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
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