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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

private members' club for families

474 replies

pippiLS · 20/04/2014 11:32

So do you think £10 per week for access to a stylish child-friendly club (with tasteful soft play areas etc) is a big ask?

DH thinks it's too much and no none would pay it whereas I think £520 for annual membership of a place where people with babies/toddlers go and meet other mums/dads/nannies, have a decent coffee (maybe even a tasty, healthy lunch), relax in comfort and attend classes with their little ones is an OK price to pay.

Am I being unreasonable to be considering opening such a place as a business venture?

OP posts:
Dinosaurporn · 21/04/2014 21:39

I meant a job in an area you are interested in, to get some experience, because frankly you seem quite lacking in any business sense.

TalkinPeace · 21/04/2014 21:39

pippi
You have a job.
It clearly pays you enough that you have not needed to use sure start.
It clearly uses up enough of your hours that you are not roaming the streets of the town counting the clapped out cars.

You are reinventing the wheel in a town that has lots of stairs.

Take on board what people are saying and rethink your strategy from knowledge not aspirations

ravenAK · 21/04/2014 21:46

Tbh, I think one woman start-ups in a sweetly fluffy field aren't really a thing any more, unless you have serious capital & relevant experience behind you.

You are looking at what you'd like to do - not what your area hasn't got & needs. Maybe there's a real demand for a drycleaners or a PC repair shop or a chippy or a bike shop, & someone with those skills & experience could take advantage of that; but you just can't create a need that isn't there for an expensive, non-essential luxury product with non-existent profit margins.

Too many Shirley Conran novels OP! Wink.

Lovecat · 21/04/2014 22:02

Something a friend of mine has done in our area is a kid's club night, once a month. She hires a hall and sells tickets in advance, her and some other mums do it as a profit share, one of them has a DH who is a professional DJ and they use his rig/records so no hire costs there, they set up tables in the back and sell cakes they've baked and buy in sweets/drinks and flashing deeley boppers/necklaces/tat from Makro and sell at a (small) profit, blow up some balloons and let the kids loose. She and another mum will lead some dancing (Macarena/Locomotion/ChaCha Slide kind of dances) but otherwise it runs itself - I think one of them has a first aid cert. They run 2 sessions, an earlier one for toddlers/KS1 and a later one for KS2 ages. All done and dusted by 7.30pm.

I don't think she makes a huge amount (I haven't asked her!) but it's a fun afternoon/early evening out.

theyoniwayisnorthwards · 21/04/2014 22:28

Google 'Katie's club', it's a pop up members club that moves around difference areas on different days and hires venue.

Not used it so no feedback but I do think there's a gap in the market for SAHP/parents who work part time/flexibly, who want somewhere relaxing and nice to bring young kids, or want a few hours downtime but don't feel comfortable leaving kids in a crèche, don't want to sign up to nursery and can't afford or justify a nanny.

JennySense · 21/04/2014 22:47

OP - she's only just sold and is going to take time out and then set up another business ;)

Someone mentioned up the thread a similar idea to mine. I could see "Bury St Edmonds Baby" [crap name] hiring different venues around the town for different events, getting a rep for quality with parents. Researching the market, growing, testing out different events...

Look at Baby Disco for inspiration too.

TheDoctrineOfSnatch · 21/04/2014 22:54

Hated Baby Disco, FWIW...but a friend loved it!

aquashiv · 21/04/2014 23:00

a stylish child-friendly club (with tasteful soft play areas etc) is a big ask?

Are we channelling soft hues and mood lights with muffled soundproof glass if so I am in ...esp if you can lock them in whilst I drink gin.

ChasedByBees · 21/04/2014 23:36

OP, I know that you've been thoroughly deflated here, and good thing too, this idea is insane.

You're reducing the number of staff because you can't afford them, but you need them to run this type of enterprise. With a skeleton staff:

  • who will check my membership when I walk in?
  • who will make sure people who aren't members don't walk in?
  • what systems will you have in place to ensure my child doesn't walk out while I'm distracted for a moment?
  • who will I complain to when someone's darling is expressing themselves by whacking my DD over the head with a tasteful wooden toy?
  • who will administer first aid after this?
  • how will you cover sick leave / 25 days holiday for your staff?

Honestly, without enough staff, you will not be able to offer a 'service' as people make that - not tasteful furnishings which will be no doubt covered in baby vomit as there aren't enough people to clean it.

I can't see how it would be safe with the staff numbers you propose. It could end up like Lord of the flies.

That's before we get onto the utterly dubious financing figures of -20% and /4. Some figures are not compressible as others have pointed out. Honestly you need to get some business training as the fact you've even thought this shows huge naivety.

With membership capped at 100, as someone else has said, the place will be dead. I've been to a soft play where poor DD was there alone. I felt so sad for her.

Your target audience (as has been pointed out by just about everyone but I've just read this with incredulity) is really unfocused. Are you aiming at women who have money to spare and want exclusivity or aiming to help women who need retraining? As everyone else has said, these are such different markets.

It also can't be a co-op with women helping each other for free if they're paying equivalent to a gym membership charge for the privilege. Why would anyone pay to work? Even if you offer free membership to those that run classes, it's a huge obligation, why would they do that for a private business? For a sure start centre, maybe. I found the volunteers there enthusiastic and welcoming, but not as professional as I'd like from somewhere where I was paying for sleek, calming environment. And if I pay over the odds for a baby class I would be massively unimpressed if that person was a lightly trained volunteer.

You would need to up your staff numbers, up your membership and massively, massively up your capital.

The village hall, DIY type affair works really well, it's not profitable but it allows the mixing, women together type air (btw, would my SAH DH be excluded from these?) but doesn't have the design aspect you're going for.

My toddler projectile vomited all over me a couple of days ago, so as much as I love calm, well designed places, they are not the first place I think about going with DD.

Sorry for repeating everyone else and also the thread has moved on I know, but I was quite astonished by this business model.

DodderyOldSoul · 22/04/2014 09:07

OP - did you look at running a Little Gym? The one near us is very posh.

pippiLS · 22/04/2014 16:42

This thread has really helped to bring things into perspective for me so thank you all for that. Today I met with some rl friends (2 of whom where born and bred in the area, I'm not) and they liked my idea in so much as they agreed that the town (and wider area) could do with a private members club and people would pay (5K?). I'm now leaning more towards a grown up space for business people (a sort of social hub for work from homers) that can accommodate kids on an informal basis. Maybe somewhere that can host business groups (by buying in lunch rather than cooking it on site) etc etc As you can see my creative juices are still flowing :)

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 22/04/2014 16:54

Sorry but as someone who works from home quite a lot myself I wouldn't set foot in a place that allowed children if I was working.

TalkinPeace · 22/04/2014 17:00

unless it had a creche Wink

pinkdelight · 22/04/2014 17:06

5k sounds a lot if you meant that as an annual fee. Dunno what Groucho charges, but Bafta's a tenth of that and pretty sure the Hospital club's only a grand or so a year for lush facilities and events etc. Might pay more for proper office space and crèche facilities on tap but still sounds a lot. Only place I know that's similar is Third Door in Wandsworth which I considered joining but went for local childcare and just wfh without the social aspect.

Still, good that you're being flexible. Sure you'll get there...

Creamycoolerwithcream · 22/04/2014 17:07

The new idea sounds even worse than the first one.

pinkdelight · 22/04/2014 17:16

I agree that if it was a viable model, it would already exist. It's not like people haven't been grappling with childcare problems and totally missed this great solution. The figures won't stack up again. I just meant you'll 'get there' with something, one day, if your wisdom and business sense matches your stamina and optimism'

TalkinPeace · 22/04/2014 17:17

My gym membership is £195 a month
I (and DH and my two children) get access to the pool, the gym, the studio classes, the adults coffee lounge, the family coffee lounge, free wifi, the children's play area.
The creche is open 10 am to 1pm every day, or the day nursery is downstairs, next to the beauty salon.

Lots of self employed and business people use the lounge for work and meetings.
There isn't a printer, but there is free parking, and a car wash by the tennis courts.

Know your market and your competition.

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 22/04/2014 17:17

Shore ditch house is less than a grand IIRC

LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood · 22/04/2014 17:18

I'm sorry. I know you are trying hard. But. ...it's just no..

We don't want to pay in advance for soft play or all the other things you suggest. It's just no. It's not what we want.
Sorry.

TheDoctrineOfSnatch · 22/04/2014 17:40

OP, I have Regus gold membership. I have no idea what it costs but I'm sure my employer wouldn't pay £5k pa for it... This enables me to work at any Regus business lounge in the country. I can also book meeting rooms and lunches.

There are lots of shared workspaces in London where you get a desk every day if you want for £300 PCM or less if you are happy to come at off peak times. Ok, there's no childcare but you said you didn't want to run a crèche. How would you picture the childcare side working? How would you cover ratios if people are coming in ad hoc? What would the charges be for childcare? You can't accommodate kids on an informal basis - either the parent is still in charge, in which case where is the peace and quiet, or you need to think about inspections and ratios and staffing.

pippiLS · 22/04/2014 18:10

This Farmer's Club is what is currently available in terms of private members clubs in the area. Apparently it is dull, dull, dull and mostly used for the parking.

OP posts:
Artandco · 22/04/2014 18:29

The hurlingham club is less than £5k a year. And one of the most prestigious in the uk

dannychampionoftheworld · 22/04/2014 18:32

I admire entrepreneurial spirit but, sorry, I agree with the vast majority on this thread. I see your main problems as being:

  • Start up costs: £2m for Maggie and Rose, as someone mentioned before, if you borrow money that is a big risk. If you use your own money and it fails you will lose it all. Also bear in mind that you will not make a profit straight away so you will have to factor in the loss you will probably make in the first year or so into the start up. A lot of people who start business have serious family money/friends with a spare half a million and that's how they do it.

  • General running costs: will be big, especially if one of your USPs is everything being very 'naice', cosy and pretty. This will mean that everything will have to be in good condition. Things will wear out and quickly begin to look tatty, and will need replacing. People don't mind this so much at Sure Start but they will if they are paying a premium for niceness.

  • Staff: the usual hassle, employment law considerations, you will need more than you think, what if they go on holiday, people move on from these sorts of jobs quickly etc.

  • USP: is it going to be the classes? If so, you will need to hire teachers who are really engaging and really know their stuff, are on board with all the latest trendy-baby stuff.

  • Contradictory business ethic: as others have pointed out, do you want it be a helpful feminist co-op where women help each other or an exclusive comfy place where people just go to have a nice time?
  • Shifting client base: unless it is massive, you will only be able to cater for narrow age ranges. The kids will grow out of it. Yes, they may have younger siblings, but then the parents will surely want a place where all the kids can be entertained.

As for other ideas - does it HAVE to involve kids? It sounds like you might prefer running a straightforward coffee shop or book shop (not that those are any easier but they don't have the complications of your idea).

On a more prosaic level, yes, if you bought a town-centre commercial property and did it up, you could perhaps rent meeting space to freelancers etc... The kid thing isn't going to fit though. You can't have a conference call with kids yelling in the background. Unless the creche was in the basement etc but then you'd need qualified staff...

MrsCakesPremonition · 22/04/2014 18:32

But BSEFC costs less than £1k for family membership plus a dedicated parking space.

Caitlin17 · 22/04/2014 18:32

Your new idea sounds even more unfocused.

The Farmers' Club might be dull but it's offering business facilities and free parking for not a huge amount.

What do you mean by "accommodate kids on an informal basis" ?