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Setting up an Indoor Soft Play Business!

Diary of a new operator.

The "How To Set Up An Indoor Play Area - A Diary of a New Operator" article was first published in 2010 in the Indoor Play Magazine  and followed one of Soft Brick's customers, Carol White, as she set up her indoor play business. More than 10 years on and we still have customers contact us and reference this excellent resource. With the Indoor Play Magazine's permission, we are reproducing it as part of our Soft Brick blog - and including some photos along the way too!

So here we go...

Introduction

Rather than listing or telling you how to set up an indoor play centre we thought it would be more useful to see how Surrey business woman Carol White embarked on a life-changing new venture by opening an indoor play area in Farnham.

This month I’ve decided to do something that can definitely be described as life changing and this diary is my way of recording the process for posterity.

My name’s Carol White and – in agreement with my husband Jason – I’ve taken the decision to give up my job at the local anaesthetists and open a soft play area in Farnham, Surrey. Jason has his own construction business and we’ve decided to invest all our savings into this new venture, which I will run. Obviously we discussed it at length and we recognise that there are risks involved, but I’ve put a lot of thought into this and I am sure I can make a success of it.

I have my 4-year old granddaughter Isabel to thank for the inspiration. Soon after Isabel was born, my daughter went back to work and I reduced my working days from three to two in order to look after her. About 18 months ago, I began to take her to one of the four indoor play centres within a 10-mile radius of Farnham. Very quickly, I realised that although I was achieving the primary objective of giving Isabel the chance to play, have fun and get some healthy exercise, our local centres, in my view could make improvements in some areas. I intend to address those issues and implement the improvements in my centre.

Before I seriously considered the option of doing something myself, I had already begun the research process – taking notes while I was in the centres, picking up on the things that I felt I could do better, counting the numbers of children that came into the centre while Isabel was playing etc...

I am convinced that the customer base is out there and this will work. Farnham is an affluent town and there are several private schools around. We’ll be totally self-funded, with no borrowings and I’ve already started drafting the business plan – the next stage is to find premises and get the ball rolling.

I started to look for premises at the beginning of this month. I looked on the internet for agents in Farnham that let commercial properties, found four and went straight in to see them.

I told them what I was trying to achieve and at first they tended to show me large industrial units on the edge of town. The properties were big enough, but parking was always an issue and I don’t really want children coming out of my centre into an industrial estate. Eventually Ian Steele at Park Steele struck gold. He had a town centre retail unit, which had been empty for a year. It is in the East Street precinct, next to Sainsbury’s. It was the supermarket’s off license until they moved that in-store in mid-2009 and at 2,301 square feet, it’s the perfect size and height for a reception area, two-storey play frame, café and toilets and an office.

I said yes straight away. The rent is £35,000 a year, which is a lot higher than in an industrial estate, but the location makes it worth it. Not only is it next to Sainsbury’s, which generates a lot of passing custom, on the other side of Sainsbury’s is a children's bed shop and opposite, planning permission has just been granted for a 300 - apartment development. If only half of the people have children, that would be a huge boost for my business.

It will take a few weeks to sort out the heads of agreement with Sainsbury’s, which is sub-letting the premises to me, but I really feel like we’re onto a winner. We need to get our change of use application passed, of course, but what a perfect location.

Despite the fact that I’m not looking for funding at this stage, I went to meet the bank manager at Barclays and I have to say, he was brilliant. I showed him my budget and business plan and he said it knocked spots off most business plans people bring to him when they are looking for a loan. He offered a few helpful suggestions and also gave me the option of a free consultation with the business manager and marketing manager. I don’t feel like I need that right now, but it’s good to know it’s available.

Setting up an indoor soft play business - Soft Brick

One thing I have rapidly learnt is – if you need something, you have to ask for it. Sainsbury’s agreed to everything I asked for in the terms and that is a big help. It gives me an additional three parking spaces for staff and a deferment in rent payments until we open, as well as some concessions because we will be redeveloping the building. At the moment, it’s a shell and the old tills, shelves and shopping trolleys are in it.

In terms of the application for change of use, I spoke to the agent and he looked into all of that for us. The premises have an A1 Retail licence at the moment, and we needed to apply for an Class E (used to be D2)  Leisure licence. Jason has used a surveyor for his business for years and we got him involved to apply to the council, ensure we complied with building regulations and liaise with all the relevant parties. That process will take a while, as local businesses and residents’ associations have to be consulted as well as council planners, but fingers crossed we’ll sail through.

We put in the planning application to brand the outside of the unit the name as a limited company. We’re going to be called Stay & Play and I spent a few hours with a designer to come up with the logo. We have time to tweak that before we open – hopefully in April, but it’s exciting to see the identity of my centre begin to take shape. Again this is a process that takes a while, but it’s pretty much a formality, once we have permission to change the use of the premises. I also got a quote for insurance through Morton Michel. I was expecting to compare and contrast two or three insurance providers, but they came up first on the internet search (insurance for soft play) and Janet Hooper was so thorough, helpful and professional during our phone call I decided there and then that this was the broker I wanted to work with. Their policy also came in a fair way below what I had budgeted for, which was another bonus!

Setting up an indoor soft play business - Soft Brick

Another big decision to make – when should I hand my notice in? If everything goes to plan and our application is granted by February, our aim is to open in time for the Easter school holidays. Because of the nature of the business where I have worked for the last seven years, I have to give three months notice, which leaves me with a dilemma. We decided that I will hand in my notice on January 1 and leave on March 31, which leaves me with the minimum amount of time I could have to make the final preparations to open Stay & Play. If things don’t happen in the time frame we want them too, then it could prove an expensive move, but weighing everything up, I don’t think we have any other choice really.

My view, based very much on my own experiences, is that first and foremost, I want to look after the parents and grandparents. We have ordered nine lovely leather sofas and comfortable tables and chairs for the café, and we’ll be putting in a big screen to show terrestrial channels. There will be a heavy emphasis on home-made food in the café, with a wide selection of paninis, baguettes and sandwiches as well as oven-baked dishes and the full range of coffees and teas from an all-singing, all dancing espresso machine. For the children, we’ll have things like breaded chicken fillets, not nuggets, and oven baked chips, rather than fried. I’ll also be making mashed potato, and for dessert, a range of homemade cakes and puddings. There will be plenty of healthy options. I want to give parents a choice that they just don’t have elsewhere in this area - if they are happy, the kids will play anywhere and when I combine that with a high-quality playframe, my offer will definitely stand out from the rest.

We got the letter on February 16 telling us that our application for change of use had been granted – fantastic news! We received some very positive feedback on our plans from some of the groups who were consulted.

It was generally agreed that we will be contributing to the re-invigoration of the local business community, and to have that sort of support means a lot. Now we need to find out when we can get the keys and Jason can get in there and begin the construction job. My hunt for an equipment supplier, which as always began on the internet, ended with me placing an order with Soft Brick Company. I dealt with Nicole Warriner and she was so helpful. I gave them the dimensions of the site and my own design ideas, and once I had chosen the equipment that I wanted to buy, they sent me a computer-generated 3D drawing of what it would look like. I’ve paid the 30 per cent deposit and now they will send me the swatches and themes, so I can colour match and get a precise idea of what we’ll end up with. It’s starting to feel very real now – the next few weeks will be hectic, but I can’t wait to get cracking.

Setting up an indoor soft play business - Soft Brick

Please note: Our design team would like to highlight that our 3D images are infinitely better now compared with 2010!

  • 4th - I spent this morning on the phone to Waverley Borough Council, checking that I am complying with environmental health standards. Silly things like whether the music we play at parties will breach any licensing or noise pollution laws or whether the flat screen TV that will play CBeebies all day for the toddlers is legal. I’m learning new stuff every time I make a phone call, and even when you are 99% certain that you know you’re within the law, it’s worth making sure – a fine after you’ve opened could be a crippling blow. I also checked about the need for CRB checks for my staff and was surprised to find out that, due to the nature of their duties, there is no legal obligation for them to be CRB registered. I’ve decided, however, that whether it’s a legal obligation or not, ethically I think it’s better to pay for them to get CRB clearance. It will give us protection when a parent inevitably asks the question at some point and as with inspections, I feel it is a small price to pay for my own peace of mind, as well as that of the parents. I’ve included it in the contracts of employment, which I have now completed. I pieced them together over time, as I thought about things, rather than going for the standard downloadable contract off the internet, as I feel this is a very specific sector and needs well-thought out clauses. I’ve met with the accountant that Jason uses and he’s sorted out all the National Insurance and PAYE details for me, so we’re pretty much ready to go staff-wise.
  • 8th - I’ve been formulating plans in my head for some of the key aspects of Stay & Play for months; now, with opening day approaching quickly, it’s been time to put them into action. This is a key month for us. The marketing plan seems pretty straightforward to me. I’ve had another couple of meetings with the printer and he’s come up with a great flyer that details everything about us and what we offer as a soft play centre and also features a competition that we hope will attract more people through the doors in the early weeks. Anyone who comes in with the flyer will be entered into a prize draw, with the chance to win a free party for up to 12 children. That’s worth around £150 to the winning parents, but obviously won’t cost me as much as that. The flyer also includes details of how people can pre-book a party from April 15th (our expected opening date) onwards, so hopefully we’ll be able to open with some orders already on the books.
  • 14th - I’ve had 5,000 flyers printed and they will be distributed in a number of ways. My daughter has a large circle of friends who are mums and that will be a good starting point. I’ve also been contacting the local primary schools to ask about promoting the centre to parents and the sheer weight of the word of mouth in Farnham will undoubtedly be useful. Because we haven’t got the keys yet – we should have had them at the end of February and its now mid-March – I have had to hedge our bets a bit on an opening date, although we still want to open before Easter. On top of that, I’m also going to put leaflets in the Farnham Herald and I’m considering a £300 half-page advert in the local free newspaper, which goes out to 33,000 readers. There will be a voucher in there for a free cup of coffee and a slice of cake for the parents. I’ll also put leaflets next door in Sainsbury’s, where a big portion of my target customer base shop.
  • 17th - I’ve considered long and hard the subject of age profile and entrance prices and this is what I’ve ended up with: - There will be no charge for adults or children between 0-12 months. As I’ve said before, I want parents to feel comfortable in my environment and I’d rather benefit from the spend in the café from a contented adult than annoy them before they have even stepped foot in Stay & Play - Children will be charged on a sliding scale, depending on their age. Between 1-3, they will pay £3.80, that will rise to £4.20 for 3-5 year olds, and then again to £4.80 for over 5s. We have designed the centre so that it is suitable for children up to the age of 10, but I’m conscious that children grow at different speeds and we may put a height restriction in if bigger children become an issue. Basically, my view is that it’s volume of people through the door that I’m looking for and I don’t want to introduce anything that jeopardises that. If you have happy people coming through the door and then give them what they want once they’re inside, you’re going to do alright. I’m also going to pay staff to run the place for eight hours, so I want it to be busy for as much of that time as possible. I’ve got most of the staff in place already. I’m going to be running four separate part-time shifts. Opening hours will be 9.30-6 and two people will do the 9.30-2.30 shift each weekday and two more will do the 12-6 shift. I’ll be there obviously and my daughter is also going to put in some shifts and help out more when I’m away for any reason. We’ll put together the rota on a monthly basis. As long as we always have three people available, we’ll be able to run the reception, the play area and the café smoothly, as well as keep up a rigid cleaning regime for the equipment and the loos.
  • 21st - Hygiene and cleanliness are right at the top of my priority list and I’m going on a hygiene course to get a few more pointers before I start. It’s not just about our cleanliness either, I’ve also bought miniature stainless steel swing bins for each table and there will be a packet of baby wipes on every table too. It’s the small touches that make the difference and I’m going on my own experience to select things that I would like to see if I was a customer (or that I would want Isabel to have access to as a child).
  • 23rd - I’ve booked and paid for a Play Inspection Company inspection before we open. I’ve got no real worries – the equipment is being supplied by a very reputable manufacturer, we’ve got no sharp edges, no glass and we’ve gone for a full fitted carpet, rather than tiles. Although the parents are ultimately responsible for their children when they are in the centre, we will leave no stone un-turned to fulfil our obligations. An inspection costs £450 a year, why wouldn’t you do that? It’s a tiny price to pay for the safety of so many children. We’ve also decided that we’re going to move our food sourcing from Costco, where we are members, to Booker’s. We hadn’t been to Booker’s before, but when we went in this month, we realised how good it is and it’s a lot closer than the closest Costco. The quality of what we buy is most important, of course, but the price and lack of travel costs also worked in Booker’s favour.
  • 25th - I’ve set up Stay & Play as a limited company, on the advice of my accountant and registered myself as the sole director. Barclays has also given me 18-months free banking. I do feel that I’ve received some excellent advice and that is allowing me to go into this adventure with my eyes very much wide open.
  • 27th – Still no keys, which is putting us in a very tight position. It’s all down to the solicitors – one of Sainsbury’s solicitors has been ill and no-one else would look at the file – amazing. There are no problems, but a few clauses that need inserting before we can get final sign off. Very frustrating, but these things are sent to try us!

Setting up an indoor soft play business - Soft Brick

  • 1st – It might be April Fool’s Day, but I’m sure they weren’t pulling my leg when they said we could have the keys. We were pacing up and down in the facility, with seven eager Soft Brick Co. employees who had come down to install the equipment on the 2nd when we finally got the yes. What a huge relief, but on the other hand, the really hard work starts here and we now have 12 days to do what we expected was six weeks work to turn this shell of a building into a play centre. We have signed a 15-year lease, with two five-year get out clauses, when we could pull out and retrieve our deposit money. One thing we didn’t expect was that there is stamp duty on leasing a commercial property – how much money does the government want from us all? Well, in our case, it’s £2,900. You can’t buck the system though, we just have to grin and bear it.
  • 2nd – Well, the play-frame is now installed and it looks great. It wasn’t the way round we wanted it of course, as now we have to build around the frame and we’ll have to get a team of cleaners in to clear away the dust afterwards, but I suppose we can at least now see the first impressions of what the centre will be based around. Trying to be excited, but it’s getting a bit stressful!
  • 6th – I completed my health and safety and hygiene certificates, both level 2. A local lady named Pauline Murdoch was kind enough to carry the courses out at home, due to the time constraints. It was fairly straightforward, which I was advised to look into by the environmental health guy, Jamie Tomlinson. You don’t have to do it, but safer food, better business is their philosophy and I couldn’t agree more.
  • 8th – Jason has been working on the centre for the last few days and we are making progress. We’re still hoping to open on Friday 14th, but at this stage it’s beginning to look like we’ll be opening on Saturday or Sunday – we really can’t afford to open before we are totally ready.
  • 14th – The decision has been made for us – we will be opening on Sunday, as there physically wasn’t the time to get everything done and – pardon the pun – dusted before today. We have shelved plans for a full-on opening party and will instead have a group of family and friends with their children to share a few bottles of champagne and nibbles with us on Sunday. It’s disappointing not to hit our opening date, but so many things have been thrown at us, I don’t think we can be too hard on ourselves. Jason has been working non-stop and he is absolutely exhausted. I feel like I’ve pushed and pushed him, but he’s been brilliant. He’s also done all this work, which he estimates would have cost around £20,000, for nothing and has also paid for the plumbers and electricians. He sees it as part of the overall investment and it is certainly going to be a huge help over the first few months, giving us a bit more financial leeway when we might need it.
  • 15th – The play-frame was inspected today and the Play Inspection Company could not find anything to quibble with, so we passed with flying colours. That’s another important hurdle crossed – still quite a bit more work to do, but we’re going to get there, however long it takes us into the night.
  • 16th – Opening Day!! Would you believe it, the weather has turned and our opening day was “blessed” with the unheard of temperature for Farnham in April of 27°C. We hardly noticed all that of course, having been here til midnight last night putting chairs together. The kitchen ceiling only went in yesterday, so it does feel a little like we’re flying by the seats of our pants, but there has been so much meticulous preparation, that certainly isn’t the case. We had a lovely get together and the kids loved the play area, so despite the fact there were maybe not as many paying customers as we had hoped for (45), it was a good day.
  • 23rd – The end of the first week as a fully-fledged indoor play area operator and I have to say, it’s not been ideal. The sun shone throughout the week and the numbers of people through the door were low as a result. It’s sod’s law of course that the weather breaks when you want rain, but that’s not stopping me having sleepless nights and walking into work every morning filled with dread that we might have another quiet day.
  • 30th – Week two has been no better really. The numbers through the door have not gone up, even though we have been getting great feedback from everyone who has come in. They seem to really appreciate the little touches, like free biscuits with the coffee, the wipes etc… and already we’ve had some return visits. I’m getting here at 7 every morning to clean the loos, hoover, do the Sainsbury’s shop and generally prepare for the day, and leaving at 7 in the evening and I must admit, it’s tiring. There are four of us in the team, myself and Siobhan, who is also full time, another girl who covers the two days when Siobhan is off and my daughter Carly, who works on the 3-4 busiest lunchtimes of the week. I’m beginning to question myself and whether I’ve done the right thing. It’s easy to blame the low numbers on the weather, but have I made a big mistake?
  • May 7th – Well, I feel a bit better now. After falling well shot of our targets in weeks 1 and 2, we hit our target on week 3 and had a very encouraging 86 children through the door on Saturday, as well as a party for 10. I have budgeted so that we could get by on 30 children a day, but to make a profit, which we would obviously prefer, we need to average around 40 children a day. We were also above the daily average on Friday and Sunday, so revenue wise, hopefully we are off and running. We have had nearly 100 flyers returned to enter into our competition to win a free children’s party and also started to see the first vouchers coming in from our promo in the Herald. And the repeat visits are picking up – we are beginning to attract a following and hopefully every bit of marketing we do will pay dividends over the next few weeks and months. How could we have legislated for the hottest April on record when we were planning? It’s just got to be put down to sheer bad luck. With hindsight, we would have taken the fact that keys were so delayed arriving with us and used that delay to open later I suppose. But hindsight is a wonderful thing.  I’ve been working every day now for five weeks, which I expected – I just didn’t quite expect the levels of anxiety that came with it!
  • 13th – I’ve had some really nice calls from operators in other parts of the country. They’d all read the last issue of Indoor Play and wanted to tell me not to be too despondent. They reassured me that my experiences were not outside the norm – one said that she has 100 people through the door most days, but it is not unusual for that to drop to 20 or 30 when it’s really hot. It was a real boost to know that there is a supportive community out there and it has really cheered me up to realise I am far from alone.
  • 20th – Since the end of May, the weather has deteriorated and apart from the odd quiet day, we have had very consistent footfall through the centre. Where we were getting 25-30 children a day coming through, our ‘normal’ day will now see 60-80 children coming through the door, and that’s before we get into the school holidays! Our weekends are generally the busiest days – with the average numbers for a Saturday between 80 and 90, but the busiest day we have had so far was a Friday in June, when we counted 114 kids in – and counted them all out again as happy customers.
  • 21st – It’s not just the change in the weather that’s made a difference – I’ve come to realise that people just had to get to know that we were here. There has been a gradual rise in awareness. Parents who have brought their children to parties here have then either come back to play at a later date or even booked another party for their own son or daughter. With hindsight, it was bound to take a while for the word to spread. We have a licence for up to 60 children playing here at any given time and until now we have not had to turn anyone away. I’m not looking forward to a time when we might have to do that, but it’s quite likely to happen at some stage. If it does, I’ll be ready with a drink voucher or a free entry offer though, as I know it can be a hassle just getting here, parking and getting the kids in and out of the car, and I would hate for people to be upset.
  • 25th – We are doing really well with parties – I’ve got at least 2-3 booked in every weekend until the end of August and what I’m finding is that parents tend to book 6-8 weeks in advance, so I’m hoping that trend will continue. I had initially projected that we would have 2- 5 parties a week and, as well as the weekend parties, we’ve also had quite a few booked in during the week, so all in all, we’ve probably exceeded that target slightly as well.
  • 28th – The equipment is brilliant and I can’t say a bad word about the Soft Brick Company and everything they’ve done for me. The kids love it and Soft Brick have been so helpful, to the point that when a few tags got lost of our little tag game, they replaced them for free even though I was prepared to pay for them. As I’ve said before, it’s the little things that make all the difference.
  • 30th – One of the more pleasing aspects so far has been the response from the parents. We have such a lot of people taking the time to comment on how much they like Stay and Play, particularly on the little extra touches like free biscuits and baby wipes. That vindicates my vision – it takes 16p off my profit every time I give a free biscuit away and I don’t have to do that, but it genuinely makes a difference to people’s experience. I know from my own experience that it is relatively unusual for people to take the time to make positive comments, but I’ve lost count of the number of times when people have asked me if I was the owner/manager, then thanked me and told me what a lovely time they’ve had here.

Setting up an indoor play business

  • 4th – The first quarter ends on July 16 and, against all the odds, we’ve made enough money for me to give all the staff a small bonus. I’m planning to give the full timers £150 and the part-timers £50 or £60 each. OK, they are not going to be able to go to Las Vegas on it, but they’ll be able to have a spend-up at the shops, and it’s my way of telling them how much I appreciate them. They really do work non-stop.
  • 7th – I’ve had some new thoughts about the menu in the café. I always thought it would be updated as we gauged the customers. The food has been going really well and it has been appreciated that we don’t have any fried food. Our chicken fillets and fish fillets, with oven baked chunky chips are very popular. The best sellers are our sandwiches though, which are thick cut and served with a fresh salad and a generous serving of Kettle chips. They are £3.50 and sell very well. I’ve also introduced a lunch bag for the kids, which costs £3.95 for five items – sandwich, crisps, fairy cake, bag of fresh-cut fruit and a juice. We sell 10-15 of those a day on average. Everything is individually wrapped, so people know that they can take it home with them if it doesn’t get finished and I think that has been a big plus point too. I budgeted to take around £100 a day in the café, and already we are taking upwards of £250 on our busiest days. Even an average day will bring in £120-£130, so that suggests we’re definitely hitting the spot with our offer. I’m very choosy with what I eat and I am the same with what I buy for other people, so the margin on our food and drink is not as high as it perhaps could be. I buy all the big stuff at Booker’s, which is very competitive and a lot closer than Costco, but I buy most things fresh from Sainsbury’s every morning and I’ll go for Taste the Difference wherever possible. I know I could squeeze some more profit out of it if I bought cheaper food, but to my mind, there is just as much value in getting parents back through the doors because they like to eat here.
  • 14th – We’ve already had all of the balls out of the ball pit for a good clean – it took hours for Siobhan to do that! – and showed us that it’s not just the balls but what’s underneath them that need careful monitoring. Once we have been operating a bit longer, we’ll take up Soft Brick on their offer of a maintenance contract I expect – I certainly wouldn’t go anywhere else.
  • 17th – Carley has said to me more than once that until we have gone through our first winter, we will not know exactly what we have got on our hands here. We haven’t even been through our first summer yet, but I know she’s right. Soft play areas can get so busy in the winter – and based on what we have experienced so far, I’ve already got plans in place to employ another full-time member of staff before we get to the winter peak. That will take us to 6 in total, but we’re already finding that it’s not just the obvious things that need more hands, it’s things like maintaining the cleanliness throughout the day and clearing up behind customers when they leave, so the next set of customers can enjoy the same experience.
  • 21st – I suppose the best way to sum up how well it has gone recently is that Jason and I are going away for 10 days in October. We’re off to our favourite place in the world, Las Vegas, but I think I’ll stay away from the tables - I’ve done enough gambling this year! I could not have dreamt of that two months ago, when I was honestly wondering how I could ever have a holiday again – but I have people I can totally trust working for me. We booked it last week and it has taken a big weight off my shoulders. I’ve still not had a day off since we opened and while things have got so much better, it has still been hard. I lost over a stone in six weeks, some people would pay a fortune for that, but the holiday is the light at the end of the tunnel and I’ve felt so much better since it was booked. Carley will be in charge while I’m away, with Siobhan as her wing-woman (!) and the other part-time girls will also be here. Both Carley and Siobhan have been fantastic assets for me. Siobhan came to us from a job with a catering company in Farnborough and had wanted to do a job like this for years. She is brilliant with the parents and the children and her commitment has been amazing. Carley has been tremendously supportive too and I know if she didn’t have Isabel, she’d be working here full time. All in all, it’s impossible to be anything but pleased with the way the last couple of months have gone. I wouldn’t change anything, I wanted to give the parents of Farnham an alternative indoor play venue and I’ve done everything that I wanted to do. So far, it appears to be working, the next step is to maintain and then build on the momentum we’ve got going.
  • 24th – Touch wood, we have hardly had any issues at all. Two minor accidents have been logged in our accident book – one little boy tripped while he was running and had a small carpet burn on his chin and another got a cut above his eye when he ran into a chair another customer was moving. Thankfully neither incident was serious or anything we could have foreseen or avoided, but it does keep you vigilant. We are getting a sign made to tell people they must wait for us to let them out of the doors when they leave, because there have been a couple of occasions when the door has been left open for a short while – again thankfully without any problem. You have to be aware of all sorts of things obviously, but sometimes it takes something to happen before you realise you weren’t aware in the first place. I had a full oven the other day for instance and all the electric went off in the kitchen. I had absolutely no idea what to do – there’s a wall of switches to flick but I didn’t know which one was which. Fortunately, one of the electricians who contracts for Jason was working nearby and he popped in to sort it out, but it was panic stations for a while! Now, we have a book with numbers for an electrician, plumber etc… and when I go away in October, I’m also going to pay the lady who gave me my health and safety training to be on hand in case the girls have any questions that need answering. Most probably, nothing will come up, but you can’t be too careful.
  • 3rd – We have a credit card machine on rental, but increasingly it’s become obvious that it’s not really worth setting it up. We’ve only had two people asking us if they can pay on their cards so far and we politely said no. It didn’t cause a problem and people are well aware that we take cash now.
  • 5th - Our self-designed check-in-system works really well – I based it largely on the one I used for the 7 years I worked at the doctor’s. We record the age of the children, how much they were charged, the time they arrived and then log them out. We therefore have a very simple check list that shows us in seconds precisely the number of children in the centre at any one time. We’ve got up to capacity three times so far, but never turned anyone away yet. But I’m not worried about having to turn people away, as we’re finding that most people understand if you do things in the right way.
  • 9th - What a mad day that was – easily the busiest we have had to date. The rain poured and we were rewarded with 160 children through the course of the day and we also had a pre-booked party of 18 this afternoon. They were fairly evenly spread out I suppose and at no time did we need to consider turning people away, although we were at capacity once. I’m really pleased that, even though we were rushed off our feet, we coped really well and it’s days like this that show we are properly equipped to do this.
  • 18th – Our play equipment has certainly been tested out on the busiest days and it has stood up to those tests very well. Even when we have been full and had kids of 7, 8 and 9 jumping all over it, we have never yet had anyone complaining that there is not enough to keep them happy. We’re very stringent on cleaning – I get in early every morning and hoover and clean everything before anyone else gets in. Then, whenever we get a quiet spell, one of the girls will run the hoover around and clean everything with antibacterial spray.
  • 22nd – I suppose we should have expected something like this, but today we had our first minor incident with a naughty boy! It was actually the second time the same boy had turned all the taps on in the toilet and caused a problem, but this time it was worse, because the tank overflowed and flooded the office, tripping all the electrics and soaking all my paperwork. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the coffee maker broke at exactly the same time. We got the plumber straight in and he’s going to fit a restrictor valve to the taps so this shouldn’t happen again. I’ve also decided to get a spare coffee maker and latte maker, so we don’t get caught out there again either.
  • 26th – I’m doing all of my own admin and also still doing the admin for Jason’s business. So far it has not caused me too much of a headache – I get back home at 6.30, throw something in the oven for dinner and then do it all on a daily basis if I can. I hope I can continue like that, but it may be that we look for some help with the cleaning if it becomes an issue.
  • 29th – I’ve now got six staff and that means there are three of us here all the time when no-one is on holiday. We can manage with two if necessary, but three makes everything that bit easier. The only time when it got a bit manic was yesterday, when I had eight orders for food and the oven was full, all the salad bags had gone and we’d run out of bread! There was no point panicking, so I got Carley to explain to people who were waiting that they would have to wait for 20 minutes to order while I cleared the backlog. We gave everyone a free cup of tea or coffee and Carley then went out to take their orders with a pad. Once again, we found that people understood and because we made the effort to treat them right and explain the situation, there were no complaints at all.
  • 1st – I’ve booked an advert in Surrey Living magazine, which is distributed free to all GU9 and GU10 postcodes. To be honest, I don’t think we need to spend fortunes on adverts at this point, as we are attracting a lot of custom through word of mouth and have already built up a strong regular following. But there’s no point assuming that will last forever and a couple of Carley’s friends who are customers knew the editor and got her to come down. She loved it and has written a double page article for the October issue, so we’re going to advertise with our details. I’ve also done a deal with the army’s Families magazine, which is an annual publication that is given to all existing army families and any new army families who move into the area. There is a really big army influence around this part of Surrey and I know they really appreciate and use this magazine when they move in.
  • 5th - I think now the holidays are over, I can say they were up and down but reasonably steady overall. We had some crazy days, but there were also some very quiet days during the six weeks when we had as few as 18 or 20 kids in. More than ever before, we have been aware of the difference that the weather makes to the business. We knew of course that we’d be busier when it rains, but it has to rain consistently for it to make a major difference to our day. If it’s cloudy with the odd shower, mums wait until it stops and might still go to the park. If it pours and the grass is wet, they head our way in their droves. There are also parents around here who have annual passes for places like Birdland, Chessington or Thorpe Park and although they cost a fair amount when they buy them (£95 for a family pass at Birdland for instance), once they’ve paid that one-off fee, going for a day out seems relatively cheap and it’s understandable on a nice day if you’d put the children in the car and go to these outdoor places. Everyone is trying to entertain their kids every day and it has to be affordable. When it rains, they need an indoor alternative and in Farnham, we’re top of the list.
  • 8th – The letting agent popped in to see how we are doing and also to let me know that he had another unit available next door if we want to expand. Not yet, but you never know a few more months down the line, I told him.
  • 9th – We’ve just taken our 52nd party booking in less than four months and at £9.50 a head for a minimum of 10 children, they are proving extremely successful for us. We’ve got one next Sunday for 38 children and when that happens, anything else on that day is a bonus. Every day we get either an enquiry or a booking and many of the parties lead to another parent booking, so it’s a big boost to the cash flow.
  • 12th – We continue to get really good comments about our food, but we’re still looking at a couple of options for the winter months. People like our menu and we hear constantly that the food is very reasonably priced. Our most expensive adult option is lasagne, salad and chips and that is just £4.95, and the health-oriented kids menu seems to be going down a storm. We are thinking of investing in a jacket potato oven, which would add some nice variety to our hot offer and maybe even some soup options. Carley has suggested both and, as a young mum herself, I have to admit she’s been right on most things so far. It might also take some pressure off the rest of the hot menu.
  • 17th – I’ve always been a fairly realistic person, but with the benefit of hindsight, maybe in the first few weeks after opening, I was expecting a bit too much. Four months in, I get far less disappointed when we have a quiet day, because I understand what is driving customer behaviour and can be confident that the reason they are not coming through the doors on any given day is not something we have done wrong.
  • 22nd - I can’t really believe how well things have been going. My business plan suggested we should be paid back on our investment in five years. On the good days though, we’re banking a fair amount more than I budgeted for and if things continue to go as well as they have in the first quarter, I’m already revising that down to three years. That is a lot of money we have to find and there is plenty of water to pass under the bridge, but so far, I have to be really, really pleased with things. I’m keen not to get ahead of myself of course, and to enjoy the good days and accept the bad, but the first priority will be to look at salaries, which I had originally planned to do at the end of year one. We have paid out well deserved bonuses to the girls in the last couple of months and they have continued to be absolutely fantastic for me. Fingers crossed, we have a good end to this calendar year and we will re-evaluate the salary situation in the New Year.
  • 27th – Not that I’ve been counting down the days or anything, but we’re going on holiday in two weeks and my bag has already been packed on the spare bed for over a month!! We are really looking forward to some time off together and I will be going confident in the fact that the centre is in good hands while I’m away, which is testament to the amazing support I’ve received from all of my staff.
  • 30th – It’s far too early to say that Stay and Play is going to be a long-term success, but up to this point, we’ve done ourselves proud. There is no doubt it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but already it is the most rewarding for me personally. It also feels like I’m laying some foundations for my daughter, granddaughter and the whole family and shows that at the age of 57, if you have the right idea and the right amount of energy, you really can follow your dreams.

"My hunt for an equipment supplier, which as always began on the internet, ended with me placing an order with Soft Brick Company. I dealt with Nicole Warriner and she was so helpful." - Carol White, Stay & Play

  • 4th - We've had our first review - in the October issue of the local NCT newsletter. Overall it was extremely positive and complementary, but there was a comment that non party goers could feel a bit overwhelmed when a party is going on around them in the centre. We've hopefully turned that into a positive though, because I have pinned the article on the notice board and thanked the anonymous mother who wrote it for her kind words, while acknowledging the small complaint and offering any parents who are in the centre when a party is ongoing something free from the café.
  • 6th - I think things are developing as I saw in the initial plans. I always wanted Stay & Play to be the best indoor destination for the children of Farnham, but knew that would depend on making the mums and dads happy too. We really do seem to be becoming a regular part of the social calendar for the parents round here and our coffee sales have been really strong because of that. We definitely sell more lattes than anything, with cappuccinos next behind I think. It doesn't really make much difference which one we sell, but it's interesting to see the trends.
  • 11th - It's the day before my holiday and I can honestly say I'm very calm about the whole thing. Pauline, who did all of my health and safety and hygiene training has been in for a meeting and I've paid her a retainer in case any of the girls are faced with something they need advising on in the next 10 days. Other than that, I know they'll be OK; I've got four on each shift, so they will have enough hands on deck however busy it gets and they have all been absolutely brilliant so far. Las Vegas here I come!
  • 17th - I have not been worried at all, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't been thinking about work a lot while I've been here. I suppose, as I've only had two days off a month since we opened in April, it's pretty inevitable that it's the first thing my mind wanders to in the morning. I called Carley today to make sure everything is running smoothly and she assured me it was. We've had good numbers through the door, no incidents have happened and they haven't had to call Pauline - back to the cocktails then.
  • 23rd - Well, now I know that it's possible to go on holiday and leave other people in charge, I'm sure it will be less of a daunting prospect next time. Pauline wasn't needed, but I'm glad that in my head, I'd put all the things in place that covered every eventuality. I'd stocked up on everything but fresh food and left a float for any extra expenses that might have been incurred. They all did very well and everything is exactly the same as before we left. I won't have any qualms doing it again, that's for sure.
  • 25th - I thought long and hard about things to do for Halloween and for Bonfire Night and I've decide that we'll mark it, but we won't be going to town. I don't want to hang things around the place, as I'd be terrified that something would fall, or more likely be pulled down and one of the children would be hurt in some way. I'm going to get a drum of some kind and we'll fill it with sweets for the kids. There are no shortage of reminders that it's Halloween everywhere else in their lives and I'm sure no-one is going to miss it.
  • 29th - I got a call from a man who had been given my details by Soft Brick Company as someone who had set up a new soft play operation recently. I won't say exactly where he was from, but he's looking to open a new centre in the north and we talked about a lot of things. One of the main things I suggested though was not to make a decision on an out-of-town site purely because it's cheaper. He was debating whether to go for a town centre location, but felt that it was too expensive, but my experience is that being in this location has helped me attract a large amount of passing trade that I may never have seen if I'd gone for an industrial estate outside Farnham. Of course each centre is different, but I think the difference in costs would be about one third annually, in terms of lease and rates - and I'm pretty certain that I've covered that by being in the right location.

Setting up an indoor soft play business

  • 5th - We brought the team some jewellery from Pandora's when we cam back from Vegas, to thanks them all for their hard work. But they've all been asking us what it's lie out there, so we've decided to give them a flavour of Las Vegas lifestyle for their Christmas party. We've booked a table for 12 at a Christmas do at a casino in Reading and we're also going to give them all £50 to play on the tables. We're already very excited!
  • 7th - No-one said a word about the lack of Halloween or Bonfire Night stuff and the kids are always happy with sweets. So that helps with a few decisions for Christmas too. I'll obviously put banners up and make it as Christmas-y as possible, but I don't think a tree or loads of hanging decorations are going to be all that practical. Instead, Jason's going to find me a nice big tub and we'll spend some money on buying a nice gift for every child who comes into the centre in Christmas week.
  • 12th - We got a new coffee machine today, after the last one broke. We tried to get an engineer out, but they only do calls for industrial machines, so we had to buy another one. It's a Krups latté, cappuccino and espresso maker and it makes lovely coffee. At £600 plus, it's certainly not a cheap acquisition, but I wouldn't scrimp on quality and as I've mentioned before, a good cup of coffee is very high on the priority list for a lot of the parents who come through our doors.
  • 18th - The longer we're doing this, the more we realise that there isn't really going to be a set pattern to things. We tend to get a bit of a rush first thing, at 9.30am, when mums come in with the little ones when after they've dropped the older brothers and sisters off at school. But today for instance, no-one came in at 9.30 and then we had the rush at 10. One good thing is that once it starts it does seem to reasonably steady until a lull after lunchtime. Then it generally picks up towards the end of the day again, after school finishes. You can't necessarily rely on it, but you have to be prepared for it and I'm glad to say we haven't been caught out yet!
  • 23rd - Our party bookings continue to be very steady - 4-5 a week minimum. We always have two on a Saturday and two on a Sunday and there is a good mix of ages and numbers. We've had two parties for twins of 1 and parties for children as old as seven. We can cater for a maximum of 24 sat down in the party room, but if people hire the whole place out, we've got a capacity of 45, although health and safety says we can go as high as 60 and we had a party for 53 on Sunday. It was my day off, so I had to change that and, although I could do with a day off at the moment, financially it was worth it and I would have only had to ask Carley to come in her day off if I didn't do it myself.
  • 28th - Christmas is definitely looming large, now that half term has long been and gone. We stayed really busy after the summer holidays ended and have managed to maintain it pretty consistently throughout October and November. Within that time, there have been two or three bumper weeks and that will give me the leeway I need to close for three or four days over the festive period knowing my costs are still covered. I reckon on needing £350 a day to break even, which obviously includes the days we're closed. So we're going to close at 4pm on Christmas Eve, then re-open on the 27th and we'll be closed on New Year's Day. I'm sure there will be plenty of parents looking for an outlet for their kids energy on the other days and we're here to please, now I just need to get volunteers to work on those days.
  • 3rd – What a great Christmas party we had last night – eight of us at the casino in Reading. We had an excellent meal and then everyone had free chips from us to play the tables – no-one won unfortunately, but all the girls managed to play for a long time with their money and we had a lovely night. We are pretty close-knit here, but it is so nice to be able to get out and let our hair down together once in a while.
  • 6th – We haven’t seen it yet, and maybe I’m being a bit pessimistic, but I’m expecting a bit of a drop-off in numbers in the run up to Christmas, as people do their shopping and everything else that goes with it, but as this is our first bash at a festive period, it’s hard to predict. I suppose it could depend on the weather a bit, as the more dry and bright days we get, the less likely we are to see good numbers through the door.
  • 11th – We’re not going to go to town on Christmas decorations or anything, but we are going to have a tub of presents for children to take when they come in before the 24th. I’ve bought a load of princess pencil and rubber sets for the girls and for the boys, I’ve got them the Cars version. There will also be a big tub of sweets on the reception, so no-one needs to go away empty handed.
  • 14th – The pattern that I touched on last month does seem to be establishing itself now. The mornings are busy from 9.30 until we have a quieter period after lunch. Then it picks up again when the schools close. I don’t know if it will remain like that, but it helps to have some idea how the day will pan out. We’re also getting quite a lot of business from childminders, who we give a 20% discount and also a receipt so they can reclaim the money from the parents.
  • 21st – I thought the TV monitor would get used more than it does. It sits above the tables in the café and I’m glad it’s there as it accompanies my first couple of solitary hours every morning! It is on from time to time, sometimes for CBeebies when parents want something to distract children into eating their lunch and sometimes for dads to catch up on the sports news. It’s pleasantly surprising that it’s not a constant though, as it suggests that customers are more than engaged with the alternative parts of our offer.
  • 23rd – I was right about being a bit pessimistic after all – we’ve had a really good run-up to Christmas with no fall at all in numbers. You’d have thought there would be a lull somewhere along the line, but we have consistently been getting 70-plus in. Having decided not to do it, we did talk again a few days ago about getting one of the men to dress up as Father Christmas on Christmas Eve. But it has been so busy and the time has flown so quickly, that we just haven’t got round to doing it this year. Christmas Eve is on us before we expected.
  • 27th – Well, we had a lovely Christmas and I had two days in a row off, which doesn’t happen very often! We opened from 10am to 4pm today and it was very busy. More than 90 people came in, which was a lot more than we expected. We had a bit of a debate over whether we should open at 10 or 11 o’clock, but Carley convinced me 10 was the right way to go and sure enough, we had people in as soon as we opened. We made sure from the beginning of December that we displayed the opening times prominently outside and inside the centre, both on our notice board and on reception, and we also posted them on Facebook, which is beginning to be a very useful tool. So, while there were admittedly a few people who were unaware, we had definitely done everything we could do to communicate the festive changes.
  • 30th - Every day between the 27th and New Year went a bit nuts – we had a party each day and also more than 90 people, all of whom were obviously looking for somewhere to expend some energy after Christmas at home. I must admit, I thought more people would be happy for their kids to stay at home and play with their new toys, but we’re definitely not complaining and we even had to get a third person in to help out. There were plenty of parents happy to pay the entrance fee at 3.15, even though they knew they would get less than an hour of play. These few days have given us a great deal of food for thought for next Christmas – and just the fact that we are already thinking about being here next Christmas is a boost in itself.
  • 3rd – I haven’t got a New Year’s Resolution for Stay & Play. I would just be happy for everything to continue in the same vein as the last six months and I’m not looking for any more than that right now. Long term, the vision is the same - if we can remain on this course, we will be able to pay the money back on our investment with plenty of time left on the lease, which would enable me to take more of a back seat and perhaps have a few more days off. I know that’s some way in the distance yet though and I’m enjoying myself, so why wish the time away?
  • 10th – I took the review down that we had on the notice board for nearly two months. It got a lot of positive comments while it was up and I really hope the lady who wrote it came in during that time, so she could see that we acted on her advice.
  • 16th - Parties have gone through the roof lately – I’m not really sure where people get all their money from sometimes! Over the weekend just gone, we had two parties each day, three of which were exclusive hires. When we get weekends like that, everything else is a bonus and we had plenty of time on both days for other customers to come in. We generally only take party bookings in the afternoons, although we did have one in the morning yesterday and it doesn’t seem to deter parents from bringing their children at different times. Again, we are very careful to communicate what’s happening to other customers. It’s inevitable that the odd parent will turn up anyway, but we can only say sorry when that happens and ask them to come back later.
  • 18th – I’ve had some new leaflets done for Stay & Play and I used a different supplier. I didn’t exactly shop around the first time, as I was in a rush and there was so much else going on as we prepared to open up. That is totally reflected in the quality of job and the price I have go this time. The first guy made a lot of mistakes, even after the leaflets were proof-read by us, and because we were up against it, we had to go with them and it ended up costing me nearly £3,000. I found out soon enough that I could have got them far more cheaply, and this time it’s been quick and easy, we’ve got what we wanted and also saved a substantial amount of money in comparison. You live and learn.
  • 23rd – Like every one of Indoor Play’s readers I’m sure, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t worried about the effects of the recession. I’m still managing to squirrel away the money I want to have as a buffer should we have a quieter time – in the summer, for instance – and I will always believe in that course of action. I know my costs pretty well now, although the heating and electricity charges are a bit higher than I envisaged in the winter, but for indoor play centres, it’s important that we have some money set aside for a sunny day! There is no point looking too far ahead or taking things for granted; who knows what is round the corner? I know there is still talk of a double dip, but three weeks into the new year, I can only say if this is the trend, then we should be fine.
  • 29th – I asked Siobhan today how many of our customers she believes are regulars and it’s somewhere in the region of 60-70% - based on them coming in at least once a week. I obviously know a lot of them, but Siobhan spends more time on the front desk and playing with the children, while I’m in the kitchen, so she’s a better judge of that for sure. She’s playing in there so much sometimes I have to tell her to come out! I think that is a very healthy number of regulars though – if we can keep it at that level we won’t go too far wrong.

A year in play!

In our final peak at Carol White’s diary, we find out what shape Stay & Play is in as it nears its first anniversary and crosses the threshold from ‘New’ to ‘Nearly New’ operator.

  • 5th - As a town, Farnham doesn’t seem to have been too badly hit by the recession. It is a reasonably wealthy town, so in economic terms, it had a bit of a buffer compared to other places. The high street has survived mostly, although a lovely couple who owned a kitchen store across the road had to shut down recently because they just couldn’t compete with the prices of chains like B&Q. It’s a sad fact of business at the moment, but it does bring it home to you that you can’t lose focus.
  • 9th - Ten months into its use, the equipment has been extremely robust. We still regularly give it a deep clean, as well as the every day clean that keeps it pristine. The balls are taken out of the ball pit every six weeks maximum and Jason gets the mats out and gives everything a thorough wash down with anti-bacterial spray. One of us also sprays 2-3 times a day, to ensure that no customer has a bad experience. I have a great relationship with Nicole at Soft Brick Company and I know that if anything does go wrong, I can get straight on the phone for a replacement. Cost is not the major issue where the equipment is concerned, as nothing in the centre is more important than the standard of our kit really.
  • 11th – It’s interesting to note that we seem to be getting more dads in at weekends than mums, although it is obviously skewed far more towards mums in the week. The dads seem to love letting their kids loose while they take a chance to read the paper and have a coffee, or occasionally loiter around the TV if there’s some sport on.
  • 14th – It’s the day of love, so we bought some Lindt chocolates and offered them to the mums instead of biscuits. The mums loved it, but Carley wasn’t sure about handing them out!
  • 16th – The half-term holidays have been absolutely amazing. We had 80-100 in every day, helped by the fact that it was wet and miserable outside for most of them. It’s easily the busiest half term we have had to date, as the weather was fine for every one last year. We didn’t do anything different, except for getting an extra person in where necessary, but the hours flew by.
  • 23rd - I was extremely glad of my own fastidious financial planning today when I got a bill for more than £12,000 from Waverley Borough Council, for a whole year of business rates. I knew when I set up Stay & Play that I would have to pay rates, of course, and contacted the council in March last year to ask them to come and assess me. I went back to them two or three times, but it wasn’t until September that they came out. I had saved what I thought was roughly the right amount every month, so I wasn’t particularly worried, but the bill I got today needs paying by the end of March. It really is a good job I’m experienced enough to have that money available – I can imagine lots of businesses wouldn’t be able to pay with such a short notice period. You have to be on the ball with things like this, otherwise you’ll get some nasty shocks.
  • 27th - The Soft Brick Company asked me if I’d mind a group looking to set up a similar sized play area in London come down and look at the play-frame at Stay & Play. I must admit, it was nice to be held up as a good example by Soft Brick, and the three guys who came down – I won’t be too descriptive as they haven’t set up yet – absolutely loved it. They had been to several and said this was the most relaxing. They also loved the equipment and the little touches we have put around the place to make it a more attractive environment to visit. It was manic when they turned up, so I couldn’t give them quite as much time as I would have liked. But it was good that they saw a busy centre and we had a good chat and I think they went away happy.

Setting up an indoor play business - Soft Brick

  • 4th – I’ve talked about trends before, but Carley has picked up on a new one that, when I traced it backwards, appears to happen every month. Towards the end of the month, we have a few quieter days, before we see a pick up in numbers again as the new month begins. It happened again in February, when the 28th and 29th were quiet and then the start of March was noticeably busier. I record every day’s figures, but it hadn’t really clicked before. It’s interesting that even in a relatively affluent town like Farnham, things get tight as pay day approaches. I suppose it’s fair to say that going to a play area is one of the things that can be cut out when you’re counting the pennies.
  • 9th – After 11 months, we still have only three minor incidents in the accident book. One grazed chin, two heads knocked together and the other day, one girl who banged her head climbing up the slide. We were not culpable in any of the incidents and there is a well-displayed sign asking parents not to let their children climb up the slide, but I still think it’s better to be safe and record it, than sorry.
  • 13th – We are starting to create a real children's’ community in this little row of shops at the back of Sainsbury’s. A party store, which supplies costumes for kids and adults, as well as a full range of stuff for children's’ parties opened next door yesterday and next door to that is a great toys and games shop, which opened last month. We have gone out of our way to be helpful, by offering advice and helping the new stores market themselves, which appears to have been very well received. It can only help us to have two neighbours with a similar target audience – hopefully we will build off the backs of each other.
  • 20th - I have to pinch myself when I think that we have been open nearly a year, but April 16th will be 366 days (including the leap day) since we officially introduced ourselves to the Farnham public. We’re going to mark the occasion by taking the girls across to the hotel on the other side of the road and give them a glass of champagne and then an afternoon tea. It’ll make a nice change for them to be the ones being serving tea and cakes and it’s extremely fitting after all their help in making this a successful first year that we should all celebrate together.
  • 25th – We’ve decided it’s time for another break, so Jason and I are going to the Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus for a week. He’s a keen golfer and bid for the villa in an auction. It looks lovely there and, as it’s the second holiday I’ll have had while running Stay & Play, I am much more relaxed about going away. I’ve already got everything in place, with a senior member of staff in every day and Pauline on stand by for any health and safety requirements. We didn’t need her last time, but it’s amazing how much better you can sleep at night when you know she’s there if you need her.
  • 29th – We’re going to have a staff meeting to evaluate our performance in the first year in operation and make some decisions about things we could change or perhaps improve on in year two. I think one thing that will happen is a price rise. We set the prices right at the beginning and I knew then that whatever happened, we would not make any changes until we had experienced a whole year. I don’t intend to increase anything drastically – maybe 20-30p here and there, but we need to reflect inflation and also take account for the impact VAT has on my food sales. When I put the budget together, I thought of the café as secondary to the play area in terms of income, but as it transpires, it has been anything but that. But, as everyone knows, you can’t charge VAT on food, but you do pay VAT on food sales to the government and I think I might need to adjust prices to ensure that my food offer is profitable as well as popular. We’ll still be exceptional value for money, but having negotiated my rent agreement to rise on a sliding scale over the first five years, I need to be sure that I’m getting the necessary value too.
  • 31st – As this is my last entry for Indoor Play readers, I thought I’d take a look back at the year that’s just flown by and ahead to year two of Stay &Play. Since you first encountered me, in September 2010, my life has been like a whirlwind. So much has happened, mostly good, and I’m sure when I get some time in years to come, I’ll look back over my diary jottings and be amazed with the amount of things I have dealt with to get where we are. All things considered, it’s been a great year and I have to be happy with where we are as a business. I think, with experience behind us, we can go into another year with a slightly different mindset, certainly without the same level of worry as I inevitably had as I started out last year. I’m still apprehensive about the summer, but my budgets are now based on real experience rather than educated guesswork. As I’ve said more than once before, as long as I can pay my bills, everything else is a bonus.

stay and play - indoor play magazine

- The Soft Brick Team

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business plan for soft play area uk

How to Start a Soft-Play Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Start a Soft-Play Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you're passionate about creating a space where children can have fun, burn off energy, and explore their imagination, starting a soft-play business might be the perfect venture for you. 

Soft-play businesses provide safe and engaging environments often filled with colorful play structures, ball pits, and interactive games. In this step-by-step guide, we'll walk you through starting your own soft-play business, from understanding the concept to launching your exciting new venture.

What is a soft-play business?

A soft-play business is a recreational facility designed for children to enjoy interactive play experiences. It typically features soft and padded play equipment, such as climbing frames, slides, tunnels, and obstacle courses. Soft-play areas are designed to be safe and secure, allowing children to explore, socialize, and develop their physical and cognitive skills in a controlled environment.

Is a soft-play business profitable?

The demand for soft-play businesses continues to rise due to the increasing emphasis on child development and active play. Parents and caregivers recognize the importance of providing children with opportunities for physical activity and imaginative play.  By offering a unique and engaging experience, your soft-play business has the potential to attract a steady stream of customers and generate a profitable return on investment.

How much does it cost to start a soft-play business?

The cost of starting a soft-play business can vary depending on various factors such as location, size, equipment, and additional amenities. While it's challenging to provide an exact figure, conducting thorough research and creating a comprehensive budget plan will help you estimate the expenses involved.  Consider costs such as equipment purchase or rental, facility lease or purchase, insurance, staffing, marketing, and ongoing maintenance. It's crucial to allocate sufficient funds for the initial setup and ongoing operational costs.

How do I start a soft-play business?

Step 1: conduct market research.

Before diving into the planning phase, it's essential to conduct thorough market research. Identify your target audience, study the local demographics, and assess the demand for a soft-play business in your area.  Visit existing soft-play centers, talk to parents, and gather insights about their preferences, expectations, and pain points. Understanding the market landscape and potential competitors will provide valuable guidance for differentiating your business and creating a unique offering.

Step 2: Develop a business plan

Creating a comprehensive business plan will be a roadmap for your soft-play business. Outline your vision, mission, and goals, and include detailed financial projections, marketing strategies, and operational procedures. Your business plan should also incorporate your target market analysis, competitor research, and plans for ensuring the safety and security of your play area. Additionally, consider any additional services or amenities you may want to offer, such as party hosting, a café, or themed events.

Step 3: Secure financing

Starting a soft-play business typically requires a significant initial investment. Explore financing options such as personal savings, loans, or partnerships to secure the necessary funds. Present your well-developed business plan to potential investors or financial institutions to demonstrate the viability and profitability of your venture. Proper financial planning is crucial to ensure you have the resources to cover not only the startup costs and ongoing expenses until your business becomes self-sustaining.

Step 4: Find the perfect location

Choosing the right location is crucial for the success of your soft-play business. Look for areas with high foot traffic, such as shopping malls, family entertainment centers, or commercial complexes.  Consider the size requirements for your play area, allowing ample space for children to move comfortably and safely. Ensure the location has sufficient parking facilities, easy accessibility, and the necessary permits and licenses to operate a recreational business.

Step 5: Design and equip your play area

Collaborate with a professional designer to create an engaging and visually appealing play area. Ensure the design incorporates age-appropriate zones, themed play structures, and safety features like soft flooring and clear sightlines for supervision. Select high-quality play equipment that complies with safety regulations and standards. Consider creating separate areas for toddlers and older children to cater to different age groups.

Step 6: Establish safety and hygiene protocols

Safety is paramount in a soft-play business. Develop strict safety protocols and procedures to ensure the well-being of children and peace of mind for parents. Implement thorough equipment maintenance schedules, regular safety inspections, and staff training programs.  Additionally, establish hygiene protocols that include routine cleaning and sanitization of play equipment, restrooms, and common areas to maintain a clean and healthy environment.

Step 7: Launch and market your soft-play business

As your soft-play business nears completion, it's time to create buzz and generate excitement for your grand opening. Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes online and offline promotion, social media campaigns, partnerships with local schools or community organizations, and targeted advertising.  Leverage digital platforms, your website, and ROLLER's comprehensive software solutions to streamline ticketing, customer management, and loyalty programs. Starting a soft-play business can be an exciting and rewarding venture. By following these step-by-step guidelines, conducting thorough research, and leveraging modern technologies like ROLLER's comprehensive software solutions, you can create an enchanting space where children can explore, play, and make lasting memories.  Remember, the key to success lies in offering a safe, engaging, and unforgettable experience that keeps families returning for more. So, take the first step and embark on your journey to bring joy and happiness to children in your community.

Ready to open your soft-play business? Get in touch to see how ROLLER can help.

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business plan for soft play area uk

business plan for soft play area uk

Introduction:

If you’re thinking about creating your own indoor soft play area, you’re in exactly the right place.

And we’ve got good news – indoor soft play areas are continuing to rise in popularity; children and families love them for the secure and entertaining setting they can provide, the memories they can help make, and the way they can tire the kids out too!

In this post, we’ll walk you through every step of creating an entertaining soft play area that grabs kids’ imaginations and give them hours of amusement. 

business plan for soft play area uk

Step 1: Planning and Design

Before you get started on the actual construction of your soft play area, the first step is to properly plan and design it. 

Consider the available space, target age group, and the theme you want to incorporate.

Once you’ve put those considerations down on paper, the next step is to brainstorm ideas and consider several layouts that make the most of the space available, promote flow (so the kids can easily get from one thing to the next), and ensure safety. 

Once you’ve got some ideas, we have a team of professional soft play designers who can help you create a customised space tailored to your specific requirements.

Step 2: Choose High-Quality Soft Play Equipment

Investing in high-quality soft play equipment is essential for ensuring the safety and durability of your play area. 

Creating a soft play area isn’t cheap, so it’s vital that your area stands the test of time and enables you to continue generating revenue, without you constantly having to replace or repair.

All our soft play equipment is made by us, right here in the UK; it’s long lasting and hard wearing for all the visitors you hope to attract. 

When you’re thinking about soft play equipment, it’s important to consider a variety of components: slides, climbing structures, ball pits, tunnels, interactive panels, foam shapes and sensory area equipment and so on and so forth. 

Also remember to choose equipment suitable for the age range you’re targeting – it’s no good specifying a load of drop slides if you’re only looking to cater for toddlers.

business plan for soft play area uk

Step 3: Safety First

business plan for soft play area uk

Safety is the first and most important consideration in any soft play area. Everything you produce should always be to the EN1176 standards (which we are able to do!).

Prioritise the installation of appropriate safety measures to protect children from potential hazards and regularly inspect equipment to identify any potential hazards and address them promptly.

Step 4: Installation

Once you’ve signed off your design and it’s been manufactured (hopefully by us!), it’s time to proceed with the installation. 

Our proven  installation team have put together scores of soft play areas over the years, and we ensure all equipment is securely fastened, any potential risks are mitigated and everything is checked and triple-checked.

A well-executed installation will contribute to the long-term success and safety of your soft play area, so don’t rush it, or cut corners on it.

Step 5: Creating a Captivating Atmosphere

The ambiance and aesthetics of your soft play area play a crucial role in attracting and engaging children and adults.

Incorporate a themed colour palette, themed elements, and eye-catching signage to create an immersive and visually appealing environment. 

It’s also well worth considering the addition of soft lighting, playful music, and interactive features to enhance the overall experience. Incorporating unique and imaginative details will make your soft play area stand out from the crowd. You can check out some of our themed builds here (link to another blog post talking about our favourite themed soft play builds)

Step 6: Maintenance and Regular Inspections

Once you’re up and running, regular maintenance and inspections are essential to guaranteeing the longevity and safety of your soft play area. 

Create a maintenance routine to look for signs of wear and tear, missing parts, or harmed equipment, and stick to it.

To preserve hygiene, take care to promptly address any problems and do thorough cleanings. Staff employees should receive safety and hygiene training and be urged to alert you if anything needs to be addressed.

Ready to create your indoor soft play area?

Whether you’re looking to create your indoor soft play area in an entertainment centre, standalone location, or trampoline park, it’s an exciting time, and hopefully the above advice will help you to create the right soft play area for you.

Plan carefully, choose quality equipment, prioritise safety, and you’ll ensure an engaging atmosphere for endless joy and adventure. 

Remember, finally, safety comes first! 

Stay proactive with maintenance and inspections to ensure a delightful and secure environment. Get ready to see smiles and hear laughter as children enjoy fantastic playtime adventures. Start building your dream soft play area now!

Get in touch with us now to find out how we can help you create the soft play you’ve been looking for. No matter the size, we are able to create a bespoke soft play for you!

Ready to build something amazing? Contact our team: 01548 521197

business plan for soft play area uk

The Play Company International Limited based in South Devon was established in 1998. We provide soft play maintenance, cleaning services and play area sales to customers throughout the UK.

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Table of Contents

The UK is home to over 5.5 million businesses and this number is constantly rising year upon year. One area where there is certainly an opportunity for growth and success is the soft play industry. Following the global pandemic, children were unable to visit these play centres due to restrictions which makes now the perfect time to start this kind of business.

As with any new business, you may be concerned about the demand and longevity of the business. Fortunately , there are around 3.78 million children aged between 0 and 4 and with the UK continuing to have a growing population , you can expect the number of children in this age bracket to rise too.

Not sure how to set up a kids play centre business? This article will aim to educate you on the important features every soft play business will need. Read on to find out more.

Create a business plan

Create a Business Plan

Once this has been done, you will have a solid foundation to refer back to when any challenges crop up. You may also need it if you’re applying for finance from a bank or an investor.

Design playground

Design Playground

Health and safety

Health and Safety

On top of this, your business will need to train your staff so that they can tend to any injuries that occur. If too many accidents happen then people may stop coming to your premises.

Maintenance costs

With children playing on your equipment all day, you can expect some damage to come about to your business, so you’ll need to budget for it. Ensure all broken items are promptly fixed or it could put lives in danger.

As you can see, there’s a lot of work that is required to get into this industry. However, what you will get in return is a fun, wholesome and entertaining business where no two days are the same. Start planning your soft play business today and reap the many rewards when you do so.

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How to Start a Soft Play Rental Business: A Complete Guide

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Are you eager to learn how to start a soft play rental business? If you’ve ever dreamt of creating a space where children can have fun, expend their boundless energy, and let their imaginations run wild, then starting a soft play rental business could be your perfect venture. Soft play businesses offer children a safe and engaging environment with colorful play structures, ball pits, and interactive games.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through the entire process of launching your soft play rental business , from understanding what soft play is to successfully launching your exciting new venture. So, let’s dive in and explore how to turn your dream into reality!

What is Soft Play?

Before delving into the steps on how to start a soft play rental business , let’s begin by understanding what “soft play” entails. Soft play is a recreational concept primarily designed for children to enjoy interactive play experiences. It typically features soft and padded play equipment, including climbing frames, slides, tunnels, and obstacle courses. These play areas are meticulously designed to be safe and secure, allowing children to explore, socialize, and develop their physical and cognitive skills in a controlled environment.

Now, let’s dive into the 15 crucial steps to embark on your journey of establishing a successful soft play rental business.

How to Start a Soft Play Rental Business in 15 Steps

Starting a soft play rental business requires careful planning and execution. Here are the essential steps to guide you on your journey:

Step 1: Conduct Comprehensive Market Research

The first step in starting any business is conducting thorough market research. This helps you understand the landscape and opportunities in your area. Identify your target audience, study local demographics, and assess the demand for a soft play business in your vicinity. Visit existing soft play centers, talk to parents, and gather insights about their preferences, expectations, and pain points. This information is invaluable for differentiating your business and creating a unique offering.

Step 2: Develop a Comprehensive Business Plan

Creating a well-structured business plan is your roadmap to success. Outline your vision, mission, and goals, and include detailed financial projections, marketing strategies, and operational procedures. Your business plan should also incorporate your target market analysis, competitor research, and plans for ensuring the safety and security of your play area. Additionally, consider any additional services or amenities you may want to offer, such as party hosting, a café, or themed events.

Step 3: Explore Financing Options

Starting a soft play rental business typically requires a significant initial investment. Explore various financing options, such as personal savings, loans, or partnerships, to secure the necessary funds. To attract potential investors or financial institutions, present your well-developed business plan to demonstrate the viability and profitability of your venture. Proper financial planning is crucial to ensure you have the resources to cover the startup costs and ongoing expenses until your business becomes self-sustaining.

Step 4: Find the Perfect Location

Choosing the right location is crucial for the success of your soft play rental business. Look for areas with high foot traffic, such as shopping malls, family entertainment centers, or commercial complexes. Ensure the location has sufficient space for your play area, allowing children to move comfortably and safely. Check for adequate parking facilities, easy accessibility, and the necessary permits and licenses to operate a recreational business.

Step 5: Collaborate with a Professional Designer

Creating an engaging and visually appealing play area is key to attracting customers. Collaborate with a professional designer who specializes in children’s play spaces. Ensure the design incorporates age-appropriate zones, themed play structures, and safety features like soft flooring and clear sightlines for supervision.

Step 6: Select High-Quality Soft Play Equipment

Invest in high-quality soft play equipment that complies with safety regulations and standards. The safety and durability of your equipment are paramount. Consider creating separate areas for toddlers and older children to cater to different age groups.

Step 7: Prioritize Safety

Safety is paramount in a soft play business. Develop strict safety protocols and procedures to ensure the well-being of children and peace of mind for parents. Implement thorough equipment maintenance schedules, regular safety inspections, and staff training programs.

Step 8: Maintain Hygiene Standards

In addition to safety, maintain high hygiene standards. Establish protocols that include routine cleaning and sanitization of play equipment, restrooms, and common areas to maintain a clean and healthy environment.

Step 9: Develop a Comprehensive Marketing Strategy

As your soft play business nears completion, it’s time to create buzz and generate excitement for your grand opening. Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes online and offline promotion, social media campaigns, partnerships with local schools or community organizations, and targeted advertising. Leverage digital platforms, your website, and comprehensive software solutions for ticketing, customer management, and loyalty programs.

Step 10: Determine Competitive Pricing

Determine competitive yet profitable pricing for your soft play rental business. Consider offering pricing tiers or packages to cater to various customer segments. Explore options for discounts or memberships to incentivize repeat customers. Continuously monitor pricing effectiveness and be ready to adjust as needed.

Step 11: Register and Obtain Licenses

Ensure your soft play rental business operates within legal boundaries. Register your business, obtain the necessary licenses and permits, and comply with safety and health regulations. Consider liability insurance to protect your business from unforeseen incidents.

Step 12: Source Reliable Suppliers

Build strong relationships with reliable suppliers of soft play equipment. Negotiate favorable terms and pricing, ensuring prompt and efficient equipment delivery. Establish ongoing supplier relationships to secure a steady supply of equipment.

Step 13: Recruit and Train Qualified Staff

Recruit and hire qualified staff who are passionate about child safety and enjoyment. Provide comprehensive training on safety and customer service. Clearly define roles and responsibilities and foster a positive and child-friendly work environment.

Step 14: Prioritize Excellent Customer Service

Prioritize excellent customer service to build trust and loyalty among your clients. Collect feedback from customers to gain insights into their experiences and expectations. Address any concerns promptly and consider creating a loyalty program or rewards system for repeat customers.

Step 15: Keep Detailed Financial Records

Effective financial management is crucial for your soft play rental business. Keep detailed financial records, track revenue and expenses, and manage cash flow effectively. Consider hiring an accountant or using accounting software to ensure financial stability.

By following these steps diligently, you’ll be well-prepared to launch your soft play rental business successfully. Remember that providing a safe, engaging, and memorable experience for children and families is key to your long-term success.

The Cost of Starting a Soft Play Rental Business

Starting a soft play rental business requires a minimum investment, with costs ranging from $10,000 to $20,000, although these expenses can fluctuate based on several factors. Let’s delve deeper into the specific costs associated with launching a soft play rental business:

1. Soft Play Equipment: The heart of your soft play rental business is the equipment itself. The cost of acquiring or renting soft play equipment varies significantly based on the type, quality, and quantity of equipment you decide to offer. High-quality and larger play structures will naturally incur higher expenses.

2. Transportation: You’ll need a suitable vehicle to transport the soft play equipment to and from events. The cost of this vehicle can range from purchasing a new one, which can be a substantial investment, to leasing a vehicle, which offers more flexibility in terms of budget.

3. Insurance: Ensuring your business is adequately covered in accidents or injuries is vital. Liability insurance is a must for soft play rental businesses. The insurance cost can vary significantly depending on your selected coverage level, business location, and other factors.

4. Marketing and Advertising: Promoting your soft play rental business is essential for attracting customers. Marketing expenses include advertising, website development, social media campaigns, and promotional materials. The costs associated with marketing can vary based on the channels and strategies you choose to employ.

5. Legal and Licensing Fees: Registering your business and obtaining the necessary licenses and permits are part of the legal requirements. Your business’s location influences the cost of these fees, the type of business structure you select (e.g., sole proprietorship, LLC), and local regulations.

Note that these costs are estimates and can fluctuate significantly based on your unique circumstances, such as your location, the specific equipment you choose, and your marketing strategy. Therefore, conducting thorough research and creating a detailed business plan is highly recommended to accurately assess the costs associated with starting your soft play rental business.

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Skills and Experience Need to Start a Soft Play Rental Business

Starting a soft play rental business requires a specific set of skills and experiences to ensure your venture’s success. While you don’t need a formal education, acquiring the right skills and knowledge will be crucial. Here’s a breakdown of the skills and experience you’ll need:

Creativity and Imagination: Soft play rental businesses are all about creating a magical and engaging experience for children. You need to have a creative mind to design fun and innovative play areas that captivate kids’ imaginations.

Knowledge of Child Development: Understanding child development milestones is essential. It helps you design play areas that promote physical, cognitive, and social development, ensuring that children have a valuable and enriching experience.

Safety Awareness: Safety is paramount in the soft play industry. You must have a strong commitment to safety standards and a keen eye for detail. Regular safety inspections, maintenance, and risk management should be part of your routine.

Business Management: Basic business management skills are vital. You’ll need to handle finances, marketing, customer service, and day-to-day operations efficiently. Consider taking a business management course or seeking guidance from mentors.

Customer Service: Excellent customer service is key to a successful soft play rental business. You should be friendly, approachable, and responsive to customer inquiries and concerns. Happy customers are more likely to become repeat clients and refer others.

Marketing and Promotion: Promoting your business effectively is essential to attract customers. You’ll need skills in online and offline marketing, including social media, SEO, and traditional advertising.

Event Planning: If you plan to offer services for parties and events, event planning skills can be valuable. This includes coordinating schedules, managing bookings, and ensuring a smooth event experience.

Financial Management: Managing your finances wisely is crucial. You’ll need to budget, handle income and expenses, and plan for long-term financial sustainability.

Networking: Building a network within the industry can help you learn from others’ experiences and potentially collaborate for mutual benefit. Attend industry events and join relevant associations.

Patience and Adaptability: Like any business, you’ll face challenges and setbacks. Patience and adaptability will help you navigate these obstacles and continuously improve your services.

Experience:

While you can learn many of these skills, having some relevant experience can be extremely beneficial. Consider gaining experience by:

  • Volunteering or working at existing soft play centers or similar businesses.
  • Organizing and hosting children’s events or parties.
  • Participating in workshops or courses related to child development, safety, and business management.

Remember, your passion for providing children with a safe and enjoyable environment is a driving force. With the right skills and experiences, you can successfully start and manage a soft play rental business that delights both children and their parents.

The Future of the Soft Play Rental Industry

The future of the soft play rental industry is poised for exciting developments and transformations. Several key trends and changes are expected to shape the industry in the coming years:

Enhanced Safety Measures: Safety will continue to be a top priority in the soft play rental industry. Businesses will invest in advanced safety features and practices to ensure children’s well-being, giving parents peace of mind.

Technological Integration: The industry will see increased integration of technology to improve customer experiences and streamline operations. This may include digital check-in systems, online booking platforms, and interactive play elements.

Diversification of Services: To attract a broader customer base, soft play rental businesses will diversify their offerings. This could involve hosting themed parties, educational programs, and special events beyond basic play equipment.

Sustainability: There will be a growing emphasis on sustainability and eco-friendly practices. Businesses may adopt environmentally responsible materials and energy-efficient designs in their play structures.

Health and Wellness Focus: As awareness of childhood health and wellness grows, soft play businesses will incorporate more physical fitness and mental well-being components into their offerings. This could include exercise programs, mindfulness activities, and nutritional education.

Customization: Personalized experiences will become a significant trend. Soft play businesses may offer customization options for parties and events, allowing customers to tailor their experiences to specific themes or preferences.

Digital Marketing Expansion: Businesses will expand their digital marketing efforts to reach a wider audience. This may include social media campaigns, online promotions, and influencer partnerships.

Mobile Soft Play Units: Convenience and flexibility will drive the popularity of mobile soft play units that can be easily transported to various locations, such as schools, community centers, and private events.

Collaborative Partnerships: Collaborations with schools, daycare centers, and event planners will increase market reach and provide opportunities for joint ventures and promotions.

Increased Competition: As the soft play rental industry grows, competition will intensify. Businesses will need to differentiate themselves through innovation, unique offerings, and exceptional customer service.

Regulatory Compliance: Adherence to local and industry-specific regulations and safety standards will be essential for legal operation. Businesses will prioritize compliance to build trust with customers.

Global Expansion: Some businesses may explore international markets to meet the rising global demand for soft play experiences. This expansion may involve franchising or licensing their concepts.

Virtual Reality (VR) Integration: Virtual reality technology may enhance play experiences, offering children immersive and interactive adventures within soft play environments.

Parental Involvement: Encouraging parental involvement will be a focus, fostering family togetherness and bonding during play sessions.

Continuous Innovation : To thrive in a competitive landscape, the soft play rental industry will need to prioritize ongoing innovation, adapting to changing customer preferences and emerging trends.

These trends reflect the industry’s potential for growth, diversification, and adaptation to evolving customer needs and expectations. Soft play rental businesses that embrace these changes are likely to thrive in the dynamic market.

Starting a soft play rental business can be an exciting and rewarding venture. By following these 15 steps diligently, you can navigate the process of starting and growing your business successfully. Remember that consistent dedication to safety, customer satisfaction, and business management will be crucial to your long-term success. Staying updated on trends and innovations, maintaining safety and hygiene standards, and continuously striving for excellence will set your business apart in this dynamic industry. With the right approach, you can create a space where children can explore, play, and make lasting memories.

Now, it’s time to embark on your journey and bring joy and happiness to children in your community through your soft play rental business.

How do I market my soft play rental business?

You can market your soft play rental business through social media, flyers, word-of-mouth, and partnerships with event planners and venues.

What legal and licensing requirements do I need to start a soft play rental business?

You must register your business and obtain any necessary licenses and permits. The cost of legal and licensing fees can vary depending on your location and the business structure you choose.

How do I ensure the safety and maintenance of my soft play equipment?

Regularly inspect and clean your soft play equipment to ensure its safety and longevity. It would help to have liability insurance to protect your business in case of accidents or injuries.

How do I expand my soft play rental business?

You can expand your soft play rental business by adding new equipment, offering additional services such as party planning, and expanding your marketing efforts.

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Teacher-turned online blogger, Shirley is a full-time backyard homesteader based in Virginia. When she doesn't have her face buried in a book or striding in her garden, she's busy blogging about simple life hacks of the daily life. Shirley hold's a BA in commerce from University of California.

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Indoor Playground Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Indoor Playground Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Indoor Playground business plan.

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their indoor playground businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Indoor Playground business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Fun Space is a startup indoor playground business located in Kansas City, Missouri. The company is founded by Christine Gregory, an indoor playground manager with over ten years of managerial experience working at KC Indoor Play. Christine has garnered a reputation for being a positive role model for her employees and a dedicated leader. She is confident that her ability to effectively manage a team of employees, build rapport with customers, and maintain a fun, safe, and profitable operation will help her to quickly attract customers and employees to her new indoor playground. Christine plans on recruiting a team of highly qualified professionals to help manage the day to day complexities of running an indoor playground – marketing and sales, child supervision, party and event hosting, playground maintenance, and financial management.

Fun Space will provide a unique indoor play environment for children ages 4-12 and a quiet room for parents to enjoy some downtime. The Fun Space indoor playground will be the ultimate choice in Kansas City for parents looking for a clean, safe, and educational option for their kids.

Product Offering

The following are the products and services that Fun Space will provide:

  • Open Play Sessions
  • Children’s Parties
  • Classes/Guided Activities
  • Drop-In Daycare
  • Quiet Room for Parents
  • Retail: Toys and Games
  • Snacks and Beverages

Customer Focus

Fun Space will target parents and caregivers of children ages 4-12 in Kansas City. The company will target parents who are looking for a fun way for their children to develop physical fitness and social skills while participating in educational activities. The company will also target parents looking for a hassle-free party venue to host their childrens’ birthday parties or other events. No matter the customer, Fun Space will deliver the best service, pricing, and peace of mind that their children will have fun in a clean, safe, and welcoming environment.

Management Team

Fun Space indoor playground will be owned and operated by Christine Gregory. She has recruited her former assistant manager, Eric Nichols, to help manage the indoor playground and operations.

Christine Gregory is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. She has been working at a local indoor playground company for over a decade. Christine has garnered a reputation for being a positive role model for her employees and a dedicated leader. She is confident that her ability to effectively manage a team of employees, build rapport with customers, and maintain a fun, safe, and profitable operation will help her to quickly attract customers and employees to her new indoor playground.

Eric Nichols has been Christine Gregory’s loyal assistant manager for over five years at a local indoor playground. Christine relies strongly on Eric’s reliability, organizational skills, and commitment to excellence in customer service that will be essential for the new indoor playground to run smoothly.

Success Factors

Fun Space will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

  • Friendly and highly qualified staff of professionals trained in childcare, safety, early childhood education, and physical fitness who will supervise children and lead group activities.
  • Wide range of activities and services available to exceed the expectations of both parents and children.
  • Fun Space indoor playground offers the best pricing in Kansas City. The pricing structure provides the most options for parents and is more cost effective than the competition.

Financial Highlights

Fun Space indoor playground is seeking $250,000 in debt financing to launch its indoor playground. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the indoor playground space and purchasing equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

  • Indoor playground build-out: $50,000
  • Equipment, supplies, and materials: $30,000
  • Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
  • Marketing costs: $10,000
  • Working capital: $10,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Fun Space indoor playground.

business plan for soft play area uk

Company Overview

Who is fun space.

Fun Space is a newly established indoor playground in Kansas City, Missouri. Fun Space will provide the best indoor play options for children ages 4-12. The indoor playground will focus on fun, educational activities for kids that will support their physical fitness and social development. Fun Space will also offer services for parents including a quiet room that they can retreat to for a little downtime, to get some work done, or to watch their kids play. There will be guided activities for parents to do with their kids and educational classes for each age group. In addition to its daily activities, Fun Space will also host birthday parties and other events on the weekends.

The indoor playground will be staffed with professionals highly qualified and experienced in childcare, safety, education, and fitness. Fun Space staff remove all concerns of parents by providing a welcoming environment that is safe, clean, and educational. Fun Space indoor playground will be the ultimate fun choice for children and value for parents.

Fun Space indoor playground History

Fun Space is owned and operated by Christine Gregory, an indoor playground manager with over ten years of managerial experience working at KC Indoor Play. Christine is a dedicated leader with an ability to effectively manage a team of employees, build rapport with customers, and maintain a fun, safe, and profitable operation. These skills will help her to quickly attract customers and employees to her new indoor playground.

Since incorporation, Fun Space indoor playground has achieved the following milestones:

  • Registered Fun Space, LLC to transact business in the state of Missouri.
  • Has been approved for all required licenses and permits to run an indoor playground.
  • Has a contract in place to lease a 10,000 square foot facility.
  • Reached out to multiple playground equipment companies to get quotes and begin the design process.
  • Began recruiting a staff of accountants, marketers, childcare providers, and other indoor playground personnel to work at Fun Space.

Fun Space indoor playground Services

  • Daily Open Play Sessions

Industry Analysis

The indoor playground industry in the United States is valued at $658M with an estimated 667 establishments in operation across the nation. Major market segments include families with children ages 0-9, families with children ages 10-12, and families with children ages 13-18.

The main sources of revenue for industry operators are the entry fees and ticket sales, followed by food and beverage sales, and lastly merchandise sales. Market drivers include an increase in disposable income and fitness awareness. Indoor playground industry operators can maintain a competitive advantage by providing competitive pricing, extended hours, or activity options the competition does not offer.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Fun Space will target parents and caregivers of children ages 4-12 in Kansas City. The company will target parents who are looking for a fun way for their children to develop physical fitness and social skills while participating in educational activities. The indoor playground will also target parents looking for a hassle-free party venue to host their childrens’ birthday parties or other events. No matter the customer, Fun Space will deliver the best service, pricing, and peace of mind that their children will have fun in a clean, safe, and welcoming environment.

The precise demographics for Kansas City, Missouri  are:

Customer Segmentation

Fun Space will primarily target the following customer profiles:

  • Parents/caregivers of children ages 4-12
  • Parents/caregivers looking for a party/event venue
  • Parents/caregivers looking for a safe, clean, educational, fun place for their children to play

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Fun Space indoor playground will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

KC Indoor Play

KC Indoor Play is a fun indoor playground for children ages 2-10. The indoor playground is conveniently located in a busy retail district in Kansas City, close to a childrens’ clothing shop and a toy store. KC Indoor Play is able to provide a wide variety of services for parents and children. The company’s offerings include educational classes for different age groups, free play, daycare, and an arcade. KC Indoor Play also hosts birthday parties and other events. KC Indoor Play’s promise is to deliver quality service that will keep both children and parents wanting to come back. KC Indoor Play’s team of experienced childcare professionals assures children are supervised by highly trained playground monitors to ensure safety and fun.

Kidz Play Place

Kidz Play Place is a Kansas City-based indoor playground conveniently located within a five- mile radius of three elementary schools. Kidz Play Place provides a unique indoor playground environment for children ages 4-13 that includes a small water park, arcade games, and trampolines. The owners of Kidz Play Place are former childcare professionals so they know what appeals to kids and parents alike. Parents can purchase open play time for their children in 2-hour time slots. Season passes are also available and will save customers 20% off their purchase.

Kary’s Kids Indoor Playground

Kary’s Kids Indoor Playground is a Kansas City indoor playground that provides educational games, classes, and events for children ages 0-10. The company is run by party-planning experts who have years of experience planning and hosting childrens’ parties. Parents can rest assured their children are well-supervised and the playground is safe and clean. Children can enjoy free-play sessions, an arcade, and educational games. Parents can also drop their children off for full-day and half-day supervision at Kary’s Kids daycare.

Competitive Advantage

Fun Space indoor playground will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

  • Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly qualified staff to include professionals trained in childcare, safety, early childhood education, and physical fitness who will supervise children and lead group activities.
  • Wide range of offerings available to exceed the expectations of both parents and children.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Fun Space indoor playground will offer the unique value proposition to its customers:

  • Highly-qualified team of skilled employees to supervise open play sessions, lead educational activities, and host fun parties, all while ensuring the safety, security, and wellbeing of the children at all times.
  • Unbeatable pricing – Fun Space indoor playground has multiple pricing options to give parents flexibility when choosing which services they want to purchase. Parents can pay per session, per week, or per season for open play sessions, daycare,  and educational programs. There is also an a la carte option for parents who want to purchase one specific activity or play area.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Fun Space indoor playground is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Christine Gregory has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service to her customers. Many of these contacts have communicated to Christine that they kept bringing their kids back to her previous place of employment because they were happy with the service she was providing. Once Christine advised them she was leaving to open her own indoor playground, many have expressed interest in coming to Fun Space and help spread the word of the new location to their friends and families.

Professional Associations and Networking

Fun Space indoor playground will become a member of professional associations such as the National Indoor Playground and Cafe Association and the Association of Play Industries. The company will focus networking efforts on expanding its customer base.

Print Advertising

Fun Space indoor playground will invest in professionally designed print ads to display in programs or flyers at industry networking events, and to put in magazines, newspapers, and direct mailers.

Website/SEO Marketing

Fun Space indoor playground will employ an in-house marketing director to design and maintain the company website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the services the indoor playground will offer. The marketing director will also manage Fun Space’s website presence with SEO marketing tactics so that when someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “Kansas City indoor playground” or “indoor playground near me”, Fun Space indoor playground will be listed at the top of the search results.

Social Media Marketing/Influencer Marketing

The company will create social media accounts on multiple platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The marketing director will manage the accounts and maintain an active presence to promote the playground. Fun Space will recruit social media influencers such as busy parents who have a loyal following on social media  to help promote the indoor playground.

The pricing of Fun Space indoor playground will be moderate and on par with competitors. However, the company will offer a wider variety of pricing packages and options to give customers flexibility so they feel they receive value when purchasing the company’s services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Fun Space indoor playground.

Operation Functions:

  • Christine Gregory will be the Owner and Manager of the company. She will oversee all staff and customer relations. Christine has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
  • Eric Nichols – Assistant Manager who will co-manage the staff and oversee the day to day operations of the playground.
  • Brandon Scott – Bookkeeper/Accountant who will provide all budgeting, accounting, tax payments, and financial reporting.
  • Debra Alexander – Marketing Director who will provide all sales, marketing, and PR campaigns.
  • Brian Baker – Event Coordinator who will plan and oversee all parties and events hosted by Fun Space.

Milestones:

Fun Space indoor playground will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

9/1/2022 – Finalize contract to lease indoor playground space.

9/15/2022 – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the management team.

10/1/2022 – Finalize contracts with playground equipment suppliers.

10/15/2022 – Begin build-out of the indoor playground.

11/22/2022 – Begin networking at industry events and implementing the marketing campaign.

12/1/2022 – Fun Space indoor playground opens for business.

Christine Gregory is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. She has been working at a local indoor playground for over a decade. Christine has garnered a reputation for being a positive role model for her employees and a dedicated leader. Christine is confident that her ability to effectively manage a team of employees, build rapport with customers, and maintain a fun, safe, and profitable operation will help her to quickly attract customers and employees to her new indoor playground.

Eric Nichols has been Christine Gregory’s loyal assistant manager for over five years at the former indoor playground. Christine relies strongly on Eric’s reliability, organizational skills, and commitment to excellence in customer service that will be essential for the new indoor playground to run smoothly.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Fun Space indoor playground are the indoor playground fees that will be charged for open play sessions, classes, toys, snacks, and parties. Customers will be able to choose from a variety of pricing options including tiered packages, a la carte, and season passes.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff an indoor playground. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

The following outlines the key assumptions required to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and pay off the startup business loan.

  • Number of 30-minute sessions per month: 6,500
  • Average fees per month: $60,000
  • Office lease per year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, indoor playground business plan faqs, what is an indoor playground business plan.

An indoor playground business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your indoor playground business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can  easily complete your indoor playground business plan using our Indoor Playground Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Indoor Playgrounds?

There are a number of different kinds of indoor playgrounds, some examples include: Bouncy Structures, Trampoline Park, and Variety Entertainment.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Indoor Playground Business Plan?

Indoor playgrounds are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding. This is true for a business for an indoor playground or a play cafe business plan.

What are the Steps To Start an Indoor Playground Business?

Starting an indoor playground business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop An Indoor Playground Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed indoor playground business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your indoor playground business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your indoor playground business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Indoor Playground Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your indoor playground business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your indoor playground business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Indoor Playground Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your indoor playground business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your indoor playground business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

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How to Create a Profitable Indoor Play Area

Home Blog Uncategorized How to Create a Profitable Indoor Play Area

How to Create a Profitable Indoor Play Area

Building an indoor playscape is an exciting venture. As you begin looking at innovative equipment designs, you’re likely also starting to strategize for your business. There are lots of ways to make an indoor play area profitable. For an existing business, adding an indoor playground can attract new customers. As a  family entertainment center , you can provide some much-needed recreation and fun to local communities.

Read the full guide or skip to a specific section:

Indoor Playground Business Profit and Return

Ways to make your play area more profitable, indoor playground business plan, industries that benefit from indoor playgrounds, frequently asked questions for starting an indoor playground business.

  • How Much Does it Cost to Build an Indoor Playground Business?
  • Is an Indoor Playground a Good Business?
  • What is an Indoor Playground’s Annual Income?
  • Are Soft Play Centers Profitable?
  • How Much Does it Cost to Operate an Indoor Playground Business?

Do I Need a License to Open an Indoor Playground Business?

Start designing with soft play.

business plan for soft play area uk

The value of the family entertainment center market reached  $24.35 billion in 2020 , with 36.1% of this industry revenue  in North America alone . If this were not impressive enough, the projected market value of the family entertainment industry in 2030 is  $69.55 billion .

The profit margins and returns of an indoor playground vary by location, business model and overhead costs. Some businesses use a family entertainment center as their primary source of revenue. For other companies, such as malls and retail outlets, an indoor playground is an attraction that brings families in the door. In these cases, the playground brings more traffic and revenue to the business.

Overhead costs are also an important factor in indoor playground profits and success. If you plan on renting a space, the lease you sign will have a big impact on profit. A large building will cost more to rent, and the increased space allows you to build more attractions and house more families at once. With increased space, you can also rent out rooms for birthday parties or fitness classes.

Commercial rent costs more in areas with higher visibility. Families usually find indoor playgrounds via word of mouth and internet research. Since visitors usually plan ahead of time, visibility isn’t as important. So, you can take advantage of lower rent costs at a more remote location.

As you begin planning your indoor playground, research your local market to help determine business costs in your area.

When it comes to new businesses, hard work and creativity are an unbeatable combination. The indoor playground business is a unique industry, with many opportunities to increase profit margins. Here are some ways to make your business a success:

1. Find Ways to Lower “Dead Time”

For a family entertainment center, your hours might be closely tied to school schedules. Weekends and breaks are your most profitable times of the year. But as a business owner, you’re paying rent and other overhead costs year-round. So, finding ways to open your facility and get people in the door during off-peak times can make your business more profitable. Here are a few ideas you can try:

  • Offer fun adult activities, such as morning or evening fitness classes.
  • Open your doors to local businesses with custom team-building events on weekdays.
  • Run one-day camps during local school professional development days — working parents will appreciate the child care.
  • Create opportunities for school field trips.
  • Offer after-school groups, such as a dodgeball league.
  • Run a daycare service or partner.
  • Build some toddler-level activities and market to families with non-school-aged kids.
  • Work with local homeschooling groups to offer gym classes or enrichment activities.

2. INVEST IN INTERNET MARKETING

Most parents will choose what to do with their weekends via online research. Your website and online advertising is the main way these families find your facilities.

It’s best to build a social media presence and encourage families to engage with their social groups by posting photos with creative hashtags. Eye-catching, colorful equipment makes for great Instagram and Facebook photos. When a parent posts a picture of kids enjoying your playground, their network will see the benefit of visiting your business. Word-of-mouth via social media is a powerful tool.

3. DESIGN YOUR SPACE WITH FUN IN MIND

Profitability requires more than foot traffic. It’s best to build customer loyalty and increase the length of time guests spend at your business. New, innovative equipment will entertain kids for longer. Custom-built facilities and new additions make for a one-of-a-kind attraction.

Creating a space that beckons people back also requires great bathrooms, retail space and check-in areas. They should have a smart traffic flow and look attractive to both kids and adults. It’s best to work with a designer that has experience in the entertainment industry.

4. OFFER BIRTHDAY PACKAGES, Holiday Specials and Community Events

Whether you close the space for birthdays or give party-goers a private room, a great birthday event can be the lifeblood of your business. A package full of creative activities can entice a family to spend a bit more. Offer a few different packages for increased variety and some deluxe options for higher revenue.

Creating a high-quality experience for kid’s birthday parties also introduces new families to your business. If kids have a good time, they might come back or want to have their parties at the same place.

Another way to appeal to kids and their families is through holiday specials. Have holiday characters visit your play space and offer picture packages. You might also offer holiday membership specials to increase revenue. You can host community events at your indoor playground space throughout the year to bring in new customers and showcase your commitment to serving the public.

5. SELL FOOD AND BEVERAGES

Selling food at your business can increase your indoor playground profits considerably. While you’ll have to invest more money and get some additional licenses to sell food on your property, food can be a great addition to your business. Guests will stay longer when they’re able to refuel and rehydrate, and you’ll gain another source of revenue for your business.

6. REMEMBER THE PARENTS

Families are more likely to stay longer when there’s something for everyone. While most of your facility will cater to active kids and their wild imaginations, it’s parents who take them there in the first place. Parents will appreciate the break from their routines provided by your playground. They’ll also want something to do while they’re relaxing. A coffee bar or an internet cafe can keep parents occupied while their kids play.

7. Include Kids of All Ages

Just like their parents, small kids can feel left out if there aren’t activities they can do. The tremendous size of many indoor playgrounds can also feel intimidating to smaller kids. To make them feel more at home, you could create a separate area designed specifically for them. Set aside a smaller room  just for your littlest visitors  and fill it with  age-appropriate play equipment  and activities.

8. Get High-Tech

Now that devices like smartphones and tablets are so common, kids need an extra dose of “wow” to feel impressed. Upgrading to  an interactive play experience  is a great way to keep kids engaged both mentally and physically. Play structures that  turn the experience into a game  or that  respond to kids’ movements  through interactive lighting technology add to the fun, encouraging healthy competition and exploration.

9. Build Your Local Reputation

While advertising online through websites and social media is great for reaching customers in other areas, word-of-mouth is the most effective way to build a solid reputation. After all,  92% of consumers  report they trust their friends more than traditional media.

Partnering with local businesses and schools is a good place to start. You could provide nearby schools with free or discounted tickets to give to students at the end of the academic year — you’ll generate interest among local kids, which can help to build your regular customer base.

Creating a great business plan requires lots of research, and it’s the first step to success for a profitable indoor playground. Your indoor play center’s business plan can help you understand your financial indoor playground startup costs and how many customers you need to be profitable. The Small Business Association recommends  a business plan include eight parts:

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Start with an overall summary of the market opportunity, proposed business, location, management structure and loan requests. You should also lay out your mission and objectives for your indoor play area business.

2. COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Here, you’ll describe the concept of your proposed indoor play area or entertainment center. What is the unique offering your business provides? Are you the only family fun center in the area? Are other companies targeting older kids while yours is geared for toddlers? Lay out your startup costs as well as a budget for recurring expenses.

Also, you’ll want to summarize your overall business model. Will you offer monthly memberships, hourly reservations, pay-to-play equipment or some combination? Give examples of other successful businesses in your area and how you intend to compete.

3. MARKET ANALYSIS

In this section, you’ll lay out your potential customer base and competition. You’ll want to pay consideration to the population and demographics in your area. A community of 10,000 people can mean a very different marketplace depending on who lives nearby. A popular retirement town may have a large population but few kids. You can find demographics in your city or town using U.S. Census Data.

You’ll also want to analyze your competition and discuss how you plan to compete. Other indoor playgrounds in your region can be significant competitors. Because of the unique value of indoor play areas, people often drive from far away to visit them. Building one in a new city can give families a great experience with less of a drive.

Other competitors might include parks and recreation or after-school programs. Bowling alleys and movie theaters often top families’ lists of birthday party venues.

4. ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

Here, you’ll outline the structure of your company and who will manage it. You’ll list requirements for managers, plus full-time and part-time employees. You may want employees to have CPR certifications or experience with kids. You’ll also set rules, such as how many kids one employee can supervise.

You’ll also lay out a pay structure. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, amusement attendants make an annual  median salary of $24,760 . Fitness trainers make an annual  median salary of $40,510 .

Using this information, you’ll understand how many employees you need to hire and how much payroll will cost.

5. SERVICE OR PRODUCT LINE

Here is where you’ll discuss your specific products and services. First, you’ll outline how you plan to use your space. For example, 5,000 square feet dedicated to kids 4 to 8 years old, 1,000 dedicated to toddlers and five private birthday rooms. You might also discuss specific structures and main attractions you plan to include.

If you plan to offer other services, such as private parties or fitness classes, you’ll want to outline each of these services and their price point for consumers. If you sell concessions or merchandise, such as grippy socks, you’ll describe these in your product line.

6. MARKETING AND SALES

Next, you’ll discuss your marketing strategy and budget. As part of your sales, you can calculate how many kids or families you’ll have to bring in each month to have a comfortable profit margin.

7. FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

As part of your financial projections, you’ll look at how your overhead and projected inflation will change your indoor playground’s business costs over time. You’ll also calculate a break-even point that shows how much revenue you’ll need to bring in each month to break even on your investment.

8. APPENDIX

Here, you’ll include any supporting documents that help your business plan. Your appendix can include research on demographics, competition and financial costs. It may consist of additional charts that demonstrate where you got your numbers from.

While many businesses build an indoor play area as part of an entertainment destination, many industries can add a bit of indoor fun to their business. Indoor playgrounds attract business from young families. They can help parents manage their active kids while they shop and offer a superior experience. Here are some industries that benefit from indoor play equipment:

Malls and toy stores  can both benefit from an indoor playscape for their guests. Indoor playgrounds turn retail spaces into a destination.

Indoor playgrounds bring foot traffic to your business and keep them there longer. The added entertainment will put visitors in the right frame of mind to continue shopping. It can also provide an added benefit to parents. With the proper setup and supervision, a playscape can serve as a drop-off area for busy families. They can get their shopping done while you watch their kids.

Day care is a considerable investment for many families. An indoor playground can  set your daycare center apart and make your services worthwhile. Parents see playground equipment as beneficial because they help with child development and social skills. Indoor playgrounds give kids exercise and help overactive kids get their energy out, all while helping them develop.

With indoor equipment, you can offer Soft Play every day, regardless of the weather. You’ll make your staff’s job more manageable and make parents and kids alike happy to come back each day.

A waiting room full of soft play equipment turns going to the doctor into kids’ favorite activity. By adding some  unexpected features to your healthcare business , word will spread that your office is the best in the area for small kids.

Soft playground equipment can also be useful for  children’s physical therapy . Custom-designed, kid-centric equipment in children’s hospitals can make healing fun for families. You’ll also encourage physical exercise at an early age, keeping your patients healthy.

RESTAURANTS

Turn your dining room into a destination  with an indoor playground. Eye-catching playground equipment brings families with kids in the door. Helping families occupy their busy kids can make mealtime more relaxed, and you can show your commitment to children’s health.

Movie Theaters

As exciting as it is for kids to see their favorite characters on the big screen, it’s normal for their attention to wander during the slower moments of a movie. Adding  indoor playground equipment to your movie theater  enables kids to release some energy before or after the show.

MUSEUMS, ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS

With custom-designed playgrounds, your business can provide an  educational discovery zone for kids . Kids love the chance to get active, and parents appreciate the ability to help their kids learn and grow. Zoos and Aquariums can offer animal and aquatic-themed playgrounds  to occupy kids when the weather is bad. By custom designing indoor equipment, you can build a themed playscape that fits into your purpose and mission.

Still have questions? Here are some of the most common questions and concerns about building an indoor playground:

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BUILD AN INDOOR PLAYGROUND BUSINESS?

Indoor playgrounds are highly customizable and can work within many budgets. If you are adding a play area to an existing business, you can find a cost-effective solution from  our Pick & Play collection . If you are looking to start a family entertainment center, your total investment can start at around $100,000, including rent and startup costs. The more you invest, the bigger the space you can rent, and the more custom indoor playground equipment you can build.

The best way to find out how much it costs to build an indoor playground business is to begin researching your local real estate prices. You can also contact your playground equipment vendor to discuss designs and budgets.

IS AN INDOOR PLAYGROUND A GOOD BUSINESS?

An indoor playground offers families a weekend activity when it’s raining or too cold to go to the park or play outside. They can also provide air-conditioned comfort in the hot summer. The success of your indoor playground depends on the work the business owner puts in and the demand they generate.

WHAT IS AN INDOOR PLAYGROUND’S ANNUAL INCOME?

Many factors influence an indoor play center’s income. Number one on the list is how many customers you serve and how frequently. A large facility will have a bigger draw and keep guests entertained and spending money longer. However, you’ll also have to pay more in rent and payroll. A small facility can seek more income through after-school programs and fitness classes.

ARE SOFT PLAY CENTERS PROFITABLE?

Soft play centers are indoor playgrounds featuring padded floors and equipment. They attract families with a mid-to-high level of disposable income who seek entertainment and childcare. The more diverse offerings you can bring to your center, the more profitable you can be. For example,  adding a high ropes course  or a  water play area  can attract older kids, while younger kids enjoy the soft play area.

How Much Does It Cost to Operate an Indoor Playground Business?

In addition to how much you will need to pay to set up your business, you also need to factor ongoing expenses into your indoor playground business costs. These expenses include:

  • Overhead costs
  • Regular deep cleaning
  • Scheduled maintenance checks
  • Staff training
  • Legal compliance

You’ll need to account for these operating costs to ensure you can turn a profit — one of the best ways to do this is to use this information as the basis for your pricing. Plus, selling extras — such as snacks or merchandise — and providing a diverse experience can entice customers to spend more, so you can factor those costs into your operation, as well.

What Are the Determining Factors for Initial Indoor Playground Costs?

The cost of creating and installing an indoor playground will vary depending on a few factors, such as:

  • The scale of your playground:  The size of your playground will affect the size of your project, and a bigger space will require a budget to match. For example, a small indoor playground at an existing building will have a lower cost than a large family entertainment center in a new building.
  • Design:  Attractive playgrounds draw kids in, so it’s vital to design equipment and a play space that is beautiful and functional. While you may need to pay more for design features, the investment will quickly pay off.
  • Shipping:  Playground equipment is often heavy and may require specialty shipping to ensure it arrives safely. Including shipping costs in your budget will prevent surprises and guarantee you have the funds to get your equipment to your location.
  • Installation:  Proper installation is crucial for the safety of everyone who uses your playground equipment. It is wise to budget for specialty installation services if your equipment is in various shapes and sizes.

You need two basic licenses for an indoor playground in the United States. They include:

  • General business license:  You need a general business license for registration and tax purposes. Normally, this license  will cost about $300 .
  • Doing Business As (DBA) license:  A DBA license allows you to do business using your company’s operating name, which might be different from its registered legal name. Some states don’t require DBA licenses, but you should always check before trying to do business using a different name.

Other licenses you may need depend on your state and the nature of your business. For example, if you offer a childcare service, you may need additional licenses. Similarly, if you plan to sell food, your state might require that you obtain a food-handling license.

What Demographics Use Indoor Playgrounds?

While the primary focus of indoor playgrounds is kids, parents and young adults are also important demographics to target. Many parents let kids use indoor playgrounds when they need to perform other tasks, such as shopping or completing paperwork in a health care space. Parents may also use indoor playgrounds to bond with their kids or enable their kids to connect with their peers through the power of play.

Young adults are another portion of the demographic of indoor playground users. Many young adults use indoor playgrounds to locate and join a community of their peers. Some indoor playgrounds are also starting to add gaming and virtual reality options, appealing to this older demographic.

Interested in Building an Indoor Playground?

The first step in building an indoor playground is to identify what your niche will be. You can do so by looking up indoor playgrounds in your area, seeing what these locations are or aren’t doing, and using the information to create a theme and structure for your own indoor playground.

You can start planning and creating your ideal indoor playground after some initial research. If you want to design an indoor playground with help from an industry expert, Soft Play ®  is here. With years of industry experience, we are a leader among indoor play area businesses and a reliable source for your playground needs.

If you’re considering opening an indoor playground in your area, Soft Play can help. We offer both custom playscape design services and a selection of pre-made soft playground equipment.

Take a look at some of the  custom-built products we offer  or  contact us for designs and pricing estimates.

business plan for soft play area uk

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business plan for soft play area uk

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Indoor Soft Play Area Design and Installation Services

Over 20 years of soft play industry experience.

We are market-leading soft play consultants with over 20 years of experience in trampoline park and soft play design, installation, maintenance and refurbishment . No matter how big or small your space is, we can adapt our indoor soft play area design and installation services to suit your needs. 

We have customers and contacts all over Europe so wherever you are, we provide a 24 hour call out service. If you want to ensure your soft play area or trampoline park is safe, fun, and filled with innovative and modern equipment, Magical Play is the right indoor play area provider for you.

Arrange A FREE Quote     Contact Magical Play     About Us

Indoor Soft Play Area Design and Installation Services in UK and Europe

 See Our Work

 We have designed and built a number of indoor soft play areas, trampoline parks, climbing centres and multi-sensory rooms across the UK and Europe. We offer professional level maintenace services and can even refurbish your existing facilities.

View Our Designs

We have carried out soft play design and soft play installation for businesses targeting all kinds of age groups, from children aged 0, to adults who are looking for a fun and challenging day out.

business plan for soft play area uk

Installation and Design Services

Our indoor soft play area design and installation services have been fine tuned over the past 20 years. This extensive experience means that we have an in-depth understanding of what makes a soft play centre and trampoline park fun. We have installed a range of different components, from climbing walls, to sensory rooms, to dodge ball areas, so you can rely on us to know which features perform best. We’re always up to date with the latest new components that are available, so if you don’t have many ideas about which facilities or equipment you would like, let us carry out the soft play design for you,and we will ensure your business is a success.

Installation Services

Indoor Soft Play Area Design and Installation Services in UK and Europe

Maintenance and Refurbishment Services

Soft play installation and trampoline park installation is only half the job. It’s important to ensure your centre has regular check-ups to ensure it is safe at all times. Regardless of whether your indoor play area provider was us, or someone else, we can inspect your equipment for you and perform any repairs that are necessary. If you want to swap out one component for another, we can also arrange this for you and provide recommendations for new equipment. We will ensure your soft play area and trampoline park is always safe, secure and stands out from your competitors.

Our Customers

We have a diverse customer-base, who have entrusted our skilled and innovative team to install over 2000 play areas and trampoline parks for them, over the past 20 years. From councils, to holiday parks, to pubs, to warehouses, to private companies, we provide our expert soft play design, consultancy, installation, maintenance and refurbishment services,to all types of customers.

Indoor Soft Play Area Design and Installation Services |  Magical Play gallery image 1

Bespoke Soft Play And Trampoline Parks

We have created soft play areas with a range of storeys, equipment and themes, designed to fulfil a client’s individual preferences, business needs, and spatial requirements. Our past projects have included a “street jump” trampoline park installation, with basketball and dodge-ball, as well as climbing centres, multi-sensory rooms and even an airport-themed play area for young children to learn in.

Whether you want your soft play area to encourage fun, teamwork, learning, exercise, social skills or a mixture of everything, we can design and install a bespoke centre that perfectly achieves your company’s vision. 

Areas We Serve

We serve customers all over the UK and Europe.

If you want your soft play area or trampoline park to stand out from the competition, contact Magical Play today. We have the skills, expertise and industry experience to provide higher quality indoor soft play area design and installation services, than anyone else. 

Indoor Soft Play Area Design and Installation Services in UK and Europe

Free Quotations!

We provide completely free, no-obligation quotations. Let us know how big or small your space is and what you have in mind, so we can get back to you with a quote as soon as possible.

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BusinessPlanTemplate.com - The World's Leading Business Plan Template Directory

Indoor Playground Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

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Indoor Playground Business Plan

If you want to start a indoor playground business or expand your current business, you need a business plan.

The following business plan template and example gives you the key elements to include in a winning business plan for your indoor playground business.

You can download our Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Below are links to each of the key sections of your indoor play area business plan: I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

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Indoor Playground Business Plan Home I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

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  • Business Plans Handbook
  • Business Plans - Volume 03
  • Indoor Playground Business Plan

Indoor Playground

Indoor Playground 304

BUSINESS PLAN

KID'S WORLD

5568 Inkster Rd. Livonia, MI 48150

This plan is for a franchised indoor children's playground. The plan provides a good description of possible competitors and the methods that will be used to achieve a competitive advantage in this industry.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Mission and strategy, competitive analysis, pricing, profitability, and break even, management and staffing, contingency planning, financial projections.

A market opportunity exists in the Western Detroit area to service children aged 13 and under with a supervised indoor exercise and recreation facility. Market research shows that children often do not get the required amount of exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Indoor playgrounds provide an outlet for active children during inclement weather or when the temperature is too hot or cold for outdoor play. Furthermore, parents want an environment for their children to play without harsh language and an arcade atmosphere.

Proposed Business

Kid's World will provide a safe, clean, and stimulating environment for physically active children aged 13 and under to play in and explore. Kid's World's supervised, visually open play area will ensure children's safety, while challenging them to reach, think, interact, explore, and have fun. The store will require approximately 14,000 square feet, consisting of a giant 5,000 square foot play structure for children over the age of 4, a smaller play area for toddlers under the age of 4, an area with several interactive skill games, a snack bar with seating to accommodate 100 to 125 persons at a time, and a merchandise and souvenir stand. Both play areas have soft indoor playpark equipment with extensive padding and no sharp edges. Furthermore, the game area will not offer video games, pinball-type games or games with a violent theme. For family celebrations, such as birthdays and special occasions, Kid's World will offer private party rooms hosted by trained staff to provide a child everything he/she would want in a birthday - several hours of supervised fun on the play structures, cake and ice cream, prizes, food and beverage, and game tokens. Kid's World desires playtime to be as rewarding for the parents as it is for the children, as they spend time together.

Kid's World will be located in a strip shopping center on the west side of Livonia. Within a twenty-five mile drive from this location, there are at least 49,000 children at or under the age of 14, living in a household with average annual income exceeding $45,000. Furthermore, the Census Bureau expects the communities of Canton, Plymouth and South Lyon to be the fastest growing regions of Wayne and Washtenaw Counties over the next decade.

The business will be operated on a full-time basis by a manager, Alice Cushaw, who has had over 3 years of restaurant management experience. In addition, all member-managers will actively assist in the management of the business on a part-time basis.

Loan Request

The owners are requesting a loan to fund a portion of the start-up costs and inventory. They are also requesting a line of credit in the amount of $500,000. The owners are contributing $35,000 to the business venture and various investors are contributing another $40,000. The money will be needed in equal monthly installments commencing three months prior to opening and will be repaid in a steady manner from available operating cash flows. The loan will be entirely repaid within five years after opening with payments beginning three months after opening.

Kid's World is a diversified destination family entertainment center combining recreation, entertainment, and restaurant facilities that creates substantial drawing power. Kid's World's basic focus is children's play and fitness for 1 to 13 year old children. At Kid's World, these activities have been packaged into a safe, clean, climate-controlled, supervised environment for children aged 13 and under to exercise and have fun while stimulating their imagination and challenging them physically. The indoor playpark is based on the premise that if you set a large number of children inside a safe, yet challenging, imaginative soft playground area, they are going to have fun. They are also going to develop basic motor skills, social skills, muscle tone, and self-confidence. Furthermore, the parents can enjoy hours of close interaction with their children in a safe, secure, and stimulating environment.

Currently, there are no other indoor children playgrounds in the Western Detroit area. In addition, there are relatively few alternatives for children's birthday parties. Kid's World will be able to immediately fill this void in the market by providing extensive recreation, entertainment, and restaurant facilities for children to play in and explore. Within 1 year, Kid's World will be known as the primary recreation facility for children aged 1 to 13 and the destination of choice for children to enjoy birthday parties with friends. Kid's World's safe, secure, and clean environment will assure parents while providing opportunities for their children to have fun in a stimulating environment.

Kid's World will base its appeal on providing a stimulating indoor environment for children to play in, while adhering to the strictest quality control standards emphasizing excellence in service, safety, security, food quality and value, sanitation, cleanliness, and creativity. Furthermore, Kid's World is dedicated to the continual development of creative themes and interactive designs that have entertainment and educational value that will ensure Kid's World's competitiveness and success in the family entertainment market years into the future.

Indoor playgrounds serve an increasing need in our society. Studies show that American children are less active and less fit than they were even five years ago, probably due to increasing time in front of television sets and high calorie-high fat diets. Studies have also shown that less active children are more likely to be overweight, and overweight children have a greater propensity to become overweight adults. As people have become more aware of the healthy aspects of their lifestyles, enrollment in adult health clubs, aerobic exercise, recreational activities, and attention to nutrition has increased dramatically. This trend will continue as parents attempt to provide a healthier lifestyle for their children. Another area of parental concern is their children's safety. Nationally, as well as locally, concern for the physical well-being of children has created a further need for a safe play environment. This concern shows no sign of diminishing.

While it is difficult to determine the size of the indoor playground industry, there are currently about 49 million children 12 years old or younger in the United States and this figure is expected to rise to 51 million by the year 2000, according to the Bureau of Census. There are approximately 26 million households with children younger than 18 years of age, who spend about $1,800 per year on family entertainment or $46 billion annually. Per-capita expenditures on children's activities are likely to rise as families with children spend a larger percentage of their income on recreation. Children aged 4-12 spent, from their own income, $6 billion in 1989, up 41% from 1984. This increase in discretionary income is coming from several factors. First, the increase in dual income families has provided for more discretionary income to be spent on children. Second, women are having children later as evidenced by the rising birth rate among women in their thirties. Third, per-capita family income is increasing and families are choosing to take wealth increases in the form of leisure. Last, grandparents are living longer and spending more on their grandchildren. Based on these demographics, industry analysts believe that there is room for about 600 store locations in primary markets throughout the United States and an additional 200-300 in secondary markets.

The Customer Need and the Target Customer

With the recent concerns over child safety on outdoor playground equipment, many schools have elected to remove their playground equipment entirely. Parents are more aware than ever before over the safety and security of their children's play areas. Consequently, a safe, supervised indoor play area will enable parents to relax while their children enjoy playing in and exploring the soft indoor playpark.

Kid's World will target children aged 13 and under within a 25 minute drive of Western Livonia, comprising about 250,000 people of which at least 49,000 are under the age of 13. Within a five-mile radius of Livonia, census information indicates there are approximately 23,000 children aged 13 and under, living in a household with an average annual income exceeding $55,000. These customers will form Kid's World's primary market base. Kid's World will also target children in the outlying regions of Oakland County.

Product Description

Kid's World is geared for children 13 years old or younger who desire an imaginative, challenging, and fun environment in which to exercise, play, and explore. For safety, children must be accompanied by an adult in order to be admitted and adults are not permitted to enter without a child. Furthermore, each person admitted to the playpark will receive a color-coded wristband identifying him/her with rest of the party. To further promote security, each person's wristband will only be removed when the entire party is present together at the exit desk. Trained staff will supervise the play areas at all times to ensure adherence to the playpark rules while assisting the children to maximize their enjoyment of the facilities.

There will be several play areas within Kid's World; the largest, a 5,000 square foot structure targeting children aged 4 and over, will be comprised of a series of colorful tubes, slides, ball baths, climbing structures, air and water trampolines, obstacle courses, ramps, and stairs. A smaller play area will cater to toddlers and consist of cushions, ramps, a small ball bin, and toys. To encourage active participation by parents, all play areas will have a visually open design with comfortable rest areas in full view of the play structures.

Kid's World will also be equipped with a smaller area of interactive games designed to promote eye and hand coordination. This area will include the "Magic Keyboard", a unique piece of musical play equipment specifically designed for Kid's World. Parents and children can also play several games of skill to win tickets redeemable for prizes. There will also be a snack bar with seating for 100 to 125 customers at a time. It will serve food and beverages that appeal to children and parents such as pizza, hot dogs, salads, sandwiches, popcorn, pop, fruit juice, cappuccino, cake, and ice cream. In addition, Kid's World will have a merchandise counter with small souvenirs emblazoned with the Kid's World logo such as T-shirts, sweaters, and hats.

Kid's World will have six private party rooms and will offer packages for birthdays and other special occasions hosted by staff members, significantly reducing the hassle and mess for parents. The design of the rooms will allow for groups as large as 30 children at a time. For family celebrations, Kid's World will offer three birthday packages for parties of 8 of more, consisting of a two hour limited time of play, birthday cake and ice cream, free game tokens, and, depending on the type of package, pizza or hot dogs, party favors for the guests, and a special gift for the birthday child.

Strategy and Approach to the Market

Kid's World will strive to appeal to value-oriented customers who desire hours of entertainment for their children at reasonable prices. Kid's World will be competitively priced at $4.95 for unlimited play which is comparable to other forms of entertainment. However, the distinguishing feature of Kid's World will be its clean, safe, secure environment for children to play in while parents can either relax or participate in their child's activities.

Advertising

Kid's World will reach its target customers through such advertising media as local newspapers, local television, and direct mail campaigns. Local television advertising has been found to be very effective in reaching the target market segment of children 13 and under, so we will focus our efforts here. The advertising and promotion campaign will be funded through operating cash flows and will build upon the close proximity of the store to the corporate location. In addition, the franchisor will assist its franchisees through regional advertising programs to obtain synergy among all franchisees within the region. Kid's World will initially promote its concept through a Grand Opening advertisement campaign employing an invitation-only free evening for local business and government leaders and their children as well as local radio coverage. The franchisor will assist in the preparation of initial advertising and scheduling of promotions.

Location Characteristics

The nature and location of Kid World's business will support both destination and walk-in shopping. Since the majority of birthday parties are pre-planned events, the exact location of Kid's World with respect to major shopping centers is not as critical as it is in other retail businesses. However, parents shopping with their children may desire an outlet for their children in the form of indoor exercise and recreation. Once customers are aware of Kid's World's location, they will return again and again. Figures from the corporate store indicate an average return rate of seven times per child per year. Our financial forecasts conservatively project 1/3 less. The awareness of our location will develop over several months due to advertising, word of mouth, and simple observation by shoppers in the area.

Kid's World will locate in Livonia on Inkster Road in the Heights Shopping Center. This shopping center consists of two separate buildings totaling 73,480 square feet of rental space and contains both destination and walk-by businesses. The center is primarily focused on providing family related services to the local community. Within three miles of this location, census data indicates there are 9,854 children under the age of 14. Within five miles of this location, census data indicates there are 23,061 children under the age of 14. In addition, there are several elementary schools located in the proximity, a day care center directly behind the shopping center, and many other child-related businesses within a few blocks along Inkster Rd. in either direction.

To better ensure Kid's World's success, the franchisor, Kid's World, Inc., must approve the final location and subject it to their proprietary location requirements.

Unique Market Characteristics

Weekly usage patterns.

With 60 to 65% of the costs fixed and only 35 to 40% variable, even small increases in capacity utilization can have a major impact on profitability. With a projected 60% of revenue coming from Friday through Sunday, it will be important to effectively utilize capacity on weekdays. Kid's World will provide the following services to increase customer usage during this period: group discounts to day care centers, churches, community groups, schools, etc., a frequent user card to encourage repeat customer visits, nutritious food to attract health-conscious families, and promoting birthday parties during the week.

Seasonality

The winter months are usually the strongest, and the beginning of spring and the beginning of the school year are usually the weakest periods. On a quarterly basis, Kid's World's best quarter should be the first, followed by the third, second, and fourth quarters. To manage this seasonal variation in customer demand, management will actively monitor weekly sales volume and maintain a flexible staffing arrangement.

Threat of a Fad Product

There is a risk that children may tire of the concept of indoor padded playgrounds. To keep the concept fresh, Kid's World will strive to introduce new play equipment, skill games, and/or new marketing concepts annually. In addition, the franchisor is committed to ongoing research and development in the area of child interaction and stimulation through consultation with staff child psychologists.

Safety/Liability Concerns

To reduce the potential for injuries and lawsuits, Kid's World will employ every means possible to protect children from hurting themselves on the play equipment. Kid's World will only utilize the softest and most extensively-padded equipment in the industry. Furthermore, Kid's World will employ trained staff to continuously monitor each play area and enforce the rules of the playpark. The playpark will be designed to provide parental viewing on all sides and at all times. Parents will also be encouraged to play in the equipment with their children (knee pads will be available for a nominal charge.) In addition, security wristbands will be issued to each person upon entering to ensure the child's safety and prohibit stranger abduction of children. Strict security measures will be observed at all times. Kid's World will carry a $1 million per occurrence liability insurance policy in the event of lawsuit.

Nature of Competition

Competition in the children's recreation and entertainment industry consists of a highly diverse group of children's activities, including television, libraries, YMCA's, health clubs, parks and other recreation centers, movies, the zoo, and related activities. All of these activities provide for enjoyment by both the parents and the children. However, an indoor playground offers a safe, clean indoor environment for physical activity that is specifically designed for children. It provides children with the security and the skill development opportunities that parents desire.

The indoor playground industry is relatively new. Among the existing players in the indoor playground industry, competition is fragmented. The only company with a strong national presence is Surprise Land, possessing over 250 store locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. A significant threat also exists from Connell Corporation, which has started an indoor playground concept of its own, Jungle Play. Although Jungle Play is still in a testing phase, Connell's has the resources and experience to expand its concept rapidly. In addition, there are numerous regional players with fewer than 10 stores across the nation, although relatively few of them are actively seeking franchisees.

Presently, there are no indoor children's playgrounds operating in the Livonia area. Within a 25 minute drive from Livonia are the following primary competitors to Kid's World:

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Competitive Advantage

After reviewing the characteristics and environment of each of the above competitors, we believe that Kid's World offers several advantages over the existing competitors. First, Kid's World offers the lowest admission price, charging $4.95 per child, of any establishment dedicated to providing an extensive indoor playground. Second, Kid's World encourages parents to participate in their children's recreational activities through a careful layout of the playpark which ensures high visibility of the play areas and close proximity for the parents. Third, Kid's World is the only indoor playground operator that provides such unique play equipment as the Magic Keyboard, an air mattress, and games of skill that are specifically designed to promote child development. Fourth, Kid's World goes to extra lengths to ensure the safety and security of the environment by providing such extras as CPR certification for all employees of a certain level, video monitors of the entire playpark, and strictly controlling the entrances and exits to Kid's World. Last, with the corporate Kid's World location being so close to Michigan, name recognition should be high, as many of the potential customers have already been to the existing Kid's World location.

Analysis of Competitors

The following section briefly discusses each competitor's market position, strategy, and unique operating characteristics.

Captain Sam's

Captain Sam's primary focus is on an extensive array of video games, mini-rides, interactive skill games, a puppet show, and food. Although it has a small playpark area for toddlers, Captain Sam's is primarily dedicated to food service and games. Consequently, it serves as a destination business for pre-planned visits, centered around its food service for family outings and birthday parties. It is an open layout with more windows than other children's entertainment centers and has the atmosphere of a large noisy cafeteria. It charges no entry fee, but maintains high prices for its pizza, ice cream, and beverages. Catering more to parents, the Ypsilanti location allows smoking and serves alcoholic beverages along with pizza, hot dogs, and nachos. It does not instill a sense of security for the parents, nor does it provide the challenging and stimulating environment that children desire.

Surprise Land

With over 250 fun centers in operation as of April 1994, Surprise Land is the largest operator of indoor playgrounds for children. The company was founded in 1990 and began its early growth through franchising. In 1993, Reeves Entertainment acquired 20.1% of Surprise Land's shares with an option to purchase additional shares up to a 51% interest in the company. In order to sustain market leadership and pre-empt competitive threats, Surprise Land has adopted an aggressive expansion campaign with the goal of securing what they feel are the best locations across the country. Specifically, Surprise Land plans on opening 90-100 domestic fun centers a year and franchisees are expected to open another 100 in 1994, the majority of which will be opened by Reeves Entertainment. At this rate, they will have an estimated 360-400 stores by the end of this year and 600 by 1996. This rapid expansion is evidence of the acceptance of this concept by both children and adults. To complete this aggressive plan, Surprise Land has adopted a regional organizational structure and invested in systems to operate and maintain a chain with hundreds of stores in many markets.

In October, 1993, Surprise Land entered the Detroit market by opening its first store location in Warren (east side of Detroit), followed by additional locations in Taylor (downriver area), Plymouth (western suburb), Farmington Hills (northern suburb). Surprise Land has future plans for an additional locations in the metro-Detroit area, including Troy, Novi, and Ann Arbor. In addition, Surprise Land is planning to locate in such outstate areas as Flint, Lansing, Traverse City and Saginaw.

Surprise Land is similar in concept to Kid's World in that it provides a controlled environment for children to play in and explore with their parents. It consists of the Menster-Zone, a 3,000 to 4,000 square foot play area for children aged 4 to 12, the Tiny-Zone, a smaller play area for toddlers, an area of interactive skill games, five or six party rooms, and a snack bar serving foods such as pizza, hot dogs, popcorn, and ice cream. In addition, Surprise Land provides a quiet room for parents who wish to let their children enjoy the play areas unattended.

The primary difference between Surprise Land and Kid's World is the emphasis on a safe, clean, secure atmosphere as well as the level of encouraged interaction between child and parent. While Surprise Land promotes the safety and security aspects of its play areas, it's easier for children to leave the premises unnoticed and it allows adults to tour the facilities unescorted. Furthermore, the snack bar seating is usually located in the center of the play space, leading to sticky floors, congested walkways, and visible food wrappers next to trash dispensers in every interior corner of the playpark. The play structure at Surprise Land is contained in a smaller area than Kid's World and is typically placed in a corner of the facility. This can lead to heavy congestion in the play area during peak hours, a restriction of airflow throughout the playpark, and a general lack of incentive for parents to interact with their children. Kid's World's play structure is located in the center of the room with benches provided on the walls surrounding the structure, promoting visibility at all times by the parents and staff monitors and encouraging parent/child interaction.

Jungle Play

A subsidiary of Connell Corporation, Jungle Play started in 1991 and has since grown to approximately 40 locations nationwide. Connell's plans for Jungle Play include a steady but cautious introduction of new stores located primarily in major market areas. In the Detroit area, Jungle Play outlets are located in Southfield, Dearborn Heights, and Redford Township. Connell's usually builds free-standing structures on land located adjacent to major shopping malls. Therefore, it is likely that Jungle Play may be looking at the available real estate on the exterior of Novi Mall for future expansion. If Jungle Play were to locate in Novi they could represent formidable competition for Kid's World. However, the strong demographics of this area suggest that it could support 3 or more children's indoor play facilities.

Jungle Play is similar in concept to Kid's World and Surprise Land in that it provides a safe, secure, clean, and stimulating environment for children to play in. Jungle Play is somewhat larger in size than Kid's World. Unlike Surprise Land, Jungle Play's play structure is designed to promote parent/child interaction. Jungle Play is particularly adept at providing birthday services by including such extras as a name board to alert all customers of the day's birthday children, a cart for transporting birthday gifts, and extremely friendly and courteous staff. Jungle Play obtains additional business by giving discounts during non-peak hours, allowing groups to rent the facility after-hours, and promoting such activities as overnight lock-ins, fund raisers, and school fieldtrips.

Kidville opened its first and only location this past March in Garden City and has since expressed interest in franchising its concept. Similar in size and appearance to Surprise Land, Kidville offers a multi-level play-park complete with treeforts and slides for children over 4 and a separate play area for children under the age of 4. It is similar in concept to Surprise Land, Jungle Play, and Kid's World, but it does not represent a formidable threat since it has not yet decided to expand via franchising or additional corporate locations.

Kid's World will derive its sales revenues from admissions, games of skill, restaurant/snack bar operations, birthday party packages, and gift shop and souvenir sales. A detailed description of each component of revenue is provided below.

Admissions/Games

Admission fees will be $4.95 per child (ages 1-17) which includes unlimited play in all of the play areas. Adults will be admitted free of charge and encouraged to play in the play areas with their children. This price compares favorably to other forms of family entertainment such as movies where both adults and children must pay admission. The goal of Kid's World is for a visit to the playpark to become a regular family event. Reflecting this goal, a frequent user card will enable a customer to receive discounts off future admissions to Kid's World after a specified number of paid admissions to the playpark. Statistics from the corporate location show the average child returning seven times per year. In addition, Kid's World will offer group discounts for groups of 12 or more at $3.95 per person to encourage day care centers, youth group activities, and summer camps to visit the playpark. For larger groups of 30 or more children, Kid's World offers a special package at $5.00 per child that includes unlimited play in the playpark, two game tokens per child, a slice of pizza or a hot dog, and a beverage.

The 125 person capacity snack bar will offer food products that appeal to both children and parents alike. It will offer traditional children's favorites such as pizza, hot dogs, and popcorn as shown below on a sample menu:

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Birthday Party Packages

For family celebrations Kid Kingdom will offer three birthday packages for parties of 8 of more, consisting of a two hour limited time of play, birthday cake and ice cream, free game tokens, and, depending on the type of package, pizza or hot dogs and a special gift for the birthday child. The three birthday packages offered include the following:

έ Regal Celebration $7.95 per child Three game tokens per child Invitations/Balloons Nine-inch double layer cake Pop/punch Ice cream

έ Supreme Celebration $8.95 per child Three game tokens per child Invitations/Balloons Half-sheet cake Pop/punch Ice cream Pizza or hot dogs Special Kid Kingdom gift for the birthday child

"Supreme "Theme" Celebration $10.95-$12.95 per child Includes all items in Supreme Celebration, plus: Special theme gifts for all children in the party Custom decorated half-sheet cake

Gift Shop/Souvenirs

The gift shop will contain various souvenir merchandise available for sale such as T-shirts, hats, sweaters, and wristbands with the Kid Kingdom logo. The gift shop will also provide various prizes and gifts for children to redeem with tickets received from completing the games of skill.

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Break-Even Analysis

Projected fixed costs for an average month include the following:

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Hence, at a projected gross margin of 78% (contribution margin of 83% less franchise fees of 5% of sales) monthly break-even volume is:

$50,919/.78 = $65,281 or 4,340 visits per month

Per the attached financial projections, break-even is projected to be achieved at a monthly revenue level of $65,281. Given our revenue forecasts of $82,213 per month, it appears that we will be able to exceed break-even revenue levels at significantly less volume. Competitive assessment suggests that indoor playgrounds of comparable size and scope typically exceed the break-even monthly sales level within the first month after opening.

Hours of Operation

Initially, store operating hours will be from 10 AM to 9 PM Monday through Thursday, 10 AM to 10 PM Friday and Saturday, and 12 PM to 6 PM on Sunday.

Sources of Inputs

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Description of Cost Items

We have identified a prospective rental location of 14,000 square feet and have negotiated a ten-year lease with one ten-year optional extension. The rental payment schedule is as follows:

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

The terms of this lease call for a one month's rent security deposit. Per agreement with the prospective landlord, our first ninety days of occupancy will be free of rent. We anticipate the first thirty days of that period will be devoted to equipment set-up and staff training, hence we estimate approximately sixty days after opening as the date the first rental payment will be due. The lease does not contain a percentage rent clause based on achievement of certain sales levels.

Leasehold Improvements

The majority of leasehold improvements will be completed by the landlord prior to our occupancy. These include painted outer walls, carpeted and/or tiled flooring, acoustical tile drop ceiling with recessed flourescent lighting, two restrooms, and a manager's office. Items we have budgeted for include: party room construction (estimated by landlord at $10,000), signage - an exterior facade sign, an interior neon sign, and an exterior sign for the shopping center's pylon sign [estimated at $15,000), front entry desk and counter-tops (estimated by franchisor at $9,000), and wall decorations, decorative lighting, party room decoration, storage room shelving and lockers, workshop/game repair room, and miscellaneous items (total budget of $11,000).

Fixtures and Equipment

In addition to the leasehold improvements, we have budgeted $50,000 for restaurant fixtures and furnishings. These include pizza ovens, refrigeration units, beverage dispensers, sinks, countertops, tables and bench seats, and storage shelving. The two most significant equipment expenditures are the main playpark structure (including the toddler play structure) and the various games of skill. The total cost of the playpark structure has been budgeted at $220,000 and depends on many factors, including its overall size, configuration, and complexity. The franchisor has developed several playpark layouts to accomodate the unique characteristics of our rental space. Preliminary estimates from two indoor playground manufacturers have been in the range of $175,000 - $200,000 for the entire playpark structure. Typically, 50% of the total purchase price is due upon ordering the equipment and the remaining 50% is due upon shipment. Lead-time for playpark equipment has been estimated at 7-8 weeks. The total cost of the games of skill has been budgeted at $75,000. The franchisor has developed an extensive list of pre-approved games of skill to select from, most individual games priced between $2,000 and $5,000 each. Most game equipment companies also require 50% down when ordering and the remaining 50% upon shipment with an estimated lead-time of 4-6 weeks. We have also budgeted $15,000 for computer hardware, $5,000 for the franchisor's software programs, and $5,000 for miscellaneous office equipment, such as a copy machine, fax machine, public address system, and telephones.

Depreciable Total and Method

The depreciable costs listed above are summarized as follows:

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

These capital expenditures will be depreciated using the Modified Accelerated Costs Recovery System (MACRS) over various lengths depending on the useful lifes of the assets as mentioned above.

Utilities include electricity, gas, and water/sewer. Our estimates of electricity, gas, and water/sewer costs (based on franchisor estimates and contact with Detroit Edison, MichCon, and the City water department), suggest annual utilities will cost approximately $25,000.

Kids World will carry extensive insurance policies protecting it in the event of lawsuit. The insurance policies carried include: $1,000,000 per incident premises liability insurance covering bodily injury, property damage, and non-owned autos; $1,000,000 product liability insurance coverage; 100% replacement coverage on building contents and leasehold improvements; three month business interruption insurance, and worker's compensation insurance as required by law. These insurance policies have been estimated at $15,000 on an annual basis.

Inventory will consist of redemption items, game tokens, tickets, identification bracelets, paper products, food ingredients, restaurant supplies, and gift shop sale items. The budgeted initial investment in inventory is $7,500 based on franchisor estimates.

Working Capital

Based on franchisor estimates, Kid's World will require $50,000 of available cash, line of credit, or other liquid reserves to cover operating expenses for wages, utilities, rent, and similar expenses.

Business Organization

The business will be organized as a partnership under the name of Kid's World. Thomas Jones and Alice Cushaw will serve as Registered Agents.

Staffing Plan

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

In the event Kid's World's acceptance is slower than anticipated, expenses can be reduced as follows:

Certain games and planned playpark additions can be leased, reducing up-front cash expenditures by $20,000 - $50,000.

The Secretary position can be eliminated and its job responsibilities performed by the two Assistant Managers. This can reduce salary expenditures by $20,000 annually.

Since the majority of Kid's World's employees are part-time and only scheduled to work up to two weeks in advance, the employment level can quickly and easily be adjusted to operating conditions.

Management fees can be reduced or eliminated entirely, as the member-managers do not depend on the business as their main source of income. This can reduce expenditures by up to 5.0% of sales, or up to $50,000.

These savings can significantly reduce operating expenses in the event of unforseen circumstances, lowering the break-even volume of the store.

Projected Revenue Buildup

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Projected Revenues by Source

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Projected Start-up Costs

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Projected Salary and Wage Expense

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Management Fee Schedule

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Projected Capital Contributions by Source

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Proforma Income Statement - Year 1

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Proforma Balance Sheet - Year 1

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Proforma Statement of Cash Flows - Year 1

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Proforma Income Statement - Year 2

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Proforma Balance Sheet - Year 2

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

Proforma Statement of Cash Flows - Year 2

Indoor Playground: Kid's World

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How to attract more customers to your soft play area?

indoor soft play area

Now, many indoor soft play area operators feel confused: why another playground business is so prosperous, but my play area is fewer customers?  I invest a lot of money in the new indoor playground equipment , but why my business is not good? This is a headache for many kids playground operators. Today, we will tell you how to attract more customers and increase the popularity of your indoor soft play.

Decoration style and color theme of soft play area

Nowadays, people get your first impression from the outward appearance, indoor soft play area environment is no exception. A distinctive decoration style, innovative features, colorful kid indoor playground will attract the eye for the first time. With a strong visual impact children play area, why not love it?

However, indoor soft play area features are not imitated, it should learn + innovation + breakthrough. Operators learn from excellent children’s playground and draw on its essence. They can combine with their own space size, equipment features, adding new elements, to create a unique decoration style, which can form a brand and retain customers.

Color is of great significance to children’s mental health and personality development. soft play area colors should be bright, relaxed, pleasant, it is better with more color contrast, to distinguish between the different functions. The transitional colors are generally white. Large animal elements will attract some active boys, candy color design easier to attract some girls and younger boys. Colorful children’s space is for the innocence of children,  to attract their attention at first sight. And bright colors be filled with hope and vitality, make the soft play area look more healthy.

indoor soft play equipment

Enhance management ability of soft play area

As a qualified and even excellent indoor playground, how to improve themselves?

1.Major planning decision-making ability.

Although it is now a more democratic era, there are many things that need to be taken with the overall situation. This requires independent decision-making by playground operators, including dispatch work, manpower coordination, employee dispute resolution, which test the soft play area operators decision ability.

2.Operating capacity.

Different from the ordinary soft play area, the operation of children’s playground is not a simple matter. It includes equipment updating, planning activities, promotion programs, the establishment of membership files, interactive cooperation, daily management, crisis response and so on. For some special cases, the children encountered in the exercise, the handling of these operations, good and bad skills, directly affect the effectiveness of the store.

3.Communication ability with children.

Due to the special nature of the soft play area, children are required to have an understanding of the equipment prior to the play to ensure safety.  Although parents are present, staff members need to communicate with children, to eliminate the child’s insecurity and give them the courage to participate in expansion. The child’s thinking is often different from adults, if not patient enough, and do not have excellent communication ability, will certainly bring obstacles to the operation. During communication, simple, easy-understanding language, eyes contact are particularly important for children.

4. Control ability.

The essential prerequisite for one operator is to have the ability to establish a team, can further develop the elite team. Therefore, in the course of business running, it is very important to control the work of staff members, to master the situation of children’s play and to grasp the overall situation.

5.Overall data calculation summary ability.

Regularly organize sales, and draw conclusions from the analysis; at the same time, make a brief analysis and records of typical customers.

To deal with running problems in a timely manner, to analyze the running condition effectively, which will help to make your soft play area go further.

soft play area

Make good publicity to enhance the popularity of soft play area

Popularity is the most important factor in the soft play area. If we own popularity, the revenue will naturally go up. But how to enhance the popularity of the playground? This is closely related to our publicity.

On the opening day to do enough publicity. If you have enough budget, it is better to invite the local song and dance troupes to perform in front of your playground. Besides, you can invite your friends and relatives to help out on an opening day, it looks very bustling, which will increase popularity.  It is best to open your own relatives and friends to help out the day, increasing popularity, bustling like the opening of the way. When the publicity is carrying out,  nearby people and people passing will be attracted and stopped here.

Handing out leaflets near the high-traffic streets and shopping centers is the other effective way to make publicity. You need to let customers know there is a kid indoor playground open and has activities during the opening.

Put advertisements on local TV media, newspaper, so more people will know your soft play and will come to play here.

Kindergarten and daycare centers are very important target place to make publicity. You let them play for free in a limited time, if the children do not enjoy the full time, they will ask their parents to bring them back to your playground.

Co-operation with children products shops, let them introduce more customers to you. For example, if their customers consume in their shops, they will get one ticket of your playground with 20% discount. It is a win-win solution.

Lock customer attention, precision marketing

It is internet time now, advertising information appears everywhere; people are bored with them. So, it is crucial to lock the customer’s attention and make precision marketing. If you can advertise in the following manner, people will easily remember and accept it.

1.Related to the self-interest of the target customer

In an advertisement, what you see and what you can not see,  not depends on the vision itself, but on what the observer wants to see, and not want to see. For example, if you put bread and toys in front of a hungry child and a rich child. The hungry child will focus on bread, but the rich child shows more interest in toys. Therefore, only ads that touched customer’s interests are more appealing.

2.Follow the consumer’s interest

Instead of hard ads, you can adopt scene ads, in which people will not disgust and forget its marketing feature. Unconsciously, they will immerse in it and become a marketing group.

3.Take advantage of the big events

indoor playground design

Do a good job in service of soft play area

1.prominent features..

the soft play area size is not large, the installation of soft play equipment is more intensive. without unique advantages, you can not attract the attention of children. And many indoor playground structures are few combination of play games, it may not be able to meet the more demanding child’s play needs.So, prominent features are the assurance of your indoor playground business .

2.Quality guarantee of soft play equipment

Investors must control soft play equipment quality so that children can play in a safe place. Besides, they also need to keep good business quality, maintenance of play center order, remain clean environment and so on, which with high quality to win the trust of parents and children.

3.Promotion

Promotion is the most effective way to improve  the  popularity , but the premise is that we must know how to promote, otherwise it may be counterproductive. To make soft play area continue to attract children, we need to start from many aspects, all focus on children,  consider the issue from the perspective of children, we have no worries about customers source.

4.Staff’s grooming

Usually, the staff’s grooming, behavior, and conversation will leave the first impression to parents. So, parents also get the image of the soft play area from employees. A good playground image will be able to attract  Customer’s visit again. Therefore, the soft play staff should try their best to be tidy, good temperament, elegant and nice.

5.Clear and separate roles and duties

The operators should have a clear division of labors. For example, from the perspective of the management, the guide should do a good job of terminal sales, maintenance of safety and atmosphere;  from the perspective of parents,  guide well of the child play services.  Besides, the director should do a good job distribution and management; reception staff should be warm and polite; the cashier is rigorous and clear; players guide is intimate and so on. Only customers are satisfied, sales performance will be gratifying.

6.Treat customers as friends

Understand that customers are a source of hot sales for a soft play area, so staff needs to treat customers as friends. The child is a unique treasure for each family.The most effective way to establish good relations with parents, to care for their children from the heart. In addition, you can exchange child rearing knowledge parents.

7.flexible handling of unexpected incident

During the course business, if you encounter unexpected incidents, customer complaints should be fast-moving, quick response, verbal care express. Staff should apologize in time if the customers are dissatisfied or angry. incalculable incidents should be immediately reflected the higher level of leadership. Clerk to be the flexible handling of cases, calm thinking, careful parenting and child psychology, safeguarding the interests of customers in order to ensure the soft play area reputation, to avoid losing uncommon to create better performance.

8.Everything in good order and well arranged

Keep the store clean, hygienic, beautiful; to remind customers to keep their belongings; take good care of customer items. More detail in the service allows customers to feel soft play care, so as to achieve good reputation!

9.Safety first

Investors need to provide safe, reliable, innovative and interesting soft play area equipment to children, and make safety measures; regular disinfection and maintenance work of kids equipment to ensure the health and safety of children; to recruit staff who knows how to help children and bring more fun to them. After doing well in all these matters, the soft play area will naturally attract “repeat customers” and cultivate a group of loyal customers.

10.Parental  Area in soft play area

Many of indoor soft play plans and considers very well for children, but they usually forget the needs of parents.When children are enjoying their fun in the playground, parents have nothing to do and will feel boring for a long time. If the operator provides a cafe room for parents, you can imagine how happy the parents. They will find their own fun by enjoying coffee, playing games or watching cinemas with free wifi. It will attract them to come back again and stay a long time in your playground.

kids indoor playground equipment

Hold interactive activities in soft play area

How to make the playground continue to have high popularity? Holding activities is a trend now. Good activities will make your soft play area famous and attract more customers. Many of indoor soft play will hold interactive activities, like birthday party,parent-child games, and children friendly games, which will increase the popularity of playground. Children friendly game is a good way for children to communicate with each other. Today, we will take the Music Chair game for example.

Site layout:

1.use balloon to make an arch or pillar decoration, creat happy atmosphere

2.background music, chair

Rules of the game:

If there are 6 players, prepare 5 chairs for the game purpose.  All participants stand outside the chair in a circle, when the music starts, participants begin to run along a circular clockwise or counterclockwise. when the music stops, participants quickly grab a chair to sit down, for who did not grab the chair, he will be out of the game and then come up with a chair. After several rounds, the final winner will be selected. The winner will a gift and all other participants will also get a gift.

Through the above analysis, Wonka Playground believes that you will find why your soft play business is not good. Money invest is the first start, but it does not determinate your business is good or not. What you can do is to create a unique decoration, enhance your management ability, make good publicity, precise marketing, provide good service and hold activities. If you do well in the above aspects, without a doubt, your indoor soft play area business will boom!

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2 thoughts on “ how to attract more customers to your soft play area ”.

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Hello. We are planning to open indoor playground. Looking for the space now. Can you please give us the quote for 130-200 sq meters space for kids 6 months -11 years old. Do you assembly? We locate in south California.

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The Play Inspection Company

Indoor Play Areas For Children Operational Guidance For Soft Play Equipment

This document sets out guidance on how to open indoor play (including indoor soft play) areas safely while minimising the risk of spreading COVID-19. It gives practical considerations for how guidance can be applied in the workplace and at these locations. The following is included:

  • Introduction
  • COVID-19 Risk Assessment and managing risk
  • Specific measures to take for indoor play and soft play frames
  • Customer face coverings
  • NHS Test and Trace
  • Social Distancing
  • Who should go to work?
  • Protecting people who are higher at risk
  • People who need to self-isolate
  • Equality in the workplace
  • Protective equipment for employees
  • Ventilation
  • Guest communication
  • Staff communication and staff competence
  • Children with additional needs
  • Food and drink
  • Maintenance

1.  Introduction

This document is to help employers, employees and the self-employed working in England understand how to work as safely as possible and protect their customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This takes into account broader applicable guidance, such as the recommended social distancing and face coverings guidance.

While this guidance applies to England, you should always consider whether there are local restrictions in place in your area. If you live, work or volunteer in an area that is experiencing a local COVID-19 outbreak and where local restrictions have been imposed, different guidance and legislation will apply. Please consult the local restrictions pages to see if any restrictions are in place in your area.

Each business will need to adapt this into the specific actions it needs to take, depending on the nature of their business, including the size of business, how it is organised, operated and managed. A site-by-site approach is essential and COVID-19 risk assessment for premises will be unique. Therefore, this guidance should be used to translate to whatever areas are relevant to your business and any measures that are taken should fit safely with any operational needs.

This guidance does not supersede any legal obligations relating to health and safety, employment or equalities and it is important that as a business or an employer you continue to comply with your existing obligations, including those relating to individuals with protected characteristics. It contains non-statutory guidance to take into account when complying with these existing obligations. When considering how to apply this guidance, take into account agency workers, contractors and other people including guests, as well as your employees.

To help you decide which actions to take, you need to carry out an appropriate COVID-19 risk assessment, at a business and site level, just as you would for other health and safety related hazards. This risk assessment must be done in consultation with unions or workers.

1.  COVID-19 Risk Assessment and managing risk

COVID-19 is a public health emergency. To reopen a premises, operators must undertake a risk assessment to identify, assess and manage the risks of COVID-19, and in particular businesses should consider the risks to their workers, volunteers and customers. As an employer, you also have a legal responsibility to protect workers and others from risk to their health and safety. This means you need to think about the risks they face and do everything reasonably practicable to minimise them, recognising you cannot completely eliminate the risk of COVID- 19.

You must make sure that the risk assessment for your business addresses the risks of COVID-19, using this guidance to inform your decisions and control measures. A risk assessment is not about creating huge amounts of paperwork, but rather about identifying sensible measures to control the risks in your workplace and making a record of the significant findings. However, if you have fewer than five workers, or are self-employed, you don’t have to write anything down as part of your risk assessment. Your risk assessment will help you decide whether you have done everything you need to. There are interactive tools available to support you from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Employers have a duty to consult their people on health and safety. In a small business, you might choose to consult your workers directly. Larger businesses may consult through a health and safety representative, chosen by your employees or selected by a trade union. You can do this by listening and talking to them about the work and how you will manage risks from COVID-19. The people who do the work are often the best people to understand the risks in the workplace and will have a view on how to work safely. Involving them in making decisions shows that you take their health and safety seriously. You must consult with the health and safety representative selected by a recognised trade union or, if there isn’t one, a representative chosen by workers. As an employer, you cannot decide who the representative will be.

At its most effective, full involvement of your workers creates a culture where relationships between employers and workers are based on collaboration, trust and joint problem solving. As is normal practice, workers should be involved in assessing workplace risks and the development and review of workplace health and safety policies in partnership with the employer.

Employers and workers should always come together to resolve issues. If concerns still cannot be resolved, see below for further steps you can take.

Where the enforcing authority, such as the HSE or your local authority, identifies employers who are not taking action to comply with the relevant public health legislation and guidance to control public health risks and risks to employees, they will consider taking a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks. For example, this would cover employers not taking appropriate action to socially distance, where possible. The actions the HSE can take include the provision of specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements.

How to raise a concern if you are an employee:

  • contact your employee representative, if your workplace has one
  • contact your trade union if you have one
  • contact HSE at:

HSE COVID-19 enquiries

Telephone: 0300 790 6787 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm) Online: working safely enquiry for

1.1  Managing Risk

Employers have a duty to reduce workplace risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking preventative measures. Employers must work with any other employers or contractors sharing the workplace so that everybody’s health and safety is protected. In the context of COVID-19, this means protecting the health and safety of your workers and customers by working through these steps in order:

  • In every workplace, increasing the frequency of handwashing and surface cleaning (including disinfection of high footfall areas or common touchpoints and toilet/restrooms).
  • Businesses and workplaces should make every reasonable effort to ensure their employees can work safely. From 1 August 2020, this may be working from home, or within the workplace if COVID-19 secure guidelines are followed closely.
  • When in the workplace, everyone should make every reasonable effort to comply with the Government’s social distancing guidance (2m distancing where possible, or 1m with additional mitigations where 2m is not viable).
  • Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full, in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between individuals.
  • keeping the activity time of any activity where social distancing cannot be maintained as short as possible
  • using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible
  • reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others)
  • Using fixed screens or barriers to separate people from each other.
  • Finally, if people must work face-to-face for a sustained period with more than a small group of fixed partners, then you will need to assess whether the activity can safely go ahead. No one should be forced to work in an unsafe work environment.
  • In your assessment you should have particular regard to whether the people doing the work are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

The recommendations in the rest of this document are ones you must consider as you go through this process.

If you have not already done so, you should carry out an assessment of the risks posed by COVID-19 in your workplace as soon as possible. When a building or space is repurposed – for example when there is any change in use or type or use or other circumstance – there needs to be a fire risk assessment. More information can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website .

You should consider the security implications of any changes you intend to make to your operations and practices in response to COVID-19, as any revisions may present new or altered security risks or issues with accessibility which may need mitigations.

Whilst the risk to health from COVID-19 is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, the threat of terrorism nonetheless remains substantial. It is essential that businesses and other organisations remain cognisant of these threats as they look to adjust their operations, ensuring that security measures are proactively adapted to support and complement other changes.

Failure to complete a risk assessment which takes account of COVID-19, or completing a risk assessment but failing to put in place sufficient measures to manage the risk of COVID-19, could constitute a breach of health and safety law. The actions the enforcing authority can take include the provision of specific advice to employers to support them to achieve the required standard, through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements. Serious breaches and failure to comply with enforcement notices can constitute a criminal offence, with serious fines and even imprisonment for up to two years. There is also a wider system of enforcement, which includes specific obligations and conditions for licensed premises.

Employers are expected to respond to any advice or notices issued by enforcing authorities rapidly and are required to do so within any timescales imposed by the enforcing authorities. The vast majority of employers are responsible and will join with the UK’s fight against COVID- 19 by working with the government and their sector bodies to protect their workers and the public. However, inspectors are carrying out compliance checks nationwide to ensure that employers are taking the necessary steps.

1.2  Sharing the results of your risk assessment

You must share the results of your risk assessment with your workforce. If possible, you should publish the results on your website (and we would expect all businesses with over 50 workers to do so).

We would expect all businesses to demonstrate to their workers and customers that they have properly assessed their risk and taken appropriate measures to mitigate this. You should do this by displaying a notification in a prominent place in your business and on your website, if you have one.

You should display the following notice in your workplace to show you have followed this guidance: Staying COVID-19 Secure in 2020 . There may also be other industry standards or marks that you can use to demonstrate to any visitors, guests and customers that you have thought carefully about risk.

3.  Specific measures to take for soft play areas and frames

Cleaning regimes should be reviewed before reopening. An enhanced cleaning routine must be established, documented, trialled and practiced to ensure all surfaces can be effectively cleaned before reopening the business.

For general hygiene precautions, centres should follow HSE guidance for cleaning . For additional cleaning after a suspected case of coronavirus, centres should follow government guidance on cleaning in non-healthcare settings outside the home

3.1  Cleaning of Soft Play Areas and frames

Steps that will usually be needed:

  • Before opening you will need to identify where your high contact surfaces are. You should choose an appropriate cleaning method that is effective at removing the virus. This method should consider which cleaning products should be used, in line with current guidelines, and the frequency at which high contact surfaces should be cleaned. As a minimum, these surfaces should be cleaned between booked sessions and/or at least every two hours, but your risk assessment may determine it needs to be more frequent. Particular attention must be paid to areas such as slides, monkey bars, enclosed crawl through ‘tunnels’ or tube slides and handholds.
  • Operators should select cleaning products that are effective and can be used in a way that does not expose people to additional risk. For example, only using certain chemicals when children are not around. Cleaning regimes should be implemented subject to a risk assessment. Refer to the Cleaning in non-healthcare environments guidance to ensure consistency.
  • Cleaning operators should ensure they follow the instructions for the products they use and pass this information onto the people who will be doing the cleaning. This should include application instructions, for example leaving chemicals applied for a period of time before wiping them off
  • In addition to an enhanced cleaning routine, the soft play frame should be treated with a product as described below.

There are several products on the market which provide ongoing protection keeping treated areas contamination free between cleaning cycles. These products form an antimicrobial coating on surfaces by forming an environment which makes it difficult for bacteria, viruses, fungi, spores and mould to reproduce.

These products should conform with the relevant British standards such as EN1276, EN1650, EN14476.

  • Separate sensory rooms should be closed. These are areas which are predominantly – though not universally – for under 2s, and include several high-contact surfaces and may be hard to clean.
  • Ball pits must be closed or physically removed from frames before opening.
  • Roleplay props will also be considered as single-use items and a suitable system must be in place for the handling, cleaning and sanitisation of props to facilitate this. Role play rooms should be cleaned in line with other indoor area frequencies. Role play areas should be restricted to one booked group, to reduce the risk of items being shared between different groups of children.
  • In addition to the applicable of the measures above, operators should take extra measures to sanitise the frames, specifically:
  • Remove difficult to clean items making it easier to clean the soft play area. For example, this would cover items such as soft punch bags, plastic balls and other easily removable items.
  • Any loose soft play items should either be removed or identified in a way that allows them to be included in the enhanced cleaning schedule. The risk of unidentified and mobile items is that they are missed or not included in an enhanced cleaning schedule. Identifying marks could be used, alongside a check sheet to record that each item has been cleaned. Pay particular attention to the withdrawal of unnecessary play items that children will put in their mouths or around their faces which are a high transmission hazard.

3.2  Soft Play Frame Operations

  • The process for managing soft play frame areas will be a written document and form part of the business COVID-secure opening protocols. Employees will be trained in this process; records of such training will be kept and available to inspectors.
  • Before anyone is permitted to enter the soft play frame they will need to apply hand sanitiser at the point of entry to the play area. These sanitisation points should be adjacent to each separate play area (not just at the entrance to the building), supervised and the application of sanitiser made mandatory.
  • Operators should have a zero-tolerance policy, with a written policy for dealing with non-compliance. Staff should be trained in the handling of non-compliant persons.
  • Where customers are required to queue, clear social distancing floor markings to stop clumping are required. These should be in the form of boxes, hatching and floor graphics, so that visitors clearly understand what they are required to do.
  • The capacity of the soft play frame must be calculated to allow for the current guidance on social distancing – this will allow households to socially distance. On the basis of normal play frame capacity calculations which is based on active floor area, capacity/occupancy will be reduced to maximum 40% , this will be based on the total number of users including parents or guardian supervising. Operators will be required to demonstrate calculation methods and justification for their capacity numbers. This will need to be monitored when in use as part of the ongoing risk assessment process, to ensure that capacities deliver social distance requirements. Evidence would need to be available for an inspecting officer.
  • The play frame will be subject to its own capacity, this will be calculated, as above to allow for social distancing in the frame area. Capacity management and social distancing will be controlled using management processes and each centre will adopt the process that is suitable for their setting, such as:
  • Separate entrance and exit points, which will be staffed, to monitor/regulate numbers to no more than the maximum persons allowed to enter the play structure at any one time. Staff should use tally counters to help monitor this.
  • Control via groups i.e. coloured wrist bands, all-in all-out systems.
  • Signage displayed at the entrance to the frame;
  • Encouraging parents to accompany children through the frame;
  • The natural one-way flow already built into structures (i.e. hard to climb slides);
  • Total centre capacity will not exceed the total number of persons allowed within the soft play frame.
  • The capacity for smaller play areas will be calculated as above. Where there isn’t sufficient space to facilitate social distancing only one household per area will be permitted at any one time.
  • To aid social distancing and avoid pinch points the following examples may be used:
  • Direction arrows or minor alterations to establish a flow system. For example log ramps to be up only and deck climbs and slides to be down only. Floor pads are typically 1.2m square so additional signage can be erected to remind customers to remain two square floor pads apart from others while playing in the structure unless they are from one family group or bubble.
  • Risk assessments of pinch points within the frame. Control measures such as temporary closure of confined spaces or areas that encourage users to congregate may be necessary.
  • Staggered start times for people entering the play frame.

4.  Customer face coverings

From 8 August 2020, it is now mandatory for visitors to indoor settings to wear face coverings. The Government has produced guidance on when to wear a face covering and how to make your own. Children under the age of 11 and those who have health, age, equality or disability reasons may be exempt from wearing face coverings.

  • Adult customers and children aged 11 and over will be required to wear a face covering before entering and keep it on until they leave, except when eating or drinking at your table, or when entering/whilst in the play frame.
  • Operators will not routinely need to ask for written evidence of exemptions but will be required to take reasonable steps to promote compliance with the law. Therefore, operators should have policies in place to demonstrate this, examples of actions which could be taken for non-compliance could be refused entry or being asked to leave the premises.
  • Wearing of face coverings is not mandatory for those working within indoor settings, employees will continue to follow guidance from their employer based on workplace occupational health and safety risk assessments.

5.  NHS Test and Trace

The opening up of the economy following the COVID-19 outbreak is being supported by NHS Test and Trace. You should assist this service by keeping a temporary record of your customers and visitors for 21 days , in a way that is manageable for your business, and assist NHS Test and Trace with requests for that data if needed. This could help contain clusters or outbreaks.

Many businesses that take bookings already have systems for recording their customers and visitors – including restaurants, hotels, and hair salons. If you do not already do this, you should do so to help fight the virus. We have worked with industry and relevant bodies to design this system in line with data protection legislation, and further guidance can be found here .

6.  Social Distancing

You should maintain social distancing in the workplace wherever possible. Social distancing applies to all parts of a premises where business is conducted, not just the place where people spend most of their time, but also entrances and exits, break rooms, staging sites and store rooms, canteens and similar settings. These are often the most challenging areas to maintain social distancing.

Operators will have to reduce capacity before reopening to enable social distancing whilst within our facilities. Steps that will usually be needed include:

  • Centres should review and set lower occupancy within a facilities to suit the individual buildings and equipment design capacity, in line with best social distancing practice. At first start with a lower manageable capacity to monitor if your new procedures are effective and constantly review this as demand comes back into the sector.
  • Boxes, hatches and floor graphics should be used on the floor in queue lines, to show social distancing points, or physically modify queue lines to virtual queues using technology.
  • Before reopening, think about your staff shift patterns, split morning briefs into smaller groups, look at issuing briefs using staff notice boards or technology to circulate information to all staff members.
  • Your venue should be a pre-bookable only experience with set time sessions. Centres should ensure areas are fully cleaned between sessions. Adopt policies to encourage guests to print out tickets at home or use technology for guests to gain entry to our attractions without long wait times at reception desks.
  • Informing customers of guidance through signage or notices at the point of booking or on arrival.
  • Ensuring staff are familiar with the guidance, and if any local restrictions are in place.
  • Asking customers for verbal confirmation of the number of households in their party at the point of arrival.
  • Once inside a centre, customers should remain with their group, and maintain appropriate social distance to individuals and groups outside their own.
  • Outdoor gatherings are limited to members of any two households or support bubbles, or a group of at most six people from any number of households.
  • Utilisation fixed capacity operate with a fixed capacity allowing social distancing
  • Timed play sessions
  • Pre-booking and ticketed sessions
  • By developing techniques and practices to pre book time slots FEC’s can manage demand across the day and avoid large groups congregating at key points. This will also help collect data for NHS Test and Trace in a more streamlined and efficient way.
  • Capacity will vary from centre to centre and is mainly dictated by the capacity of your play frames, H&S restrictions of your unit, fire limits, seating capacity and optimal design capacity.
  • Standards and Guidelines already in place for fully enclosed play equipment are BS EN 1176-10-2008 and BS 8409:2009 (the Facility) – capacity of play areas is calculated using table 1 of EN 1176-10-2008, your manufacturer should be able to provide you with this number.
  • Assess restaurant capacities and control measures to comply with social distancing, possibly removing every other table to increase social distancing for family groups. These should only be open in line with the Government guidance on Restaurants, Pubs or Takeaway service.
  • Removal of some furnishings in lounge areas or the spreading out of furnishings such as benches and even picnic tables if you have outside space.
  • Risk assess arcades that have lots of human touch areas such as plastic guns, fruit machines, grab-toy machines etc. If remaining open then ensure social distancing and increased cleaning of machine buttons and other touch points.
  • Refrain from having staff socials for the foreseeable future.

Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and, if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their staff. These include:

  • Further increasing the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning, (including disinfecting of heavy footfall and frequent touch points);
  • Keeping the activity time involved as short as possible;
  • Using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible;
  • Reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others);
  • Using screens or barriers to separate people from each other;
  • Introduction of hygiene screens in areas such reception till areas, shops and food pick up areas where social distancing cannot be achieved (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable).

7.  Who should go to work?

In order to keep the virus under control, it is important that people work safely. Working from home remains one way to do this. However, the risk of transmission can be substantially reduced if COVID-19 secure guidelines are followed closely.

Employers should consult with their employees to determine who can come into the workplace safely taking account of a person’s journey, childcare responsibilities, protected characteristics, and other individual circumstances. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.

Businesses should consider the impact of workplace reopening on local transport, and take appropriate mitigating actions (e.g. staggered start and finish times for staff). When it is decided that workers should come into their place of work then this will need to be reflected in the COVID-19 risk assessment and actions taken to manage the risks of transmission in line with this guidance. It is vital employers engage with workers to ensure they feel safe returning to work, and they should not force anyone into an unsafe workplace. Steps that will usually be needed include:

  • Consider the maximum number of people who can be safely accommodated on site.
  • Planning for a phased return to work for people safely and effectively.
  • Monitoring the wellbeing of people who are working from home and helping them stay connected to the rest of the workforce, especially if the majority of their colleagues are on-site.
  • Providing equipment for people to work at home safely and effectively, for example, remote access to work systems.

8.  Protecting people who are at higher risk

Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals may be advised not to work outside the home if the prevalence of disease in the community is very high.

Clinically vulnerable individuals , who are at higher risk of severe illness (for example, people with some pre-existing conditions), have been asked to take extra care in observing social distancing and should be helped to work from home, either in their current role or in an alternative role.

If clinically vulnerable (but not extremely clinically vulnerable) individuals cannot work from home, they should be offered the option of the safest available on-site roles, enabling them to stay at the recommended distance away from others. If they have to spend time within this distance of others, you should carefully assess whether the activity should continue. If so, further mitigating actions should be taken to reduce the risk of transmission between individuals.

As for any workplace risk you must take into account specific duties to those with protected characteristics, including, for example, expectant mothers who are, as always, entitled to suspension on full pay if suitable roles cannot be found. Particular attention should also be paid to people who live with clinically extremely vulnerable individuals. Steps that will usually be needed include:

  • Provide support for workers around mental health and wellbeing. This could include advice or telephone support.
  • See current guidance for advice on who is in the clinically extremely vulnerable and clinically vulnerable groups.

9.  People who need to self-isolate

If you have symptoms of COVID-19—a high temperature, new and persistent cough or anosmia, however mild, you should self-isolate for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started OR if you are not experiencing symptoms but have tested positive for COVID-19 you should self- isolate for at least 10 days starting from the day the test was taken.

If you have tested positive whilst not experiencing symptoms but develop symptoms during the isolation period, you should restart the 10 day isolation period from the day you develop symptoms.

  • Enabling workers to work from home while self-isolating if appropriate.
  • See current guidance for employees and employers relating to statutory sick pay due to COVID-19.
  • See current guidance for people who have symptoms and those who live with others who have symptoms.

10.  Equality in the workplace

In applying this guidance, employers should be mindful of the particular needs of different groups of workers or individuals. For instance, employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to avoid disabled workers being put at a disadvantage compared to non-disabled people in the workplace.

It is breaking the law to discriminate, directly or indirectly, against anyone because of a protected characteristic such as age, ethnicity, sex or disability.

Employers also have particular responsibilities towards disabled workers and those who are new or expectant mothers.

Steps that will usually be needed include:

  • Understanding and taking into account the particular circumstances of those with protected characteristics.
  • Involving and communicating appropriately with workers whose protected characteristics might either expose them to a different degree of risk, or might make any steps you are thinking about inappropriate or challenging for them.
  • Considering whether you need to put in place any particular measures or adjustments to take account of your duties under the equalities legislation, such as those who are hearing or visually impaired.
  • Making reasonable adjustments to avoid disabled workers being put at a disadvantage, and assessing the health and safety risks for new or expectant mothers.
  • Understanding and responding to the concerns of those who consider themselves at increased risk.
  • Making sure that the steps you take do not have an unjustifiable negative impact on some groups compared to others, for example, those with caring responsibilities or those with religious commitments.

11.  Protective equipment for employees

The Government advises that when managing the risk of COVID-19, additional PPE (beyond what you usually wear) is not beneficial. This is because COVID-19 is a different type of risk to the risks you normally face in a workplace, and needs to be managed through social distancing, hygiene and fixed teams or partnering, not through the use of PPE. Workplaces should not encourage the precautionary use of extra PPE to protect against COVID-19 outside clinical settings or when responding to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19. The Government advises that unless you are in a situation where the risk of COVID-19 transmission is very high, your risk assessment should reflect the fact that the role of PPE in providing additional protection is extremely limited.

12.  Ventilation

Ventilation is an important part of mitigating against the transmission of COVID-19. Ventilation into the building should be optimised to ensure a fresh air supply is provided to all areas of the facility and increased wherever possible. Particular attention should be given to areas where high intensity exercise activity takes place.

To achieve this, specific measures should be implemented:

  • The maximum occupancy of each indoor facility should be limited by providing a minimum of 100sqft per person. For this figure, the area is the net usable indoor facility space available to members to use, including changing rooms, toilet and wash facilities. Reducing capacity in this way whilst sustaining ventilation flows, will increase the typical current 10l/s/p flow rate of ventilation to at least 20l/s/p, as fewer people are being served by the ventilation system.
  • Ventilation systems should provide 100% fresh air and not recirculate air from one space to another.

You should also consider:

  • Increasing the existing ventilation rate by fully opening dampers and running fans on full speed.
  • Operating the ventilation system 24 hours a day.
  • Increase the frequency of filter changes.
  • In the absence of known ventilation rates, a carbon dioxide sensor shall be used as a surrogate indicator to switch on additional mechanical ventilation or open windows.

Further guidance is provided in the CIBSE COVID-19 Ventilation guidance .

13.  Guest Communication

Guest communications and resulting guest behaviours will play a large part in the relaunch of our centres. The use and operating culture of centres will need to be reviewed and assessed in line with the new social distancing protocols we now live with.

Changes in use and operation of the soft play centre should be communicated to visitors prior to planning a visit, at the main point of entry, and throughout your facility in key points. This should include information on:

  • Social distancing requirements – both on the play frame and in the rest of the centre
  • Cleaning and hygiene requirements
  • Face covering requirements for those over 11
  • How the centre will comply with NHS Test and Trace
  • What to do if you think you are ill in the play centre

Furthermore communication throughout the entire guest journey will assist with the day to day operation and compliance with new centre procedures and customer guidance. When communicating safety messages owners/operators should ensure they are able to reach those with hearing or vision impairments. Consideration should also be given on how to assist those with disabilities with complying with the changes

Guest Pre-visit communications

  • Utilise website and social media channels giving guests pre-visit information on what the centre has in place to control risks and support social distancing.
  • Pre-booking information on suitability of your facility and recommendations for guests from greater risk groups or medically vulnerable people not to attend.
  • Use pre-booking online question fields within the online journey to help guests establish if a trip to an FEC is suitable for them at this time.
  • Customers should be advised that if they are feeling ill, showing signs of the virus or live in the same household as someone with the virus, they should not be visiting the centre.

Information on arrival and throughout the centre

  • Information should be displayed at main entrance points/reception areas about social distancing protocols in place in the facility, and the need to provide details for NHS Test and Trace.
  • Signage at hygiene stations, which may include hand sanitising products or traditional soap and water facilities along with directional signage around the facility to the nearest locations.
  • Signage in toilets about how to clean your hands correctly – use child-friendly signage as well as messages for adults.
  • Information throughout the facility about how to maintain social distancing while using the play equipment. Use of floor markings, such as boxes, hatches and floor graphics, in any areas where traffic can be high to help guests respect social distancing.
  • Information around the facility highlighting the increased cleaning schedules in place and this may involve some areas being closed off periodically to fully sanitise the tables and play kit.
  • Utilise public safety announcements and digital screens to repeat practices being applied throughout the facility.
  • Information requiring children to wash hands prior to attending the party room and time should be allocated for this. Regular announcements to remind guests about handwashing.
  • Information to remind adults and children not to put their mouths on equipment or their hands in their mouths
  • Display information about what a guest should do if they start to feel ill whilst on site – and a protocol put in place, where customers are taken to an area to minimise contact with staff and other guests, whilst assistance is sought. Try and promote your site as a contactless payment preferred venue – cashless and pre booked tickets online and food ordering.

Additional measures that can reduce the risk COVID-19 transmission in playgrounds and outdoor gyms focus on promoting responsible behaviour by children, parents, carers and guardians

For example, owners and operators should consider putting up signs to make clear to users, parents, guardians and carers that:

  • consumption of food or drink on play equipment or in the playground area is banned
  • parents, guardians or carers should dispose of all litter including any used protective wear such as face coverings or gloves properly in litter bins, taking it home where a bin is not provided. People should dispose of face coverings and PPE in a ‘black bag’ waste bin or litter bin. Face coverings should not be put in a recycling bin.

Owners and operators should provide clear information to parents to set clear expectations about how children should behave when using playgrounds during COVID-19. This may be through one or more of: signs adjacent to the playground, online (e.g. operator websites or community message boards), or through leafleting.

Owners and operators may wish to consider reminding parents of the owner/operator’s legal obligations towards the playground users such as signs stating that allowing children to use playground equipment is done at their own risk where appropriate.

14.  Staff Communication and staff competence

Staff communication.

It is vital to ensure staff information, instruction and training is reviewed, updated and refreshed at this time of reopening. The team may have been out of the business for some time and only seeing any centre updates via social media. Retraining your staff on your new protocols and listening to any concerns or inputs they have; they will be the front line in your operations. Staff may have a lot of questions when returning to work and may be nervous about crowds. Ensure that your staff are fully prepared and have all the skills, knowledge and necessary information.

Time should be allocated prior to opening to reintroduce operating protocols to provide safe places of work for them to be able to return to and perform their role in providing a safe place for our customers.

Devise a system to allow you to establish staff who may have illnesses, any health concerns regarding Covid-19, and any team members who may have been in contact with someone with Covid-19 prior to their work. More information on protecting clinically vulnerable and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals can be found in the Visitor Economy guidance.

Staff Competence

Staff in all departments of our businesses may have had extended time away from their job roles resulting in a loss of competence. Centres should apply policies and procedures on relaunch as at any other time. If amendments are to be made to current policy and procedure, then approach this on a risk assessed basis. Each department will have different complexity of tasks and the staff members completing the most complex of tasks should at minimum be reassessed. Suggestions on training and assessment:

  • Use someone who is most relevant or competent in COVID-19 control measures to complete training and assessment. It’s not always the managers that know how the equipment and processes work the best.
  • Review your own training policies.
  • If you do not have competent people at the initial stages of re-opening in some areas or on certain areas then do not operate them until training can be completed, the public will understand through an open and honest approach.

15.  Considering children with additional needs

Owners/operators must take into account the requirements of children with additional needs. Issues that are likely to be specific to this group include:

  • an understanding that many need frequent reminders about rules of behaviour in playground settings
  • changes to familiar environments are likely to require longer periods of adjustment children with physical and sensory disabilities may need assistance with moving from one place to the next
  • some children with additional needs such as autism find it difficult to adjust to particular clothing requirements, and therefore may be less willing to use face coverings or similar if requested
  • some additional needs are not evident, such as hearing loss, and may therefore account for non-responsiveness to verbal instruction
  • queuing for apparatus or toilets can be a source of frustration, and the cause of agitation at higher risk of being involved in bullying incidents.

16.  Food and Beverage

Prior to re-opening all normal protocols need to be carried out for food and beverage areas in accordance with Environment Health standards. Facilities should only be opened in line with government regulations.

Centres should follow Government guidance on Restaurants, Pubs and Takeaways . Centres should review protocols to best deliver the safest food service operations to our guests, whilst also ensuring social distancing measures. This may include a reduced service or re-structuring how the traditional cafe servery operates and is laid out.

17.  Toilets

Public toilets, portable toilets and toilets inside the premises should be kept open and carefully managed to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

  • Using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency and to avoid touching your face, and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into your arm if a tissue is not available.
  • Consider the use of social distancing marking in areas where queues normally form, and the adoption of a limited entry approach, with one in, one out (whilst avoiding the creation of additional bottlenecks).
  • To enable good hand hygiene consider making hand sanitiser available on entry to toilets where safe and practical, and ensure suitable handwashing facilities including running water and liquid soap and suitable options for drying (either paper towels or hand driers) are available.
  • Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets, with increased frequency of cleaning in line with usage. Use normal cleaning products, paying attention to frequently hand touched surfaces, and consider use of disposable cloths or paper roll to clean all hard surfaces.
  • Keep the facilities well ventilated, for example by fixing doors open where appropriate.
  • Special care should be taken for cleaning of portable toilets and larger toilet blocks.
  • Putting up a visible cleaning schedule can keep it up to date and visible.
  • Providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection.

18.  Maintenance

Many attractions within our facilities may have been sitting for lengthy periods with little or no operation. These attractions will need to have a detailed assessment before being put back into public use. There is an array of issues that could occur during an extended closed period including corrosion, change in characteristics of lubricants, rodents, excess dust to name just a few. Many planned preventative checks would have been missed during this period including daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly checks etc. It will be essential that your maintenance program is reviewed and missed checks either completed or risk assessed

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  2. Starting an Indoor Playground Business

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  4. soft play area business will boom if you focus on management and service

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  5. Starting An Indoor Playground Business

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  6. Indoor Playground Business Plan Template [Updated 2022]

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COMMENTS

  1. Setting Up an Indoor Soft Play Business!

    Setting up an Indoor Soft Play Business! Diary of a New Operator. The "How To Set Up An Indoor Play Area - A Diary of a New Operator" article was first published in 2010 in the Indoor Play Magazine and followed one of Soft Brick's customers, Carol White, as she set up her indoor play business. More than 10 years on and we still have customers contact us and reference this excellent resource.

  2. Complete guide: Seven steps to setting up a soft play centre

    1. Writing a business plan for a new soft play centre Soft play centres require a significant investment in equipment, and ongoing rent and business rates costs. It's important to have a clear understanding of the financial aspects of your plan and whether your idea is sustainable. Soft play profit margin UK

  3. Starting a soft-play Business: A Step-by-Step Guide: ROLLER

    Step 1: Conduct market research Before diving into the planning phase, it's essential to conduct thorough market research. Identify your target audience, study the local demographics, and assess the demand for a soft-play business in your area.

  4. How Can I Finance a Soft Play Business?

    This business plan template is written around soft play and indoor playground businesses and is a great tool for evaluating capital costs and potential income/profit streams. How Can I Finance a Soft Play Business? Most people who started a soft play business didn't have thousands of pounds in the bank at their disposal.

  5. Guide to Starting an Indoor Playground Business

    Parks & Recreation Zoos & Aquariums Amusement & Attractions Aquatics & Water Parks The Basics of Starting an Indoor Playground Looking to join the growing kid's indoor playground franchise or want to boost an existing business?

  6. Setting up a Soft Play Centre

    We hope that these little hints give you an idea of the scope of support that House of Play can provide to help your business. All play centres operate at different levels of profit, the key is to optimise the potential and we may be able to help achieve this. To find out more, please contact us on 01302 846876 and we'd be delighted to help!

  7. Ready to create your indoor soft play area?

    Step 1: Planning and Design Before you get started on the actual construction of your soft play area, the first step is to properly plan and design it. Consider the available space, target age group, and the theme you want to incorporate.

  8. Setting up Kids Play Centre Business

    The UK is home to over 5.5 million businesses and this number is constantly rising year upon year. One area where there is certainly an opportunity for growth and success is the soft play industry. Following the global pandemic, children were unable to visit these play centres due to restrictions which makes now the perfect time to start this kind of business.

  9. How to Start a Soft Play Rental Business: A Complete Guide

    Let's delve deeper into the specific costs associated with launching a soft play rental business: 1. Soft Play Equipment: The heart of your soft play rental business is the equipment itself. The cost of acquiring or renting soft play equipment varies significantly based on the type, quality, and quantity of equipment you decide to offer.

  10. How to Start a Play Cafe

    Before diving into creating your own play cafe, you need to create a business plan and choose equipment options for the play area. With careful planning, you can see the opening day for your play cafe! What Is a Play Cafe? A play cafe gives caregivers and their kids a place to socialize, enjoy tasty food and drinks, relax, and meet new friends.

  11. Soft Play

    For example, at our play centre 'Astrabound' located in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, if we take all visitors including pay and play and parties, children and adults included, the average spend per head is around £5.50 - £6.00* (gross of VAT) although it should be noted that many parts of the UK (perhaps most parts) could expect to command a highe...

  12. Starting Up a Play Centre

    Some tips and advice if you're thinking of setting up a soft play business, or adding a play area to your current business offering. ... 01249 740 750 [email protected] Request Brochure. ... Budget Make sure you have a solid business plan. Check you have the right planning permission and be clear on your local demographic; what the local ...

  13. Learn How To Start A Soft Play Business, Soft Play Suppliers

    Voluntary, enjoyable, purposeful and spontaneous Creativity expanded using problem solving skills, social skills, language skills and physical skills Helps expand on new ideas Helps the child to adapt socially Helps to thwart emotional problems Soft Play Equipment Will Teach Children To: Figure out how things work Pick up new ideas

  14. Indoor Playground Business Plan Template (2024)

    Indoor Playground Business Plan You've come to the right place to create your Indoor Playground business plan. We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their indoor playground businesses.

  15. Starting my own soft play business in my local area?

    Anonymous. 18/06/2012 at 3:23 am. Hi everyone, I have decided I would like to start up my own soft play business, because it's something I have wanted to do for a while now. Now my youngest is a bit bigger I have more time to get into it. I have looked into the idea and have a facebook group with a lot of local mums interested in having one ...

  16. Make Your Indoor Play Area Profitable

    Indoor Playground Business Profit and Return. The value of the family entertainment center market reached $24.35 billion in 2020, with 36.1% of this industry revenue in North America alone.If this were not impressive enough, the projected market value of the family entertainment industry in 2030 is $69.55 billion. The profit margins and returns of an indoor playground vary by location ...

  17. PDF Indoor Play Areas for Children Operational Guidance for Soft Play

    2 Version 6 - updated on 4th December 2020 In Tier 2: Indoor play centres and areas can continue to operate, in a COVID secure manner. Customers must not socialise with anyone you do not live with or who is not in your support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place. Customers must not socialise in a group of more than 6 people outside ('rule of 6'),

  18. Indoor Soft Play Area Design And Installation Services

    Our indoor soft play area design and installation services have been fine tuned over the past 20 years. This extensive experience means that we have an in-depth understanding of what makes a soft play centre and trampoline park fun. We have installed a range of different components, from climbing walls, to sensory rooms, to dodge ball areas, so ...

  19. Frequently Asked Questions About Indoor Play Equipment Suppliers

    As a general guide, indoor play centres will cost broadly £120,000 to set up a 5000 sq ft unit and £240,000 to set up a 10000 sq ft unit. The budget will cover all set up costs including fitting out the building including kitchen, flooring, tables and chairs and play equipment. House of Play will help you to design the optimum layout for your ...

  20. Indoor Playground Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

    Use this business plan template to easily create a great business plan to start, grow or raise funding for your indoor playground business. ... Below are links to each of the key sections of your indoor play area business plan: I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI ...

  21. Indoor Playground Business Plan

    Consequently, a safe, supervised indoor play area will enable parents to relax while their children enjoy playing in and exploring the soft indoor playpark. Kid's World will target children aged 13 and under within a 25 minute drive of Western Livonia, comprising about 250,000 people of which at least 49,000 are under the age of 13.

  22. soft play area business will boom if you focus on management and service

    If you do well in the above aspects, without a doubt, your indoor soft play area business will boom! 500 playground site planning &operating experience. Turn-key indoor playground equipment provider. 10 years of factory production experience. Value-engineered schemes. For indoor soft play area, you need to do well in decoration, advertising ...

  23. Indoor Play Areas For Children Operational Guidance For Soft Play

    3.2 Soft Play Frame Operations. Steps that will usually be needed: The process for managing soft play frame areas will be a written document and form part of the business COVID-secure opening protocols. Employees will be trained in this process; records of such training will be kept and available to inspectors.