Baby Sensory Franchise

Baby Sensory - Franchisee Case Study - Joanne Kane

25th January 2012

Joanne Kane joined the Baby Sensory team in 2010 when she became the Baby Sensory franchisee in New Zealand. Jo runs her Baby Sensory classes in Wellington on the North Island of New Zealand and is also planning to establish Baby Sensory in Auckland. As well as taking on the challenge of establishing Baby Sensory in a new country, Jo has also become a mum again since her move back to New Zealand.

In this interview, Jo talks about her experience of launching Baby Sensory in a new country and how having established her own successful classes she is looking to grow her business through establishing classes in other parts of New Zealand.

How did you first find out about Baby Sensory?

I was living in Scotland at the time and took my 9m old as some other mums in my ‘baby sign’ class were talking about it.

What was your job before you started your own Baby Sensory franchise?

I was a full time mum but had previously been a nurse.

What hobbies and interests do you have?

I have a range of hobbies and interested which include running, reading, travelling, concerts and dining out.

What is your Baby Sensory Territory?

I currently run classes in Wellington/Porirua Cities, New Zealand

When did you start running Baby Sensory classes?

My first class was in June 30th, 2010

How many Baby Sensory Classes do you run every week?

I currently run 6 classes but about to open my 7th.

How many babies attend your classes each week?

I currently have 100 babies registered but I have also been guaranteed 10 more babies in order to open my 7th class.

How do you see your Baby Sensory business growing over the next 2 years?

I would like to have 10 full classes by the end of 2012. I also plan to open up my 2nd franchise by July 2012. I would like to have a 3rd franchise by July 2013.

What has been your most successful strategy for finding new customers?

Offering a group discount to antenatal and coffee groups and word of mouth, without a doubt! Facebook has also been brilliant.

What do you enjoy most about running your Baby Sensory business?

I love watching the numbers grow! I also love watching how much the mums and babies LOVE the classes and I also love watching new friendships develop and grow within the BS classes.

What has been the greatest challenge you have had to overcome when setting up your Baby Sensory business?

The biggest challenge was definitely starting from scratch in a country where no one had ever heard of BS classes before. It was also a challenge to start classes in a city I knew nothing about and advertise within a market that I also knew nothing about (I had my baby in Scotland).

It was also challenging starting a business with 3 children (including a newborn!) and my husband travelling away most weeks!

My other challenge was trying to convince the mums of babies younger than 5 months, that the classes were beneficial to their babies and that the classes were worth the higher fee than other baby classes.

What is your greatest achievement?

The fact that all the emails I receive now, are from mums who have ‘heard’ about how good my classes are. It’s also a great personal achievement to get to 100 babies.

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Further Information

Franchise Information

BFA Membership Status
Associate

UK Years Established
7 years

Current UK Coverage
75%

Franchisee Support Staff
7

Personal Investment Req.
£3,000

Total Startup Cost
£5,500 approx

Home-based business location

Business to consumer services

Franchisee operates individually

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