private members' club for families

[pippiLS]

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?

[SolomanDaisy]

I would pay, but I would expect free drinks, classes to be included and some supervised sessions where I could leave DS and sit with a drink. The all inclusive gym next to my house has a creche and an adult area with serve yourself drinks. It costs more than you'd be charging, but if you are going for membership then you really have to include something. Noone is going to pay membership fees for a tiny soft play area, unsupervised toys which most people have at home and a skeleton staff.

[pippiLS]

littledrummergirl, you're not asking for much for your £2 per day, are you??

BackforGood, I've never enjoyed the Church hall parent and toddler groups and they aren't comfy and welcoming.

YoniMitchell, so what would your perfect family club look like? I don't have your experience so perhaps I'm way off the mark in imagining a place that brings people together so that they can share ideas and resources to make each others lives easier. Somewhere that the members can identify with and that they will come to care about - does that happen?

[EldonAve]

Look at Gambado, Cupcake (I think they closed?) also Bertie & Boo Adventure Island

[Wantsunshine]

I really like the idea and I would pay that amount. It does seem reasonable. I am hoping you are thinking of opening in Berkshire!

[Chippednailvarnish]

You sound like the sort of small business owner who has lots of ideas, normally related to things being lovely.
However when it comes to looking at real life you're totally clueless.
There's some very clued up women on this thread who are all telling you things you don't want to hear about your fees, you would do well to listen to them.

[WorraLiberty]

I want to know more about the cinema.

What sort of movies would it show and how many staff will you need to run it?

[theyoniwayisnorthwards]

I am a member of Maggie and rose and pay 800 a year. It's a family membership no matter how many kids you have so it becomes more cost effective the more kids you have. It's been worth every penny, we're not loaded but I would sacrifice a holiday for this because with two under 4 it adds more to my quality of life than a week away would. They do offer a roof garden, classes, parties at Xmas and Easter etc. I spent lots of time in loud, dirty, overpriced venues for kids before we signed up.
There's a waiting list to join so obviously a demand, it is Chiswick though so lots of money and lots of young families. Everyone I have brought in as a guest has loved it and most people thought it was a crazy idea when I described it.

[theyoniwayisnorthwards]

Oh and the 'cinema' can just be a projector screen showing cbeebies and Disney DVDs

[maddening]

we pay £180 per yer for Chester zoo family membership - I wouldn't pay the same or more unless it was very special - I would expect classes for free.

things that would get my attention would be a great outdoor space - possibly with animals, fab outdoor play, fab indoor play, a free swimming pool which was child friendly. I would expect nice extras too. I wouldn't join a soft play - I don't go often enough and it isn't special enough.

lots of attraction groups do annual family passes for the same amount or less which give access to amazing venues such as national trust, the Alton towers group, programs etc and you aren't tied to one place.

[BiscuitCrumb]

I wouldn't join because I just wouldn't go to the same place all the time. It would drive me mad. One off visits, a visit a month maybe. But not daily or weekly.

Something like thisight appear nice, manyums would bite your arm off for something like this in their town but I really don't see it being profitable. You would need more than 1 kitchen member of staff. People need holiday, people get sick - you'd be their employer and paying everything that goes with being their employer. You'd need someone promoting, advertising, maintaining web sites etc... You'd need more than 1 cleaner I'd imagine staying on top of cleaning. You need trained first aiders. You need more hands on deck for parties etc... I think staff costs, set up coats and supplies would be too high to make this kind of venture profitable.

[WorraLiberty]

So they'd be watching exactly what they could watch at home with their babies?

I think the cinema is definitely an unnecessary waste of the OP's time and money.

[BiscuitCrumb]

God bloody typos are horrendous - good luck translating that!

[YoniMitchell]

I think your thinking is along the right lines re. People meeting up, hanging out etc but I'd expect things like food and drink to be better/cheaper than other places I could go to as a parent, activities to be included in the membership fees (classes, demonstrations etc.) plus other perks to being a member (eg preferential rates/deals with partner businesses, that kind of thing). Otherwise why would I bother paying membership then paying standard prices again for something similar to what's already on offer? I would also expect the venue to be something better than offered elsewhere in my area. It must offer enough variety or perks for it to be worth visiting on a frequent basis.

What do you mean about 'caring about' the place? In a benevolent/want to look after it kind of way, or just somewhere I like enough to want to pay to keep going to? I want to care about my private club membership in that it gives me something I can't get elsewhere.

Granted this will be expensive to deliver, so that's why I don't think £10 a week will be viable unless you have thousands of members, which then makes it feel less special as it's likely to be pretty crowded, then you question the 'value' of paying in the first place when you really could just be in any usual 'open to the public' place.

People might be prepared to pay more for membership of somewhere special with real benefit to membership, iygwim.

[NearTheWindymill]

We are members of a London sports club - waiting list presently 15 years. It's expensive but membership means access to dining facilities, coffee facilities, playground, swimming, tennis lessons, all sorts of other lessons when they were tiny, nanny included and all extremely safe. We must have used it every day until they were teenagers - dd used it almost every day last summer holidays. Very safe, very nice, very cool albeit rather more expensive than £500 per annum but if I'm parting with money I want something really really good and soft play with coffee and catering to just one sector really wouldn't have cut it for me.

They loved soft play but a tenner once a month during the winter was more than enough - we could meet friends in the park and come home for a coffee whilst the dc played in the garden.

There's spending money on something good and there's wasting money imo.

Sorry OP.

[pippiLS]

Chipped, I'm listening.

Thanks for all the opinions, from what I can gather, I need to charge more and offer more.

I'm not sure Bury St Edmunds is on a par with London in terms of charging more.

[Artandco]

Pippi - you really need way more staff and expense

We are members of maggie and rose, and have been to purple dragon a few times via friends. Maggie and rose must have 10 staff in the building at a time. That's for serving/ cleaning/ cooking/ few classes at once/ admin etc. purple dragon had many many more ( but actual entertainers and full restaurant)

So memberships paid so technically '£2' each visit. ( if used every day). Then it's £2.50 for coffee, drink for kids £2 x2 kids. Maybe a snack or stay for quick lunch. Easily £10 extra at each visit. If a friend comes its £10 extra per child. Oh and if I want them to do a class ie cooking/ music etc its £150-250 extra per term per child

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

OP, it might be worth trying to work at a Maggie and rose type place for a while to get a better insight.

[pippiLS]

TheDoctrine that's a good idea but unfortunately I'm not in London. I've read pretty much every word Maggie Bolger has said on the subject though and seen loads of images and a few videos. I can see what changes she has made for her new Chiswick venue. There doesn't seem to be much profit to be made but I'm not looking to get rich - I don't like the idea of ripping people off but I do like the idea of providing a service to make peoples lives easier and of a sense of community and sharing resources.

Another part of my vision is to provide a safe environment for mothers (who may be feeling vulnerable about returning to the work place) to develop their skills; inspirational lectures, IT support, CV/job hunting etc.

[notapizzaeater]

Have you checked the accounts out for the venues mentioned ?

[pippiLS]

notapizza, I read that M&R had 36K profit in 2011.

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

Sure start centres do some of that return to work stuff.

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

Could you commute?

[pippiLS]

I would like to offer mums the chance to be involved in running the odd class if that's their thing (with some basic coaching provided so that they are aware of the standard expected) and I want the whole thing to have an educational slant. In fact what I really want is to open the doors and offer the service to people who can't afford it,but someone's got to pay for it.

Storytelling sessions with mums taking it in turn if they want to, cooking classes with those who can showing those who can't how to do it…I know, I know, dream on...