We’re doing, as I may have mentioned, the ludicrously priced but lots of fun Waterbabies course at the moment. At our introductory session the manager for the Basingstoke branch was trying to convey how much passion people have for Waterbabies – by explaining how he and his wife both chucked their jobs to take it on full time.
To me, the message was: this is one awesome business opportunity. A little arithmetic confirms it: the courses cost about £14 per 30 minute session per baby, there are about 6 babies per session, and there must be at least 10-12 sessions per day at the weekend. Simple arithmetic – one branch could be taking £2000+ per weekend, plus the weekday sessions. That’s one heckuva business model, given the franchise nature of the business.
They give away loads of branded stuff – swimming suits (ostensibly to protect the pool, but also to promote Waterbabies when parents take their little ones elsewhere) and carshades (which parents will use when they take their kids out to places where other parents and kids go). Cunning, low-cost marketing.
So they’re clever chappies. Emily is beginning to enjoy it so we’ll have to give a second term some proper thought – although I must confess her only no-cry session was when Daddy wasn’t in charge of looking after her in the pool :-(.