Growing a Franchise
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Sonia Batra always knew she wanted to become an entrepreneur and start her own business, but it took raising her 6-year-old twins to realize that becoming a Lightbridge Academy franchisee was the route for her.
Sonia Batra is working to bring a new childcare company to Matawan, New Jersey. The area's latest Lightbridge Academy center will be opening this June.
Batra noticed the need for this unique and specialized childcare in the community and after having children of her own, she knew it would be a great fit for her next career path. Unlike many early child-care services, Lightbridge Academy strives to foster an early educational experience for kids.
Since the Matawan community is filled with commuters en route to New York City, Batra hopes to provide an easy and beneficial service to the many growing families who are looking for the type of childcare that will grant them peace of mind while they work full-time.
What were you doing before partnering with Lightbridge?
I immigrated here from India about 17 years ago. Before going into franchising, I was working for a renowned pharmaceutical company in the pharmacovigilance sector while finishing up my doctoral degree in epidemiology.
How did you learn about Lightbridge and what made you ultimately decide to commit?
I have been thinking about starting my own business for a while but didn’t know what the right industry would be. I have 6-year-old twins and they really inspired me to go down the path of child care, which eventually led me to Lightbridge. To give it to complete attention and learn more about the child care business, I left my professional job recently.
Lightbridge stood out among other businesses because of their family-oriented business structure. We wanted a business that was close to our home in North Brunswick and aligned with our goals as business owners.
Why is the Matawan the perfect market for your Lightbridge business?
The Matawan area is the right mix of family life and local business. A lot of the residents in the area work in New York City and take the train into the city. We are really close to the train station and bus stop so I think we could be of great assistance for working parents with young kids who need a convenient place to drop their children off, too, in addition to the services and attention they'll be receiving from us.
What kind of marketing initiatives have you done so far to promote your new business?
We are trying to become a part of the community and have been sponsoring local sports teams and events. We are a member of the Matawan Chamber of Commerce and participated in many of their local programs. Additionally, we hope to partner with businesses in town to provide childcare for their workers who have kids to help bring awareness regarding the type of early childhood education we can provide.
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About the Author
Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.
