From running a franchise six years ago, Ms Susan Loke now manages franchisees and shares her experiences with potential ones.
In her late 30s, she was the first franchisee of childcare centre chain Cherie Hearts when she opened a branch in Kembangan in September 2003. The chain has 50 outlets today.
It was the first foray into running her own business for Ms Loke, then a senior business development manager in the construction industry. Cherie Hearts founder Sam Yap, a former colleague, had shared his expansion plans with her over lunch.
'I knew him well and was used to his working style. I knew that he was a man with foresight and I was confident that he would do well,' said Ms Loke, who roped in childhood friend Jesselin Foo to handle the day-to-day operations of the centre.
'My biggest concern was the learning curve. We were both unfamiliar with the field and there were many rules and regulations,' she said. 'What if the licences weren't approved but we still had to continue paying our staff and rent?'
Various licences had to be obtained from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) before a childcare centre could be set up.
But a visit to Mr Yap's first centre in Limau Garden eased her concerns.
She said of Cherie Hearts co-founder Gurchan Singh: 'Dr Singh was very approachable and we saw how good a rapport they had with the children's parents.'
Both Mr Yap and Dr Singh helped Ms Loke and her partner with setting up the centre and making sure their centre met MCYS' hygiene and safety licensing criteria.
She paid $65,000 in franchise fees and 8 per cent of monthly revenue as royalties. Curriculum, IT support and marketing and branding efforts are centrally coordinated.
In 2007, while she was expecting her first child, she left her job and joined the Cherie Hearts headquarters as a senior vice-president of business development. She is now the president of local operations for the chain.
Her 6,000 sq ft centre, which started with 20 children and four staff, now has 122 kids under the care of 12 staff.
She plans to open a second centre by the end of the year.
These days, she shares her experiences of running a childcare centre with potential and current franchisees, whom she meets at monthly meetings and job fairs.
Her proudest achievement: To see what she calls 'third generation' franchisees.
She said, with a laugh: 'We had a parent of one of the children start a franchise, and then a parent from that centre opened one too.'
