The indoor soft play area is the hub for all things chaos. There is nothing there except for squealing children, mushed-up crisps on the floor, and a crowd of out-of-their-wits parents who just need a long sleep. And yet, you’d still like to establish an indoor soft play area of your own. We think that this is a fabulous idea. Children need spaces to express themselves and release their pent-up and confusing energy. Social interaction helps to develop their minds, and the opportunity to put themselves in controlled danger is just as important as any adult learning a new skill.
For these reasons, we have created a guide to help you figure out how to establish your own indoor soft play area. Give the adults of the future a safe environment to learn, and give the adults of the present somewhere to be that isn’t their house.
- The Initial Planning
The first step to establishing your indoor soft play area is to decide on the name of your business. It needs to be something nice that you can imagine the children who visit your business fondly reminiscing about in the future. Your logo should be clean and well-designed. The best way to decide whether your logo is worthy is to imagine if it were on a sticker. If the design is too detailed and busy, you will not put it on a sticker. Your logo needs to be simple, marketable, and invoke a sense of nostalgia for the future generation.
Once you’ve got a name, you need to fill out the paperwork. You need to register your business, apply for a Tax Identification Number, and contact the Limited Liability Corporation to discuss liability protection.
- Decide on the layout
Before you put a deposit down on a building, you need to know what your requirements are. Do you want to turn the entire floor of the main room into a ball pit? Do you need a high-ceiling for multi-stories? If you’re hoping to create a legendary indoor soft play area, you need to know what children want. Interviewing your demographic could be extremely helpful in this stage and although you may receive some outlandish suggestions, they could also give you some very beneficial insight.
Aside from the obvious demographic, you’ll also want to question some caregivers about what they would like from your indoor soft play area also. The more enjoyment they get from your play area, the more customers you’ll have. The kids can’t bring themselves to you! A nice, varied coffee bar and strong Wi-Fi will make you an instant favourite. Additionally, you could go one step further and set aside a space for birthday parties!
- Choose your building
Once you have decided on the layout of your indoor soft play area, you should have a good idea of the kind of space you’ll be needing to make your vision a reality. There are only a few must-haves when it comes to your building, including location and accessibility.
There’s nothing worse for pram-pushers than reaching a building and realising they’ll have to hoist their prams up a flight of stairs. So, you should ensure that the building you choose has a ramp. Additionally, if possible, your building should be located close to neighborhoods, schools, and commercial areas. If you’ve ever met a full-time caregiver, you’ll know that most of the time, they just want to get out of the house. For this reason, you don’t want to choose a building that requires a hefty drive or walk to reach.
When choosing your building, you need to think about more than the exterior. What does the interior look like? Does the heating distribute around the entire building with no problems? Is the place a fixer-upper? Does the plumbing work? These are all questions you need to ask yourself before putting a deposit down on a building. Plumbing issues can be especially detrimental to any business. So, it is important that you have a good and reliable plumber at hand to assess the condition of your plumbing and to provide any emergency services if needed.
Additionally, you should ensure that there is air conditioning in the building and that it is in working order. There is nothing worse than taking a child to a soft play area in the blistering heat and being forced to do nothing but sweat until they’ve worn themselves out. So, if you’re looking for air conditioning in Coventry, whether installation or repairs, look no further than Chillaire!
Once you have ensured that the building is either in excellent or feasibly fixable condition, you can put a deposit down and progress to the next step.
- Purchase liability insurance
This is exceptionally important. Caregivers are putting their child’s safety in your hands, and you need to ensure that if anything does go wrong, you are protected. Liability insurance can cover you from being taken to court for malpractice, injury, or negligence. This also includes worker’s compensation, accident, and equipment liability. It is best to hire a lawyer to discuss this entire process with them to ensure that you don’t miss anything and put yourself in a vulnerable position.
Generally, it is great to always have a professional on-hand who can advise you on which direction to take your business and ensure that you have covered every base.
- Find a trusted equipment manufacturer
When searching for equipment suppliers for your indoor play area, you need to make sure that you’re sparing no expense. There are other purchases that you will make that you can skimp out on a little bit, but the main draw of your business is not included in that. The last thing you want is a piece of equipment that becomes dangerous within the first couple of uses. The manufacturers you choose should be able to give you evidence that their products meet certain international standards. If they can’t, steer well clear.
- Buy your assets
Make sure you have everything. Cash registers, card machines, vending machines, cooking equipment, etc. You should ensure to buy high-quality equipment that won’t break within a few weeks, as although it is a given that a swarm of erratic children is going to wear your indoor soft player out, your equipment shouldn’t look run down as well. The only assets that you can afford to save money on are the toys you put in the area. Rather than buying a mountain of brand-new toys, there is nothing wrong with acquiring some second-hand items.
The fact is that younger children don’t care all that much about the quality of toys. So long as the stuffing isn’t bursting out of soft toys, the dolls aren’t missing legs, and the walkers have all of their wheels, children aren’t going to care. Unless somebody else has the toy they want, of course. You’ll need to thoroughly clean each second-hand item you get to ensure that no truly harmful bacteria ends up in the mouth of a child. But generally, second-hand toys will be a perfect and inexpensive asset to your soft play area.
