I'm favoured, Getting my own Truck has always been my Dream for my business. I just acquired 2 recently, earning $32K weekly has been really helpful. I can now give back to the locals in my community and also support Charity Organizations.
Yes! I'm celebrating £32K stock portfolio today... Started this journey with £3K.... I've invested no time and also with the right terms, now I have time for my family an…
when someone is straight forward and good at what she does best. People will always speak for them. For me I can would say give Mrs Jenna Brooklyn of finance education a try and you be happy you did
I don't know how I got here. I opened youtube to find some music to play in the background while I work, now I'm 15 minutes into evaluating whether a soft play empire is for me or not.
This particular pooh-trap has also captured me. Walking down a country lane, then BAM, hanging upside down from my leg from a RUclips tree, building my soft-play empire.
I think I learned more about running in a business in 15 minutes watching your video than I did in 20 years working for a multinational corporation. Thank you for being so open, honest and frank about your business and what you've learned. I wish you every success.
i wonder if he has some business degree? hes definetly a very good businessman when ive seen most business owners are clueless idiots. fun fact thou even super duper smart long term businesses can close ie the entire legacy car makers of the west will be bancrupt within 5 years thanks to chinese electric cars. BUT if you arent as smart as this James is dont even try getinng involved in any business.
I came to this video thinking it was an ad, wondering where the sell was. I left this video with knowledge and as a subscriber. Your delivery is exceptional, congratulations on your well deserved success
Just been looking at companies house, and checking out his portfolio of companies. He’s legit for sure and worth a few quid. He has 12 active directorships so this man knows what he is talking about. Hats off to the knowledge and sharing of info. Nice one.
@ where do you find the time? Even if all these were managed by a trusted and faithful manager, and with your YT channel you have to be doing 12-16hrs a day? Similar to Daniel Louisey from Asheville, another of my YT subs. Where is your work/life balance set James? Recreation, partner, relaxation etc? Serious question!!!
@@Grumpygrandad68 I do work every day, but I don’t manage any of it. It’s just not my skill set; never has been. I’ve always employed people to do the managing. I am growing the companies they’re operating them. I think “who can do this better than me not how can I do this”
@ do you find it difficult seeking the right trusted manager? What is retention like James? You must have such trust and treat them well, it’s the only way. Carrot or stick?
Not sure why this video popped up on my feed, thought I’d give it a watch for a couple mins regardless. Ended up watching the entire video and subscribing. Your delivery and knowledge/information is valuable within any business, keep up the great work!
I know Larysa Caba. she trades for everyone I have come across. I met her twice at a meeting in Germany and after her lectures from Ella I had to personally ask her to be my financial advisor. she is definitely good.
Most books repeat the same old advice, but Uncommon Paths to Wealth by Borlest is different. It’s filled with strategies that changed the way I think about success
The value in these videos is insane, Thank you so much for telling us how it really is in business and giving us advice on how to improve the business model!!! This is why I watch every video you post on here. 🔥🔥🔥
Haha. This is a question our parent friends ask ourselves. “How much do they make?” Can’t believe this was the first video recommended to me this morning. Wow, great communication, now subscribed. Thanks for the amazing content!
i love seeing successful entrepreneurship stories like this. people who dedicate their life and time to master a niche and know so much about it are geniuses in my eyes
Would be great to see a video from you, James, regarding company structures, holding companies, LLP, etc etc. When would you need to do any of these, the benefits, etc.
I did the numbers on a soft play centre near me and realised it wasn't making much money at all and couldn't understand why they wouldn't add more functionality and services into the huge space. You sir have confirmed my worries and my ideas!
I’m a business owner. I know and practice a lot of this stuff, but still found your video really interesting, especially as you’re in very different sectors. You should definitely go and talk at colleges or universities if you can find the time. I’d have loved to have someone like you come and talk to me when I was an 18-year-old business studies student.
When you were talking it felt like it was me talking. I love that my thinking is becoming so alike to yours! Learnt alot from you! Looking forward to our podcast in Jan! The business has scaled a fair bit since I applied 👀
So weird that this vid randomly popped up, me and the wife have talked about starting a similar business in our local area also doubling as a nursery, this vid was a great insight and might give us a bit more motivation to look into it more! Great Vid 👍👍
My area used to have 4 of these playcentres now it's only got two, and one of them is opening and closing seems shakey. The one that's doing well is open late doing bowling, lazer tag, astropitch soccer etc. and is part of a national chain. The thing I saw cited as crushing them was insurance costs. Lots of news articles about 90k quotes. The particular clientele you get in these spots can be unusually litigious. I think taxes on these type of businesses in Ireland is quite favorable which is why so many farmers are incorporating petting zoo's or other tourism and leisure elements. Maybe insurance is more competitive in the UK we have a lot monopolies over here with insurers and banking.
Started the video thinking this place looks familiar, only for you to confirm my suspicion😂Been to that exact same location when I was a kid roughly 15 years ago. Grown up now and finding out who the owner is a full circle moment😂Great video, appreciate the knowledge and also for giving me a good memory to look back to
Quality video, my mum had a soft play business but didn't have the location or scale. Skipping middle men: Buying direct from Manufacturers in China, India etc is great but they will still be using middle men, generally you're moving the problem around and the manufacture will charge you a fee to sort that problem on top of the middle mans margin, which is hid in the invoice. Might be worth re-looking at :)
Really insightful thanks. Do you have any videos on the specific systems and processes that you put in place for your businesses? It seems like that is the most important aspect of scaling, so would be great to see a video on it
Used to work at one and the owner said if they had their time again they wouldn't do it, because the risk of getting sued for injuries is so high. A kid bumped their head and won £180k (company at fault), which was really tight on the business. A woman claimed she fell down the stairs but cctv proved that as false. So i think he was stressed more about getting sued absorbing funds rather than turnover
Great video, good content and well made. I have always wondered how much money soft play centres make, as I do with every business I encounter. I enjoy learning about the business “hacks” that mean some businesses thrive and others die in the same market. Thanks for sharing your wisdom
Hi James, love the content! I'm curious how much of your daily life do your businesses take up? Does thinking, organising, and running them consume most of your day? If you were just an employee in your own businesses, earning let's say £40k and working 8 hours a day with 16 hours of personal time and no stress, would you prefer that lifestyle?
I’m absolutely addicted to work. I love working. I do some work every day - even if it’s just mental thinking. So yes I am consumed. It’s in my DNA. I love my family and wife too, but they get who I am.
I know that woman (Mary Elizabeth Webb) If you were born and raised in new York you'd know too, No Bingle doubt she is the one that helped you get where you arell
I'd love to see you make a video on how much you think building a business is down to luck, how much to strategy & what these things do to aid or hinder your risks/diversification.
Morning James. I’ve been waiting for you to do a video on this subject as it’s something I’ve been interested in doing for years.Id like to have a soft play and themed mini golf next to each other possibly sharing the kitchen,we have nothing round our way like this.Unfortunately I’ve spent last ten years being busy earning a living in the plumbing industry so never got round to turn ing my dream into reality.I will be coming to you course next year so hopefully I can grow my plumbing business and step back from the tools allowing me to follow me dreams.
Fantastic video and what a guy! Really open and honest appraisal of the leisure and hospitality industry - well presented and nicely animated. Best of luck with the business and thank you for sharing your story. You've got a new subscriber!
Really interesting video. Having spent countless hours at Soft plays over the past 6 years, it's very eye opening. I would note that in your calcs around 7 mins- surely only 16.67% of the gross £1 would be VAT (not 20%)?
I'm in hospitality and am around ~33% profit margin across my 27 Airbnb's. Hearing aiming for 10% is good, made me feel slightly wealthier lol as 4 years in, still not used to that feeling of keeping the minority of what one brings in
lol. From garbage tiktoks, I stumble upon this. What a knowledgeable and nice chap you seem like. Very useful info you’ve imparted. Off to bed for me now.
Prior to the 08 financial crash, such finance was achievable. In today's world there is not a bank who would provide that finance to a 21 year old. Or anybody for that matter unless of course they already had cash or assets to act as collateral. Walk into a bank asking for £300k and a business plan and you will be laughed back out of the door, sadly.
Sounds like the day nursery combined with the play area is a recipe for success that you’ve found you essentially have a captive audience of kids who know full well that behind the wall of their day nursery is a huge play area and they all want to visit and they want to come and play
I absolutely love videos like this! I hadn’t really considered the economies of scale aspect of it. As a service based business based upon me as the service provider I can retain a much higher amount of the profits but it’s not as scaleable if just my time for money.
Enjoy your videos James. One thing about this particular example though is that the day nursery is a completely different business, different staff, different space, so there aren't really any shared costs in running the 2 businesses. A better example, if staying within food, might be using a restaurant to create pre-prepped meals or a product that could be sold wholesale, so using the same location and staff to run the additional revenue stream. Enjoyed the video though, it gives people a great way to think about using their existing overheads to increase revenue.
Heating costs and rent/mortgage costs are presumably 'free'. Sounds like a good fit. Now he just has to think about how it can make money in the early mornings and evenings - maybe show movies or a pub or fitness center for adults whilst kids are playing?
Rent is charged per sq ft. So dividing the space doesn’t make it free, it just means it’s shared, but the cost is paid by one of the businesses. Same for heating. Day nurseries require a lot of space, def not free. This particular example is not an additional revenue stream, it’s a separate business entirely.
Some staff would be different, but the kitchen, for example, would be the same and share its costs across the two businesses. The kitchen wouldn’t need to be any bigger because it would be used at different times. during the regular school day from the nursery, then at weekends/holidays for the soft play.
Interesting, soft play centre locally to me declined dramatically over a 5 year period. Started off great, was packed most of the time, had all the new mod cons and air guns etc. Then after a few years, things were breaking and ball pits were becoming sparse. This is the bit on your graph where the place needed fixing/replacing items/investment. Unfortunately, all that happened was the balls got topped up and then the customers dipped, the place got worse until almost everything was in need of repair. They just shut up recently, took a load of money off people for birthday parties and ran off into the sunset. Was actually disgusting really, they called up people to get money upfront for the upcoming parties booked, knowing it would close shortly. Great insight, glad you painted the picture so clearly, you certainly know your stuff. I feel well equipped to take something like this on now, but sadly lack the dedication to submit so much energy into a hospitality/leisure business, fair play to you.
I work for company that make and supply fitters with netting, rope cargo nets, v bridges/step bridges spiders webs, buoy swings etc.. We are so busy at the moment. Love my job.
Love this Jamie, as a young inspiring entrepreneur, this is very interesting. I'm also from Basildon and would love to be apart of this business to help it grow. I always wondered about the costs and margins on this type of business.
Hi James this video was fantastic tyvm. One question. So you have set all these companies up, do you have them all under one holdings company? What does the structure look like? Do you use any software to manage accounts between them? How do you manage management of all these industries you are involved in. Seems very tough!
Absolutely amazing content! So valuable. For someone young, looking to learn, do you have any books you would recommend that maybe shaped your perspectives/gave you the skills needed? (if they came from books!)
i really appreciate listening to you over the last year or so. I'm about to launch a new business too, a beauty salon. i have 2 solid business models for inside but still looking for me opportunity
Most soft plays probably close at 4pm . About the model or E.E, could you close for an hour and re-set up the space you have e.g flat pack the soft play and move in arcade equipment (bar area- snooker) or even turn into a night club 🎵, for then the older generation to have there fun while still in one empire. Soft play close at 4, reopen at 5pm- 1am same place but different style. Just a thought keep it up mate 👍🏼 (easier said then done) also merchandise or school trips to your centre (contact schools in off peak)
I have 600-1m liquid and 5 family members (whom I support) eager to work 24/7. I'm at a loss what to start at the moment. We do lots of property development, however the profit is getting worse and worse so it's only really covering our labor atm. Interested to hear your thoughts on what you'd do with 5x time + money in the bank. Appreciate it!
A friend of mine has a soft play unit. Half of its soft play & half a day Nusery. His now looking at doing adult nights where adults can use the soft play. Sell more expensive food & drinks.
As the owner of 3 Laser Tag anchored FECs in Canada, this was very interesting! What's the age range of your end users James? I'm guessing under 6? We're extremely Birthday party focused, but our core user is aged 6-12. We've found that's the sweet spot for us, and it's very hard to do under 6 and over 6 in the same location. The needs and expectations are so different
As long as your not a slum soft play owner ! So many owner who “sweat their assets” let the gear get into really bad condition which is more dangerous than fun for children
James, why don't you have the following in these centres to bring in more options and profit: arcade, photo shoots, Karaoke, circular dodgem cars, VR that are additional spend items not covered by entry
Hi James, I’m a fellow Basildon boy and I think you may have even entertained me when I was younger! It’s truly inspiring to see a local lad build a business empire and succeed in different industries. Congratulations on all your success and I hope you’re still enjoying the journey! I started my entrepreneur journey in 2021 by starting a sports coaching business in Basildon and the surrounding areas called Bright Boots Coaching. The goal, to help as many children achieve their potential and make the world a nicer place. Giving the next generation a brighter future through sport. It would be amazing if we could meet or whether I can have a moment of your time over a call to ask some questions as I’d love to go on a similar journey to yours. In the meantime, I hope you keep posting these insights and helping the next generation of entrepreneurs achieve their goals! I hope to hear from you soon, Dan Wolfendale
I would be interested in hearing how you were able to get the loan. Perhaps things were a little different decades ago, but a bank giving a young man 300k? Seems insane to me.
My wife and myself own a partnership business pre-school and has gone from strength to strength in Bucks as we are x3 Outstanding and also had the educational minister visiting us from the House of Lords. How about insurance costs, essentially business insurance for your soft play business?
80-100k in pocket money after all that effort just really doesn't seem worth the headache and continued effort, it doesn't weigh up. This country really is set up to suck every penny from business owners.
It's the legacy that building the business brings. 100k profit over 10 years is 1m! You can work 10years at a regular 9-5 and never see a glimpse of that. You can have 100k in a savings account and not make anything close to that % even with compounded interest. Yes it's more effort and the long game but that's the entrepreneurs journey I guess.
Not sure what planet you live on where 100k in profit after a year is unfair, that is incredible. Ask 99.99999% of the general public and they'd be chuffed with that. He's paid his tax, paid his employees' wages, paid his rent, and has 80-100k left in the bank? Woe is the life of the successful businessman, he'll never buy a private jet at this rate.
I've genuinely thought about how much money these places make. Swear anything to do with kids and you make a ton of money. Nurseries are another where the consumer gets charged a huge price. Has to be profits somewhere or else there wouldn't be big chains. Edit: After watching the video, I was right 😅
I'm favoured, Getting my own Truck has always been my Dream for my business. I just acquired 2 recently, earning $32K weekly has been really helpful. I can now give back to the locals in my community and also support Charity Organizations.
As a beginner what do I need to do? How can I invest, on which platform? If you know any please share.
Yes! I'm celebrating £32K stock portfolio today...
Started this journey with £3K.... I've invested no time and also with the right terms, now I have time for my family an…
when someone is straight forward and good at what she does best. People will always speak for them. For me I can would say give Mrs Jenna Brooklyn of finance education a try and you be happy you did
Started with 5,000$ and Withdrew profits
89,000$
I'm glad to write her tay I do hope she will help handle my paycheck properly☺️☺️☺️
Can I start with as low as $1,000?
I don't know how I got here. I opened youtube to find some music to play in the background while I work, now I'm 15 minutes into evaluating whether a soft play empire is for me or not.
Lol “Welcome To RUclips.”
Yeah, my fate too, very engaging presenter and entrepreneur, from humble acorns grow mighty trees. I'm gonna go find some assets to sweat.
Same. Never watched any content like this but wow it was good content
This particular pooh-trap has also captured me. Walking down a country lane, then BAM, hanging upside down from my leg from a RUclips tree, building my soft-play empire.
Same here
No course being sold. No pie in the sky rubbish. Just valuable business insight. What a great channel.
I think I learned more about running in a business in 15 minutes watching your video than I did in 20 years working for a multinational corporation. Thank you for being so open, honest and frank about your business and what you've learned. I wish you every success.
i wonder if he has some business degree? hes definetly a very good businessman when ive seen most business owners are clueless idiots.
fun fact thou even super duper smart long term businesses can close ie the entire legacy car makers of the west will be bancrupt within 5 years thanks to chinese electric cars. BUT if you arent as smart as this James is dont even try getinng involved in any business.
I came to this video thinking it was an ad, wondering where the sell was. I left this video with knowledge and as a subscriber. Your delivery is exceptional, congratulations on your well deserved success
He has a
BUYING BUSINESS MASTERCLASS but yeah, not really selling it that hard, and that's great
He's a beanhead.
Of course its an advert
Just been looking at companies house, and checking out his portfolio of companies. He’s legit for sure and worth a few quid. He has 12 active directorships so this man knows what he is talking about. Hats off to the knowledge and sharing of info. Nice one.
27 active companies actually but companies house has me existing at 4 different people. Who knows why ! Thanks for your kind words.
@ where do you find the time? Even if all these were managed by a trusted and faithful manager, and with your YT channel you have to be doing 12-16hrs a day? Similar to Daniel Louisey from Asheville, another of my YT subs. Where is your work/life balance set James? Recreation, partner, relaxation etc? Serious question!!!
@@Grumpygrandad68 I do work every day, but I don’t manage any of it. It’s just not my skill set; never has been.
I’ve always employed people to do the managing. I am growing the companies they’re operating them.
I think “who can do this better than me not how can I do this”
@ do you find it difficult seeking the right trusted manager? What is retention like James? You must have such trust and treat them well, it’s the only way. Carrot or stick?
Not sure why this video popped up on my feed, thought I’d give it a watch for a couple mins regardless. Ended up watching the entire video and subscribing. Your delivery and knowledge/information is valuable within any business, keep up the great work!
This is a really interesting topic. I never thought about how much a soft play center could make. It's great to see behind the scenes.
Absolutely. It’s surprising what goes on behind the curtain. There’s a lot of potential out there.
For sure. I’ve been thinking about ways to boost income. It seems like having a good plan is key.
Definitely. I heard about Larysa Caba. She seems to help people find ways to enhance their earnings with smart strategies.
That's a great point. I’ve heard good things about Larysa too. She seems to have a thing for guiding people in the right direction.
I know Larysa Caba. she trades for everyone I have come across. I met her twice at a meeting in Germany and after her lectures from Ella I had to personally ask her to be my financial advisor. she is definitely good.
Most books repeat the same old advice, but Uncommon Paths to Wealth by Borlest is different. It’s filled with strategies that changed the way I think about success
The value in these videos is insane, Thank you so much for telling us how it really is in business and giving us advice on how to improve the business model!!! This is why I watch every video you post on here. 🔥🔥🔥
Haha. This is a question our parent friends ask ourselves. “How much do they make?” Can’t believe this was the first video recommended to me this morning. Wow, great communication, now subscribed. Thanks for the amazing content!
i love seeing successful entrepreneurship stories like this. people who dedicate their life and time to master a niche and know so much about it are geniuses in my eyes
Would be great to see a video from you, James, regarding company structures, holding companies, LLP, etc etc. When would you need to do any of these, the benefits, etc.
@@WeixDraqz we discuss this stuff more on my podcast channel.
Channel and videos finally getting the recognition they deserve. Well done!
I did the numbers on a soft play centre near me and realised it wasn't making much money at all and couldn't understand why they wouldn't add more functionality and services into the huge space. You sir have confirmed my worries and my ideas!
I’m a business owner. I know and practice a lot of this stuff, but still found your video really interesting, especially as you’re in very different sectors. You should definitely go and talk at colleges or universities if you can find the time. I’d have loved to have someone like you come and talk to me when I was an 18-year-old business studies student.
Clever man, well done on your success mate the UK needs more entrepreneurs
Wow I didn't expect to watch a video as good as this today. First thing that sprung to my mind is my wife is qualified to own a day nursery!
I have no background in business and I found that absolutely fascinating! A great insight into how businesses work.
Can’t begrudge people like this a single bit of their success. 100% deserved and imagine what you’d learn if you could spend a week with them.
New viewer, genuinely amazed by your content. I've just hit the subscribe button which is quite rare for me. Keep up the great work 👏👏👏
Welcome aboard!
When you were talking it felt like it was me talking. I love that my thinking is becoming so alike to yours! Learnt alot from you! Looking forward to our podcast in Jan! The business has scaled a fair bit since I applied 👀
I love this, real practical business advice explained in a straightforward way, no fluff, easy to grasp high level concepts. Thanks a lot!
Your a great man to put such an effort in to share your experience with us!
So weird that this vid randomly popped up, me and the wife have talked about starting a similar business in our local area also doubling as a nursery, this vid was a great insight and might give us a bit more motivation to look into it more! Great Vid 👍👍
Literally had this chat last night too. Where do you live? I want to compete with you
My area used to have 4 of these playcentres now it's only got two, and one of them is opening and closing seems shakey. The one that's doing well is open late doing bowling, lazer tag, astropitch soccer etc. and is part of a national chain. The thing I saw cited as crushing them was insurance costs. Lots of news articles about 90k quotes. The particular clientele you get in these spots can be unusually litigious. I think taxes on these type of businesses in Ireland is quite favorable which is why so many farmers are incorporating petting zoo's or other tourism and leisure elements. Maybe insurance is more competitive in the UK we have a lot monopolies over here with insurers and banking.
Started the video thinking this place looks familiar, only for you to confirm my suspicion😂Been to that exact same location when I was a kid roughly 15 years ago. Grown up now and finding out who the owner is a full circle moment😂Great video, appreciate the knowledge and also for giving me a good memory to look back to
Quality video, my mum had a soft play business but didn't have the location or scale.
Skipping middle men: Buying direct from Manufacturers in China, India etc is great but they will still be using middle men, generally you're moving the problem around and the manufacture will charge you a fee to sort that problem on top of the middle mans margin, which is hid in the invoice. Might be worth re-looking at :)
Really insightful thanks. Do you have any videos on the specific systems and processes that you put in place for your businesses?
It seems like that is the most important aspect of scaling, so would be great to see a video on it
Used to work at one and the owner said if they had their time again they wouldn't do it, because the risk of getting sued for injuries is so high. A kid bumped their head and won £180k (company at fault), which was really tight on the business.
A woman claimed she fell down the stairs but cctv proved that as false. So i think he was stressed more about getting sued absorbing funds rather than turnover
Great video, good content and well made. I have always wondered how much money soft play centres make, as I do with every business I encounter. I enjoy learning about the business “hacks” that mean some businesses thrive and others die in the same market.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom
Great video. Well presented. Highly informative. I love seeing people doing well. This man deserves all his success
Impressive stuff. Don't think I would have expected a play centre to be the basis of a business empire.
Really clever James, I remember seeing you at the Basildon party man world on stilts 😂
Hi James, love the content! I'm curious how much of your daily life do your businesses take up? Does thinking, organising, and running them consume most of your day? If you were just an employee in your own businesses, earning let's say £40k and working 8 hours a day with 16 hours of personal time and no stress, would you prefer that lifestyle?
I’m absolutely addicted to work. I love working.
I do some work every day - even if it’s just mental thinking. So yes I am consumed. It’s in my DNA.
I love my family and wife too, but they get who I am.
One of my favourite channels ❤ thanks for another fantastic videos 😊
Thank lord Jesus for $75k that biweekly changed my mindset and behavior, my goals, my family and I've to say this video has inspired me a lot!!!!🙏❤️
I'm feeling really motivated. Could you share some details about the biweekly topic you brought up?
Thanks to my co-worker (Alex) who suggested Ms Mary Elizabeth Webb.
WOW I know her too! Miss Ms Mary Elizabeth Webb is a remarkable individual whom has brought immense positivity and inspiration into my life.
I got started with a miserly $7000. The results have been mind blowing I must say TBH!!
I know that woman (Mary Elizabeth Webb) If you were born and raised in new York you'd know too, No Bingle doubt she is the one
that helped you get where you arell
I'd love to see you make a video on how much you think building a business is down to luck, how much to strategy & what these things do to aid or hinder your risks/diversification.
Plenty on the channel around that. I think luck helps only if you don’t look for it.
@@JamesSinclairEntrepreneur Thank you
No ego. I like that sir.
Morning James.
I’ve been waiting for you to do a video on this subject as it’s something I’ve been interested in doing for years.Id like to have a soft play and themed mini golf next to each other possibly sharing the kitchen,we have nothing round our way like this.Unfortunately I’ve spent last ten years being busy earning a living in the plumbing industry so never got round to turn ing my dream into reality.I will be coming to you course next year so hopefully I can grow my plumbing business and step back from the tools allowing me to follow me dreams.
I love your piano jazz hands, reminds me of the bloke on the house show.
Excellent video. I run a B2B Ltd co... but have always wondered about softplays. Fab content, definite subscriber.
Fantastic video and what a guy! Really open and honest appraisal of the leisure and hospitality industry - well presented and nicely animated. Best of luck with the business and thank you for sharing your story.
You've got a new subscriber!
What an excellent, insightful and well delivered video. New subscriber gained.
Brilliant video. Previously worked for a leisure chain (trampoline parks) but in head office. Wish I had watched this video beforehand.
Really interesting video. Having spent countless hours at Soft plays over the past 6 years, it's very eye opening. I would note that in your calcs around 7 mins- surely only 16.67% of the gross £1 would be VAT (not 20%)?
I'm in hospitality and am around ~33% profit margin across my 27 Airbnb's. Hearing aiming for 10% is good, made me feel slightly wealthier lol as 4 years in, still not used to that feeling of keeping the minority of what one brings in
lol. From garbage tiktoks, I stumble upon this. What a knowledgeable and nice chap you seem like. Very useful info you’ve imparted. Off to bed for me now.
Video idea - what did you organise and what did the business plan look like for you to get the bank to loan a 21 year old £300,000
That’s definitely been covered here on the channel. Watch my 0 to 1m video ( if I had to start again)
@ will check it out 👍🏻
Prior to the 08 financial crash, such finance was achievable. In today's world there is not a bank who would provide that finance to a 21 year old. Or anybody for that matter unless of course they already had cash or assets to act as collateral.
Walk into a bank asking for £300k and a business plan and you will be laughed back out of the door, sadly.
@@liamc5783 Thank you boomers! The young will never own a home and we will be happy.
Bro is 4k off 100k youtube plaque. It will be well deserved.
🤞🎉🤞🎉🤞🎉
Sounds like the day nursery combined with the play area is a recipe for success that you’ve found you essentially have a captive audience of kids who know full well that behind the wall of their day nursery is a huge play area and they all want to visit and they want to come and play
I absolutely love videos like this! I hadn’t really considered the economies of scale aspect of it. As a service based business based upon me as the service provider I can retain a much higher amount of the profits but it’s not as scaleable if just my time for money.
This is great stuff. Went to a few kids parties when you were personally doing them and they were hilarious!
Love his confidence in front of the camera. Go on son
7:10 Blimey, you need a bigger whiteboard James!😮
Thanks for this. We are a social enterprise/not for profit, potentially looking at opening a softplay as part of our development - so some great info.
Enjoy your videos James. One thing about this particular example though is that the day nursery is a completely different business, different staff, different space, so there aren't really any shared costs in running the 2 businesses. A better example, if staying within food, might be using a restaurant to create pre-prepped meals or a product that could be sold wholesale, so using the same location and staff to run the additional revenue stream. Enjoyed the video though, it gives people a great way to think about using their existing overheads to increase revenue.
Heating costs and rent/mortgage costs are presumably 'free'. Sounds like a good fit. Now he just has to think about how it can make money in the early mornings and evenings - maybe show movies or a pub or fitness center for adults whilst kids are playing?
Rent is charged per sq ft. So dividing the space doesn’t make it free, it just means it’s shared, but the cost is paid by one of the businesses. Same for heating. Day nurseries require a lot of space, def not free. This particular example is not an additional revenue stream, it’s a separate business entirely.
Some staff would be different, but the kitchen, for example, would be the same and share its costs across the two businesses. The kitchen wouldn’t need to be any bigger because it would be used at different times.
during the regular school day from the nursery, then at weekends/holidays for the soft play.
Love your transparency in the businesses you are involved in 👍❤️
Interesting, soft play centre locally to me declined dramatically over a 5 year period. Started off great, was packed most of the time, had all the new mod cons and air guns etc. Then after a few years, things were breaking and ball pits were becoming sparse. This is the bit on your graph where the place needed fixing/replacing items/investment. Unfortunately, all that happened was the balls got topped up and then the customers dipped, the place got worse until almost everything was in need of repair.
They just shut up recently, took a load of money off people for birthday parties and ran off into the sunset. Was actually disgusting really, they called up people to get money upfront for the upcoming parties booked, knowing it would close shortly.
Great insight, glad you painted the picture so clearly, you certainly know your stuff. I feel well equipped to take something like this on now, but sadly lack the dedication to submit so much energy into a hospitality/leisure business, fair play to you.
Came across this today!
You are a super guy 😅
Here’s to making money 🍺 😁👍
I work for company that make and supply fitters with netting, rope cargo nets, v bridges/step bridges spiders webs, buoy swings etc..
We are so busy at the moment.
Love my job.
Nowadays, just install ultra fast WiFi, a bunch of comfy chairs and a vending machine.
They will bring the entertainment.
Thank you for putting in the ground work and sharing your knowledge
This was actually a really interesting video, feel like I actually learned something. Thanks
Love this Jamie, as a young inspiring entrepreneur, this is very interesting. I'm also from Basildon and would love to be apart of this business to help it grow. I always wondered about the costs and margins on this type of business.
Hi James this video was fantastic tyvm. One question. So you have set all these companies up, do you have them all under one holdings company? What does the structure look like? Do you use any software to manage accounts between them? How do you manage management of all these industries you are involved in. Seems very tough!
Outstanding video, i learn more from these than any business course or degree. Thanks for sharing
Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity 😊
Nice one James, love the level of detail 💪
Really enjoyed this. Brilliant video.
Absolutely amazing content! So valuable. For someone young, looking to learn, do you have any books you would recommend that maybe shaped your perspectives/gave you the skills needed? (if they came from books!)
Great explanation and really smart work 👍
i really appreciate listening to you over the last year or so. I'm about to launch a new business too, a beauty salon. i have 2 solid business models for inside but still looking for me opportunity
What an amazing video: thanks for the transparency.
Most soft plays probably close at 4pm . About the model or E.E, could you close for an hour and re-set up the space you have e.g flat pack the soft play and move in arcade equipment (bar area- snooker) or even turn into a night club 🎵, for then the older generation to have there fun while still in one empire. Soft play close at 4, reopen at 5pm- 1am same place but different style. Just a thought keep it up mate 👍🏼 (easier said then done) also merchandise or school trips to your centre (contact schools in off peak)
Party man world was such an iconic location as a kid. Crazy to come across the guy thst made it randomly
This guy is the man!
Interesting video this, no idea why it came up on my feed but I enjoyed it!
Thank you again for a valuable lesson learned!!
I have 600-1m liquid and 5 family members (whom I support) eager to work 24/7. I'm at a loss what to start at the moment. We do lots of property development, however the profit is getting worse and worse so it's only really covering our labor atm. Interested to hear your thoughts on what you'd do with 5x time + money in the bank. Appreciate it!
A friend of mine has a soft play unit. Half of its soft play & half a day Nusery. His now looking at doing adult nights where adults can use the soft play. Sell more expensive food & drinks.
Morning James, thanks for sharing your journey.
Is your trick paying your workers minimum wage on 0 hour contracts, and doing the bare minimum of maintainance and cleaning?
As the owner of 3 Laser Tag anchored FECs in Canada, this was very interesting!
What's the age range of your end users James? I'm guessing under 6?
We're extremely Birthday party focused, but our core user is aged 6-12. We've found that's the sweet spot for us, and it's very hard to do under 6 and over 6 in the same location. The needs and expectations are so different
I totally agree.
As long as your not a slum soft play owner ! So many owner who “sweat their assets” let the gear get into really bad condition which is more dangerous than fun for children
James, why don't you have the following in these centres to bring in more options and profit: arcade, photo shoots, Karaoke, circular dodgem cars, VR that are additional spend items not covered by entry
So much value in this. Subscribed!
Brilliant video James!☘
Soft play centers are popular in uk because it's always raining outside so kids have to play indoors.
One of your best videos. Simply superb! Ty
Hi James, I’m a fellow Basildon boy and I think you may have even entertained me when I was younger!
It’s truly inspiring to see a local lad build a business empire and succeed in different industries. Congratulations on all your success and I hope you’re still enjoying the journey!
I started my entrepreneur journey in 2021 by starting a sports coaching business in Basildon and the surrounding areas called Bright Boots Coaching. The goal, to help as many children achieve their potential and make the world a nicer place. Giving the next generation a brighter future through sport.
It would be amazing if we could meet or whether I can have a moment of your time over a call to ask some questions as I’d love to go on a similar journey to yours.
In the meantime, I hope you keep posting these insights and helping the next generation of entrepreneurs achieve their goals!
I hope to hear from you soon,
Dan Wolfendale
Think there is a problem with signing up for the news letter James I’ll try again tomorrow 😊😊
If you have any problems please drop me a DM on insta
Since you love doing so much stuff in house, why not waste management company? I have a couple ideas why, but I’d love your thoughts.
I would be interested in hearing how you were able to get the loan. Perhaps things were a little different decades ago, but a bank giving a young man 300k? Seems insane to me.
What we've done is purchase the children and then lease them back to their parents at a profit.
My wife and myself own a partnership business pre-school and has gone from strength to strength in Bucks as we are x3 Outstanding and also had the educational minister visiting us from the House of Lords.
How about insurance costs, essentially business insurance for your soft play business?
80-100k in pocket money after all that effort just really doesn't seem worth the headache and continued effort, it doesn't weigh up. This country really is set up to suck every penny from business owners.
It's the legacy that building the business brings. 100k profit over 10 years is 1m! You can work 10years at a regular 9-5 and never see a glimpse of that. You can have 100k in a savings account and not make anything close to that % even with compounded interest.
Yes it's more effort and the long game but that's the entrepreneurs journey I guess.
That’s why you get people to work for you, and that’s why you scale your business and open more locations.
He’s not working day to day in the business. He owns multiple of them. With ten of those, that’s £1m - not too shabby at all!
Not sure what planet you live on where 100k in profit after a year is unfair, that is incredible. Ask 99.99999% of the general public and they'd be chuffed with that.
He's paid his tax, paid his employees' wages, paid his rent, and has 80-100k left in the bank?
Woe is the life of the successful businessman, he'll never buy a private jet at this rate.
He says the company has net profit of 100k. He probably has already taken a wage out, and that 100k is after that deduction
Isn't it amazing when wage costs have gone up yet on the employee side, wages have stagnated
I've genuinely thought about how much money these places make. Swear anything to do with kids and you make a ton of money. Nurseries are another where the consumer gets charged a huge price. Has to be profits somewhere or else there wouldn't be big chains.
Edit: After watching the video, I was right 😅
learning curve every video i watch. awesome stuff