Franchise concepts that foster creative expression continue to make strides on Long Island.
These concepts, often serving people of all ages and skill levels, come with supportive guidance and training that help an enterprise – and its clients – thrive.
From painting to music to cooking and beyond, there’s no shortage of creative concepts to explore.
Consider, for example, One River, an art and design school with locations in Port Jefferson and Woodbury, and another soon to open in Manhasset. The company has 15 locations, three of which are franchises.
Since One River opened in 2012, founder Matt Ross has seen to a “curriculum that was created over time,” he said from the company’s Englewood, N.J. headquarters. There are “recipes, lesson plans and road maps” for each class type. They are “broken into seasons” and “never repeat” for a student, whether a child or adult, so that there is always something new to discover, he said.
Artistic ventures hold broad appeal. Arts education builds well-roundedness, broadens the appreciation of other cultures and histories, develops valuable life and career skills and more, according to American Academy of Arts & Sciences, in Cambridge, Mass.
Courtesy of One River
Franchises in the arts and other industries offer established business models and practices, from site specs, to signage, to marketing and sales support and, in the case of One River, curriculum.
Having served as the former CEO for School of Rock, which offers “performance-based music education for the last 50 years,” Ross said he went on to realize that “nobody was teaching contemporary art of today.” So he set out to “create a school that was relevant to that.”
Along the way, he studied contemporary art at New York University, and built an educational team around him to develop original classes and curriculum. Ross likens the approach to that of a restaurateur who doesn’t “have to be an amazing chef to understand what good food tastes like but hires a good chef to create something.”
Meanwhile, School of Rock continues to flourish on Long Island. The ability to instill confidence in clients is what sold Monica Rubin on becoming a School of Rock franchisee in parts of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens counties. Rubin, who first became a franchisee in Rockville Centre in 2014, had observed her son developing his self-confidence as a child while he was enrolled at the school.
“In life,” she said, “you’re always on stage, whether you’re speaking in public, or in business. I want students to learn confidence on every stage at an early age.”
Courtesy of School of Rock
Now, Rubin also owns franchises in Huntington, Syosset, Roslyn, and most recently in Bayside, Queens. She is looking for a site in Forest Hills, which would become her sixth location. As a franchisee, she benefits from the concept’s proprietary teaching method and operational systems.
Meanwhile, over in Garden City, Young Chefs Academy is planning to open its doors this year. As franchisee Sally Barrera told LIBN in December, the concept provides students “with life skills that they can use in the future.”
As with any concept, franchisees invest in an organization, and often, in exchange get a turn-key operation. The total investment to open a One River franchise, for example, ranges from $204,800 to $296,000, and includes a $45,000 franchise fee, according to the One River website. The average costs for opening a School of Rock franchise range from $395,800 to $537,400, according to the company. And the total investment for Young Chef’s Academy, according to its website, ranges from $150,400 to $199,000.
As a concept in 15 countries, the School of Rock franchise offers Rubin’s students’ performance spotlights she wouldn’t have access to otherwise. For example, in June, School of Rock musicians opened Governors Ball in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
“Students played the same day as Lizzo,” Rubin said. “We got so much press coverage. It was a big deal.”
At School of Rock, students of all ages and experience levels sign up for classes.
“We make it age appropriate,” whether students are age six, or 99, Rubin said. “We have an 89-year-old drummer who’s a student.” Another student enrolled so he could learn to “serenade his wife,” Rubin said.
Ross said One River is customer-focused, allowing students at any experience level and age to either focus on a particular genre, or try out different art forms each month, depending on preference. Students can sign up and begin participating in mini projects right away, rather than wait for a particular course to begin. There are 40 class options, recurring weekly, and Ross has developed the model with an eye toward flexibility and convenience, he said.
Now, Ross said he is determining whether to open more company-owned units or franchises.
“We don’t have private equity or venture capital” funds, he said, allowing the business to “take it slow. It’s not about becoming the biggest” concept, he said, but rather “about doing a good job.”
Ross then shared some photos of One River students. Some were focused on their particular projects, while others were triumphant in a piece’s completion.
“When I see these outcomes,” Ross said, “I know we are making a difference.”
n
Adina Genn
Source link
