Lara Olson, founder and chief creative officer of Kidcreate Studio, is on a mission to solve the growing issue of the decline in children’s art education. A creative mind herself, Lara understands the importance of offering children the opportunity to express themselves through art. By Charlotte Wagner
Lara Olson, founder and chief creative officer of Kidcreate Studio, is on a mission to solve the growing issue of the decline in children’s art education. A creative mind herself, Lara understands the importance of offering children the opportunity to express themselves through art. It was when her son, Jake, brought to her attention that he was not receiving enough art exposure at school, that Lara went on a journey to find an art-education program for him. She said she believes in the power of art to improve cognitive function and build self-esteem. When she could not find anything that met her needs, she created it for herself. In 2007, Kidcreate Studio was born in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, providing in-studio and on-the-go classes, camps, and parties in a fun learning environment.
Lara just about does it all. She plays a part in operations, training, marketing, and everything in between. Her passion behind this concept is apparent in her hands-on approach and dedication to the success of each franchise owner. She understands the struggles her franchise owners face, because she has been there herself. She can speak to her experience on how to combat any obstacles to help franchisees maximize the potential of their business.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kidcreate experienced a new set of challenges. Rather than give in to the fear, Lara used her imagination, which sparked the idea of Kidcreate in the first place, to develop innovative solutions to keep her studios open. These included take-home art kits and virtual programs, just to name a few. The initiatives experienced unprecedented success, allowing locations to remain in business, and opening new ones along the way. Most recently, she has launched a whole new business model, the Kidcreate Mobile Studio option. She is excited about the potential of this new model, she said. The mobile portion of the business currently secures 70% of revenues, while also offering a quick, low-cost start-up and little ongoing overhead.
If you are interested in bringing Kidcreate to your community, call 720-685-6155 or visit franchise.kidcreatestudio.com.
– Charlotte Wagner
Since 2018, Charlotte Wagner has been a brand manager at Raintree, overseeing consultant education. Her passion for changing lives through business ownership and also developing new franchise concepts is apparent in her consistent, timely communication with franchise consultants, while providing them with any tools they need to successfully present. She holds a master’s in marketing with a focus on brand development from the University of Colorado, Denver. For more information about Raintree, please visit raintreesales.com.