Franchise Update Magazine Issue I, 2016 | Page 61

Female Founders BY EDDY GOLDBERG ARTISTIC VISION Raising a generation that values the power and passion of art T urning your passion into a successful business is every entrepreneur’s dream. Turning it into a business that helps other entrepreneurs realize their dreams is even better. Combine that with helping children realize their own creativity and passion is the best. “We attract people who really want to make a difference,” says Bette Fetter, founder of Young Rembrandts, a children’s drawing program with nearly 100 offices in the U.S. and abroad. Her home-based business, which she started in the Chicago area, soon grew to have 90 teachers working part-time. “The company started out as Bette’s Art Class, but when I incorporated I wanted the name of an artist who was known for his technical skill. Rembrandt is known for his ability to draw and paint, and for his real mastery of art technique,” says Fetter, who, in addition to being an educator, is an artist herself. (See her water color of one of the brand’s students on page 61.) NAME: Bette Fetter TITLE: Founder, CEO BRAND: Young Rembrandts SYSTEM-WIDE REVENUE: $9.5 million NO. OF UNITS: 97 INTERNATIONAL UNITS: 5 PUBLIC OR PRIVATE? Private YEAR COMPANY FOUNDED: 1992 YEAR STARTED FRANCHISING: 2001 YOUR YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 15 Most programs are taught as afterschool enrichment programs in schools, their popularity fueled by cutbacks in public school art budgets. “It’s much more convenient for the parents and also allows more children to participate in the arts,” says Fetter, who’s also written a book, Being Visual: Raising a Generation of Innovative Thinkers. Franchising at Young Rembrandts is based on a managerial model, but Fetter says a passion for children and art is a key ingredient in her most successful franchisees. “We are such a passionate business,” she says, citing research showing that franchisees who are passionate about their product or service do better than those who aren’t. Franchisees hire part-time art teachers, who work mostly in the afternoons after school and in summer programs. They often are veterans of successful corporate careers who possess “serious business skills,” she says. The model allows them to work out of their home and set their own schedule. Fetter says women in business Franchiseupdate I S S U E I , 2016  fu1_youngrembrandts(59-62).indd 59 59 2/7/16 3:48 PM