6 | The Learning Experience
The second incarnation of the business –
which took back “The Learning Experience”
name that Weissman’s parents had initially
coined for their first operation – now has
200 locations, including 130 that are operat-
ing and 70 that are in some form of develop-
ment, which encompasses zoning, site-plan
approval, under construction or just about
to open. Twenty-five of those 70 will open in
2014, Weissman said.
About 15 percent of the locations are
company owned and run, while another 15
percent are owned by franchisees and man-
aged from day to day by the company. The
remaining 70 percent are entirely owner-op-
erated businesses, Weissman said.
“What we do just doesn’t exist in our
competitors,” he said.
“In the child-care industry, you’re either
100-percent franchised or 100-percent com-
pany-owned.There really is not amix of com-
pany-owned and franchised. We’re it. We use
it as an opportunity to be able to always have
core a talent base that knows how to man-
age company stores, which is very different
than managing franchisees, and as long as we
remain good at it then we can continue that
mix. And whether that mix goes go 50/50 or
80/20, it allows us the opportunity to always
kind of control our own destiny.”
