Kayla Opperman has earned good money from her job as an engineer. But when her daughter was a baby, she grew tired of the long hours at the office. She also realized that there was a limit to how much she could make working for someone else. “I worked hard to get an engineering degree,” she says, “so I didn’t want to give that up completely. But I started researching if there were any franchises that involved engineering. And that’s when I came across Snapology.” “
Snapology is a children’s STEM and robotics brand founded in 2010 and now has 130 locations across the country. But in 2018, there was nowhere in Colorado where Opperman lived, and she saw it as a great opportunity. When she visited the headquarters, she liked how happy everyone seemed, so she did. Six years later, she and her husband own five units and one with Class 101, a college planning franchise. Here she talks about scaling strategies, working with your spouse, and the importance of friendships with other franchisees.
Related: She cashed in $100,000 of her retirement savings to start a business. Here’s what happened.
They scaled up to five units fairly quickly. How was it?
Snapology has proven to be a good choice for many reasons, but especially when it comes to scaling. In the beginning we basically lived off my husband’s salary and I reinvested in the business to further expand. Ten months later I was in the green with my first franchise and a year later I bought my second franchise. A few years later I bought three more units, which made sense because I had gotten to know my market and my customer base and knew I wanted these other areas.
How did you and your husband make the decision to work together?
It was just starting to make sense. When COVID happened, he started working remotely, so he got involved in my business affairs. After a while, he was working full-time at Snapology, full-time at his engineering job, and also taking care of two children. So it was like something had to give. He stopped maybe eight months after I bought those extra units and it was great. We don’t really have a work-life balance, more of a work-life integration. But that works for us. We go out on a date and talk a lot about business, but that’s because we like talking about it.
Snapology was acquired by Unleashed Brands after you joined. How was it for you?
For me it meant more resources. I truly love and care about Laura Coe, the founder and now CEO of Snapology, but I knew she needed a smart exit plan, like any strong business owner would. Of course I was selfishly sad, but it all made sense to me. I was just excited to have more smart people and more resources around me.
What are your plans for further growth?
Well, with Snapology we’re pretty much at our limits. I also feel like it would be difficult to own a Snapology remotely. I’m from the Chicago area and have been thinking about opening one in my hometown, but I just don’t think it’s possible. But Class 101 focuses on high school students. At Snapology I work with elementary aged children, and at some point they will reach grade 101 age. So I would like to have Class 101 everywhere in my Snapology area.
Do you have any advice for other potential franchisees?
Talk to other franchisees. We rely on each other for our ideas and a special bond is created when we train together. They are my best friends now. The other thing is that when you buy a franchise, I think you have to make it your full-time commitment. When people buy a franchise while they’re still working another job, they build it up so slowly that they end up failing because they have to pay royalties. That’s why I say to anyone who is thinking about it: you have to give it your full attention.
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