- 15 March, 2006 -

Forget hamburgers. A small company that teaches children how to use computers is the best franchiser in the USA, says Success Magazine. Computertots tops the magazine's third annual Gold 100 list of the USA" Best franchisers. It beat out well-known franchisers such as Jenny Craig Weight Loss Centers and Krystal Co. hamburger chain. The magazine, on newsstands now, calls the 5-year old Great Falls, Vs, firm "the newest convergence of high technology and child development since fetal sonograms." Computertots certainly is onto something big; education and computer literacy are chief concerns in the 90's Michael Warshaw, Success senior editor, says firms were chosen on the basis of stability, how well management helps its franchises and the amount of money needed to invest. "Other surveys tell you which companies are good at selling franchises," he says. "What we're trying to do is tell you what company is beat if you're buying a franchise." Computertots' owners did plenty of research before franchising, kept growth to a manageable level, and maintained close relationships with its franchisees, Warshaw says. And opening a Computertots is relatively inexpensive. Average investment; $27,000 Co-founders Mary Rogers and Karen Marshall left teaching careers to go into business. They modeled Computertots after an MIT computer program for children. Computertots, which also made Working Woman's list of 15 top franchises for women is aimed at children ages 3 to 8. It uses art and music computer games to teach programming and operation. Now, there are 67 franchises across the USA, and revenue is estimated at $4 million for this year. Plans call for 30 to 40 more stores next year. "We require everyone to visit us at their expense. We do background checks, credit histories and police checks," Rogers says. Computertots is "dedicated to giving franchisees support," she says. Only one outlet has failed in five years, she adds.

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