FAQ

Franchisee

• What are the qualifications to become an owner?
  An ideal background for a potential franchise owner would be someone with some previous experience with owning a business, or leadership experience of 5+ years managing a team. Having managed budgets is a plus. An ideal candidate would have at least an undergraduate degree (although a graduate degree is preferred.) A potential franchise owner would preferably have some sales and marketing experience as well. While an owner-operated Safari Kid is ideal, semi-absentee or absentee owners have also proven to be successful. An ideal owner will take the time to hire a director who is passionate about early childhood education and development, and demonstrates a high IQ and EQ to help problem-solve when necessary.
• What does your ideal candidate look like?
  The ideal personality of a potential franchise owner would be someone with a positive attitude who is a natural leader, and is proficient with problem solving. Although Safari Kid is ultimately a business, we challenge ourselves to always keep the needs of our students in focus. A potential franchise owner should have excellent communication skills and be able to work well with people in order to find solutions. A franchise owner should be open to some risk taking, with an appetite to invest $200,000 - $1,000,000. Most of our owners, once experienced with one location, move on to open multiple locations and hire strong Directors/Site Supervisors who can manage each location. This requires a Safari Kid owner to be savvy enough to discern when their presence is needed or when they can leave the bulk of responsibilities to a strong Director/Site Supervisor.
• Do you require the location owner to live in the market where they would open a location?
  Yes, ideally franchisees will live in the same market as the location(s) they open, especially for first time owners.  This may also be required by SBA.
• How do I go about getting financing?
  We are SBA approved and have established relationships with a pool of lenders who have funded Safari Kid projects and have deep experience in educational institution related loans. We refrain from awarding franchises to candidates who do not have a good credit score, liquid cash and net-worth. We work with known SBA lenders who are familiar with the Safari Kid brand and unit economics. Through these vendors we have not run into any issues in securing a loan. As part of the process, before we award a franchise we will likely connect the candidate with our SBA vendor to get feedback on their likelihood to get an approval. Safari Kid supports its franchise owners in depth during the funding process, by helping them craft a detailed business plan supported by demographic and market reports using tools like Buxton analytics for the trade area.
• What is involved in the initial financial pre-approval process?
  A simple franchise application with self-stated details. Final award happens after running background checks.
• What kind of training is offered?
  Our training begins with a review of Safari Kid’s startup and operation manuals. Then we offer a three day interactive experience, in which in-house training will commence. This involves in-person observations of our preschool and after-school programs at both our corporate location in Newark, CA and other nearby centers. Observations in the first session of training will focus on the school environment, and how to build the proper culture and philosophy that is expected from the Safari Kid brand. There will be a review of licensing and also components of the curriculum, such as the “booklet system”. The first session of training will conclude with gaining an understanding of our school operations and finance, such as how to roll out specific school programs and how to execute an effective business plan. The second session of training involves a large focus on understanding the Level 1 - Level 4 preschool development stages within Safari Kid. There will also be hands-on training sessions on how the Safari Kid After-School program is run. Other critical parts to running the business will also be discussed, such as operations, finance, marketing, public relations, staffing & HR, and license applications. Both potential Safari Kid Franchise Owners and Directors are encouraged to attend these training sessions. Teachers are supported with ongoing training from our curriculum specialists due to the nature of our progressive curriculum, which evolves with the latest educational research. Learn more about our training and support here.
• What is the initial investment range to open a location?
  200-1.2M. Learn more by visiting our Investment Information page here.
• How many team members do I need to run the business?
  Franchisees will need approximately 10-15 team member to operate a 100 student location. A lot of this is state-dependent on what programs they are running and what the student teacher ratios are mandated by stage. During initial analysis, before awarding the franchise, we provide this initial data to potential owner fors their business analysis.
• Do I need a brick and mortar location to run the business?
  Yes, Safari Kid is a center preschool/after school provider. Franchisees must lease a commercial location zoned for preschool use.
• How long has your brand been in business?
  Safari Kid has been in business 15+ years.
• What do I get with the franchise fee?
  Exclusive rights to a territory: Your Designated Territory will contain at least 12,000 households. The size will depend on (a) the population density and other demographics of the area, (b) any existing territorial rights granted in connection with existing Safari Kid learning centers, and (c) whether your location is considered part of a major metropolitan area, other downtown area or similar situated central business district that has a large “working population” during relevant operating hours for surrounding businesses.

  Pre-Opening Support:

  • Training: Site Search, GC search, Architect Search, Build out process, Lease negotiation process, What makes a good location, zoning pitfalls
  • Site Search: Thought site search is owner responsibility, Safari Kid assists in Site search assistance via connecting Franchise owner with one of the national real estate search firms, uses sophisticated data analytics tools to provide demographic data to make educated decisions on viability of a location
  • Virtual Support in reviewing the viability of location for preschool use case
  • LOI and Lease review (Owner is fully responsible to hire a real estate attorney but we provide general guidance on what to look for and pitfalls)
  • Business Plan: SBA lender guidance and business planning support .
  • Initial Hiring of Director and Teachers
  • Role based training; Owner, Director, Teacher
  • Licensing Support
  • GC Bid review
  • Up to 2 visits on Safari Kid expense to support with Licensing, Site selection or Grand Opening
  • Go to market planning and execution
• What are the royalty fees and National Ad fund fees?
  • 7% royalty fee
  • 1.5% Brand Fund
  • 250 technology fee