FUN FEST

I have worked with children for over 20 years, both in the UK and overseas. Previous roles include Entertainments Manager for Thomas Cook, Kid’s Club Manager at Eurocamp, Front of House Manager at Oxygen trampoline park, SEN TA, Nursery Play Worker, Personal Tutor in A levels, Sublime Science Party Host. We were mid moving house from Lancashire to Cheshire and our move was delayed by 3 months over summer. I applied to work at Fun Fest Hartford for the summer and took on the role of Club Manager. I had never understood the term franchising, but the opportunity to purchase the territory became an option. I always wanted to run my own business, and my husband has substantial success as a business owner. We don’t have children and are quite ambitious!

My new role was term time only starting from September, allowing me the flexibility to run Fun Fest alongside my contract job. Wez and I met with 3 directors formally to discuss how it would work and we spoke to the bank to see how they could support us. I knew from working in the club it was a unique approach to childcare during the holidays; having a menu of activities so children were at the core of the club. We didn’t do any other club visits or discovery sessions – I just experienced 6 weeks running one!

I knew we had the right franchise as I believed in the product. The logo and colours are vibrant and fresh, the concept that children could create their own timetable was new and exciting.  I liked knowing support was on hand for the admin side of the business, as Ofsted and Early Years knowledge were not in my dominant skillset. I was excited, Wez believed it to be a nice hobby job and extra income earner!

We spoke to the Franchise support team at HSBC, as recommended by the Fun Fest directors. We took out a small business loan and Wez also invested part of the initial amount. I didn’t really understand that side of it – this is how we pull on the skillset from our partnership.

Working at a 6th form college, I had direct access to industry professionals. We hired the law lecturer (who had his own practice) to read through the contract and explain any bits we didn’t quite understand. To be fair, the contract was quite simple but do seek out support to guide you through the process – investing in a franchise is a life changing event.

Do your research and ask other franchisees about the commitment required to run that particular business. Even with just one successful club, I found that I was working evenings and weekends term time around my full time job to stay on top of the workload; not quite a part time franchise as initially expected. We wanted more clubs in our territory and the ability to focus on it full time. Lockdown pushed the final button and the determination to succeed, coupled with my own belief if I could commit fully to the work, led to me quitting my full time job in July 2021.

You MUST find a franchise that makes you smile – it will become your life and you need to believe in it to make it work. Surround yourself with the right people. Now we have expanded to 5 clubs and 4 territories, Wez is working more hours with Fun Fest to support the financial growth of the business, so I can concentrate on the actual club quality and daily tasks. As we continue to grow, he will invest more time into the business so luckily I don’t need to worry about that part! We have outsourced our HR and recruitment program, as this is ongoing throughout the year. After working long hard weeks for so many years, it is difficult to find a work life balance that works. A nice problem to have and we wouldn’t change it for the world!