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40 Replies Last post: Jun 28, 2009 4:34 PM by bigbearomaha

Want to start a Childrens Party Dress Up Rental Advice?

Dec 22, 2008 12:19 PM

Click to view mantapanda's profile Professional mantapanda 3 posts since
Dec 22, 2008

I would love to have my own small dress up rental business for children to experience an extra special birthday. I imagine I would target more girls then boys with this idea but will also include boys items. What I would like to do is have the business from my home as in I would store the costumes, accessories and party supplies in my extra room. Then when people would like to rent a package I would either have them pick it up at my home or deliver it to them. For an extra fee I would deliver everything set it up and then after the party take everything down and back home.

In this package I would include
-Costumes (In the theme they choose)
-Accessories (Feather Boas, Fairy Wings, Necklaces, Crowns...)
-Invitations (Optional add on)
-Games to Play
-Craft Activity
-Party Guide
-Favors (Optional add on)
-Table Wear (Tea Cups or Paper Goods, Table Cloth, Napkins....)
-Decorations

-Food Suggestions/Ideas

This would be a complete package but I would also set up individual packages if they only choose to have the costumes and tea cups for example.

So the parents would be the ones to host this party but it would be easy as I would include lots to do and a guide.

So this is my idea and I would love to start it out with just a few themes. But there are a few things I am still not sure about.

I live in a small town in PA the population is 5,960 I would be willing to travel to houses out of my town but I would love to get business locally. I plan on moving down the road but this is where I will be living for several years. In this area there are no party things to do the only thing we have is a bowling alley. We do have a community center and places to hold parties at if parents didn't want to have the party in their home.

I also don't plan to get rich off of this business either just want to do it part time and make some money doing something I love!

I also know that I would need to get a business license but what else would I need to rent out these packages? I don't really know the nuts and bolts of what to do or how to find out more information about this.

I am also going to be attending Penn State in Fall to get my education for a real career so not sure if I will be able to open my business until after I graduate which will be two years after this fall. But if I some how was able to open up while attending school the extra money would help out.

Here is a link to basically exactly what I want to do only in a smaller scale
http://www.simplypretend.com/

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Click to view LUCKIEST's profile SCORE LUCKIEST 7,935 posts since
Aug 6, 2007
1. Re: Want to start a Childrens Party Dress Up Rental Advice? Dec 22, 2008 12:55 PM
in response to: mantapanda
Want to start a Children's Party Dress Up Rental, Welcome

I checked out the web site "simplypretend"

Work up your own Business and Market Plan and do it. SCORE can help. SCORE is FREE.

Good luck, LUCKIEST
Click to view mantapanda's profile Professional mantapanda 3 posts since
Dec 22, 2008
2. Re: Want to start a Childrens Party Dress Up Rental Advice? Dec 22, 2008 12:55 PM
in response to: mantapanda
Anyone? Even just a short opinion would help. I don't want this question to get lost in the others...
Click to view MetroGal's profile Mogul MetroGal 101 posts since
Oct 20, 2007
3. Re: Want to start a Childrens Party Dress Up Rental Advice? Dec 22, 2008 1:09 PM
in response to: mantapanda
As a kid, I was always playing dress up -- but using the clothes I found was from "Mom's" closet. Certainly, a nightmare for her when she found me an and my gal friends in her wardrobe. I think a mobile "closet" is a great idea...esp. for young girls that love to play dress-up and apply that bright blue eyeshadow make-up! However, you may want to "limit" the concepts you initially explore. For example, I would first see if there is demand for the dress-up concept, and then expand to table wear, etc. and other party stuff. Lastly, this is very basic question but thought I'd ask - are there lots of young kids/pre-teens in the area you are targetting?
Click to view mantapanda's profile Professional mantapanda 3 posts since
Dec 22, 2008
4. Re: Want to start a Childrens Party Dress Up Rental Advice? Dec 22, 2008 1:17 PM
in response to: MetroGal
Hi and Thanks for replying. I agree that maybe I shouldn't include so many thing at first and concentrate more on the costumes. As for lot of kids in the area I am not sure about how many there are or how to go about finding out this infromation? Is their somewhere I could find out how many students are attending the local schools? I think I would mostly target preschool and elementary schools.
Click to view Lighthouse24's profile Mogul Lighthouse24 2,396 posts since
Oct 10, 2007
5. Re: Want to start a Childrens Party Dress Up Rental Advice? Dec 22, 2008 3:05 PM
in response to: mantapanda
This is a great idea, but yes, you'll need to expand your market beyond the local population base of 5,000 to make it a sustainable business.

As MetroGal suggested, I would launch the business with only one or two themes (the Rock Star and Glitz-n-Glamour seem promising).

One thing I would consider beyond the dress-up and games is adding a video element, either yourself or by partnering with someone else who is already in the videography business. Both themes could be geared toward putting on a "show" as the culminating event. Obviously, you (or the partner) could video that "gran finale" show -- but you might also consider offering (as part of your package) something for the two or three kids who maybe aren't into the dress-up, make-up, performance elements so much (i.e., give them inexpensive video cameras and let them play the role of "reporters" who video the preparations, conduct "behind the scenes" interviews, etc.).

After the event, you could either give all the raw video the parents who booked the party -- or as another option, edit the footage and provide them with a final DVD cut, and make copies of the DVD available for sale to other parents (creating another revenue stream) and giving you a follow-on marketing mechanism to reach other potential clients. (You'd need to be sure you have all the necessary legal bases covered relative to making videos of children -- that's not a difficult thing to accomplish in the context of a kid's party, but it's not something you want to overlook, either.)

Good luck with this endeavor!
Click to view rpmpsu's profile Authority rpmpsu 13 posts since
May 24, 2009
6. Re: Want to start a Childrens Party Dress Up Rental Advice? May 24, 2009 6:05 AM
in response to: mantapanda
Just to follow up. How did this business go? Did you ever start it up and do you have a website.