I am the owner of four Baby-clubs in Yaroslavl. I have been a Baby-club franchisee partner for ten years.

It all started with a book. When I was pregnant I read a lot of different books on early childhood development, as I wanted to pay maximum attention to the development of my children. But when the twins were born I realized that I didn't have enough time for such activities at home. At one point, I remembered Masaru Ibuka's book Kindergarten Is Too Late and especially the Baby-club's ad at the end of the book. I decided that I want to take my children to a club like that, but unfortunately I found no Baby-club in my city. Then I thought that I could take my children to a different club. I went to the first one, then to the second one and then to the third one. I didn't like the experience. Moreover, I could see a lot of mistakes they were making.

It became clear that I should think about opening my own Baby-club in Yaroslavl. I came to visit Baby-club's operation management company and I fell in love with these people. Everything - their attitude towards the business, the attention they pay to the standards of the franchises, the quality of methodology and teaching materials - it was all very convincing. I made the right choice.

Owning a business in a socially relevant field also influenced my professional development. I got my second master's degree as a social pedagogue and psychologist, and I am doing my postgraduate studies and writing my PhD at the moment. My field of interest covers not only early childhood development and child-parent relations, but I also help women in different crisis situations.

In general, I would like to thank the whole Baby-club operation management team. They contribute a lot not only to the children's development but also to all the Baby-club educators and assistants. The development they provide does not end with modern pedagogy. It is about overall personal development, through which we strive to live our lives in more interesting ways and change the world around us.

If you are passionate about changing the world around you, if you are a person who understands how important it is to contribute to future generations, then I strongly recommend considering the Baby-club franchise. It will also help you to get into the flow of all those people who are changing our future.

Well, first of all, this is an area of business which is clearly underestimated. The size of the market is huge, and there are not that many services offered. There is a stereotypical thinking of people that preschool business is a business for women only. In reality, there are no female or male businesses. I believe that there should be more men in this business. As a lot of men are afraid to start such a business because of the stereotypes, the potential to make money starting this business is huge. The preschool education market is growing constantly according to Business Stat estimates. Between the years 2022 and 2024, this market is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 1,4%. This rate shows that there are some resources for development. A franchise offers the opportunity to minimize entrepreneurial risks and diversify your business.

Preschool education, unlike many other businesses, is a socially important business. The government does not hinder us, but rather helps us: it allocates various subsidies and support for us. Of course, first we need some time to learn how the subsidies work, but once we do that, we can offset our expenses for the lump sum payment, royalty payments and utility costs.

People will always invest in children. Parents never skimp on investing in their child's present and future wellbeing. Accordingly, there is an opportunity to enter both the premium segment and any other segment of this market. If one has children, they need to go somewhere when they are toddlers and preschoolers. Baby-club is a great and high-quality intellectual space for them.

As for my choice of franchise, I made that choice because Baby-club is a company that has established itself in the market, is an industry leader, operates all over Russia and is gradually expanding. Baby-club has an eye for quality. It is a partner that is easy and predictable to work with . You can simply look at the statistics and reviews. They speak volumes.

We read about the Baby-club franchise in a business magazine that published an interview with Yuri Belonoshchenko. At that time, my wife, who was working as a preschool teacher, had to quit her job. But she really wanted to work with children, so I started thinking of how I could help my wife. I remembered the Baby-club franchise that was mentioned in that interview. I decided to learn more about it and to find out how it all works.

Before the Baby-club opening, I had a career in construction materials sales. I was the head of the sales department. And even after the club opening, I continued working in this field. I have a degree in civil engineering and economic management. I also have a business degree. Though here I should say that those degrees did not really influence the Baby-club opening. You don't need to have that many degrees to open the Baby-club. The important thing is that you need to be an organized, disciplined and systematic person. You also need to be good at multitasking. And, of course, loving children matters a lot. Usually, these things combine well in two people, like in a married couple as in our case. I often see how perfectly well that can work. Yuri and Evgeniya Belonoschenko are an example of such teamwork. A man can deal with business matters and a woman with matters that require sensitivity.

I had a lot of fears. It was the first experience of running our own business. I learned a lot of information about different business matters. I talked to partners from different regions. I actually went to a city with a Baby-club open and helped their clients with strollers while they were coming in or out of the club. And while doing that I asked them several questions, as I wanted their opinion about the Baby-club that they went to. I shared my idea to open a Baby-club in my own city. I chose the Baby-club franchise because it is one of Forbes' top franchises, it has a history with a lot of positive feedback from clients, and there are a lot of Baby-clubs around our country and beyond.

We signed the franchise agreement just before the New Year's holidays. Then we started all the construction work in the club and also the process of hiring employees. We are deeply thankful to all those people who trusted us at the initial stage, as we interviewed future educators in our apartment. Looking for the clients, we went to parks together handing out balloons and flags with the Baby-club logo on them. I consider these to be our first challenges, but at the same time our first successes.

The day of the opening was very emotional for me. We had spent a lot of time constructing and looking for people, investing both our money and our effort. So our party started, and children came and did nothing but run around the club. We needed some time to get them together. That was the moment when my wife helped immensely.

Looking back, I understand that we had to experience all these things and truly feel them. It feels different now. Also, at the very beginning we agreed with Yury that as soon as the number of children coming to our club reached a hundred, he would come and visit us as the founder of the franchise. Six months later we welcomed Yury into our club. That was a strong and positive impetus for us. At the moment we have about 170 children in our club.

We surely faced some difficulties as well. We had problems with the premises and the landlord. Our best educator left our club two months after the opening. And I need to say that Baby-club's educators are the golden fund as we hired only two out of a hundred applicants. Thanks to the cooperative and positive attitude of Baby-club's operation management company, all the difficulties were quickly resolved.

Additionally, I would like to mention the value that Nadezhda and I received on top of our business. My own childhood was prosperous. The main thing my parents gave me was their unconditional love. I felt supported. I was never punished or scolded. The Baby-club philosophy resonated with me as it coincided with the way I was brought up. The knowledge of children's psychology and building parent-child relationships that we got from Baby-club helps us in raising our own three children and having a harmonious family life.

I am truly glad that I have bought the Baby-club franchise. My life has changed dramatically. My business is my inspiration. In the future, I would like to make our club a two-format club, open a second Baby-club and think about opening a Belaya Vorona school*.

It is important for Nadezhda and me to feel and to know that we are doing something useful for our society and for people around us. Baby-club helps us with that.

I first met the Baby-club franchise as an educator who worked in one of the Moscow Baby-clubs. The first thing that struck me was their careful selection of staff, which included an interview with a partner, an essay, completing a test, and a meeting with the Baby-club's supervisor. For me, as an educator, that was a sign of the team's professionalism.

Working at the Baby-club, I saw how great the owners were managing their work-life balance. That was very special. And some time later my husband and I decided that we could open our own Baby-club. We had no savings at that time. This fact led us to the idea of opening a Baby-Club in co-partnership. We had some doubts, though, as our partner was our close friend. Thanks to the Baby-club operation management company's advice on proper investment and division of responsibilities, we were able to open our own profitable business and maintain our friendship.

At the opening stage, we faced a lot of different tasks that were new to us. These included renovation, staff recruitment, advertising, and state authorities' approvals. What was important to me was that at each of these stages I could contact the operation management company team and ask for advice.

Being Baby-club's franchisee, we have realized that we are doing what we love. We are surrounded by interesting, enthusiastic people who support us, and we are getting better at what we do. And not least, we have a stable income and time for our loved ones.

I am sure that we will come to the re-signing of the franchise agreement with our friends or our clients as new partners of the Baby-club management company.

I have been a Baby-club's franchisee for five years now. To be honest, I never wanted to buy a franchise.

Like many other entrepreneurs that start their first business, I dreamed of my own project and wanted to invent everything myself, from the name of the company to the smallest detail. But when the fantasy came to the realization stage, I faced a wild fear inside me. I was not sure if I am going the right way, if I have a realistic estimate and if I have any clients at all. For many years my dream hadn't had a chance to come true. I always wanted to own a daycare center, a place where I can see children growing up in front of my eyes, taking their first steps, beginning to speak, read, make friends and love.

When my first son was born, my husband and I started looking for a children's education center near our house. I asked my friends for their advice and each of them recommended Baby-club, so we went there. I always remember the time when I was a Baby-club's client with great fondness. My children are still the students of the Baby-club, they just go to my Baby-club now. I know how much work goes into creating that atmosphere.

My son and I starred in one of the Baby-club's commercials and got to know the management company. We have developed a warm, friendly relationship at that time. I saw that all the Baby-clubs partners created a great community, participating in conventions, business meetings, and visiting each other's clubs and daycare centers. I was thinking about my own business at that time. It just felt tight to be among the partners, very comfortable. Suddenly I found out that one brand new Baby-club in the very iconic and special Mosfilm Moscow district was for sale. I only had to think about it for a few hours before I made the decision and became the owner of that Baby-club and the franchisee partner.

Have I ever had regrets about this decision? No. Working as a franchisee can have its difficulties. Especially with my wayward personality. I really don't like when something is imposed on me – solutions, interiors, standards. When you understand that behind all this there is a deep expertise, and above all people who create an incredible product, standards and solutions that help you in difficult moments, you realize that as part of this big team you can achieve quite different results. No man is an island.

It is great to be a full partner when the management company listens to you and actually hears you. It is also great to be a part of all the big decisions in the franchise. After these five years being a Baby-club owner I realized that I had so many clients that our cozy club was too small, and it was the right time to reach new horizons. In September 2021 I made my club and daycare center twice as big. Many people say that it's not the time to expand, but I believe there will never be a better time. Everything is in our head. We have to make progress. I am deeply grateful to the Baby-club company and people in the operation management team for allowing me to take the very first and the most difficult step towards my own business.