Sue Pamboris is so passionate about the Bricks 4 Kidz business she not only bought two franchises, she’s now the Australian master franchisee.
Bricks 4 Kidz provides a Lego-based STEM (science, tech, engineering and maths) program of learning that harnesses creativity and curiosity in kids.
Although Sue had no education qualifications, she loved the concept and could see the business potential.
What she does have is a professional attitude, and sales and relationship-building skills.
When Sue arrived in Sydney from China 20 years ago as an international communications graduate she ended up building a tourism career, which included working at the Sydney Opera House.
“I love traveling and I just stepped into the tourism industry and really loved it. I had the opportunity to travel to see customers and suppliers and learned a lot of sales skills,” Sue explains.
The sales skills and corporate experience proved crucial when she tired of the corporate world and took on the challenge of business ownership.
Building trust in the brand
“Once my son started school, I thought ‘OK I’m going to do something of my own’, and my son loves Lego, so that’s how I found the Bricks 4 Kidz business.”
She bought her first franchise, and transferred those valuable skills into running her own business.
“Before you can sell your product or service you need to sell your personality first, “ she says. “That makes the link, the bond. So, when I joined Bricks 4 Kidz, I felt so aligned.
“I’m a mum, and this business technically is talking to parents. I can talk to my customer and build this bond and build this link with them. They know that I understand them.
“I never really like pushing sales when I talk to customers; I think what they would like for their children. I think the trust is quite important in this business, whether that is between the franchise and the franchisee, or between the client and the brand and reputation,” Sue says.
“The previous master franchisee has done a fantastic job creating suitable programs for the Australian market and it’s been proven over a decade. It’s really working well.”
Bricks 4 Kidz landed in Australia in 2014; since then local franchisees have leveraged the global brand’s experience and curriculum development to their advantage.
Programs teach core engineering, architecture, and coding principles in school holiday workshops, after-school classes, birthday parties, school incursions and pre-school classes.
From franchisee to master franchisee
Last year when the master was ready to move on, Sue took the bold step to take on the role, and brought the same skills and trust-building approach to her new relationship with former peers.
“I needed to build the trust between me and the new franchises or potential buyers. They needed to trust that I can lead this brand, that I have the experience and skills to help them to grow this brand, this business.”
She is confident not just in her experience, but the proven ability to grow her own small business.
“You could be in this business for 10 years but if your revenue is always just minimum, you can’t win the trust from other franchisees.”
Through rock-solid year-on-year growth and rising revenue, Sue has shown she has the capacity to scale.
She has big ambitions for the brand but she’s in no hurry. What matters to her is maintaining the excellent standards of service and brand reputation.
“We stand out from the competition because of our high quality – that’s something we need to hold on to quite tightly,” she says. “Parents recognise us as a brand that teaches high quality workshops and classes.”
The brand strength and advantage
Franchisees need commitment and passion to put into their business, whether they have a teaching background or corporate experience.
That’s what Sue has embodied as she has shifted her focus from building her own franchises to scaling the national network, and helping franchisees reach new heights.
“I’ve been recently running a few training webinars with existing franchisees, owners who have been running their business for years. They are still keen to hear my suggestions,” Sue says.
“And it works both ways. I want to learn from others’ experiences. Because there are a lot of owners who went through different scenarios, different situations and probably there are some things that I haven’t touched yet.
“So it’s support from both ends. It’s a network. It’s a family. I’m receiving their trust and their support and their feedback.”
While most of the franchisees run a mobile business (there are currently 23 territories) Bricks 4 Kidz also has six creative centres.
“I definitely see that would be our strength and advantage. Our competitors all operate mobile businesses and this is our difference – we offer physical centres too,” Sue says.
And there’s plenty of room for growth across the country, and Sue’s goal is to have a presence in every state.
“My goal definitely is to expand the network in Australia. To make the Bricks 4 Kidz brand bigger, more visible, increase brand awareness in the local communities, and to have more creative centres,” Sue says.