By Dr. Marianne Whitehouse, Creative World School Franchise

Today’s franchising landscape is more competitive than ever.

With trends shifting by the week and more new brands entering the market, franchisors face decisions, challenges, and opportunities that can mean the difference between record growth and a stalled system.

While everyone is learning as they go, staying competitive comes down to a key balancing act: knowing what to protect and what to innovate.

Since my parents opened the first Creative World School over 50 years ago, the world has changed immensely, yet our core concept still stands strong, making a difference in the lives of our families, franchisees, and communities every day. When I stepped into my role as CEO, I learned quickly that honoring that legacy while driving the company forward is the ultimate test of leadership.

Weighing What Stays and What’s Due for a Change

When new franchisees come onboard, they’re investing in a proven system. Therefore, factors like the core educational philosophy, policies, and standards that made the brand successful should remain in place.

At our schools, that means our enrichment-focused approach to learning, safety standards, cleanliness, and attention to the environment.

Meanwhile, how and where people communicate, how to stand out in local markets, economic trends, and state regulations have all changed throughout the years. If your franchise system doesn’t change with them, chances are it may struggle to survive.

Deciding what and when to change is just as important as deciding to change in the first place, and this is where keeping a regular pulse on your system’s performance, customer and franchisee feedback, and team collaboration come into play.

Learning from Your Franchisees

Over the years, some of the most impactful changes we’ve made have come from our franchisees. Nearly a decade ago, our owners shared feedback that more families wanted a digital way to keep up with their children’s learning and connect with their teachers. That feedback helped us become an early adopter of a mobile app, long before most brands had one.

Our collaboration with owners also identified a variety of fun and unique events to connect with families in their communities. These events have been so successful that we created resources to allow them to be replicated throughout the system.

A huge part of our success comes from our Exploratorium™, the space in all of our schools where wonder, creativity, and inquiry come to life. Recently, franchisees shared that our younger kids were disappointed they had to wait until they were older to experience it.

Together, we came up with a solution that would give our younger students the “wow” experience and meet their developmental needs. “WOW Time” brings this to life, as an Exploratorium teacher visits those classrooms with props, themed lessons, and STEAM-focused enrichment. These are the kinds of innovations that happen when you listen to the people closest to your customers.

Getting Franchisees on Board with Innovation

At Creative World School, we believe people, not just children, learn by doing. Just like we learn from our franchisees, our franchisees also need room to try, learn, and grow.

There will always be things that need fixing, but what separates a good leader from a great one is recognizing what really needs immediate intervention and what can serve as a learning opportunity. Franchisees are more likely to trust their home office team and adopt new initiatives when they’ve also been given chances to try some of their own ideas (provided they’re aligned with brand standards, of course).

It’s also important to remember that just because you roll something out doesn’t mean it’s successful. Welcoming feedback and discussing ways to improve on a regular basis is key to maintaining a healthy and productive franchisor-franchisee relationship.

Maintaining Standards as You Scale

Another crucial part of growing a franchise is ensuring consistency across locations. We learned early on that replication is not as simple as “copy and paste,” nor is it a matter of one-time training for your franchisees and staff.

Maintaining your standards is an ongoing process, and scaling efficiently means being proactive. Too many brands wait until locations start to struggle before hiring support staff or building processes and find themselves playing an endless game of “catch-up.” The critical question to ask yourself is: Do we have the support in place that we’ll need once more locations open?

To scale smoothly, you also need people who know the business inside and out. Bringing someone in from a completely different field creates a steep learning curve. Investing in a team that truly “gets the nuances” makes building and scaling much more efficient.

Just as importantly, leadership must invest in franchisees like they’ve invested in you. As Creative World School has grown, I’ve stayed personally involved—visiting schools, meeting with owners, and reminding them that their voices are vital to system-wide success. When I can walk into a school, greet staff by name, and ask about their families, they’re reminded that although they may be one of many, they are not “just a number.”

Even as you grow, putting effort into those relationships is non-negotiable. On any given day, I can be pulled in a thousand directions, but maintaining those connections remains one of the best uses of my time.

Full Speed Ahead

One of the greatest privileges in my life has been getting to carry on my parents’ legacy while also making room for new and exciting chapters at Creative World School.

When I took over as CEO, I had the opportunity to add my own “flair” to the polished and professional brand my parents had built, introducing a whimsical and fun twist that reflects the families and children we serve.

While our momentum, curriculum, and distinct concept are as strong as ever, we’ve evolved in ways that continue to resonate across each new market we enter.

For me, balancing legacy with innovation was never about choosing one over the other. It’s about knowing what is worth protecting, having the courage to evolve what isn’t, and bringing the people who make the brand what it is along for the journey.

Even as we continue to grow and work toward our goal of 50 locations by 2030, one thing’s for sure: The learning is never done.

Marianne Whitehouse, PhD, is the CEO of Creative World School. The daughter of Creative World School founders Billie and Duane McCabe, Dr. Marianne Whitehouse received her Master’s Degree in Sociology from Indiana University — Bloomington, followed by a PhD in Education from the University of Iowa. Marianne joined the company as CEO in 2000, building on the family’s legacy of educational excellence. She launched franchising for the brand in 2004 to expand its mission of nurturing young learners and inspiring the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and creators. Today, she remains deeply involved in the business, focusing on exceptional learning experiences, franchisee success, and growing with impact. For more information about IFA franchisor member Creative World School, please visit franchise.org/franchise-opportunities/creative-world-school-franchising-co-inc/.