Childproofing and child safety products have quickly become one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. In 1997, parents spent more than $1 billion on a wide variety of products to safeguard their children. Safe & Sound, the country’s leading child safety company, has recently announced the beginning of its 1998 franchise program. The program is designed to offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to enter one of the most promising franchise markets available today.

Safe & Sound is the first in the industry to offer franchises in professional childproofing services that include comprehensive education programs for parents. Certified child safety specialists conduct room-by-room evaluation of a home’s potential hazards. The specialists take time to learn about each family and then design custom safety solutions that grow with that family over time.

Safe & Sound will work with each new franchisee to select an exclusive territory based on demographics and forecasted growth potential.

LATEST RESEARCH & INFORMATION

Training, certification and marketing support for franchise owners will be coordinated through the company’s national headquarters in Philadelphia. In addition, the company will provide owners with access to an exclusive database of updated safety and product information 24 hours a day, seven days a week through its own intranet connections and its Safe & Sound Advisory Council. The council is the first of its kind. Council members include nationally and internationally known safety specialists, product engineers, physicians, and child psychologists.

The Safe & Sound Advisory Council continually researches child safety issues and provides the latest information to franchise owners and the media.

"All our research into this industry points to tremendous growth," says Richard Shandelman, president and CEO of Safe & Sound. "Childproofing services is a perfect business model for entrepreneurs looking for high return with a minimum of inventory and capital expenditures."

MAN AT THE HELM: RICHARD SHANDELMAN

Richard Shandelman, president and founder of Safe & Sound, is one of the country’s foremost experts on home child safety. Safe & Sound is a national child safety company that identifies and eliminates dangers in the home, educates parents and creates positive environments for children. Safe & Sound has recently signed an exclusive agreement with Jefferson Health Care System to provide discounted services to all members.

Safe & Sound’s intensive, child safety education program, developed by Rich, has been endorsed by top doctors throughout the sate, including the Chairman of Emergency Medicine at Memorial Hospital in York, Pennsylvania.

Currently, Rich lectures on child safety to community groups and a variety of charitable organizations. From the ground-up, he designed child safety consulting programs for Gerry Baby Products and First Alert. Rich has also launched partnerships with major Pennsylvania home builders to design custom, child-proof home packages for new home buyers.

By conducting room-by-room home surveys, rich works with parents to identify children’s safety hazards. He then recommends practical solutions. Rich has designed dozens of top ranked child safety products, and worked closely with the National Safe Kids campaign, he has also served as an expert – evaluating and reviewing hundreds of child safety products currently on the market. He holds several U.S. patents in electronic, mechanical and plastics design.

Before founding Safe & Sound in 1992, Rich spent 15 years designing and developing new products for Fortune 500 companies all over the globe.