1. Tell us a little about yourself. Have you ever been in business?
I was educated as an accountant and I always dreamed of working with finances. As a result, I grew up to be a chief accountant. I outsourced several parallel businesses, up to fifteen a month. I was passionate about it and did accounting for thirteen years.
But once I burned out: one of the companies went bankrupt. All my ten years of work, all the papers that had been carefully kept and filed for years, turned out to be trash. After that, accounting was not very interesting. And I decided to start my own business.
2. Why a business?
Previously, I worked with entrepreneurs all the time. I looked at their success and decided to try it too. I chose the niche of "Children's Entertainment and Attractions" as it was possible to enter it with small investments. In six years, I increased the capital of the business sixty-fold and got out of operations.
I have a stationary amusement park: trampolines, bungee cords, merry-go-rounds. The business is seasonal, so I did the rides in the summer and continued to do the bookkeeping in the winter. In 2020, I finally went into the amusement business.
This summer I set a goal for myself that by winter I needed to have a working business that would bring me income year-round. And the income should be no less than the summer.
3. How did you hear about Altairika?
I've known the current partners of Altairika since 2019. We also implemented virtual reality in the amusement park as well. I knew what it was and was directly involved with the topic.
One day we had a conversation with a current franchise partner. He told me that he was going to a franchisee meeting. It was going to be an interesting event: networking, acquaintances, and training. I was very interested!
I asked him to tell me more about the project. In generalities and figures, I learned about the company and became even more interested.
4. How did you begin your journey in franchising?
I called the commercial director, we got to know each other and talked. After the interview, I heard "Welcome to the club" and I started!
I just got the demo, and I immediately started calling schools, making appointments for meetings and presentations! I went to three meetings. I made appointments for two of them right away, and the other is still thinking about it.
Next was a follow-up call with the management company. We signed the contract,
paid the fee, and ordered the equipment. That was all. And by the first of October, I had to get everything up and running quickly.
At this point, we had already worked for two whole months. Tried every process we could! We held presentations in kindergartens, schools, pre-school camps, got to know the education department.
I am satisfied with everything. We passed the test, so now we accelerate, and let's go!
5. What are your immediate plans for the franchise?
We're gaining momentum and we're setting our sights high. And overall plans to hire managers and operators, get out of operations and connect new territories. In general, there are a lot of plans. I don't like to stand in one place!
6. What did you like about Altairika? Why did you choose it?
I saw a perspective in this particular project because virtual reality always has a wow effect on children. I know a manager who used to bring VR headsets to the parks, and there was always a crowd of kids around him! And I also noticed the cool financial results. So I realized that if you devote a certain amount of time to this area, you can make a lot of money here.
The field itself is very familiar to me. It is almost the same as I have done in amusement rides: before I negotiated for the placement of an amusement park, and now I negotiate with schools for the placement of virtual reality.
99% of the kids, who you just even bring a VR headset, immediately say, "Wow! Cool! We're coming!". So we are moving happily toward our intended goals!
We are sure that with such attentiveness to the desires of customers and the desire to develop, success will not be long in coming. Congratulations to Anatoly on the beginning of a great story!