Extracurricular Activities for Children May Represent Franchising Opportunity

Apparently, many parents are turning to private businesses to find activities for their children. The reason appears to be that some of these activities are disappearing from schools as they try to save money on "extras" such as music or art. This has provided an opportunity for businesses who want to focus on enrichment for children. According to this article, for some entrepreneurs the franchising route is the way to do this: "For Janice and Dave Morreira, 41 and 52, respectively, it allowed them to make their foray into the children's gymnastics and fitness business even though they didn't have formal training in fitness or children's development.By choosing a franchise, "I could combine something I love doing with children and also contribute my knowledge of [HR], accounting and operations," says Janice, who started her first The Little Gym with her husband, Dave, in 2003. They've since opened another location for combined sales of $1.7 million last year, as well as two more locations in late 2007 and early 2008, all in the San Francisco Bay Area."