Meaghan is a franchise expert. She also is young mother. Meaghan has sold franchises for brands like Boston Pizza; Shoeless Joe’s; Academy for Math and English; Mr. Greek; Druxy’s; PostNet and others. She knows the franchise industry inside and out, and there aren’t many people that have sold the range of franchises she has. If you have been looking for a franchise for the past several, there is a good chance you’ve spoken to her in the past.
She also has keen interest in fitness. At a young age, she started up a profitable Swimming Training Academy herself in her parents’ yard, and was a life guard at the University of Ottawa pool.
What franchise did Meaghan and her husband invest in?
Monkeynastix, a global fitness and movement education franchise operating in over 20 countries, with 40,000 registered children between 1-8 years old.
Meaghan operates Monkeynastix in West Toronto and is the person you’ll speak with when inquiring about a Monkeynastix franchise, being responsible for selling the franchise in Canada.
Why? Let’s hear what she has to say.
Meaghan says “After having my first child, I quickly realized I couldn’t put her in child care 50 plus hours a week while I worked. I wanted to do something that used my sales skills, allowed me to work with children, while allowing me to spend time with my baby daughter. We looked at over a dozen franchises, including six in depth. I was very diligent in my selection process due to having a background in franchising. The financials and the business model had to make sense – with the reasonable start-up costs, it seemed relatively low risk to us…
I wanted to start slow while my kids were in diapers and step it up a notch when they were in school. I didn’t want to drop my capital in a physical location, and I wanted to work from home. Monkeynastix allowed me to do all of this while providing a positive life direction as an entrepreneur, fitness instructor and mother.
Six Months in… So far, So good
In under six months, Monkeynastix West Toronto is running in eight-schools, operates in a local community centre, has run several children’s birthday parties, and set up a unique partnership with a local gym. “Once daycares try the program in a demonstration, the kids act as my best sales agents. The program is that good. I have won over half the schools I have shown Monkeynastix to.” states Meaghan.
There are some other benefits according to her, “It’s kind of cool going around the neighborhood being recognized by children, and chatting with their parents. I really feel like an integral part of the community. I am looking forward to my daughter joining the program next year!”
What was it like Getting Started?
Meaghan wasn’t ensured such a speedy launch, and felt the support of the head office, “I used to work with Hendry and Jennifer when I was selling the franchise several years ago. I knew I could trust them, were filled with passion, and would support my business until I was walking myself. They recently revamped the website, gave me my own site, and taught me how to manage it. Hendry came out selling with me, and taught me the ropes. I also did the instructor training along with my first employee, which was an intense and instructive few days.”
A Unique Perspective
Given her background, Hendry and Jennifer offered Meaghan the opportunity to represent Monkeynastix as their National Sales Director. She accepted the role, and Meaghan is your first point of contact when inquiring about Monkeynastix. She muses “I find that if you do your research, you’ll make the right decision when buying a franchise. I can’t ‘sell’ any franchise, but I can answer your questions to the best of my ability in a no pressure manner. Hopefully, you feel as comfortable with the investment as I did. For me, buying the franchise was made easier because a) I had seen the program in action and the look on kids’ faces; b) I trusted the Franchisors and was keen on working with them, and; c) the numbers made sense to my husband and I.”
