Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
Many women want a job that allows them to pursue a passion while giving back to the community. But they also want to be there to meet their kids’ school bus.
For many women, owning a business offers flexibility and the satisfaction of being their own boss. But starting a business can be daunting! Franchises can be a great alternative to starting from scratch.
There are many franchising options, including Hooray for Books (HFB), which offers a truly unique franchising opportunity.
HFB is a successful, growing business that combines reading, cooking and humor, encouraging children to become avid readers and chefs for life. It was started by Mary Murphy, a former teacher and mom of five.
“As a former teacher and a mom, I developed the program to work best for children, parents and teachers. Therefore, our drop-off classes for 1-11 year olds are 90+ minutes, giving parents longer chunks of time to get something done,” said Mary Murphy, CEO and founder of Hooray for Books.
In addition to classes, the Hopkinton, MA-based company offers birthday parties, summer camps, and book/cook clubs.
“Hooray for Books offers wonderful opportunities for people who want to go into business for themselves, but not necessarily by themselves,” Murphy explained. “Even if you have a great concept, it’s a lot of work to start your own business. There are significant advantages to buying a franchise, which has an existing system so you don’t have to start from scratch.”
Hooray for Books offers franchisees many benefits, including:
- A proven track record, based on 10 years of best practices.
- A complete toolkit, including lesson plans, recipes, training, instructions and support.
- A unique concept combining cooking, books and humor. It’s the only business of its kind and has huge growth potential.
- Flexibility and work/life balance. Franchisees design their own hours based on their family responsibilities.
- Many revenue streams, including classes, mini camps, birthday parties and cook/book clubs.
- Passion. HFB franchise owners are passionate about making a valuable difference in children’s lives.
“Hooray for Books offers a fresh take on the franchise concept,” Murphy continued. “Unlike traditional franchises, we don’t insist that employees work weekends and all summer. Franchise owners create their own success, on their own terms.”
HFB is granting select franchise opportunities in New England and nationally. Murphy expects to open five new HFB locations by Spring, 2011 and continue to grow from there.
For more information, visit www.hoorayforbooks.com or email mary@hoorayforbooks.com.
Tags: business opportunities, franchise business, Hooray for Books
Monday, July 19th, 2010
In her former life, Mary Murphy was a longtime Kindergarten teacher, making learning fun for young children. Now, as the founder of Hooray for Books (HFB), she offers “Creative classes where kids look, cook & devour good books!” ™
After the birth of her third child, Mary left her teaching job with an idea to start educational classes for young children, teaching them to read and cook in new and creative ways. Local mothers encouraged her to “go for it,” and in 2001, she started teaching a few classes per week.
Mary used her teaching background to create unique, one-of-a-kind programs for her young students. Next, she used her experience as a mom to make the programs attractive for parents, too. She offered 90 minute drop-off classes, allowing parents enough time to run to the grocery store while their kids were in their classes – a win-win for all.
Cooking is something Mary has been passionate about since she was young, so making that activity a centerpiece at Hooray for Books was only natural. Mary is also a self proclaimed “humor expert” creating theme days, wearing costumes to match the theme and greet excited learners with “out of the box” recipes with learning challenges built in.
Her Hopkinton, MA-based company grew due to popular demand. Today, she offers classes for ages 2-
11 as well as birthday parties, summer camps, and book/cook clubs at her two local locations.
The next chapter? Mary is franchising her successful business, with the goal of opening locations first throughout New England and then nationally. As a business convert, she knows moms want exciting, yet flexible business opportunities.
Running a Hooray for Books franchise is that and so much more. Her ideal candidates don’t need a background in education. In fact, she’s considering people from corporate backgrounds who have taken time off from full-time careers to spend time with their children. Franchise owners will receive HFB lesson plans and recipes, as well as personal support and a proven track record. Franchisees can arrange their class schedules based on their own family responsibilities and be part of a fantastic company.
Mary’s advice for others who are considering an entrepreneurial business concept: Go for it. She believes that women are fantastic at finding and filling a need, and then turning it into a business.
The busy mom of five kids (ages 17, 12, 9, 7 and 5) strives to maintain a healthy work-life balance. She finds time in her schedule to work guilt-free, usually from 9 pm until midnight. That way, she can spend quality time with her family, and then carve out a chunk of uninterrupted time to concentrate on work projects when her kids are in bed. (She calls herself nocturnal!)
Mary understands that children’s attitudes towards reading are formed between ages 2-8, and she’s delighted to give them positive experiences in her classes. She enjoys promoting that positive attitude through books, making letter associations through cooking activities, being silly, wearing crazy costumes, planning creative projects for them to enjoy – and watching them learn.
For more information about Hooray for Books and franchising opportunities, visit www.hoorayforbooks.com.
Tags: educational classes for young children, franchising opportunities, Hooray for Books
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