Finding investors in new children's nursery

[ryan4444]

Is there a website I can go to find investors into my partners new childcare business in Warwickshire. I've seen many other nurseries through my business quoting for their tree work and of all the nurseries I've seen it is such a brilliant place offering an amazing childcare setting in comparison and I want it to survive but it's proving difficult to get people through the door. She's having an open week and we have invited various local newspapers and radio stations . She has a nice website. Many facebook likes and shares. Every parent that has walked in has signed up!! Without exception. It's just getting people through the door initially. She's got money for another two months and I'm going to invest myself to keep her going into the new year.

Any promotional ideas or places to look for investment are most welcome

Many thanks,

Ryan

 

[fisicx]

Where is she advertising? Where are all the posters, the banners, the display in the shopping centre, the promo in the local supermarket and so on. You have to go to the people, they won't come to you.

 

[ryan4444]

It's located on one of the biggest main roads in the city. Banners are outside along fencing and building blocks big signs on building. Posters and leaflets in all local libraries and schools that would accept accept them along with any local business that would accept them- butchers , hairdressers , newsagents etc. They have 5000 posted through all doors of the local area. I am starting a PPC campaign as well as working on getting top 3 with SEO as I did with my site.

 

[ryan4444]

Branded Balloons will be decorated everywhere on building and fence during the open week

 

[ryan4444]

Great location within a mile of workers in the city centre

 

[ryan4444]

She achieved ouststanding with Ofsted in her 2 previous management positions, but you can't tell ofstead when to show they just turn up when they want within 2 YEARS!! so the fact they are not rated by ofstead may be putting people off, although she is obviously registered just not yet rated.

 

[fisicx]

All of which is good, but are the people travelling on that road prospective customers? And all those posters haven't worked - if they had you would be inundated with inquiries.

So you need to try something different. The website might look nice but is it converting. By that I mean are you getting lots of calling or filling in the contact form? If not then PPC and SEO isn't going to improve things. You need to work on improving conversions before paying for PPC.

It's also quite likely that the local parents already have a place in a nursery - and those that don't aren't going to the place you advertise. So you need to go out and meet people. You need to get on the street and start knocking on doors - either metaphorically or physically.

 

[ryan4444]

Thank you Fisicx.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

A pop up stand at your largest shopping mall or market place with a large monitor showing about 10 min of the Nursery and staff Delete repeated word ext. with handouts to people watching, maybe a free small gift like a balloon

Are the prices to high?

 

[Clinton]

Any promotional ideas or places to look for investment are most welcome

If you want a third party to invest you'll probably be asked to show a business plan etc. More importantly, you'll need to explain, in detail, what you'll use the money for and how the investment will help the business. Vague assurances that you'll spend the money on marketing ... won't work.

I see numerous businesses advertised for sale or investment making claims such as "just needs a bit of marketing and the profits will double". What these vendors fail to take into account is that investors aren't stupid. If a business hasn't already been marketed there are no stats to show how much revenue is generated per £1 spent in marketing. Any assumption that marketing will always result in more profit just demonstrates how naive / stupid these vendors are. It's entirely possible to blow a huge budget on marketing ...and get zilch in return!

You'll have to be sharper than that. If you want investment it would be your job to convince investors as to how much you need, what specifically it'll be spent on and how much business it will generate. You need actual numbers. And you'll need to be able to defend / justify any forecast / projection.

I would suggest you don't seek investment till you've done that, er, homework

 

[Clinton]

PS: There are ways to "trigger" an Ofsted inspection but that's a different story.

 

[ryan4444]

Ha! Way to go Clinton, very constructive! Do me a favour and go and sit on your little throne and look down on someone else! If you disagree then you point out your practical advice right there!?? What can I DO with what you have said?

 

[ethical PR]

Has she tried the governments start up loan scheme? How much does she need? Why does she have unexpected costs so soon after starting up which means there is a need for investment.

I'm sure having done her business and marketing plan she knows that nurseries are one of the most difficult businesses to make a profit out of because high costs and that she will need to allow six - twelve months before she can hope to be running at full capacity

 

[fisicx]

And location is everything. You say you are on a main road, can people coming from both directions during the rush hour access your car park and then get back out easily to travel onwards in both directions?

 

[Don Smith]

Surely it's a waiting game? All kids of nursery age are already taken care of so you need to be targeting new and expectant mums, who will be looking for somewhere soon. Where do new mums get together? It's certainly not the library! Schools probably a waste of time as well as second time parents will almost certainly use the trusted nursery their elder sprog went to. I think you need to look at your marketing, and more importantly be realistic on your time scale.

 

[The Byre]

Do me a favour and go and sit on your little throne and look down on someone else!

You will have to excuse our Clinton, but his day-job is to tell people the truth, rather than spout positive, ego-stroking platitudes!

If you take that attitude to finding investors that you are hoping will part with their hard-earned dough (and all of whom will think like Clinton - we all do when it comes to money!) that may explain your hitherto lack of success.

Good and noble intentions and a willing spirit are all hunky-dory, but parting with money at no point involves good and noble intentions and willing spirits. An investor wants facts.

It's a bit like applying for a job. An employer wants a proven track record of achievement. The same goes for investments.

But good luck anyway - you guys sound like a willing bunch, but you need to strap on your listening ears and pay heed to what Clinton and others are telling you. If you are all in it for the long haul and pay heed to the absolute necessity of being able to present hard figures, then you will succeed!

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

Ha! Way to go Clinton, very constructive! Do me a favour and go and sit on your little throne and look down on someone else! If you disagree then you point out your practical advice right there!?? What can I DO with what you have said?

Whether you like it or not - @Clinton's right... and to suggest that he's sitting on his throne looking down... you're quite right! He's earned that right... but with all due respect I don't think he does or has done while I've ever seen his posts, infact most of @Clinton's posts are straight to the point - factual and informative... as @The Byre says... he says it as it is - he wouldn't mollycoddle those that have no idea - in this situation... namely you.

Realistically what would you expect him or anyone to say - Here's my cash spend it as you will - don't worry if you fail it's only money?

You're asking people for money or their help... the only people that help you here right now - is you and your missus... if you can't accept that people won't just hand you cash over, or give you information that you don't like but is far greater of importance to you than that you're already receiving then you've no hope.


With regards to the business - are you pushing it as hard as you can? Have you had an open day - most the nurseries around our end has an open day during specific holidays to get the kids and more importantly the parents through the doors.

 

[Clinton]

If you disagree then you point out your practical advice right there!?? What can I DO with what you have said?

My advice is in my post - it tells you what you need to do (though it does not explain how to do it).

If you don't know how to do it, that's fine. Not everybody does. But if you don't know how to write a business plan, how to do some market research and how to put together an investment proposal, then seek that advice from the many smart members in this forum, or elsewhere. Or get a mentor. Or pay for someone to do it for you.

There is plenty of money around. Have a look at the success of crowdfunding. And there are numerous angel groups springing up every day all over the place. Banks are paying peanuts. No, scrap that. They're charging people to hold their money for them! The world has gone crazy. But one thing's for sure: people with money are desperate for good investment opportunities.

I've done you a favour, and saved you a lot of time, in advising that any amateurish "give me money and I'll go spend it" proposal is unlikely to attract investors. To be fair, it may work with the bank of mum and dad and with close family / friends so if you're unwilling to put some serious effort into finding investors, then raising the funds elsewhere - based on people's connections with you rather than the strength of your business case - is the easier option.

It might help if you lose the attitude. I'm a pussycat compared with investors. If you think I was harsh you'll be crying tears of blood by the time they've finished with you!

 

[deniser]

Surely it's a waiting game? All kids of nursery age are already taken care of so you need to be targeting new and expectant mums, who will be looking for somewhere soon. Where do new mums get together? It's certainly not the library! Schools probably a waste of time as well as second time parents will almost certainly use the trusted nursery their elder sprog went to. I think you need to look at your marketing, and more importantly be realistic on your time scale.

This. If you can link up with antenatal classes such as NCT and local baby and childrenswear shops (if there are any left) that would be good.

It will take time as word of mouth is probably the most important marketing tool. When it's your children, you need plenty of reassurance so other peoples' prior experiences are vital.

 

[MikeJ]

My (very) limited experience with children shows that you need to advertise in local cafes. They seem to be popular from 10-3 with mothers and kids.

 

[Flashh]

I've raised various sums of cash in the past, with differing outcomes. The most was £7M for a freehold retail chain business, the least was £20k from the start up loans organisation. The best was raising 900k for a food business which at the time of fundraising had no product and an unfinished brand....The post money valuation was £2.6M (it now represents some 20% of its niche at the first supermarket it is listed at). So it can be done.

I agree with Clinton, that business plan preparation is vital. It will also help to have tax benefits (EIS/SEIS). As is putting together a list of of target investors. Unless you are well connected, try your accountants/solicitiors, who might be linked in with a regional investor network. You can also use the database resource at the BVCA website. You can also try the re-mortgage route if you own your own property. I am afraid that you will need to show a huge personal commitment to the business before most investors jump on board.

These are just two ways of doing it. Basically it all boils down to having a confident looking business plan, a competent team, knowing your numbers and talking to as many people as possible. You could try crowd funding, but that avenue is becoming a little tarnished at present...

In the example of the food business, he (the founder) had £100 k to use in development work, putting a team together and getting a few listings confirmed before the product was ready. Preparation, preparation, preparation....

 

[ethical PR]

Surely it's a waiting game? All kids of nursery age are already taken care of so you need to be targeting new and expectant mums, who will be looking for somewhere soon. Where do new mums get together? It's certainly not the library! Schools probably a waste of time as well as second time parents will almost certainly use the trusted nursery their elder sprog went to. I think you need to look at your marketing, and more importantly be realistic on your time scale.

Sorry this analysis doesn't actually work in the nursery market - nurseries cater for 0-5 years. Parents will choose to move their child into a nursery for various reasons and at various ages. Some want care for babies from three or six months, much more common is for them to want a place at 1-3 years. It's certainly not the case that 'all kids of nursery age are already taken care of'

The OP's girlfriend issue seems to be not just one of marketing but that she opened a nursery with only a few months cash flow rather than having enough to keep her going for at least a year so she could build up her client base. Hence the fact the OP is already having to bail her out and is looking for investment.