Jennifer delights in managing her family and Debutots franchise!
14th August 2008 - Debutots
Name: Jennifer
Location: North London
Family: Son, Ben, aged 4; daughter, Thandi, aged 2 and husband, Paul
Jennifer currently works with 6 nurseries/pre-schools, 2 schools and runs 8 parent and child classes.
How does this opportunity fit in with your family life?
It fits in well, as I can choose my own hours. My son's at nursery every morning anyway so he doesn't notice me working. I catch up with any admin or letter writing in the evenings when the children have gone to bed, but am managing to keep weekends free. I also do Debutots parties, but as they're only an hour long I'm happy to do them on the weekends. If I find I've got more bookings than I want while the children are not at school yet then I'll just train up other practitioners to cover my classes!
How much roughly did the franchise cost you?
£6000 fully inclusive (a year ago).
What did that investment buy?
- I retained £1000 of the investment in my business bank account for my first year's advertising.
- The franchise license and full use of the logo
- All equipment including: stationery, leaflets, T-shirts, stickers, visual aids and marketing material including advertisement artwork
- A page on the website and my Debutots email address
- The full Debutots curriculum with comprehensive class plans
- Extensive training, friendly, supportive on-going advice and the huge, fabulous Operations Manual!
Do you get support/training?
I really can't fault the Head Office support. When I was just starting out, I had loads of questions that kept popping up; I have fewer now, but it's very reassuring to know that my questions will be answered almost instantly by people who've got years of experience. There's always someone there on the end of the phone or to reply to emails. They've really been great. Very supportive, very encouraging and also very inspiring.
The initial training was intense, but I learned a huge amount. We had to take classes in nurseries as part of the training, which was daunting to start with, but by the time I'd finished training I felt very confident to get out there and start my classes. I also learned a lot about running a business and more specifically about all that Debutots has to offer. Although it was nerve racking, I loved taking the classes. I've worked with drama with children before, but this was so much more enjoyable and rewarding. The children loved it and participated amazingly well.
Are there on-going costs?
Yes, a management service fee, which is 10% of my sales and calculated monthly. When I'm on holiday and not running classes, I don't pay anything!
What's the best thing about Debutots for you?
I love the fact that I'm delivering a product that I genuinely think is amazing for children. I'm enjoying the responsibility of being in charge and being able to choose my own hours. I'm excited about the business' potential to expand. It's also great to be able to do a job that I really enjoy and that others will gain so much from too.
Are there any down sides to the job?
I think the only 'downside' would probably be the administration that I tend to have to do in the evenings, when sometimes I'm tired from classes and/or looking after my kids during the day. However, I completely understand and accept that administration comes hand-in-hand with running a business and it's just that because I choose to spend my free time with my children during the day, it's inevitable that I'll need to do the admin in the evenings. Having said that, there are so many templates available from Head Office that it does speed things up. Also, as the children get older they’re going to spend longer in nursery or school so in the future I'll have more time during the days to do admin.
Would you recommend this franchise opportunity?
Absolutely - it's great. It's incredibly fulfilling to be running a business as well as being a mum and still managing to have lots of time to be with my children. I also find that being a mother adds something to how I work and to how I relate to the children in my classes; equally, the fact that I am enjoying my work and making learning so fun for the children in the classes adds something to the time that I then spend with my family. An extra bonus is that my children get to hear me tell them amazing stories and I can practice on them!
