Once Upon a Child, also known as Once Upon a Child (Oceana) is the biggest franchise in the United States specializing in resale gently used children’s clothes, baby equipment, toys, and other baby supplies! The chain is run by Jon Binkley, who started his business at the age of fifteen after he got fired from his first job because it did not meet the minimum requirements of his certification. Years later, he realized that children deserve a chance for a better life, so he bought Oceana and began his journey as an entrepreneur and reseller of children’s products.
The original franchise agreement contained the following language: “The company and each of its respective franchisees will use in the operation of the Company and each of its respective offices the names once known as Once Upon a Child or Some Other Title, with the term, ‘Once Upon a Child’ to describe the business operations during the term of this Agreement.” The language was later changed to state the following: “PE’s [product] may be offered for sale, rent, hire, or other forms of direct transaction between Customer and Company.” Jon Binkley believes the change was done to circumvent legal issues that could come up if the product was being sold under the name of Once Upon a Child. Whatever the case, the franchise agreement remains the same today and has been used successfully by many franchisees.
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Once Upon a Child Location and Demand
Once Upon a Child requires two key components to be effective for any franchisee to become successful: location and demand. The location for Once Upon Child stores must be located within a metropolitan area that has a significant amount of population. The franchisees must then market the products they sell within the same area in order to build strong customer service ties and establish their brand name. If the location is selected correctly, the franchisees may have little trouble meeting the demand requirements, which can increase gross sales exponentially!
The second component of the Once Upon a Child franchise agreement is relatively simple and self-explanatory. The franchisor may choose any method to generate sales tax and financial receipts for the funds generated by the business. This ability allows the franchisor to choose from several options for financing and royalty revenue sharing. Many franchisees choose to receive money from the franchisor before they receive any of their royalty payments or sales tax returns.
Once upon a Time Franchise Training
In most franchise agreements, the franchisor requires that franchisees either offer training in the operation of the business or take an initial franchise training course. This requirement, while intended to protect the interests of the franchisor, can often force franchisees into a contract that they cannot comply with and could result in legal action against them. Most franchise programs offer a wide range of training and support to new children and their parents. Unfortunately, there are often stipulations in franchise contracts that require new children to participate in a training program before they are allowed to open the business. While this requirement may seem harsh, it is often designed to prevent a franchisee from simply disobeying the terms of the agreement and running their business without a license. For example, if the contract stipulates that new children must partake in an initial franchise training class, then if a franchisee refuses to participate in the program, they could be subject to legal action.
The third component of this contract is rather ambiguous. Some franchisees wonder what type of payments to the franchisor requires new children to play as part of their royalties. The good news is that the terms of this component are not legally binding. However, a careful review of the contractual language will allow franchisees to understand what types of payments the company will not hesitate to make.
Often, a franchisee will receive a large upfront payment from the parent company for their troubles and use that money to purchase all the inventory and gently used kids’ products they need to operate their business. Some parents will continue to make these payments even as their children grow up and start earning their own income. In addition, some franchises provide the parent company with a percentage of the revenues earned by each of the new children who join the franchise as well.
Once upon a child Instagram Page
So you see, it is possible to have a once upon a child’s business built while keeping your children from feeling entangled in the complicated contract terms. In fact, this is exactly why many new parents are choosing to start their own businesses rather than signing an agreement that restricts them. When you purchase gently used children’s products from someone else, you do not have to worry about whether or not that product is still in pristine condition. You can simply visit us and for updated news and details on new products and gently used children’s apparel.
