incorporate many different art mediums and Incorporates STEM learning and a “kid bit” which provides educational experiences to the children.
Our new virtual classes and take-home art kits are a creative solution to offer our art programs in the comfort and convenience of our customers’ homes!

In addition to our award-winning curriculum that is both fun and highly educational, Kidcreate Studio is the only art program to offer two distinctly different business models- our brick and mortar studio model and our mobile studio model. We’ve learned how to utilize each of these models to complement the other, and as a result, Kidcreate has some of the strongest economics in the children’s franchise space.

You can choose which of our business models meets your personal business goals.

You’ll start with only 2-4 employees, who need no specific skills required but ideally they have had experience working with children.

The curriculum is designed so that someone can teach a class without having any art skills. You will be able to control your overhead costs of staffing because classes are registration based.

Additionally, we will train you on how to more easily identify great-fitting employees and bring them into your Kidcreate family. 

Only if you want to!

When a Franchise Owner opens a new location, they may teach an occasional class. As the studio establishes itself, the Franchise Owner typically steps out of that role to focus on managing their teaching staff, or opening additional studios.

We have you covered!  We have a fabulous team here to support you every step of the way. Anytime you need us we are only a phone call/email away. 

Launch Program- We lead you through the launch program from your initial welcome call all the way to your grand opening. You will have weekly calls with your Franchise Support Specialist and they will help you get your studio up and running as quickly and as easily as possible. 

Training- Kidcreate Academy is our training program. It consists of a combination of self-study, classroom training, and hands-on work. You will also spend time in Minneapolis with us as part of the initial training program and then a trainer will come to your studio for onsite training to help get your studio set up and to help with your grand opening.

Ongoing Support- Even after your studio is open we are there to help with our Post-Open Training Program and ongoing coaching sessions. And of course we are always just a call away if you need anything!

Yes, we have you covered here! You will have a dedicated Marketing Specialist to help you with a variety of marketing campaigns.

As a new Owner, we will build you a localized website specific to your location and community, fully injected with SEO goodness.

In addition to a state-of-the-art website, we will also help you with ongoing channels like:

+ Direct Mail
+ Social Media Ads
+ Building Community Partnerships
+ Public Relations
+ Google PPC
+ Print Ads
and much more!

The Kidcreate Academy is the training program that all of our new Franchise Owners must complete before they open their studio.  It consists of three different phases: Initial Training, Onsite Training, and Ongoing Training. 

Our Franchise Owners also have 24/7 access to:

• E-courses
• Sales Call Library
• Training tutorials
• Operations Manual
• Training Manuals

But most importantly, we are very hands-on when it comes to training! We will be covering all things Kidcreate. And we continue your training until you feel you have mastered the Kidcreate way.

Our mobile studio business model can get up and running in as little as 60 days! If you choose to open a brick & mortar studio, our dedicated Real Estate & Construction Team will aim to get you open for business quickly! The average time is about 4-6 months from approval to opening your doors to your community.

We target locations that are approximately 1,200 square feet.

An On-The-Go Partner is another organization within your community that hosts Kidcreate classes at their facilities, such as community centers, daycare and private schools.

This means you’ll be able to go out and actively bring your business to community organizations in need of more art throughout your territory!

On-the-go partnerships are now so successful, that generally, they equate to 60% of the total revenue of successful brick & mortar studios.

Read what a Franchise Owner says about a typical day at their Kidcreate Studio:

There really isn’t a typical day! Each day is different, which I LOVE! I typically start my day by return phone calls and emails. Then I switch gears to day-to-day operations that include (Not limited to)

• Sales Calls- setting up group activities and reaching out to potential new on-the-go partners.
• Marketing task- creating flyers that promote our upcoming class, upselling our classes to all customers, assign an assistant teacher to canvas the area with a coupon or upcoming class flyers.
• Staffing- interviewing, hiring, training- new and existing teachers. I check in with my teachers all the time to see if they have any questions about anything, I provide monthly training meetings. My teachers are the “face” of the studio both on-the-go and at the studio and I want to make sure they are providing the best possible experience, so the kids want to come back for more Kidcreate fun!
• Staff scheduling
• Customer service, and quality control
• Monitoring and ordering supplies 
• Invoicing
  

What made Lara Olson realize that there was an unmet need in kids’ art education? Hear our Founder’s story here.

Kidcreate Studio taps into three distinct child-based industries including;

• Children’s Education and Tutoring
• Summer Camps
• Children’s Birthday Parties

All of these industries are showing steady growth, with the education and tutoring industry up 37% in 2014 and the children’s birthday party industry totaling a whopping $25 billion a year.

Yes! If a candidate qualifies for a multi-unit agreement, we offer a discount on the per-unit franchise fee.

Yes. We offer a 10% franchise fee discount ($4,500) to Veterans!

There’s a long list of potential partners for you. The majority of your customers are likely to come from:

+ Daycares
+ Preschools
+ Montessori’s
+ Care Programs
+ Community Education programs
+ Park and Rec programs
+ Charter and private schools
+ Public schools
+ Outreach programs
+ Children’s museums

With art education continuing to decline in schools, the demand for our programs continues to increase in these types of locations. 

In many ways, but the most important is the quality of the curriculum! Every class offers a “Kidbit” that sets us apart from any competition. The Kidbit is an educational element we share with the kids at class, so children are learning something new at every class they take.

We also differentiate ourselves with our flexible business models. Our Brick & Mortar Studio Model allows Franchisees to not only offer classes at their studio location, but also offer mobile classes at schools, daycare facilities, and other locations in the community. This approach helps our Franchisees to grow their businesses quickly.

Additionally, Franchisees can choose to open a mobile only studio business with our Mobile Studio Model and only offer mobile classes at schools, daycare facilities, and other locations in the community. 

Nope. As a Franchise Owner, you receive our robust and award-winning curriculum which has over 1,200 classes for each age group and numerous special occasions. We continue to research latest trends in what kids are following, and merge those into educational lesson plans to help further develop children’s learn skillsets, all while allowing them to have a blast!

Staffing can be a bit of a challenge from time to time. The majority of staff members are part-time employees, and part-timers tend to come and go, and their availability can be tricky to work around.

But most wouldn’t really call these challenges. We train Franchise Owners to be confident in their role, and know the job inside and out.

Typically a Studio Owner would be full time (40 Hours), M-F 9-5.  

One of the great perks of a Studio Owner is the ability to have flexible hours and to be able to work from home. Because of flexible hours, Franchise Owners can make personal appointments and take vacation days when they want. They can easily work at home because the majority of the tools that are used are web-based and can be accessed from anywhere with access to the Internet.  Really, because of all our tools and checklists that we provide, it is very easy to get into the groove and become a master at managing a studio in no time!

We asked a Franchise Owner to answer this question:

I get to work with some truly wonderful people! I love being a leader/role model for the entire staff. The opportunity to work flexible hours, if needed, is nice to have as an option. Every day is different in some way, and it has been a constant adventure on the craziest of roller coaster rides, and I wouldn’t want it any other way! 

I also LOVE seeing the looks on the children’s faces after they have created one of our projects. They are so proud! You can’t help but smile right along with them and share their joy.

During the launch program, we help you conduct market research and a cost analysis for class, camps, and parties within your territory. This will help determine how your activities should price out and that your studio’s pricing is competitive within your market.

We will also help you determine where your break-even point is for your classes and camps. You will factor in the cost of materials, teachers and support staff’s wages to determine what the minimum number of registrations it takes to run a profitable class.

Sort of! There are a number of lesson plans that were originally developed for kids that can be offered as adult classes. However, this is not an area that we aggressively go after. We are an art studio for kids, and teaching kids is really what we do best!

We have preferred vendors and correlating order forms set up for all the supplies you would need to run your business. There are two main art supply companies that we order from. We have arranged for our franchisees to receive an ongoing discount on all of their orders from those art supply companies of up to 20% off. 

For the retail items, we have a list of preferred vendors that you will order from. You will be purchasing the items at a wholesale price. 

We specialize in children’s art classes, camps and birthday parties for ages 18 months to 12 years. We have four age groups that we create our classes around. 18 months-6 years (Toddler & Caregiver), 3-6 years (Preschool), 4-9 years (Sibling Classes) and 5-12 years (School Age).  Our two most popular age ranges are 18 months-6 years and 4-9 years.

Summertime and no school days are by far our busiest times.  Kids are out of school and the parents are looking for something fun and educational for them to do. 

September and May are our slowest months of the year, allowing our Owners the opportunity to take a couple of months to enjoy their families and some downtime each year.

In September the new school year is starting and our customers are trying to figure out their new school year routine. This is great for us because it gives us a chance to catch our breath a bit and wrap things up after the busy summer months. 

May is the month that a lot of our weekly classes are wrapping up for the season and we take advantage of that extra time to prepare for the next 3 crazy months of summer.