Danie O’Connor loves sport and fitness, so it comes as no surprise she chose to invest in a franchise that reflects her interests – Ready Steady Go Kids.
It has been two years since sole franchisee Danie invested in the brand, and she couldn’t be happier.
“It has given me drive and something to be passionate about while being my own boss… What more could you want? I love my job!” she says.
FRANCHISE VS. NEW BUSINESS
The benefits associated with the franchise model lured Danie in. “I liked the idea of a franchise as all of the setting up of a brand name and product and community exposure was already done for me!
“With Ready Steady Go Kids, the training manuals, uniforms and everything else were already established, which saved me having to reinvent this wheel,” she explains.
WHY READY STEADY GO KIDS?
Danie says she opted for the brand after witnessing just how effective the Ready Steady Go Kids program is first-hand.
“We [Danie and partner Brent] both love sports and keeping fit. We have four children under six and were very keen to get them involved in sport at a young age.
“After having our two eldest children enrolled at Ready steady Go Kids for over two years and watching how their co-ordination and skills had improved, we thought that this would be an ideal program to bring to other pre-school children in our area,” she explains.
After researching other franchises that provide a similar concept, Danie says she and Brent concluded Ready Steady Go Kids offered the best program.
“We agreed that Ready Steady Go Kids was the leading program because it offers 10 different sports (others only offered two to three).
“After all this is why we chose it for our own children! We also saw the potential in growing the brand to areas uncovered in Melbourne suburbs.”
A DAY IN THE LIFE…
Business hours are flexible so Danie is able to devote time to both her family and work commitments each day.
“After school and kinder drop-offs I normally go and visit one of my nine locations (on most days) in the morning to make sure everything is running smoothly.
“I normally spend the afternoons doing a bit of admin, between juggling the four kids of course!” she says.
THE FRANCHISORS
Danie is all praise for franchisors Toni and Stuart Derbyshire. “[They] have been fabulous – as one of the first franchisees I feel like I was very spoilt working through every detail with them.
“They both made sure that we were 100 percent confident in running the business and the program before we started. They provide continuous support in both facets of the business,” she adds.
She also finds the brand’s history particularly impressive. “It started off as one mum running a small business and now it has grown so much thanks to the hard work and dedication of Toni and Stuart – it inspires me,” Danie says.
BUILDING THE BUSINESS
Danie engages in various forms of local area marketing in a bid to boost business; however she says word of mouth is incredibly effective.
“Ready Steady Go Kids works primarily on word of mouth. The only way to get the word to spread is by delivering awesome classes so that parents and kids rave about them to their friends.
“I also visit childcares and playgroups and offer brochures and free class passes, and I provide them with sponsorship opportunities in return for advertising the business. I attend a lot of markets, fetes and fairs to get our brand out into the community, too.”
GOALS
Ideally, Danie would love to see all of her classes eventually filled. “[This] will mean I have reached my goal of providing a high quality sports and exercise program for pre-schoolers in my area,” she says.