Parenting Center Business Plan

A Mother’s Place will provide upscale baby products, parenting resources, children’s play programs, and fitness classes.

Services:

1. Baby/Gift Registering: Families can register items for baby showers, birthday parties and other events.
2. Girlfriends Buddy Program:  Pregnant women can obtain an appointment with an experienced Child Specialist (employee of the company) to provide support and recommendations on the baby registration process. Many new moms are overwhelmed with the process, and this can be an inviting opportunity to help new moms make decisions on the needs of her new baby.
3. Nursing Room:  Moms can shop with peace of mind knowing that they can nurse their baby when needed without leaving the store. This room will be a full-service program with comfortable seating, soft instrumental music, changing facilities and drinking water available.
4. Car Seat Installation:  A Mother’s Place employees will be AAA CPS (Child Passenger Safety) Certified, and available to install car seats properly.
5. Childbirthing Classes:  We will offer classes for pregnant women (and a support person) in preparation for the birth of her child.  Each session will include six weekly classes.
6. Yoga Pregnancy Classes: Yoga classes for pregnant women will be taught by a certified Yoga instructor (specialized in pregnancy fitness). 
7. Mommy & Me Classes: New moms can bring their infants to classes that will offer support, guidance and parenting resources. Topics in the classes can include “Songs to sing to your little one”, “How to interact with your 2 week old infant,” “What can my baby see & hear?” and “What to expect from your 6 month old.” Each class will be guided by a trained Child Specialist Instructor.
8. StrollerFit: A Mother’s Place will franchise this established program that is growing across the nation. This program provides a fitness class that allows both mom and the baby (4 weeks – 2 1/2 years of age) to exercise together, and have fun with other moms in the community. Currently there is no program that allows babies to exercise with their moms in Santa Cruz county. Franchising this program will allow A Mother’s Place to offer this program at other locations. As part of this plan, StrollerFit will be offered at A Mother’s Place, West Cliff Drive, Westlake Elementary School gymnasium (approval already obtained), and Seacliff Beach during the first year of operation.
9. Winter Playgroups:
• Infant Playgroup (4 weeks old – 12 months old)
• Young Walkers Playgroup (12 months – 23 months old)
• Older Walkers Playgroup (24 months – 36 months old):  During the winter months (November to March), moms can sign up for a weekly playgroup at a low monthly cost.This will allow moms to bring their infants or young children to an environment that will be set up appropriately with mats, tumbling equipment, soft toys, mirrors, and other soft indoor equipment. Frequently during the winter months, cold and wet weather prevents mothers from going to outdoor parks, and this provides an alternative option. In addition, it provides an opportunity for mothers to meet other moms in the community.
10. Children’s Classes:
• Jr. Jumpers: This will provide toddlers (12 months – 20 months of age) an opportunity to build physical coordination through an educational program.  This will be an instructed class that will provide fun with tunnels, slides, balance beams, obstacle courses, parachutes and bubbles to excite children of this age group.
• Jumper Time:  This provides older toddlers (21 months – 36 months of age) a developmentally-appropriate educational program for older, more stable toddlers.  In addition to building physical coordination through movement play, it will provide opportunities for children to explore through language with songs, finger plays and body movement games.
• Art Time:  This will provide preschool aged children (3 – 5 years of age) opportunities for creative exploration through art play, projects and group art activities.
11. Birthday Parties:  Families can arrange birthday parties for their children at A Mother’s Place.  A variety of packages and themes will be available, including choices of event type, (Magician, Balloon Maker, Face Painter, Animal Show etc), party bag type, dessert (cake, cupcakes, cookies, ice cream, popsicles etc), setup (gymnasium set up, art project set up, bubbles machine set up etc) and extent of service (set up & clean up service).
12. Room available to contract out: A Mother’s Place will provide the room on a contractual basis for programs and/or events that are supported by this company.

Products:

Each product must receive high ratings from reviewers (parenting magazines, internet reviews, Baby Products books) in order to be sold at A Mother’s Place.

1. Juvenile Equipment:  Car seats, strollers, swings, joggers, exersaucers and high chairs will be among the selection of juvenile equipment available.
2. Juvenile Feeding & Bathing Products: Bottles, diapers, sippy cups, bathing toys, stain removers and other feeding related products will be sold.
3. Breastfeeding Products: Breast pumps, nursing pads, nursing creams, nursing bras and nursing pillows will be available.
4. Young Infant Toys & Mobiles: A selection of developmentally appropriate infant toys and hanging mobiles will be available. In addition to meeting the highly rated criteria, toys will be selected by the owner, who has a Masters degree specialized in Infant/Child Development, for their ability to serve the growing intellectual needs of infants and young children.
5. Books: A selection of board books will be provided. This will also help promote the importance of early reading for young infants and children.
6. Layette clothing and blankets: A small selection of layette sets will be available for customers who would like to purchase layettes for baby shower gifts, or other gifts.
7. Baby Gift Baskets: A variety of baskets will be available, filled with an assortment of baby products.
8. Gift Items: A selection of photo albums, picture frames, handprint kits, and art prints will be available.