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Testimonials
Kip McGrath : Christine McLaughlin & Paul Syrett – Urmston Centre
The Kip McGrath business model is so simple to pick up because at its heart is the one thing all Kip franchisees are good at: teaching. We get so much satisfaction from helping children succeed. We opened for business in April and by June we were already in profit, despite never having had any business experience. There is a huge range of materials at our disposal and support is always available for any issue.
Kip McGrath : Andrew Wilde – Stafford Centre
Kip McGrath Tutoring gives teachers an opportunity to enjoy the most rewarding aspects of the profession whilst providing them with the fulfilling challenges of being self-employed. The business model really works; full training and on-going support ensure that a franchisee has every opportunity to be a successful Centre owner.
Raring 2 Go : Alison - Raring2go! Stockton on Tees
“a great feeling knowing you're making a real difference, as well of course bringing in the money!”
With people leading such busy lifestyles nowadays, coupled with the pressures of family life, at times everything becomes a real balancing act. However, for Alison Nelson - who runs the Stockton-On-Tees Raring2go! - she has found that Raring2go! provides her with that perfect work/life balance.
"Having two children is a full time job in itself, but working as well, can be a real strain, so when I came across Raring2go! it just ticked all the right boxes," says Alison.
Before Raring2go! Alison was teaching Food Technology and before that worked in marketing.
"Because of Raring2go! I am able to spend more time with my children as well as do my work. Infact, it defiantly helps to have children, as this puts you in contact with other parents straight away, who after all are my target audience - so it's great!"
"I get some lovely feedback from both schools and parents about how much they like the magazine, it's proving very popular!"
Indeed it is, last year Alison was invited onto BBC Tees to discuss her Raring2go! venture, and is also picking up a lot of interest from prospective advertisers as well as other schools in the area who are not yet on her distribution list.
"People are generally interested in what I do, and I think this just shows what a great product Raring2go! really is. I enjoy it, plus I get to use my marketing experience that I gained through past employment, as well as keeping in touch with the world of education."
Alison started her Raring2go! business back in April of last year, and since then has built an advertiser base of nearly 50. Her magazine is sent out to a circulation of 15,000. Alison is looking to increase the number of pages, copies and advertisers during the next 12 months.
"It is hard work, but I think if you set your goals early on, and aim for these then anything can be achieved. The work/life balance is a real bonus, and you do get to meet some interesting people, there is never a dull day!"
Want to find out more?
Raring2Go : Laura - Raring2go! Altrincham
“It is hard work, but I think if you set your goals early on, and aim for these then anything can be achieved. The work/life balance is a real bonus, and you do get to meet some interesting people, there is never a dull day!”
Laura Johnson had always wanted to run her own business. For Laura - who runs the Altrincham Raring2go! - it was just finding something that would fit around her family commitments, allow her to continue to look after her two year old boy, and be a business woman all at the same time!
"I was instantly attracted by the Raring2go! offer," says Laura.
Before becoming a mum, Laura worked for a national charity as a project co-ordinator.
"I loved it, but it meant I had no flexibility, as had set times and days that I had to work. Even though my employer was very understanding about my family commitments, I just didn't have the freedom I needed or wanted."
So Laura started to explore other avenues that would suit her situation more, "I needed to be bringing in a decent income, but wanted to be with my son as much as possible. I then came across Raring2go! and it was a perfect fit."
"What really drew me to the offer, was the fact that it was working in my local area. I love it here in Altrincham, and it's great to be meeting new people everyday. Infact since starting up back in March last year the number of mums and dads I meet through my son's activities and when out locally asking me when my next issue is out is truly over-whelming.
Plus the number of my advertisers who display the magazines are always asking me to bring more copies, as when they run out, people have come in asking for a copy because of the great money saving offers. It's such a great feeling knowing you're making a real difference, as well of course bringing in the money!"
Laura is coming up to her one-year anniversary, and her 4th edition is soon to be available, which will be sent out to a circulation of 10,000. "It's been a terrific year, and I'm so glad I took on the Raring2go challenge."
Raring 2 Go : Victoria Drysdale
Victoria Drysdale had always wanted to run her own business. For Victoria – who runs the Aberdeenshire Raring2go! – it was just having the confidence to go out there and do it herself that she needed.
“The thought of running my own business was daunting, I had always wanted to do it once I had my baby so that I could spend time with her as well as continue to have a rewarding and challenging job, but actually taking that step was the difficult part.”
Previously Victoria has worked in marketing, PR, and conference management and from this has skills and experience in sales, print and design and finance.
“Since having my daughter nearly 2 years ago my priorities had changed with regards my working lifestyle. I wanted something that would fit around my daughter, rather than fitting my daughter around my work. The only logical answer was to work for myself, but I couldn’t find that ‘eureka’ idea and how I could keep a good income. I didn’t have the first clue of what I would do, and if it would make any money!”
Victoria then spotted Raring2go! and became intrigued. She went along to one of their open days, and after meeting the team and finding out a lot more she became very interested in the thought of running her own business.
“I could see the earning potential, and thought it could be the ideal chance to get the work/ life balance right! Suddenly what was a frightening prospect became an exciting one, and I was ready for the Raring2go! challenge!”
Victoria has found Raring2go! to be the answer she was looking for, she is able to run her own business and work the hours she wants, whilst being safe in the knowledge that she has the backing of a well established company with a nationwide network of 100 franchisees.
“It’s brilliant,” says Victoria. “Yes you need to have a good head for business but with the excellent support and training provided by the Raring2go! franchise support team; everything you need to know is there for you. Because the magazines are only published four times a year it becomes easier to fit the work in around being a parent.”
For Victoria it is indeed working well. Just a few weeks after signing up, she has put together her first magazine, which was then sent out to a circulation of 10,000. She has just finished the second issue and has over 50 advertisers on her books, and Victoria is looking to increase the number of pages, copies and advertisers during the next 12 months.
Yoga Bugs : Michelle Hart
Meet Michelle Hart, two years ago, Michelle was a high flyer in the online publishing world, responsible for business newsletters and web content. She was top of her game and respected within her industry with over 10 years with the one company. Maternity leave and the onset of the credit crunch has made her think differently and she now runs a successful children’s yoga business (YogaBugs) from home.
Based in Twickenham, Michelle had enough of working within the corporate world, she had a keen interest in yoga for sometime and coming from an entrepreneurial family, she was keen to try something for herself. “Actually, taking the decision to make such a significant life change was very empowering. Now 6 months in, I am feeling more confident and am really pleased with what I have achieved so far. I’m on track to meet my 1st year goals and can really see what a difference doing my own thing has made to family life”.
Looking ahead, Michelle is happy to share her vision “I would love to give every child in SW London the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from yoga” She is already working with the local council and educational authorities to introduce classes within the state system to children, before during and after the school day. Her after school clubs are becoming so busy she is now looking to recruit more teachers to join her team.
“I enjoy the fact that I am now hiring people and creating employment in the area. Many of my teachers are mum’s who want some daytime work whilst their children are at school. The training is great fun and so comprehensive, they just need to come with lots of energy and enthusiasm for the job!”
“I now have waiting lists for classes” she explains as feedback from nursery managers & head teachers has been so positive that she’s struggling to keep up with the demand.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing for Michelle, “it has been quite a change moving from a huge corporation with the back office support which I took for granted to running my own business, it’s been critical to build a good support network around me and learn to switch off!”
Michelle would advise anyone looking to set up their own business to “be realistic about what you want to achieve, keep your focus and don’t work from home if you are the sort of person to get distracted easily!”
Michelle is driven by the fact she is doing something she loves. “I sometimes forget that I am actually working, so for me I want to keep on doing something that I find rewarding and challenging whilst being able to spend time with my daughter (Chloe 18 months) and my family.
Michelle explains how the business fits in with family life “I no longer have a long commute into the city. My daughter’s nursery is 5 minutes from the house and all my clients are within the Richmond, Twickenham and Kingston area so everything is on my door step”.
This new business is a far cry from her corporate world, but for Michelle it has been rewarding on many levels, “I think most importantly. I am doing something that is benefiting the local community. Children have so many challenges facing them on a day to day basis and I hope through YogaBugs they can embrace a basic foundation to lead a healthy way of life”.
Yoga Bugs : Nicola Appleton
Location: Leicester (my area has 50,000 children aged 2 ½ to 12 years, with 368 schools including nurseries)
Family: 2 Children
Names and ages of children: Connor 13 & Caitlin 11
How often do you work? I work daily about 8 hours a day so 40 hour a week. this time is split between developing the business and recruiting and managing my teachers.
How does the job fit around your family life? Pretty well actually! The kids love the fact that I am now around. Before YogaBugs I worked 50 miles from home and never saw the children. I would leave the house at 7am and get back around 7pm if I was lucky.
I have peaks and troughs of where I am very busy and they children know when to leave me alone! They are very good about letting me get on with it and Caitlin has been helping me during the summer holidays by coming to classes and joining in as well as helping me on my leaflet dropping – she is my best ambassador!
How much time do you commit? I commit 40 hours a week. I am still in the early stages of developing the business and I know what I put in now will pay back in the long term and the business grows.
Where do you carry out your work? From Home, I have converted my loft into an office. I find it very important to have somewhere within the house to go and be disciplined about the hours that I work, but also keep the office separate to the rest of the house and home life.
Do you need a car? In my area – Definitely. I need it to visit schools and nurseries and get around to see my teachers.
Do you advertise? Yes, you have to build the brand on a local level. I have found local parenting press along with direct mailings to be the most valuable way of getting the word out. I follow all my mailings up with a call. Developing relationships with my schools and nurseries is now leading to business coming as a result of word of mouth. I have become a YogaBugs addict and make sure I am making the brand visible everywhere I go!
How did you hear about the job? I wanted to find information about children’s yoga for my own children and when I googled it, YogaBugs came top of the pile on all the search engines. Then I saw them on a repeat of Dragons Den… I didn’t realize it at the time but that has given the Brand huge visibility and exposure which helps when you are developing on a local level!
Do you get support/training? The Initial training was excellent but quite intense, there is a lot to take on board but you need the grounding to get you going. The ongoing support is excellent. All my questions are answered quickly and if the team don’t know the answer they will come back with creative ideas.
Are there any downsides to the role? The only downside for me at the moment is prioritizing my time. I found it difficult to know where to focus my energies and where I should be devoting my time. Income is key to the success of any business and once I had the confidence to focus on that I have felt much more at ease with the role.
I would recommend people have proper working capital in place as you need time and money to get yourself up off the ground and through the starting blocks.
Would you recommend this opportunity to others? Oh yeah! Definitely!
My Mag : Carole Aldred
I came across My Mag in February 2005 when my retail business was going through its usual quiet phase following the Christmas rush
I was searching the internet one day for work from home business opportunities that would suit us both and, whichever way I looked, I felt myself being drawn to My Mag! We discussed it overnight and the first thing next morning I was on the phone securing the postcode! We eagerly awaited the pack arriving and, as we had no experience in this area, had made the decision that we would follow the training pack to the letter to give us the best chance of success. With Andrews experience in detailed design drawing he was the obvious one to take on the publishing role and the role of sales and development suited me down to the ground.
Throughout these three and a half years we have experienced various copycat style magazines trying to compete with us in the areas we deliver to. Whilst this has kept us on our toes, I am convinced that the fact we have bought into the My Mag system has given us the knowledge, the support and the confidence to rise above any competitor and continue to grow our business in the process.
I would definitely recommend the My Mag system to anyone who would love to be their own boss, work from home and, if they have children, still be around for them.
