Ducklings Early Learning Centers
Ducklings Early Learning Centers is a family-founded childcare franchise, launched in 1994 by Kim Collier’s mother.
The company started offering franchise opportunities in 2017, selling its first franchise in 2019. Today, Ducklings operates 16 locations, with a 17th opening soon and five more scheduled for next year, along with several more in the pipeline.
Kim Collier
Kim Collier is the Chief Development Officer at Ducklings. She leads franchise growth with her two sisters and a team of long-time “ducks.”
Her role is to support franchisees while driving the brand’s expansion.
“I enjoy most about my work is being able to build relationships with people… you get to meet some really great people who share your interests and want to make a difference in the world.”
— Kim Collier, Ducklings Early Learning Centers
The challenge
Expanding a childcare franchise brings unique challenges:
- Each site requires a large real estate footprint and a high investment.
- Developers often present specific properties first, rather than starting from a top-down market analysis.
- Franchisees need reliable demographic and market data to build business plans and secure funding.
As an emerging brand with fewer than 50 locations, Ducklings needed a geomapping solution that could:
- Quickly evaluate new sites and surrounding demographics.
- Support franchisees with credible data for business plans.
- Be simple to use without requiring GIS expertise.
“My franchisee needs this for their business plan, and I don’t have it. And now I feel like a schmuck because I can’t answer that question.”
That’s when Smappen entered the picture.
The solution
Evaluating New Franchise Locations
Ducklings uses Smappen to analyze the demographics and market potential around properties presented by developers. Unlike top-down site selection methods, Ducklings often works from the property outward:
- Property Analysis – When a developer offers a location, the team first checks demographics and competition in Smappen.
- Market Validation – Smappen helps confirm whether the surrounding area can sustain a new childcare center.
- Franchisee Support – Kim can send a territory analysis within minutes, giving candidates immediate data for their business plan.
“Smappen gives us the ability to do exactly that — check out the piece of real estate, investigate the demographics around it, and see if it’s going to be a good place to put a Ducklings.”
Integrating Smappen Into the Franchise Toolkit
For Kim, Smappen is now part of Ducklings’ franchise development toolkit alongside tools like HubSpot CRM:
- Rapid response to developer proposals.
- Accurate territory insights to avoid guesswork.
- Data-backed decisions that help franchisees and speed up approvals.
“Having a company like Smappen in your toolbox is a real game changer because you can’t do everything on your own. You really have to have trusted partners right there alongside.”
The results
Since adopting Smappen, Ducklings has achieved:
- Faster franchisee support – Candidates receive territory insights almost instantly.
- Confident site selection – Each new location is validated with demographic and competition data.
- Empowered growth – Franchisees can present stronger business plans to secure financing.
Smappen according to Kim
“Smappen frees me up to do my job while it does the heavy lifting on location analysis. It’s exactly what I needed for our growth.”
Kim Collier
Chief Development Officer at Ducklings Early Learning Centers
