Child's Play Find some fairly well-off parents who want their tots taught--and plant a Gymboree of your own.

Unlike those reptilian creatures that eat their young, we keeploving ours, despite their ability to harvest our time and try ourpatience. We want them to grow, to prosper-to get along wellwith others. Besides, the parents of a "wild one"occasionally need to get out of the house. If you see this needconcentrated in an area of young families earning moderate to highlevels of discretionary income, you may have stumbled across a goodplace to put a Gymboree.

The Gymboree Uniform Franchise Offering Circular explains thecompany this way: "The franchisee will operate anontherapeutic sensory-motor child/parent play and music program .. . for children from birth through 5 years."

That description is a perfect example of how legalese can ruinthe fun. My sister, who has two toddlers, simplifies Gymboree'sappeal to customers like her: "It's a great way to meetpeople and watch your child play with the other kids."

Other mothers have told me Gymboree helps them identify theirchildren's personalities and teaches kids manners-allwhile allowing parents to witness their children pulling anotherkid's hair for the first time. According to longtime Dallasfranchisee Carol Watters, "Gymboree lays the foundation forlearning from a social, emotional and intellectual basis."

Basically, franchisees conduct classes with no more than 20children apiece on the premises, and customers usually pay $10 to$20 per session for 12 weekly sessions. Though Gymboree doesn'tmake earnings claims, the store with the highest total enrollmentfor one calendar quarter in North America in 2000 counted more than800 enrollees.

Franchisees also derive sales from other things. For example,you can sell Gymboree-branded products and host birthday partiesstarting at $150 for 90 minutes. You can also offer "GymboreeOn The Go" classes in other venues, such as recreation orday-care centers.

One of the main issues for new franchisees is finding the rightlocation. Gymboree can require a fairly large rental space.Although the UFOC says spaces generally run between 1,800 and 2,400square feet, I spoke with two franchisees opening new locations,and each was committing to a lease of no smaller than 3,600 squarefeet.

You should locate within a convenient, 20-minute drive from thehomes of young, affluent families-and close to a mall or alarge grocery store. "Once in a car with a child, mothers wantto multitask," Watters explains.

Another tip: Locate in a market with an existing advertisingcooperative, and make sure the franchisor is willing to spendnational marketing funds in your market.

For such a well-established brand, I'm surprised thatGymboree hasn't grown much over the past few years. In 1999,only 24 new franchises were awarded and 21 existing licenses weretransferred to new owners. So before buying, you should investigatethis phenomenon further.

Gymboree is seeking potential franchisees with a net worth of atleast $150,000 and a willingness to run the business full time.

Todd D. Maddocks is a franchise attorney, small-businessconsultant and founder of Franchisedecision.com.