Bits, Bytes & Bots Franchise Newsletter
April 2007

What’s New?

• Bits, Bytes & Bots’ new website is up and it looks great. It’s much more colorful and navigable now with many easy links to registration and franchisee home pages. Visit bitsbytesbots.com to check it out!

• Bits, Bytes & Bots of Boulder, CO recently partnered with Flatirons Habitat for Humanity to give free classes to any child in a Habitat home who shows an interest in technology education. Children simply need to write a short letter or email about why they would like to take a class – no child with significant interest will be turned away.

Welcome New Franchisees!

• Bits, Bytes & Bots would like to extend a warm welcome to the following new franchisees:

o Dashima & Amir Reavis-Bey Atlanta, GA

Dashima and Amir and a sister and brother team who compliment each other beautifully and will be the face of Bits, Bytes & Bots in the Atlanta area. Dashima has a background in pharmaceutical sales as has offered to share some sales advice with other franchisees after she has a few months under her belt of running her business. Amir is leaving NYC to join Dashima in Atlanta. He is a great asset to the company because of his background in applications programming. They can be reached at Atlanta_NW@bitsbytesbots.com
.

o Matilda & Joe O’Connor, Austin, TX

Matilda and Joe are a married couple who recently purchased a Bits, Bytes & Bots franchise to service Austin, TX. They have technology and business backgrounds and are excited to begin running their own business. Their son Riley who loves Legos and robots is at the perfect age to take advantage of Bits, Bytes & Bots classes and we’re all excited to see the first game he creates! Matilda’s contact info is 512-415-5120 or saustin@bitsbytesbots.com.

o Ivan Lau, Hong Kong, China

Ivan and Janet are not only about to be married but they are about to begin growing the first international Bits, Bytes & Bots franchise in Hong Kong! Ivan is an engineer and Janet works for the Education and Manpower Bureau of Hong Kong, so she has great connections with schools. While there is competition in the childhood technology enrichment industry in Hong Kong, it is mostly offered in English. Ivan and Janet intend to differentiate themselves by offering their programs in Chinese.

Featured Franchisee:

• Name: Jim Gregory
• Partners: Takako Gregory
• Franchise Location: Denver Metro South
• Time since you bought your franchise: 1 Year
• How many schools are you operating out of: 10
• Do you operate out of any other locations? (i.e. Girl scouts, churches, etc.) library (home school); recreation centers
• Why did you buy a BBB franchise? Appeal of content of classes; history of success; contributing to something important for children’s education and future benefit to society
• What do you enjoy the most about owning a BBB franchise? Making an impression on children that technology is fun, not scary, while giving them skills they will be able to use throughout their education. We give them a wholesome outlet for their natural creativity and watch their faces glow!
• What is it you have found the most challenging? Finding/training teachers
• What marketing efforts work the best for you? Target audience advertising; word-of-mouth from after-school class students and their parents
• What marketing efforts have not worked very well? Traditional newspaper ads
• What advice would you give to a brand new franchisee? Ask for advice, do not reinvent the wheel; take advantage of free/low-cost Chamber workshops, consultants, etc. for a variety of business concerns; plan well, don’t hurry things.

Useful Websites

• http://www.netfamilynews.org/
o Net Family News is a nonprofit service that keeps parents informed about technology news affecting their children. They have newsletters you can subscribe to or you can simply visit their site to find out the latest information about safe and unsafe websites as well as recent legal news, recommendations for use of social networking websites, and other topics of interest.

• http://www.allbusiness.com/
o This website has a very up-to-date and interesting blog about running small businesses. The site addresses many of the challenges faced by all entrepreneurs including hiring, growth, finance, ect.

• http://entrepreneur.com/money/taxcenter/article171204.html
o This is a great article for business owners about filing taxes. It talks about what you can and can’t deduct and is very relevant for Bits, Bytes & Bots franchise owners. Did you know you can write off the cost to care for your dog if it is big, scary, and guarding your computers? Read the article for details!

Marketing Tip: Each month we provide you our franchisees with marketing tips. We also provide them with items to add to their own email newsletter that we recommend they send out to your customers through our e-newsletter mailing program. Our latest marketing tips included many different ways they could use their monthly mailings to inform, entertain, and generate business.

Thanks for reading. We hope you found some interesting information and got a taste of the kind of support we give our franchisees. If this seems like an opportunity you would like to pursue please write us at tom@bitsbytesbots.com or call 888-494-2687 x1.