It’s easy to save on back-to-school for your little ones when shopping resale. Children’s Orchard franchisee, Jade Moore, shares examples of savings at her store in Little Rock, AR.
Big Savings for Back-to-School at Children’s Orchard Tulsa
Children’s Orchard franchisee, Margie Quinlan, reveals just how much customers can save on back-to-school clothing.
Top Four Tech Tips from Device Pitstop Maplewood
Cathy Ferrazzo, franchisee of Device Pitstop in Maplewood, MN, shares her four biggest tech tips in this clip featured on WCCO-4.
What Makes a Good Franchisee?
So “what makes a good franchisee” you ask?
Watch this quick video featuring our VP of Franchising, Jim Wollman, and find out some of the key characteristics that NTY Franchise Company looks for when partnering with franchisees to grow one or more of our successful resale businesses.
Video: What does it take to own an NTY Franchise?
Do you have the skills and traits mentioned in this video? If so, you would make a fabulous franchisee with any of our five resale brands: Children’s Orchard, Clothes Mentor, Device Pitstop, New Uses and NTY Clothing Exchange!
Still don’t know if you have what it takes, or curious which of our resale brands is the best fit for you? Take our successful franchise owner quiz!
What Makes a Good Franchisee Video Transcription
Do you prefer a text version of the video or want to follow along while you watch? Then check out the full transcription below!
There is no “best age” to start a business
Jim: We attract people of all ages- from people in their twenties to their sixties and everything in between. People come from all kinds of backgrounds and work experiences too.
Most importantly, we are looking for people with energy and personality. That’s what makes a good franchisee. We can’t teach you how to be a cool person to work for so you need to come to the table with those things that will really help you be successful in these businesses.
Some characteristics of successful franchise owners
Also important are transferable skills. If you had previous successes in your career, then you have transferable skills and that’s good.
What I’m talking about here are previous management experience, staff oversight, budgeting, and communication skills. Those are important because we are going to teach you how to maximize your business and you are going to use those skills to execute and make yourself a successful franchise owner.
NTY Franchise Company’s Proprietary Point of Sale System (POS)
We also need people that appreciate what computers and technology can do because we use it heavily to measure and manage and improve our businesses to the maximum potential. We have proprietary point of sale systems that will help you with inventory turn rates, cash flow management and with employee efficiency.
Our Franchise Loyalty Programs
We have trigger based customer loyalty programs, just like the big business out there. We are using technology to attract, retain, and bring in more customers, and more customers more often. So an embrace of the use of technology is very important. You don’t have to be an IT professional, but you do have to be comfortable with computers.
We are also looking for people who are smart enough to realize that you don’t know what you don’t know and you can really benefit from a shortening of the learning curve. This not only helps you to avoid costly financial mistakes, that one is easy to understand, but what a lot of people don’t think about is that mistakes cost time.
We teach you how to run a successful franchise
We know People want to get going and get moving, become more successful more quickly, and we can help you with that. We are not looking for people who are so entrepreneurial that they want to just change everything coming right out of the gate.
We have a very proven pathway. We have all of the knowledge, training and support that makes up our proven and well-worn operating system. So we know that if you use our tools, use our systems, and execute that you will greatly improve your chances of being successful.
Successful franchise owners “wear all the hats“
A lot of people come from corporate America to begin their business for the first time. Of course we can help you there, but your background says that you wear a big hat and are a specialist and good at what you do.
This may be more narrowly defined in Corporate America. The thing about small business America is that you have to wear all the hats. The good news is that they are really small hats. And we are going to help you in areas that you aren’t as strong in and in other disciplines that you don’t feel as comfortable with. So having this ability to realize that it’s about you and wearing all the hats is an important thing for you to be able to realize and appreciate when you get into a franchise business.
Couples make great franchisees
Now this brings up the question-what are the most common profiles that make up our franchise business? One of the most tried and true profiles for us are couples. Where one covers the household expenses, the overhead, and so on. While the other gets the business up and running and started. Often times with love, opposites attract and they usually have different skill sets, but when you mesh those together they make a very good one hundred percent.
Hands off franchise investors
Another type of profile that has worked well for us are partnerships where you have one financial backer who is a little more hands-off, and another operational partner who is going to be the face of the business and run the business on a day to day basis. An example of this could be an adult with an adult child. Now in our soft line brands, apparel, we do have men who do these businesses and usually what they will do is hire a female manager who has prior retail experience. Conversely in our tech businesses, we have very successful women running our device pit stop. We really do get people of all walks of life and who are given a proven business operating system to follow.
Going solo: solo franchise ownership
Now, the one exception to what I just said is for those who are coming into the business solo. The one other thing that you have to think about is that if this is going to be your new business you may decide to run the business yourself and maybe take that managers salary for yourself in the early stages until you build the business out. But just to be safe, we would encourage you to at least have one year of household expenses tucked away in reserve as working capital above and beyond the initial investment of opening up the business which is covered on our website as well.
-end-
So there you have it, now you know what makes a good franchisee. Think you have what it takes? Then contact us now to schedule your free consultation!
Children’s Orchard Rowley is a Family Business for Families
Check out this great article from newburyport.macaronikid.com featuring Children’s Orchard Rowley.
Children’s Orchard Rowley: Family-Owned by Three Generations of Women
By Emily Cowan
Thirty years ago, an Ipswich grandmother named Maureen started a local business she hoped would help her children and grandchildren – and it’s still going strong. We caught up with her daughter Steph Johnson and granddaughter Jamie, now owners and operators of Children’s Orchard Rowley, to find out more about the family business and how things have changed since Maureen opened that first store.
Newburyport Macaroni Kid: How did your family get into the kids’ consignment business?
Steph: My mother got into the business almost 30 years ago after meeting the owners of the Newburyport store, before it was a franchise. She had just had her third grandchild (Jamie), and loved the idea of recycling for future generations. She opened her first store in Ipswich, and we were there for ten years before moving to Rowley.
MK: What’s it like working with your mother/daughter?
Steph: I loved working with my mom. We worked well together for 20 years before she retired. Now I have my daughter working for me I think we work well together. It is great having flexibility.
Jamie: I started working here as a teen after school and weekends. I took a few years off after graduating college, but I hated my job! So I came back to help my mother with the online outreach and advertising.
Working with/for my mother is great. I’m always learning new things from her, and I feel like she is learning from me as well. There is also the convenience factor of working for her. If I’m sick or need the day off, she works for me and vice versa.
Also, we each enjoy different seasons. She loves the winter and I love the summer, so if she wants to ski on my day off I work, and if I want to go to the beach on her day off she works for me. Working together has helped my brothers out too because if they need someone to babysit one of us is always available.
MK: Thirty years is a long time! Has buying and selling kids’ clothing and equipment given you any insight into parenting trends over time?
Jamie: I’ve been working part-time in the store for about 15 years, and I have noticed a lot of changes. The internet has made parents much more product-savvy. When grandparents come in they don’t go for name brands, they just know the item they want. This generation of parents knows what brands they want specifically, so we carry more of those.
Other changes are driven by changing guidelines and pediatrician recommendations. For example, we no longer sell bedding because it’s not recommended in the cribs. Instead, we sell more sleep sacks to keep the kids warm. Product recalls also play a huge role in what we are allowed to buy and sell.
MK: What do you most enjoy about working at the store?
Steph: I love the flexibility of working for myself and working with family. At the end of the day I have real peace of mind.
Jamie: I love helping new parents or grandparents. When they come in all stressed out about what to buy, I enjoy pointing out what items sell best. When they are trying to decide between strollers or baby equipment they think their child will like, I give them my honest opinion. Sometimes I sell them the cheaper of two items because I know that product will work for them – it isn’t always about the money.
When someone comes in and says “it’s my first time here, my friend just told me about you,” I feel like we are being successful. We are a small, locally owned business and we rely on high-quality inventory, excellent customer service, and word of mouth to stay afloat.
Children’s Orchard: A Resale Franchise for the Next Generation
Kids are always growing—and so is our Children’s Orchard franchise! Watch this brief video featuring COO Chad Olson to find out more about the high demand for gently used children’s clothing, toys and equipment, and how the Children’s Orchard franchise is suited for the next generation of both consumers and franchisees.
Learn What Differentiates Device Pitstop
What sets Device Pitstop apart from other technology-focused franchise opportunities out there? Multiple revenue streams. Find out about those multiple revenue streams and more from COO Chad Olson in this quick video.
Learn About Clothes Mentor Profit Numbers in this Video
Ever dreamt of being your own boss and doing something you love while making a great living? Make your dream a reality with Clothes Mentor! Start exploring the Clothes Mentor franchise opportunity with this overview video. Get direct answers and real numbers from Clothes Mentor COO Chad Olson.
Upcoming Seminars to Learn About Franchising and NTY
NTY Franchise Company will be discussing our innovative franchise opportunities in person at the following seminars presented by the Franchise Consulting Company (FCC).
Hear firsthand from our VP of Franchising, Jim Wollman, about what makes our five resale brands special and our business model successful.
Upcoming Seminars
March 16: Santa Clara, CA, hosted by Rick Morgin.
March 18: Los Angeles, CA, hosted by Stephen Winterrowd and Lauren Grant.
March 29: Fort Lauderdale, FL, hosted by Cliff Fostoff.
Hope to see you there!
5 Reasons Why NTY Franchises are Sustainable Businesses
Selecting a franchise is a big decision. That’s why it’s important to choose one that will stand the tests of time and the economy. Here are five reasons why NTY franchises are sustainable businesses:
1. Resale
All five NTY franchises are resale businesses. By its very nature, resale is sustainable. Take the company’s flagship brand Clothes Mentor, for example, which started franchising in 2007 when the U.S. economy was on the verge of a recession. Within the following few years, when other retail stores were struggling, Clothes Mentor stores were thriving. The downturn created an even bigger demand for the resale niche that has continued to grow as the economy improves.
2. Green Concept
Franchisees that partner with NTY and customers that shop our stores value the reuse of quality goods. NTY stores buy products from customers for cash on-the-spot, which puts money back into the pockets of people within the community. This, in turn, helps the planet by extending the life of great clothing, shoes, furniture, toys, electronics and more and keeps those items out of landfills.
3. Customers Love NTY Products and Services
Just like they love making money by selling items to NTY Franchise stores, customers love saving money by shopping with us, too. Our point-of-sale software features a sophisticated buy matrix, which helps NTY Franchise stores price their high-quality merchandise at approximately 70% less than the original retail price. That great value and seeing new items on the floor every day keeps shoppers coming back.
4. Profitability at Store Level
Our proprietary point-of-sale system also helps stores stay on course for achieving high gross margins of approximately 60%, which translates to a faster return on investment, greater profits and the opportunity for rapid growth to multi-store businesses. The following is a snapshot of the return-on-investment numbers for franchisees with our Children’s Orchard brand.
Return on investment numbers for Children’s Orchard:
5. Accessible Corporate Team and Franchisee Network
With 200 stores open across all brands, NTY has developed a strong franchise support system that starts with a highly experienced management team. In addition, we have a large and diverse network of franchisees that are easily accessible for validation during the franchising process as well as ongoing support in the form of idea sharing, franchise advisory councils (FACs), potential advertising cooperatives, comradery and more.
Click on the brand logos at the top of this page to find out more about NTY’s five franchises.
*$648,342 is the average net sales of the 5 stores included in the top 25% of all 21 Children’s Orchard® stores in operation for entire calendar year ended December 31, 2015. Of the 5 stores included in the average net sales for the top 25% of all stores, 2 stores (40%) met or exceeded the average net sales. There is no assurance, however, that you will do as well. See Item 19 of the Children’s Orchard® Franchise Disclosure Document dated April 26, 2016, for more information.
