Franchising

What we believe

We believe that a woman should be able to have it all.  This franchise concept provides women the opportunity to be a small business owner without compromising her ability to be a hands on mother.  So she can feel valued and successful outside of the home.    

We want to empower women to dream and live their lives with passion and love everyday.  We had a great idea, but we need the energy and minds of other amazing women to become part of this company.  Shared experiences and individual input is what will make this company stand out.  We gave birth to it, we need an army of women to help us grow into what it is we are meant to become.  We believe that you cross paths with people for a reason and that you need to use your intuition to follow those leads.

How we got to this point

Formally a nurse and a teacher, we scratched it for entrepreneurship.  We started this company from our dining room in 2006.  We saw a huge need, not just in our immediate area but nationwide for a concept like this.  When we opened our first store, it was instantly apparent that we had really stumbled onto something amazing.  We may not have had formal business or bank training, but we knew that this had the potential to go big.  Mom after mom after mom, not to mention grandmas constantly came into our stores and said, "Finally, a store that has everything for my little girl in one spot."  This is far beyond any e-commerce hair bow site and online children’s boutiques.  We have found that customers always spend more when they can forge a bond and a friendship in an intimate brick and mortar setting with the owner. 

Not only did we want to make the goods available to customers, we wanted to make the goods...GOOD.  We basically used our customers as our focus group.  We listened to what they wanted.  They wanted a clip that stayed in place but was proportioned to their baby’s head.  They wanted it to be soft but sturdy.  They wanted it to be hip and stylish, but what they really wanted was choices! 

We designed and patented our staged clip system.  We took necessary steps to protect our intellectual property right from the beginning.  We didn’t want future franchisees to be compromised. 

When the business model really started to develop, was when we saw the need for employment opportunities for women.  From the entrepreneur who wants to own her own business to the stay at home mom who works from home for our production studio.  The franchising model is perfect.  The franchisee has a vested interest in the bottom line, this makes them results driven from the get-go. 

We wanted to give the customers everything they wanted, but we still needed to make this an affordable opportunity for a potential franchisee.  After opening 3 locations, we had our style down.  From chandelier fixtures to area rugs and vintage hat racks.  The Pink Hippo is shabby-chic, warm, colorful and anything but ordinary.  We had developed and refined our product line over and over.  Although we are always changing and looking for ways to improve, we have finally established a superior line of hair accessories from the newborn with peach fuzz to the high school cheerleader.

On Franchising

 Currently, franchising is the most popular system for growing a business in the United States.  According to the International Franchise Association (IFA), women have founded 24 franchise systems in the U.S. and the number of women-owned franchises continues to climb.  (That would be us, #24)

“Franchising offers so many options for both men and women. However, through franchising, women can maintain an enjoyable work-life balance,” said Jania Bailey, president and COO of FranNet. “Owning a small franchise business allows a woman to work around her lifestyle, instead of having to work around her job. And, owning a franchise is like being in a family environment from which women naturally enjoy being a part of.”

We have passion, persistence and drive,  and we will not back down from a challenge.  We stand behind our product and our people.  We truly believe in the potential this company offers women.  Small businesses are the number one creator of jobs in America, and small business owners are the lifeblood of the communities in which they live and work. 

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.” ~Babe Ruth