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Name: Kayla Opperman
Title: Owner
Brands: 5 Snapology, 1 Class 101
Units: 6
Years in franchising: 8
Honestly, money. Typically, service brands have less expensive franchise fees, which definitely mattered when I bought my first unit. I felt like I would have more opportunity to scale quicker than buying a very expensive brick-and-mortar franchise. I also wanted to work mostly from home, and having less overhead was appealing.
I wanted to do something STEM-related, since I was an engineer. I also wanted to serve kids, since I was a new mom. My husband and I have always loved LEGO bricks, so Snapology was perfect. I also appreciated the story behind Snapology and the fact that there were not yet franchises in Colorado. While it can be challenging to create brand awareness as the first franchise in the market, it gave me the opportunity and excitement to expand later.
We were introduced to Class 101 as a sister brand of Snapology and serving similar families. We both have unique college planning stories and are passionate about educating and empowering kids, so buying a Class 101 franchise was also a no-brainer for us.
You should always look at the big picture and be prepared to scale. Do not get caught up in small details or one piece of it. To scale, you need to be able to hire employees and delegate work. You need to keep up with changes and be ready to pivot when needed. The beauty of owning a service brand is having the ability to shift gears when necessary.
You can quickly generate revenue without putting much into the franchise initially. You have a better opportunity to scale your business and to reach more customers. You are not hyper-focused on one brick-and-mortar location, making your reach greater. You can work remotely from home, on vacation, or anywhere, which is a great advantage.
It is helpful to own brands that serve similar people. My customers are families who spend extra money on their children’s education. The same people who register their young kids for Snapology camps are often the same ones who pay for college planners. Operating brands like this also appeals to similar employees, so you can hire the same people to work for both brands. Because our brands are in the same family, it also means one conference for both, and we even have the same president for both brands. It is also important to own franchise brands in the same area/territory to reach the same customer base and make it easier logistically.
Marketing to schools or anywhere else with a dense population of families is always best for us. Specifically, sending promotional emails is our top marketing tool.
Be sure to choose an industry you are passionate about and can talk about all the time. I think that goes farther than choosing one because it is trending. Be sure you have an opportunity to scale, and do not let competition scare you. If you are passionate about what you do and put all you have into it, then you know you are the best one out there.