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Kindy Dance Time

CS_KDT_web.pdf

Kindy Dance Time (KDT) provides educational dance classes for children between the ages of two and five, with an emphasis on making all activities fun and enjoyable. 

KDT began operations in mid-2001. Lara Gandini is the owner of the business and was actively involved in growing the business from its humble beginnings, even before she purchased the business in December 2004. 

The business has grown to service 18 locations in metropolitan Perth, catering for the dance needs of approximately 700 children. There is also a sizable waiting list of children whom Kindy Dance Time has been unable to accommodate due to the lack of teaching locations within a reasonable distance or because of classes operating at full capacity. 

KDT employs casual teachers to operate most classes. The teachers are provided with props and other relevant teaching aids and are remunerated on an incentive-based scheme that rewards them for maximising student numbers for the classes they teach. 

A key characteristic of the KDT system is the emphasis on parental involvement in all classes. This approach helps children feel more comfortable during the initial stages of their development and enables parents to participate in nurturing of child’s creative abilities. 

The Challenge 

Kindy Dance Time had experienced significant growth since its inception. Through targeted marketing and consistently positive word-of-mouth feedback demand outstripped capacity, resulting in large waiting lists. 

Lara Gandini, KDT founder, faced two key challenges: 

  • How to grow the brand in a rapid, yet sustainable, manner to reduce waiting lists and exploit increasing demand for KDT classes within metropolitan Perth and surrounding areas.
  • How to leverage the success of the brand to propel the business into a nationally recognised leader in the provision of best practice, structured and fun and movement education for pre-school age children.

The Solution 

Having recognised the challenges and opportunities Lara Gandini engaged DC Strategy to provide expert advice on growing a successful brand into a market leading, national network. 

The project focussed on a number of key variables of growth, including: 

  • An economic review of the existing and proposed businesses to clarify bottlenecks for growth and earnings potential.
  • Growth strategy including the optimal business model, scaling plan and timeline for the grant of franchises and establishment of company-owned units.
  • Development of a resourcing plan to support the network.
  • Evaluation of the founder’s strengths and definition of her ongoing role in the business.
  • Development of an operations manual to assist franchisees and ensure consistency across the growing network.

 The Outcomes 

DCS worked closely with KDT’s founder to ensure the challenges were overcome with practical solutions which would enable KDT to achieve its objectives. The outcomes included: 

  • The optimal growth model was developed, including the commercial and economic models, strategy and processes with which to recruit franchisees and operations manuals with which to operate a KDT franchise.
  • A view of the head office operations structure that would scale with the growth of the business and ensure that the business’ growth curve was not adversely affected by a shortage of head office resources.
  • A view of the size of the KDT network was developed, which would allow it to be recognised nationally as the leading provider of fun and structured children’s dance classes.

 

DCS Consulting is your business growth specialist. For more information in relation to our quality business analysis, please contact:      

Level 5, 530 Collins Street,
Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia
growth@dcstrategy.com
+61 (0)3 8102 9200