Some of the best organizations are created from an origin story that touches hearts and minds. Building Kidz is one of those – the love of a mother for her daughter that started with devastating news and later, a dream. When our founder Vineeta Bhandari’s daughter, Sabrina, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, her preschool was ultimately unable to provide the care she needed.

Sabrina’s new-found challenges inspired Vineeta to completely flip the script on early childhood education. Her dream was to create an education center where all young children could be stimulated and educated while having fun, but most importantly, be cared for physically, mentally and emotionally. Thus, Building Kidz was born.

When validation of our ideas comes from within our own circles, it carries strength and motivation. When it comes from other places, it builds on that strength and leads to new opportunities. This year, we are excited to share that Building Kidz Worldwide received recognition from Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 100 new franchises in the U.S.

“It’s motivating to be recognized as offering world-class, quality childcare for the future of our country,” says Vineeta. “There is more franchising occurring in the U.S. than in the rest of the world combined. It is a widely used business model, so to stand out from the crowd in this way is deeply significant. We’re making an impact on people, on children and the childcare industry.”

According to Entrepreneur, the companies on this list began franchising within the last five years (since 2014). They are ranked based on the scores they received in the magazine’s Franchise 500 evaluation, which analyzes more than 150 data points in the areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability.

Adding fuel to the growing fire, Entrepreneur lists the childcare industry as a whole as a top 10 franchise category expected to boom in 2019: “With more and more parents working, the demand for childcare is high, and well-known brands—especially those that also offer educational services—inspire trust. So it’s no surprise that childcare franchises have experienced impressive growth in recent years.”

Childcare and education-based franchises are a sound investment for someone looking to buy into an established franchise system. There are 20 million children under the age of five in the U.S., and about a quarter of them (5 million) participate in some form of organized childcare, such as preschools, centers and nurseries. The childcare market is worth $47 billion and is expected to grow to $52.5 billion by 2021.

Early childhood education is an industry with huge unmet demand largely because of the stringent federal and local regulations, but a growing number of households have both parents working and they desire safe, reliable and high-quality childcare for their young children, adds Vineeta. Franchising allows individuals to be successful entrepreneurs and empowers families to find success in a rewarding industry.

Vineeta and the Building Kidz team consider our work more of a passion than anything because care and education cannot be thought of as separate entities when shaping the development of young children. Our comprehensive arts-integrated educational program focuses on developing the whole child through six key areas of development: emotional, social, cognitive, physical, communication and academic. We incorporate a progressive, integrated curriculum in our schools appropriate for children six months to five years that stimulates every child’s growth and builds their confidence, commitment and character.

So, what type of person invests in a franchise? “People passionate about early childhood education who want to make a difference in their community are the perfect franchisees,” continues Vineeta. “You aren’t required to have a teaching degree but you do have to be motivated to care for children. The drive and business acumen to run a franchise needs to be balanced with the joy of seeing very young children thrive in an environment you create.”

As Building Kidz continues to set the foundation as an established brand, our mission is to become a larger part of the communities we serve and improve the lives of one million children globally through Building Kidz School and our nonprofit division, Building Futures. Our franchisees run schools that are active within their markets. As a franchisor, we donate 25% of our profits, at no cost to parents or our franchisees, to non-profit partnerships focused on improving the lives of underprivileged children.

Perhaps you share the same dream. To learn more about the rewarding experience of owning a Building Kidz franchise, visit our franchise opportunity page, and follow our LinkedIn page for regular company updates.