Welcome to Eye On Franchising, where we bring you captivating conversations with industry leaders. In this episode, we meet Sarah Nuse the founder of Tippy Toes, the accidental dance studio owner from Norman, Oklahoma. Discover how her parents' idea transformed her life, and how she now offers dance classes for kids aged 18 months to twelve years old. We are also joined by Franchising Fast Lane's Dana DeMarino and she shares her entrepreneurial journey and love for the franchising world. Tippy Toes' low initial investment of only $49,500 makes it an attractive business for those passionate about making an impact on kids' lives. Join us as we explore the heartwarming stories of husband-wife duos finding financial and personal fulfillment in Tippy Toes. Family-friendly and supportive of various business structures, Tippy Toes values culture and passion in its franchise owners. Uncover the thorough discovery process that Tippy Toes takes potential franchise owners through, ensuring a perfect fit. With great training and systems, Tippy Toes enables its franchise owners to leave a lasting impact on the next generation. Targeting college students and partnering with YMCA and corporate daycares, Tippy Toes provides access to a wide market. Offering different age group classes, Tippy Toes aims to bring an amazing experience to children, leaving them with smiles. Tune in to Eye On Franchising and discover how Tippy Toes is not just a great business, but also a force for good, building homes with a humanitarian organization for every twelve franchises sold. Join us in leaving a lasting legacy and making a difference. - Introduction to Ion Franchising - Sarah Tippy Toes: From Dancer to Business Owner - Impact and Giving Back: Tippy Toes' Humanitarian Efforts - Franchise owners' experiences and family involvement - The Tippy Toes Dance Studio Model - Tippy Toes' selection process and company culture - The Benefits of Franchising with Tippy Toes KEY POINTS [0:15:15] Culture is a huge piece of our company, impacting the lives of children. That's a big job. [0:15:15] We're looking for people that are easy to be around, work hard, and are passionate. [0:16:15] Culture is a huge piece in what we're looking for. [0:17:7] The process starts with a coffee date, then dives into unit economics and FDD. [0:18:11] We make sure we break down information into easy-to-digest steps. [0:19:17] Training includes 2 weeks of pre-onboarding, 3 days on-site training, and 12-week onboarding. [0:20:1] The goal is to equip franchise owners and provide ongoing support for success. [0:21:57] Targeting college students passionate about dance but not pursuing it professionally. [0:23:35] Franchise owners work 25 hours a week and make over $100,000 net. [0:25:59] The main marketing strategy is doing demonstration classes in preschools. [0:26:40] Tippy Toes uses partnerships with YMCA and corporate daycares for easy access to schools. [0:28:0] The dance classes by Tippy Toes promote imagination and fun for kids. [0:28:34] Different classes are offered for different age groups. [0:29:40] Tippy Toes franchise owners work an average of 25 hours per week. [0:29:40] Tippy Toes provides a flexible lifestyle opportunity with high earnings potential. [0:32:39] Tippy Toes donates to build homes for those less fortunate with every twelve franchises sold. [0:32:39] Tippy Toes aims to make a lasting impact and change the lives of the next generation. --- Have you heard the news? We are officially on YouTube. Come check out a few videos have have and give me a follow! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwoAdrkPZmveJt5AQRDk8WA --- Lance Graulich Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising Eye On Franchising
Welcome to Eye On Franchising, where we bring you captivating conversations with industry leaders. In this episode, we meet Sarah Nuse the founder of Tippy Toes, the accidental dance studio owner from Norman, Oklahoma. Discover how her parents' idea transformed her life, and how she now offers dance classes for kids aged 18 months to twelve years old.
We are also joined by Franchising Fast Lane's Dana DeMarino and she shares her entrepreneurial journey and love for the franchising world. Tippy Toes' low initial investment of only $49,500 makes it an attractive business for those passionate about making an impact on kids' lives.
Join us as we explore the heartwarming stories of husband-wife duos finding financial and personal fulfillment in Tippy Toes. Family-friendly and supportive of various business structures, Tippy Toes values culture and passion in its franchise owners.
Uncover the thorough discovery process that Tippy Toes takes potential franchise owners through, ensuring a perfect fit. With great training and systems, Tippy Toes enables its franchise owners to leave a lasting impact on the next generation.
Targeting college students and partnering with YMCA and corporate daycares, Tippy Toes provides access to a wide market. Offering different age group classes, Tippy Toes aims to bring an amazing experience to children, leaving them with smiles.
Tune in to Eye On Franchising and discover how Tippy Toes is not just a great business, but also a force for good, building homes with a humanitarian organization for every twelve franchises sold. Join us in leaving a lasting legacy and making a difference.
- Introduction to Ion Franchising
- Sarah Tippy Toes: From Dancer to Business Owner
- Impact and Giving Back: Tippy Toes' Humanitarian Efforts
- Franchise owners' experiences and family involvement
- The Tippy Toes Dance Studio Model
- Tippy Toes' selection process and company culture
- The Benefits of Franchising with Tippy Toes
KEY POINTS
[0:15:15] Culture is a huge piece of our company, impacting the lives of children. That's a big job.
[0:15:15] We're looking for people that are easy to be around, work hard, and are passionate.
[0:16:15] Culture is a huge piece in what we're looking for.
[0:17:7] The process starts with a coffee date, then dives into unit economics and FDD.
[0:18:11] We make sure we break down information into easy-to-digest steps.
[0:19:17] Training includes 2 weeks of pre-onboarding, 3 days on-site training, and 12-week onboarding.
[0:20:1] The goal is to equip franchise owners and provide ongoing support for success.
[0:21:57] Targeting college students passionate about dance but not pursuing it professionally.
[0:23:35] Franchise owners work 25 hours a week and make over $100,000 net.
[0:25:59] The main marketing strategy is doing demonstration classes in preschools.
[0:26:40] Tippy Toes uses partnerships with YMCA and corporate daycares for easy access to schools.
[0:28:0] The dance classes by Tippy Toes promote imagination and fun for kids.
[0:28:34] Different classes are offered for different age groups.
[0:29:40] Tippy Toes franchise owners work an average of 25 hours per week.
[0:29:40] Tippy Toes provides a flexible lifestyle opportunity with high earnings potential.
[0:32:39] Tippy Toes donates to build homes for those less fortunate with every twelve franchises sold.
[0:32:39] Tippy Toes aims to make a lasting impact and change the lives of the next generation.
---
Have you heard the news? We are officially on YouTube. Come check out a few videos have have and give me a follow!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwoAdrkPZmveJt5AQRDk8WA
---
Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising
Lance
00:00:02
Welcome to Eye on Franchising. Are you looking for business opportunities? Well, you are in the right place. We represent over 650 franchises and business opportunities. We will help you find your perfect franchise for free. We even have a free assessment on our website that will help us determine what the best businesses for you based on your investment level mindset, skill set, and life experiences. This is Ion Franchising, where we share our vision for your franchise future. I'm your host, Lance Graulich. Each week we will speak to fascinating folks from the world of franchising, franchisors and founders, franchise funders and franchisees. Are you looking to find your perfect franchise? Or perhaps you are an independent business owner looking to grow and scale your business by setting up a franchise. Either way, our team can help you, Eye on Franchising, where you will learn the A to Z's of franchise. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another fabulous episode of Ion Franchising. I'm your host, Lance Graulich. Today we don't have a boring, unsexy business. We have an absolute fun type of business. What if I said the word tiara, high heels, Tutu, all of that, and put it together in a song like tiara, necklace, tutu, high heel oh, never mind. I can't even sing this. But it involves tiaras and high heels and tutus. So this is a hot, newer franchise already like 27 franchisees. It's amazing. And I'm going to welcome to the show the founder of Tippy Toes, Sarah Nuse and Miss Dana DeMarino from franchise Fast Lane, who is the director of franchise development for them. Welcome, ladies. Tiara, high heels. Two, two. Go ahead, Sarah.
Sarah
00:02:04
You could sing it.
Dana
00:02:05
Tiara necklace. Two, two high heel two, two high heel I've had some practice on this one.
Lance
00:02:11
Gosh. So what is that? That is like a theme song of yours?
Dana
00:02:15
No, it's just one of that. We have eight music albums that we have written ourselves. And when we have a class only full of girls, that song breaks out every once in a while. So it's super fun.
Lance
00:02:28
A fun franchise. So, all right, let's take it back. Before we get too deep into what it's all about, let's take a little bit back. How did you get into founding? I hear accidentally in some cases, a great, hot new franchise brand. Let's talk about that.
Dana
00:02:46
Yes. Okay. This is the craziest story. I never really thought I'd be a business owner when I was young. However, you know, when you can look back and see the patterns of your life, it's like, this is exactly what I've always meant to do. So I was told when I went off to college, I had to buy my own car if I wanted to get anywhere. And as a college girl, you have to get everywhere. And so I saved up enough money to put a down payment on a car, and I knew I just had to keep my waitressing job, um, every week to pay that car payment. The problem is, I am a huge Oklahoma football fan, too. And Oklahoma was playing Notre Dame and my friend went to Notre Dame I went to Ou. So I got tickets and went off to the game, not realizing I was on the calendar to work. Came back to work and was looking for my name on the schedule. And I, asked my boss, Jeff, I don't see my name on the schedule. And he said, that's because you've been fired, you didn't show up this weekend. And, I panicked. And as many college girls do, I called my parents crying, like, help. Wanting them to bail me out of an unfortunate situation.
Lance
00:03:57
Help. And send money.
Dana
00:03:59
Send money. That's really what I was calling for. But instead of handing me money, my parents handed me the best idea that really changed my life. My mom reminded me of my entrepreneurial self at the age of twelve. I taught dance in my front yard to neighborhood kids from the age of twelve to 18. And that's how I made money in the summer. And so she said, go to a local daycare and see if they'll let you teach dance. And I was like, okay. So opened up those yellow pages, found the closest daycare to my dorm room, and I walked in with a smile and a hope, and I said, hi, my name is Sarah. I'd like to teach dance to your students here. And the lady said, great, what's the name of your business? And I didn't realize I was starting a business. And just like I say my very name, I said Tippy Toes. And there in Norman, Oklahoma, tippy Toes was born.
Lance
00:04:56
That is absolutely fantastic. I love the story. Well, welcome, Dana. Tell us a little bit about you. How'd you get in the world of franchising in the first place, and to Tippy Toes specifically?
Sarah
00:05:08
Absolutely. So, franchising, I actually am currently and have been for, 2020 now. Great time to start a business. I started a, franchise. Well, didn't start a franchise. I became a multi unit franchise owner for a different brand back in 2020. I still have my studios, to this day. And I fell in love with franchising once I got, into that business. And I just became very invested into the system and very invested into the network. And as Sarah said about herself, too, I've always had a very entrepreneurial spirit my whole life. My whole family went to school for something and is in that profession. I was always kind of like the black sheep of my family and didn't really have a specific direction that I wanted to go, but I always just found these little businesses that I would start. Some failed, some didn't. but I moved forward in my life. But you can't have success without failures. I've learned very quickly, but then franchising fell into my lap. And ever since, I just absolutely fell in love with the entire franchise world, people that I met along the way. And, so I had reached out to the friend of rep who sold me my territories. And, you know, where could you see me fitting in the franchise? Just, I want to be more. So she introduced me to franchise Fast Lane. And I will say that ever since being with franchise Fast Lane, I found my place, I found my home and love it. Yeah, it's been awesome and coincidentally, the same time that I was coming into franchise Fast Lane, tippy Toes was onboarding into franchise Fast Lane as well. And it was just the perfect fit. And here we are. And I feel like I've known them the whole Tippy Toes team, especially Sarah and Megan, my entire life fabulous.
Lance
00:07:00
Yeah, great story. So what is tippy toes? Tell everybody listening that they know it's something in dance, but, how do you describe it?
Dana
00:07:11
So I describe it as creative music and movement and dance classes for kids 18 months to twelve years old. The beautiful part of Tippy Toes is we go into preschools daycare centers, community centers, elementary schools. We teach dance there. So we're a mobile company. Thinking back to how I started when I was just 19, I didn't have the finances, to be able to open my own studio. but what I found is that there was a deep need for convenience for families. And us bringing Tippy Toes into schools where kids could have a dance program just like they would at a studio, but their parents didn't have to drive them places, was just so convenient. And it was also an additive bonus for the preschools to say, hey, come to our school, we offer this program. And so that's really the meat of Tippy Toes is going. We say, we're bringing dance to you. We go where the people are instead of having studios where we wait for customers to come. The other beautiful thing is, as we grow, as each franchise owner has grown, we do have owners that start studios about three or four years in because they've grown such a huge clientele. And the longevity that people stay with Tippy Toes, I mean, if they start at 18 months, a lot of times we're getting little invitations to their kindergarten. We're going off to kindergarten, preschool graduation, because they've stuck with us so long, once they're in, they're hooked, which is awesome. So that's the meat of what Tippy Toes is.
Lance
00:08:44
It's so exciting. It sounds like so much fun. So let's talk about the investment. what is that investment and how big are territories for this?
Sarah
00:08:54
Sure. So territory sizes are a 200,000 person population. And that's total population, that's not kids. But of course, we're taking into consideration how many kids are in each of those zip codes. And how many schools and daycares preschools churches are in those zip codes. so we're looking at all of that. The franchise fee for one territory is 49,500. And then obviously, if anybody is looking to purchase multi units, um, at the same time, then we offer a little bit of a discount there. But the initial investment includes that 49,500 franchise fee. You're looking at maybe an additional 15 to 20,000. On top of that for, mostly working capital, you're looking at some insurance in there, the marketing costs, buying the uniforms for your instructors. But on top of that, our expenses and our overhead are very low in the grand scheme of things. So the initial investment in the grand scheme of things is a very low.
Lance
00:09:59
You know, you mentioned uniforms, so Sarah, I'm thinking high heels and tiara, right? I don't know. I guess I'm underdressed.
Dana
00:10:08
I mean, some days you never know. We have, a Tippy Toes uniform that's black, that tank top t shirt and black leggings but I tell you what, our customers, we have the cutest customers in. I put our customers up against anybody. But they do often come in high heels and tiaras and tuchus often. and that's actually where that song originated because we had so many girls coming in all dressed up, wearing their mom's lipstick. And, I'm all about that. I'm like, come on, let's let kids be kids. And that's really the heart of Tippy Toes and why we write our own music. We want the message of, self confidence. Letting people to know how wonderful and valued they are. We say we could have a child with two left feet, come into our classroom and they're going to leave feeling like they're the best ballerina. That's really the heart of tippy toes. Dance is the vehicle. So we talk about franchise owners not needing to love dance or have a great big dance background. We have a CEO at a hospital that has bought five territories. He's never danced a day in his life, but he's hired the right people to do that. So we say if you have a passion for kids and a passion for making impact, then we're a great business too.
Lance
00:11:22
I love this natural segue. Because my next question I was going to surprise you with is who do you have as these franchisees? Now when you think of your top franchisees or your biggest franchisees, where did they come from that they want to open a dance franchise? A kids dance franchise.
Sarah
00:11:43
Yeah. So as the director of Franchise Development Board, I see a lot of husband wife duos. They love the financial side of it, but they also love the feel good side of it too. so looking to do something like that together, but currently out of the franchise owners that we have in the network, again, we see a lot of the husband wife duos. But with that being said, like Sarah said, we have people know, see the potential and the opportunity here from a financial perspective, but still keeping in line with the idea of why we're doing what we're know the reason behind it. So, like Sarah said, the he's we don't have a ton of that, but we still see, but yeah, of people making an impact and really just somebody that has that personality, that wants to go in and have these conversations with these places like schools and daycares and, things like that.
Dana
00:12:41
We had the most fun congratulatory call, with one of our newest franchise owners. They husband and wife couple and they have like, a two and four year old. The two and four year old showed up on the call because they're like, we bought the business. And I'm like, this is awesome. And she was there. She was at her very first business meeting. And I relate to that so much. Our kids now are 1213 and 14, but they were on my hip as I was selling programs or teaching. It's very family friendly. Like, my husband, he works in football, but he works at every single recital that we would have at the merchandise table. And my son's passing out shirts. My daughter's doing things. So it's like it's a family event. Not always, but at our events, it's a family friendly thing where our goal is to bring joy, and we can do that as a family.
Lance
00:13:32
I absolutely love it. My son, when he was ten, started working in the kitchen at my restaurants.
Dana
00:13:39
So good. It's like the best training, best parenting moves we can do.
Lance
00:13:45
Yes. absolutely. So that is super exciting about getting the whole family involved. Obviously, something like this, I've already heard from franchisees there's a, great return on investment. I don't know if you want to talk about that now or we'll get to that, but let's dive into more. Who you're looking for specifically? You talked about some of the successful franchisees. You have all different models, so you're going to have people that want to be a full time owner operator, and then you're going to have other people that are going to get multiple studios and just hire somebody to be a manager that obviously loves kids. So talk about the options.
Sarah
00:14:23
We pretty much can support any kind of business structure that somebody is looking for as a franchise owner. This business is the epitome of, a lifestyle flexible opportunity for somebody that, like Sarah said, we want to bring families together, not pull them apart. If somebody wants to own and operate the business, maybe initially on their own or forever on their own, they can do that. But then we also have people that straight out of the gate, they want to hire a manager. Either work hand in hand with that manager or let them take the reins. we also have positions that they can hire for sales coordinator or an admin. So, uit really does support any kind of business model that somebody's looking for. But it's really just up to you and the situation that you're currently in.
Lance
00:15:13
Great. Perfect.
Dana
00:15:15
I would also just echo that who we're looking for, culture is a huge piece of our company. Um, we're impacting the lives of children. That's a big job. It's a beautiful job and a great job. But we're looking for those type of people that are easy to be around, that work hard, that are passionate, that will do anything they can to reach more students. And I wrote a book called Destined for Greatness. And in my book, I talk about us having this consultant early on with tippy toes, and he's trying to get me to sell a franchise to this person. And I said, I don't want to because I wouldn't want to sit across the table from her and have dinner. It was just that feeling. It didn't fit in our culture. And he said to me, he said, Sarah, are you trying to grow a business or a sorority? And I said, I'm trying to have the best business sorority that I've ever been able to have before. And we've stuck to that. We want people that, it's just easy to be around because those are the people that you want around your kids. Those are the people that daycare directors, preschool directors, want to come in contact with. Uwe never say that we're really selling things. We're bringing people an opportunity. And if you have that way about you, that culture that you understand, it's not about making a sale. It's about changing a life. It helps in framing, getting more students and making a bigger impact. So Culture is a huge piece in what we're looking for.
Lance
00:16:42
I love it. Let's talk a little bit about the process, itself. So if myself, a broker, or anyone finds you online and they get into the process, obviously they have their first call. I call it the coffee date. And that hopefully leads to, uh, something obviously more serious. So talk a little bit about your process and then we'll roll right into how you train that individual.
Sarah
00:17:07
Sure. So my process, I take them through what we call a discovery process and we start off with what would be our intro call or our coffee date. And then moving forward, we dive into the unit economics and then we dive into the FDD and we start discussing, the territories that they're looking at. And, then eventually, if we feel that it's a good fit for us and they feel that we're also a good fit for them, we would invite them to what we call Confirmation Day, which we have in Phoenix, Arizona, the Phoenix Scottsdale, Arizona area. And in the summer, it's a great time. Super cold. so we really make sure that we break it down into steps that are easy for somebody to digest all of the information, because that's really my job in this, is to make sure that I'm providing all of the information and educating them in the best way possible, so that they can make a very sound and logical and good decision. Because like Sarah said, we want to make sure that the people that want to be in tippy toes understand the business and aren't just kind of jumping into it because we want to maintain that culture that they've created. So we make sure that we're very thorough. Any questions? I'm always there, no matter what I like to say. Like all things tippy toes, you don't have to wait till our next call to talk to, yeah, let's talk about training.
Lance
00:18:34
Sarah certainly jump in if there's anything to add, but training, now you have a great candidate. They've passed Sarah's final test that she definitely wants to have dinner with this person, or a drink potentially. And by the way, I think it was either Steve Jobs or Warren Buffett that always said the same thing before. They are going to work with anybody, they want to make sure they break bread with somebody and really, they can spend time with them and enjoy that time. And so I love what you said, Sarah, but talk about training that individual. We all know that Franchising is awesome because of great training and systems. So how does the training work? How much training do you get?
Dana
00:19:17
Right, so, there's two weeks of pre onboarding where they get their business set up, go through a whole process of that. We have a training team. And then they come out to Scottsdale, Arizona, for three days, and it's diving into all pieces of business, actually going out and doing the sales process, seeing classes in action where they're in a classroom and can see know, oh, we aren't in a studio. We're actually in a preschool classroom moving tables and sweeping up cheerios because that's the reality of it. And then it's, ah, a twelve week post. Our time together, onboarding, where it's every single day there's tasks. This is how you're going to help grow, really building the client list and, um, having them going on to the FBC. Our goal is that there's no holes in it, and we've seen that. The lucky thing is we have 27 franchise owners. I'll never forget our very first one. We gave her information. This was in 2009 when we didn't really know what we were doing. We had to learn. And she's awesome and she's like, okay, can you not hand it to me literally in a spiral notebook? This is what you do. And so we have learned so much over the past, 1314 years on what we're doing. And we have really fine tooth comb. Every process that we have. We have an excellent staff that they're dedicated to our franchise owners success. And for me, like I said, I never got into this business knowing I was going to franchise it, but I wouldn't be able to lay my head on a pillow at night thinking, we didn't give people everything we could to make them be successful. And so that's our job is to make sure that they feel equipped, that they feel that we're available at all times, and that their success truly is our success too. Because we know happy franchise owners lead to happy kids, which leads to impact. And at the end of the day, while everybody wants to make money and we make some serious money with tippy toes, at the end of the day, what I will be most proud of is the impact that teaming up with these amazing, incredible franchise owners, that we, change the next generation, by being a light for them.
Lance
00:21:28
I love it. So when it comes to staffing, a lot of other brands today are belly aching about it's hard to find people. I have to imagine that if you're looking for somebody to help with Tippy Toes and they're comparing, can I fry French fries at the neighborhood? Franchise versus work at Tippy Toes, I know what they're going to choose. Is that fair to say?
Dana
00:21:57
We hope so. We have a really great market in the fact that there's so many people that have grown up dancing and then oftentimes they go off to college and it's like, my dance career is over. Like, for me, I danced while I was 18. I did dance professionally for a couple of years, but a lot of people were like, I was a cheerleader and I loved it. And then football days have ended and now I'm in college and what do I do? We really target a lot of the college students who are like, this is a, uh, part of my past. I don't want it to necessarily be a professional dancer, so I'm not going to pursue it in college. But it brought me so much joy and so I want to pass that along. So I would say that's a huge market. We love when people buy in a town where there's a college because we're like, okay, this is great. You can go to your local sorority and talk to people or the young life community or whoever, and there's people that are like, I danced. I would love to do something like that. And so, we find that to be it's not always easy because we have to find the right fit for us too. But it's pretty fun. that that's the group that we go after.
Lance
00:23:05
That's absolutely fantastic. So we've mentioned money a couple of times. So every time I do a, podcast, talking to a franchise founder or a team like you guys, people listening are always like, well, can you make any money doing that? Well, the investment is super low. we already know that. And, the gentleman you referenced earlier isn't buying five territories unless he thinks he can make some serious money. So talk a little bit about that first.
Sarah
00:23:35
We talked about the initial investment being anywhere as low as 67,000 to on the high end, possibly 80,000. With that being said, whenever we're talking about our net percentage margins, we're looking at about a 40% margin with, the numbers that we see. And with one territory, we can see north, potentially, of 100,000 net year over year. And we've seen so much growth with that as well, too.
Lance
00:24:10
Pretty incredible on the conservative side to simply say, invest about 70 grand and net 100. I'll take five territories, please. I'm ready. I'm ready to get on my tippy toes.
Dana
00:24:23
Well, you already know one of our songs so I feel like you're in.
Lance
00:24:27
I'm in. And I think there's a tiara my wife has downstairs and plenty of high heels. So I wanted to also ask, though, when it comes to so we talked about training. Let's get to marketing a little bit. So a lot of people join franchises because they don't know how to launch their own business. They don't even have the idea. So what is it that you do so special on the marketing side here to help these businesses ramp up, obviously as quickly as possible?
Dana
00:24:54
Yeah. U I'll just tell you our secret sauce. Just hit it on the head.
Lance
00:24:59
Oh, wait, secret sauce. Here we go. Everybody listening.
Dana
00:25:02
So the great thing about our business is, because we go to people, our market is so simple. So we go into a preschool. We have access to cubbies, to parents emails, to the front door when they're walking in. And so it's crazy. People like, what's your big marketing fund? I mean, we have a great website and do all that sort of stuff that normal businesses do. But we actually go into the preschool and we do what we call demonstration classes. We go into a three year old classroom. The kids dance with us. The director sees it. They're like, this is awesome the kids go home with stickers on their shirts saying, I had an awesome time. And then we're there at the door when the parents are leaving. There's no better marketing than the kid going home saying, bye, Miss Sarah, thanks for class. And then me being able to talk to the parents about what we were just able to do. And so, really, we have such a lucky we're not standing on the corner flipping signs hoping people stop by. We're going to them, giving them an amazing experience, giving them excellent customer service, and having them leave with a smile. And we say, smiles are guaranteed. Like, there's no way you could come sit in our classroom. You'd be smiling the entire time. It's just fun. Like I said, our clients are the cutest things ever. No matter what they're doing, they're just cute. And so I would say while we have email marketing and websites and all of that stuff, the main secret sauce is that we get to go to them. And we have partnerships with several YMCA, corporate daycares, that sort of thing, that allow us to have easy access into many schools.
Lance
00:26:40
That is such a fantastic marketing theme, if you will, or system. It's just so logical. When I was a Krispy Kreme Donut franchisee, we gave away free Krispy Kreme Donuts. Yes, that was the same idea. That was your demo. Free food. Just like free lessons are always better. Right?
Dana
00:27:00
Right. Absolutely. Well, then they get a taste of it. And I think, too, what it helps with is the directors watching us. And we have had so many directors stop us and know, little Johnny has never been on his spot, paying attention and dancing like that. He did amazing. And we're like, dance. The art of dance does something for people. And our class, I'm very biased, but we write our own music. And we're taking these kids on magical adventures. Now more than ever. Kids are attached to their cell phones or their phones or their technology. And they don't have time to use their imagination because they're never bored. And so they come into our class and they're not bored in our class, but they go through magical adventures where we pretend there's a blue bubble gum tree and they have to figure out how to get the gum out of it. Well, they go there. And oftentimes the director is like, oh my gosh, you all are crazy. But the kids are having so much fun. And that's what it's all about, is being able to, one, have great communication with the directors and the, parents, but also get down on their level and be like, I'm going to try to pretend like I'm a monkey and climb up that tree. And the kids are like, me too. So it's a big balance but that's the beauty. One of the many beautiful things about tippy toes.
Lance
00:28:19
One thing I didn't ask when it comes to the classes, and some other people might be wondering the same thing, you have a wide range of kids age wise. So how does that work? Are there different classes for different age groups? How do you do that?
Dana
00:28:34
Yes. So we split it up. So we have like, our baby ballet class, where it's intro class. This is how you stand on your line. This is how you play. We have creative music and movement. We have some dads that are like, I'm not putting my son in dance class. And we're like, well, come on to this creative music and movement program. They're going to love it. And they do and then we have ballet, tap and jazz where they're three to five year olds. And we have a. Six and seven year old hip hop class. So we have it divided. And really the beautiful thing is you get in a preschool and they have 200 students, let's say, then we're there for maybe three or 4 hours teaching classes back to back to back. And so, hey, we have the three year old classroom now. Now we have the four year olds and now we have the five year olds. So that's really the goal is to get a school and then have multiple classes of ten to 15 to 20 kids in each class.
Lance
00:29:26
Awesome. You guys have unloaded a lot of great information. So, give me some final thoughts, final words of wisdom for those listening, because this sounds like an amazing, fun opportunity.
Sarah
00:29:40
Say something that I always love to share because I think that this is something that's always something that people are looking for. And just the simple fact I mentioned earlier that this is a lifestyle opportunity. Our franchise owners are working on average 25 hours a week doing this and that's as owner operators. And so whenever you want to talk about having that flexibility, you really can see that with this business. And, being able to make more than 100,000 net off of 25 hours a week is, in my opinion, pretty impressive for something that is not necessarily so focused on that being the reason we're doing it.
Lance
00:30:18
Absolutely.
Dana
00:30:19
Ah, I would say so. I have two things, and I won't.
Lance
00:30:22
Take Sarah, you get two things. Three things. You get the final word.
Dana
00:30:25
You're the founder of okay, first of all, Lance, you are such a joy to do this podcast. I'm like, just like you're joyful. I would go to dinner with you. I'd say a couple things. And my husband and I have had this conversation dana and Tom and I have had this conversation that people that are looking to invest, if they have children, let's say they have a college age student that's getting ready to come out. This is an awesome business. Keep in mind, I started this when I was in college. It's a great business for young people. We have a lot of our teachers that have turned franchise owners because they love the model so much. And so I think a lot of times people think about investing and maybe they're a little riper in age and they're trying to figure out how to, use their investments. But I'm like it'd be great to invest in a younger generation of somebody that could do something like that. And really, it's a lot of work. It's hard work. I mean, we're going around hustling, but it teaches so many skills. And then the other thing that I'm probably most passionate about is for every twelve franchises that we sell, we are building homes with a humanitarian organization for those less fortunate. And so to me, it's like, yeah, it is about money. We all have to make money and we all want to be successful. But the generosity factor of giving back to know we are leaving a legacy for people. And we were in Guatemala last month, and we saw a family laying on the dirt with a tin roof over their head. Two young kids. She was mean. They worked to eat, really. And we were able to provide a home. And the father said, I prayed to God that somebody would come and help us. And Tippy Toes was given the opportunity. And so partnering with Tippy Toes is fun. It's about the dance, it's about culture, it's about community. It's about impact. But it's a greater impact that now that family is home in a two bedroom home with a door that's locked and they're safe. And to me, I'm like, I want us to keep doing more things like that. And that's why the quest of joining with franchise fast, I'm like, we want to go further, faster so we can make greater impact. And that's really the heart of Tippy Toes.
Lance
00:32:51
Oh my goodness. That was such a great ending. Awesome. Sarah and Dana, thank you so much for being here. Tippy Toes is going places. And, thank you ladies for sharing your stories.
Sarah
00:33:05
Thank you.
Lance
00:33:07
We shall talk soon. Thank you very much for listening today. Please, like, follow and subscribe. This is Lance Graulich. Until next time.