If you can find a business owner that has passion for their business, that has carried on through the generations, then I would have to say Barbara Gay, the founder of Children’s Art Classes, is that person. I had the opportunity to interview Stephanie Larsen who is Barbara’s daughter and now the CEO of the company who carries on the passion with the greatest of enthusiasm and now is ready to franchise the business to spread the creativity and fun and fantastic business model to those around the country. In this interview you will get a chance to get a inside look at what makes this brand stand out among the competition.
Rich: Tell me the story of why you started this business?
Stephanie: The business was started by my mom, Barbara Gay, back in 1997. Barbara was a single mom who needed a way to support my sister and I and have time to be with her kids. She was teaching art in the public schools and started this curriculum, which is now part of Children’s Arts classes, based upon what she had learned in college. She wanted to see what would happen with children if she raised the bar for them to learn art in a better way. So off she went, started the business out of her garage which grew quickly and let her afford to quit her job as a public-school teacher. She went on to open her first retail location.
Children’s Art Classes in New Mexico gave my mother a wonderful lifestyle, but ultimately, she sold her business to be closer to myself and my sister. Mom and I knew we always wanted to have a studio together, so we decided to open a studio in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2009. Timing was perfect as there was a movement among schools to cut back or eliminate art from the program. In 2013, we open our second location in Orange Park, Florida, that is now owned and operated by my sister, Jessica Grotberg. By 2018, we had opened our third location in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Understand the need for what our studio provides our youth, and what it can mean for their futures, we had thought about franchising many years ago. Learning a little about what is involved with franchising your business seemed extremely daunting. A fellow franchisor, friend and father of one of my students that I taught for 8 plus years, introduced us to Dennis Mulgannon and his team. Realizing the uniqueness of what we do, and the quality of our program, Dennis took us on as one of his brands, and CAC Franchising, LLC began!!
Rich: What differentiates your brand from the others in the market?
Stephanie: It’s what the kids are producing. It’s an education than can build from 3 or 4 years old through adults. Every student can start wherever they are in life. The quality of our students’ art is jaw dropping. We don’t have to sell our classed because the proof speaks for itself. Our expectation is high on our students and by doing so, our students produce art they can be proud of, and we can see their self-esteem grow exponentially. This is our mission and our culture and what we are most proud of.
Rich: Do you have a program for children with special needs such as autism?
Stephanie: Many of our students in our classrooms have special needs. If you, as an owner, wanted to dedicate a class to a specific group, such as autistic children, you have the ability to do so during the day. Our core curriculum is offered afterschool hours and on Saturdays, so morning to early afternoon hours are open to add additional classes to your schedule. In our Jacksonville studio, for example, we soon will be offering art therapy to kids as we identified the need in our community for this.
Rich: What’s your vision for the future of the business?
Stephanie: We want to grow at a nice pace where each studio can become successful. That said, we believe the program should be available to children in every neighborhood across the country. I am dedicated to the success of our owners and our teachers and want to ensure that quality is at 100% at all times. We are being selective in choosing the right owners to ensure our strategic growth.
Rich: What do you want your future franchisees to know about you?
Stephanie: I want them to know that I am hands on and love to work with our owners. I have high expectations for our students as I have seen the impact it has made with our kids in all facets of their lives. Parents are blown away when they see the results and the quality of work their child is producing. Between the self-esteem and confidence, the student feels and the quality of work, our students return year after year! We have had 3 kids last year go off to college on art scholarships based up their portfolios, and I currently employ one of my first students who took lessons from me for 10 years! She teaches for Children’s Art Classes three days a week now! It is very important to me to work hard to keep that culture throughout our owners.
Rich: Who is your ideal owner?
Stephanie: We are looking for owners who are passionate about the business and children. This is a passion business. This business is very fulfilling and a great way to give back to the community. This business. once up and running is a low-key operation, very few moving parts, easy to run and if want to can be run part time with a full-time teacher who is organized, loves children, and has great communication skills. The owner doesn’t have to be an artist! Owners can learn to teach this program, as the curriculum is comprehensive.
Rich: What do you see in the future for the industry of child education?
Stephanie: I believe this industry can only get better as parents will do whatever they can for their kids. When the economy gets hard, parents will give up other things in life but won’t compromise their kids. Parents tend to figure it out. I’m a mom, I will work harder to give to my kids what they need. I watched how the pandemic has such a stifling effect on our children and I get a front row seat to seeing our students come out of their shells and see their self esteem rise. From that perspective, I feel the need has never been greater.
Furthermore, we have lived through the tough times from the dot com era, a recession, and a pandemic and yet we continue to grow and maintain our success.