Women at last are making their presence felt in franchising. Today more and more number of women are becoming career oriented and financially independent. In the last decade there has been a considerable growth of women franchisees running their business successfully across the globe. Franchising is a successful division of a well-established business and based on tried and tested system. Thus the amount of risk factor is quite less compared to any independently owned business, as the result of which women find it as the ideal route to business.
One major advantage of franchising is that it requires less experience. The franchisors can provide you with all the necessary training and support. Therefore this is one of the best available options for the home makers to become financially successful and independent. Also this field gives a lot of flexibility in timings. Multi tasking is a woman's forte, and as women have their own set of priorities to fulfill thus, owning a franchise gives them the perfect vocation.
Preschool franchise is a fast growing business in India and is attracting many players to enter into this space. It is estimated to exceed USD one billion by 2012, registering a high annual growth of 36 per cent. With the growing of middle class, working mothers and an increase in disposable income growth, Indian preschool market is set to flourish in the coming years. Uday Mathur, MD, Eurokids shared, “Women entrepreneurs have a great future in preschool franchising. More than 90 per cent of our franchisees are women and we look forward to increase the numbers.” Preschool franchise is best suited for women due to number of reasons.
Lets have a look at some of the advantages of preschool franchising:
Women being nurturers: It is a well known fact that women are nurturers by nature. They know the psychology of a child well and can handle them accordingly. Working parents also prefer to send their child to a place which is run by a woman as they feel more secure. Mathur said, “Many of our franchisees are the mothers of the kids who were in our school. They took our franchisees after seeing the benefits of a preschool franchise.”
Patience in women: Another innate quality in most women is that they have more patience as compared to men. Running a pre-school franchise demands a lot of patience to deal with toddlers. Women are considerable more tolerant towards the problems and can handle them with any complaints.
Low investment: Preschool franchising requires less investment. Moreover, with the availability of numerous financing schemes and low cost franchise invesntment, women can easily opt for a preschool franchise.
Location not a binding: Location specifications are not much of a problem as one can open a preschool around residential areas. Therefore women can run the school as well as take care of their home simultaneously. Opening a preschool franchise in residential areas is also economical.
Experience being not a criterion: It is quite easy to run a preschool franchise as the franchisor is always there to provide training and guidance. So, women with almost no experience in business are seen to be running preschool franchise successfully.
Field of interest: It is often seen that women are more interested in businesses related to education, clothes and beauty. Therefore the rapid growth in preschool franchise offers a lucrative option for women entrepreneurs.
Key players in preschool franchise
With the rapid growth in the preschool sector more and more players have emerged and started franchising their businesses. Some of the prominent players are Eurokids, Kidzee, Bachpan, Shemrock, Jumbokids, Apple kids, Mother’s Pride, Kangaroo Kids etc. Many new franchisors are also entering this field after looking at the success ratio.
Requisites of taking a preschool franchising
Anyone with a graduate degree, a heart to treat children patiently and a passion for business can take up a play school franchise. Taking a franchise is better than starting your own play school as one is provided with a brand name and support of the franchisor.
To conclude we can say that opening of preschool franchise by women would attract and inspire more and more women to take up such franchises. Also it offers employment opportunities for women, which would facilitate the women employees to grow professionally and financially.
