Movie Theater Child Care Service

The crux of a good business plan is to understand the dynamics of the market by which you are seeking to enter. The basis for the proceeding small business plan was derived from concepts discussed in New Venture Management by Kuratko & Hornsby (2009).

In the case of the consumer market, child care centers are continuing to be a service that is needed as adults want some time away from their children some of the time. Therefore, reasoning suggests that having a movie theater child care service would be ideal. Movie theaters with perks such as a child care service would allow adults to watch movies that are PG-13 or rated R while having their child looked after during the movie.

The child care service at a movie theater is a sound business opportunity as it allows adults and parents to spend time away from their child for a brief moment, while also ensuring and knowing that the child or children are being closely monitored and looked after in an environment that is safe and fun. An article in HealthCompare in 2010 noted that "it is good for everyone concerned if adults get a little prime time of their own" (Sant, 2010). The article went on to list five reasons why adults need time away from their children with the most important one being that "it teaches the child self-sufficiency [while allowing] the parent to take time to smell the roses, enjoy bubble baths with a glass of champagne and candles or have a guys or girls night out" (Sant, 2010). Additionally, an article on Entrepreneur.com stated that with a climbing amount of working parents and families, there is a growing need for child care in general ("How to Offer Child-Care Services," 2001). The target market for daycare centers in general is full time working couples and individuals that do what is called a drop in. So why not a child care service at a movie theater?

The movie theater child care service that is being proposed will have an environment that is centered on books, games, movies and toys. The individuals working at the child care service in the movie theater would exclusively work there. ("Harkins Playcenter," 2013). While the cost of daycare "is approximately $600 per month [and] can rise to well over $1,000 per month in major metro areas," (Hotta, 2013) it will be the aim of the child care service at the movie theater to be reasonably priced at $6 per child, per hour. Profitability can be projected to be lucrative as “according to Sageworks, a financial software company, net profit margins for child day care services in 2009 were quite strong across the industry itself generat[ing] $2.86 billion in revenue" (Wright, 2013).

It will be important for such a startup investment venture as this to have intense marketing and advertising. While the target market is vast in terms of families and parents who want time for themselves, potential threats do exist such as parents not seeing the benefit of such a venture,  opting for a babysitter instead and due to an industry that is “highly fragmented and very competitive” (Wright, 2013). The marketing will need to be emphasized on the fact of the adults knowing that their child or children are close by even if they are not in the same vicinity.

References

Harkins Playcenter. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.harkinstheatres.com/playcenter.aspx

Hotta, L. T. (2013). The day care guide: Day care cost. Retrieved from http://www.care.com/child-care-day-care-cost-p1145-q165824.html

How to offer child-care services. (2001, June 13). Entrepeneur, Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/41422

Kuratko, D., & Hornsby, J. S. (2009). New venture management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Sant, J. (2010, September 27). The 5 reasons why parents need to make time for themselves. Retrieved from https://www.healthcompare.com/articles/the-5-reasons-why-parents-need-to-make-time-for-themselves/

Wright, T. C. (2013). The average profit margin for day care. Retrieved from Gannett website: http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/average-profit-margin-day-care-17578.html