Soft play

[nm88]

Hi everyone, I'm a complete novice to business here. I would like to set up my own soft play centre. From a bit of searching online I understand I need to think about the location, equipment manufacturers etc, staffing etc. But does anyone have an idea on whether this is actually a profitable business? I know it depends on many factors. I don't have money saved up for this at the moment so I will have to take out a loan for the equipment.

Any pointers will be much appreciated

Thanks

 

[japancool]

That is SUCH an open question, it's impossible to answer.

It might be profitable, it might not. It depends on the demographic of where you open it, and how much advertising you do, amongst other factors.

You need to understand who's going to use it, how many potential customers you have, how much and how often they're willing to pay for it, and what your costs are.

 

[Mark T Jones]

You need to do a lot of focused research before you even think about borrowing money (a lender will want evidence of the research)

Part of the answer to your question - the money isn't in getting Mummy to pay for little Jonny to play

 

[MBE2017]

Hopefully someone with direct experience will comment, all I would say is any business can be profitable, but the ones in my area seem empty for long periods of time to myself, not that my kids are young enough to use them anymore.

If you are serious, I would be trying to talk to other operators and getting as much information as possible, visiting the competitors, see what they do well, and what they do badly. Some competitors will be helpful, others will mislead you in their answers.

Starting with low funds atm is far from ideal IMO. I imagine this is an expensive business to start, and potentially one of those expenses hard up parents could cut back without any real pain, ie swap going to the soft play area for a free visit to a local park. Young kids are unlikely to care too much, as long as they get to play.

 

[fisicx]

You won’t make a profit from the soft play area. All the profit comes from the cafe, parties, special events and other activities.

It’s also going to be dead for most of the week as your customers will all be at school. Which means everything gets crammed into the weekend.

 

[WaveJumper]

There have been post on running soft play areas in the past, huge set up costs etc, H&S nightmare and @fisicx has hit the nail on the head its the cafe, parties and special events which bring in the money. As other have already mentioned you have got a lot more research to do before jumping in, and I would look for current ones for sale and ask yourself why, talking to a'big box' user yesterday energy fees alone are becoming crippling.

 

[DoolallyTap]

How much can you save each month in your piggy bank?
What security do you have for a loan?
When do you expect to open the doors?

 

[HFE Signs]

I would tend to agree with @fisicx, it sounds like a very challenging business, a lot of hard work for little return.

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

As well as the advice above, I would caution against setting up this business without insurance, which will not be cheap. Insurers will also want to know you have all health & Safety measures in place, adequate supervision/first aiders on site etc.

From an Insurance cost perspective, it is unlikely to be a viable business if you have no savings or funds available.

 

[CharlesAllEars]

Forget parties too many large ‘air hop’ (and soft play) chains taking the market.

- Serve incredible coffee for about £2.75 a cup
- have an artisan Bakery style cafe with fresh organic locally sourced food (inc vegan) etc. (competitively priced)
- allow people to bring their own food - but have a brilliant range of really simple kids lunch box deals (carrot sticks, baby triangle sandwiches, Pom bears - you know the drill!)
- have comfy seats and tables with plugs and usb ports
- build an app to automate a simple booking process
- have a community type board within the app
- get a community going, get on social platforms

- and finally…charge a good price for the product you’re selling. Think about it. You’re not really selling ‘fun’ for the kids, well you are sort of. You’re selling a break for the parents/carers, a relaxing way to enjoy looking after the children. I’ve been right through it with both my kids, I’d see huge groups meeting and chatting so much they hadn’t even seen their kids in hours!…but they could because they knew their kids were fine. I’d be there with my laptop and coffee, chuffed in the knowledge I hadn’t paid £80 to the nursery that day. That’s what you’re selling. I think my point is, childcare is extortionate and hybrid working is trending, so done right, there is huge potential and a good healthy growing market in most areas.

Parking is very important depending on the area, passing footfall not so important.

But don’t even bother if you haven’t budgeted for a barista coffee machine!

 

[Karimbo]

Watch all James Sinclair youtube videos, he is in the day car/kids activity business.

 

[Casually made]

Feel like anything public facing with high capital outlay is asking for trouble at the moment

staffing it will be an absolute nightmare too as you will only want to pay peanuts yet need the experience and attention span of mature staff to stop the kids from breaking limbs

Massively area dependent and also garnering a "community aspect will be key"

For me there are easier and less stressful ways to make money

 

[ChrisGoodfellow]

charge a good price for the product you’re selling. Think about it. You’re not really selling ‘fun’ for the kids, well you are sort of. You’re selling a break for the parents/carers,

As a dad of a two year old and a four year old, this really resonates ?. Great tips too, food is important.

We wrote an article summarising the advice on different threads we've had about this in the past that might help -- https://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/...-steps-to-setting-up-a-soft-play-centre.6959/ - Please leave a review if it's useful.

 

[tony84]

I seen a soft play in the manchester evening news that basically turned the ehating off because they could not afford it. It was either that, up prices or close.

I think the trick is to get into a relatively well off area.

Ive been to 3 in the last 8 months (my daughters class mates). One was massive, it was hammered and it was horrible. The bigger kids pushing the smaller kids around, too many kids, too noisy, if there was hell on earth I felt like that was it. I dont think any of the parents in our party were impressed, but in fairness it was the busiest.

The other 2 were a lot smaller. I would take my daughter to those 2 again.

 

[p3morrisond]

Hi,

I own a soft play business, it’s a hard business with so many factors. Will you have a cafe? That’s the money maker, I don’t we do private parties but this year the cost of living has affected business and remember no one goes inside if the suns out so the summer holidays are a write off if nice. What area are you looking at? Do you have front road presence?

 

[tony84]

Hi,

I own a soft play business, it’s a hard business with so many factors. Will you have a cafe? That’s the money maker, I don’t we do private parties but this year the cost of living has affected business and remember no one goes inside if the suns out so the summer holidays are a write off if nice. What area are you looking at? Do you have front road presence?

Can you not make an outside area?

 

[p3morrisond]

Can you not make an outside area?

Unfortunately not as an industrial estate unit

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

it depends on many factors