17 women leave their jobs to run a flexible Creation Station franchise to have more time to raise their children.

In the past 12 months, 17 women from a variety of careers including Law, Human Resources and Teaching have chosen to run their own Creation Station, the leading children’s arts and crafts franchise. Their reasons given include the need  gain greater flexibility around family commitments and to have more time raising their children. This increasing trend is backed up by a report by the British Franchise Association, who state almost 30% of all franchises are now owned by women.

Diane Wilkinson from Northumberland, left teaching as she found the job meant she was having very little time with her own family “I love supporting children but I was doing

5 more mums run their own Creation Station franchise

more and more paperwork and was missing time with my own daughter” says Diane. “It was a big step to give up a reliable salary and holiday pay but I just felt that if I didn’t take the steps to achieve what I wanted for my family then I would be stuck in the same place and that isn’t what I wanted. The work I do now makes a real difference to children and their families and I also have the benefit of more time with my own daughter.”

After 16 years of being a solicitor Jenny Seymour from Sheffield decided it was time to make a change when she had to miss her children’s Christmas concerts and plays. “I didn’t want to miss out any more on my boys growing up and I realised the only person who could do something about it was me” says Jenny. “I went along to a Discovery event with my children aged 3 and 4 and I was a totally amazed at how much they enjoyed the arts and crafts. I realised what a fantastic business opportunity The Creation Station provided, it was truly inspiring. It was a huge step to give up the security of my career but for me, it is has taken me to a place where I now have the flexibility to be my own boss and to be there when my boys need me and when I want to be there too!”

Many other mums who where working in banking, child-care, the police force and local government have also chosen the benefits of running a flexible, tried and tested children’s activity franchise over having a fixed, permanent job.

Laura Meachin from Bristol was one of five ladies who had just completed their training in May for The Creation Station franchise said “I gave up working in a nursery as I was looking after other people’s children and paying someone to look after mine. It just didn’t feel right. I knew I had to change something, I went to one of The Creation Station Discovery Event and I could see the potential and just know I had found what I needed”

The Creation Station franchise was established by mum to three, Sarah Cressall in response to a gap in the market and in order to gain flexible working around her family commitments. Now, over 60 women run their own Creation Station franchise providing children’s art and crafts classes, children’s party entertainment and event entertainment across the UK. Sarah Cressall’s commitment to supporting women running their own flexible franchise has gained her the title of The Best Female Franchisor Award and The Best Franchisee Marketing Support award.

To find out more about The Creation Station and more details on the flexible children’s arts and crafts activity franchise visit www.thecreationstation.co.uk or call Nicki Lee on 0844 854 5061, or email nicki@thecreationstation.co.uk.

Unleash the Superhero within to create the change you want in your world

My Josh was 10 yesterday  and we celebrated by a little party and going to see the

Superhero’s change their world, unleash your Superhero and change the things you want for the better, in your world.

Marvel The Avengers movie.

Without wanting to spoil the movie the Superheroes where unleashed and the world was saved.

I’m feeling that putting on my Mrs Incredible outfit last week has unleashed  a lot of superhero thoughts!  How often in our own worlds are we brave enough to make the changes we really want, or need. I do believe that we have to be brave if we want to change our world to be the way we want it to be.

I know many of my franchise owners took the steps to change their world;

Watch what Lara has to say:

I am often truly inspired by my franchise owners , as they have identified what they want in their life and have unleashed their superhero to take the steps to change their world.

If you are feeling like changing something in your world and would like some inspiration

>> Request your free Shiny Future franchise info pack

It could be just what you need to help you create the change you need.

If you are ready to unleash your superhero powers and want to find out more, come along and meet some of our wonderful franchise owners at your FREE Discovery event:

>> Click here for details of your next Discovery Event.

 

 

How To Be An Incredible Superhero In Your Business

Mrs Incredible aka Sarah Cressall Founder Of The Creation Station

Running a business takes vision, passion and courage.  You have to use your head, your heart and have guts!

OMG – this has never been truer than last Tuesday.

I invest thousands in to developing and learning more about business and marketing as I believe there is so much to learn and develop and getting a single nugget can be worth the time and investment. So one of the groups I go to is for the Academy of Chief Executives. Mainly men- in fact, all apart from a wonderful lady. So when they mentioned fancy dress a few months ago, I thought, well, might as well go for it.

I popped to our local fancy hire  and came upon the Mrs Incredible suit – It looked like a good costume for the day. At least in the catalogue it did! I didn’t have time to try it on (foolishly some may say)

So I arrived at Exeter Chiefs Rugby ground – a very prestigious place.  A few ladies giggled and asked me if I was there for the careers convention. I said I had already had an incredible job already  I found out that the group had changed venue. I thought it was odd that they hadn’t told me, so I popped along to the alternative venue, receiving a number of weird looks along the way. I leapt out of my car and looked for my fellow team of buccaneers and fancy dressers… but sadly couldn’t see any. I’m sure you’ve guessed by now….They were all there, smartly dressed in their suits, with me, parading in a rather tight Mrs Incredible outfit. They had decided to cancel the fancy dress and apologised for not letting me know!!!

I am sure you can imagine my feelings of utter and total looming embarrassment and wanting to sink into the floor. But rather than trying to hide in the corner – not easy is a vibrant red clingy jump suit,  I just said that The Creation Station has won best Franchisee marketing support and I’d own best female Franchisor of the year, so it  just my Tuesday outfit .

Our focus was doing talks and presentations, with a great lady called Celia Delany, so I also had to stand up and  do a few presentations as well. (I tried to keep my back wall At least they all now they all know who I am!

The incredible things is, now if I feel nervous about doing a presentation, I only have to think … well at least I’m not wearing a rather clingy Mrs Incredible Outfit!

So take heed, things absolutely don’t always go to plan, but when you have  vision, passion and bravery , you can find the golden nugget to walk away with even if it wasn’t what you planned.

So be brave, be the superhero you are inside but just be grateful you’re not wearing the outfit!

Please share your superhero moments with us too

Support With Children’s Play Ideas And Activities Receives Boost with Launch Of National ‘Ribbon of Dreams’ Campaign

The Children’s Trust, Tadworth provides care, education, therapy and rehabilitation to children with multiple disabilities, complex health needs and acquired brain injury (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The benefits for children being given the time and space to play creatively are well documented. This is supported by a recent survey of 2000 parents by Ribena. The survey found that play is vital for physical, emotional and social development in children. It was identified that play which is child-led, free, for its own sake and exploratory is the most beneficial for children and that almost half of parents (46%) want help and ideas on how to play with their children.

With the closure of over 250 children centre’s around the UK, parents and carer’s are receiving even less help with children’s play activities. The Creation Station, the UK’s leading children’s arts and crafts activity provider, has set up the ‘Ribbon of Dreams’

The Creation Station Ribbon Of Dreams Campaign

campaign to nurture childrens imaginations through a series of local and national events running across the UK during the months of May, June & July 2012. All profits from the events will be donated to The Children’s Trust who provide care, education, therapy and rehabilitation to children with multiple disabilities, complex health needs and acquired brain injury.

“We are delighted to be supporting parents, carers and organisations to inspire children’s imaginations, through  childrens art and crafts workshops across the country” states Sarah Cressall founder and managing Director of The Creation Station “We are providing events across the UK for families, nurseries, toddler groups,  pre-schools, brownies, cubs,  shopping centres, county shows  and at events celebrating  the Jubilee and the games to mention a few”

The Creation Station ‘Ribbon of Dreams’ is based on inspiring children to think of want they would love to be, do, create or invent. Children are encouraged to talk about their dream with their parent / carer / Creation Station leader  and then draw and collage the image onto an activity sheet. The images are taken home and can be scanned in and uploaded to become part of the national ‘Ribbon of Dreams’ gallery on www.thecreationstationstore.co.uk

The Creation Station is an ambassador of child led, exploratory creative play. With over 55 centres across the UK, parents / carers and organisations are supported with weekly Baby Discovery classes, Little Explorer classes and Family Fun classes. Other creative experiences include birthday party entertainment and event entertainment

 

You get involved in a variety of ways. Attend one of the many events running across the UK visit  www.thecreationstation.co.uk to find nearest centre. Or visit the gallery on the online store www.thecreationstationstore.co.uk  to download your Ribbon of Dreams activity sheet, then  draw your dream and upload it.

If you are involved in working with children aged 3 months to 11 years, or work within a family focused activity or events organisation and would like to find out more contact Ian Ballinger on 0844 854 9100 or email ian@thecreationstation.co.uk  to discuss how The Creation Station can support the work you are doing.

Calling all Scottish Mums, discover all you ever wanted to know about running your own Creation Station franchise.

Juggling family life and a rewarding career can be really tricky, that’s why so many mums are choosing to look at different options . Take a look at what three local Scottish mums have been doing:

Karen Carnson – Mum to Holly aged 5 and Rory aged 2 recently left her job as

Karen Carnson Creation Station Franchise Owner Perth and Kinross

an Environmental Health Officer to be able to have more time with her children. Karen now runs her one Creation Station franchise in Perth and Kinross. “My old job was not giving me the flexibility I needed to put my family first and the office politics were getting more and more frustrating” smiles Karen “The Creation Station has given me the confidence to be my own boss and I am very positive about the future.”

Liz Cairns – Mummy to Jamie, said “After my son was born I took an admin job that was flexible around my family but wasn’t challenging or rewarding. I knew I needed to find something that would give me my oomph for life back again!” said Liz “ I did  a lot of research and The Creation Station ticked all of the boxes for me.  I knew that this was the business for me” Liz now runs  The Creation Station South Ayrshire Franchise.

Amrit Bedi, is mum to three girls and although Amrit loved teaching she found that it just

Liz Cairns The Creation Station South Ayrshire Franchise.

didn’t provide enough flexibility to really have the time she wanted with her children, “I was looking for something that would work alongside being a Mum.  I realised starting up a business from scratch would difficult and so I started researching franchises.” says Amrit “It was a big step which has worked really well for me and my family, I have the work life balance I wanted and run a successful Creation Station in Glasgow business that I love.” Amrit is talking during Scottish Franchise Week about her journey into franchising and how it feels to be in her 2^nd successful year. You can pop along and meet her on Thursday 3^rdMay at the Hilton Glasgow.

Amrit Bedi Glasgow Franchise Owner

Now, the award winning business has over 60 franchise owners running their own business.

You can meet Amrit, Karen and Liz at a special Scottish discovery Morning on 26^th May in Edinburgh. Here you will see an award winning class in action and meet Sarah Cressall mum to three and founder of The Creation Station. You are welcome to bring you partner and children to this fun and informative event. With over 60 mums already having made the decision to run their own Creation Station franchise, it could be just the perfect opportunity you have been looking for.

If you haven’t got your free info pack yet, simply click here to request yours.

To reserve your place for the Discovery morning on 26^th May, click here, or simply call Nicki, the Creation Station dream catcher  on 0844 854 9100 or email nicki@thecreationstation.co.uk .

To find out more abou the baby classes, toddler classes, family fun classes, birthday parties and events in your area, visit www.thecreationstation.co.uk.

Stay warm, dry and inspired this Spring with free Shape Activities plus 20% discount gift from The Creation Station

With all this rain, we wanted to share with you some cheer and inspiration. So, inspire your little ones with fun and easy shape activities. Colour, paint and collage your own star. Try cutting it out and making a mobile or your own little star puppet.

Create, colour and collage your own star shape

For extra inspiration visit their new online store www.thecreationstationstore.co.uk quote FUN20 to receive 20% off your first order, with free delivery over £40.00.

You can share your images on our new gallery too www.thecreationstationstore.co.uk and win cool prizes too! So pop over and visit us to day for lots of inspiring art and crafts fun.

The Creation Station is the fastest growing, UK’s leading children’s arts and crafts franchise. If you would like to find out more about how this flexible family friendly business could work for you, request your free info pack here: www.thecreationstation.co.uk/franchise-pack or call Nicki on 0844 854 5061.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Related articles

• Get The Inside Scoop & Discover Your Perfect Work-Life Balance Opportunity (yourcreationstation.wordpress.com)
• Creator of the 1st and most successful children’s arts and crafts activity franchise receives The Best Female Franchisor Award (yourcreationstation.wordpress.com)
• Award Winning Creation Station Franchise Combats Rising Childcare Costs To Enable Mums To Run Their Own Business (yourcreationstation.wordpress.com)

Creator of the 1st and most successful children’s arts and crafts activity franchise receives The Best Female Franchisor Award

 

 

Sarah Cressall established The Creation Station in 2002 to create a flexible family focussed business opportunity for herself. Now 10 years on Sarah Cressall supports over 55 franchise owners and has been awarded the title of Best Female Franchisor of the year at the Encouraging Women into Franchising awards.

Although many parents / carers value the educational benefits of children doing creative activities, the thought of doing arts and crafts at home can cause more than just a shudder at the thought. However, mum of three, Sarah Cressall, recognised a gap in the market for children’s educational art and craft classes. Cressall established ‘The Creation Station’ in 2002 and transformed her vision to inspire children’s imaginations into a successful reality. With over 55 Creation Station franchise owners across the UK, Cressall has been awarded the prestigious title of Best Female Franchisor in the UK.

“I am really delighted to achieve such a prestigious national award. I set up my business to support other families and carers who wanted their child to benefit from shared positive, educational art and crafts experiences.  Plus I also wanted my business to work around my own family needs” reminisces Cressall “Other mums were asking me if they could run their own Creation Station. With that in mind, I spent five years 5 developing the business systems, and worked with the British Franchise Association so that it could be franchised, with everything in place to support franchise owners”

Demand for the art and crafts experiences continues to increase with over 48,000 children and families having already experienced the Creation Station art and crafts classes and attended art birthday parties. The Creation Station brand is based on nurturing each child’s own imagination and celebrates each individual journey of exploration and development.

Encouraging Women Into Franchising is an organisation whose members come from all areas within the franchising industry and include: Franchisors, Franchisees, Banks, Consultants, Accountants, Solicitors, Media Providers, Exhibition Organisers, as well as other associated businesses. The Best Female Franchisor of The Year award was sponsored by Coconut Creatives, the leading marketing specialists within the franchise sector.

For more information on children’s art and crafts activities, or franchise opportunities

Visit www.thecreationstation.co.uk or email Nicki Lee on nicki@thecreationstation.co.uk or call 0844 854 9100.

-End-

Notes for editor

For Hi Res images please contact nicki@thecreationstation.co.uk

Sarah Cressall is listed in the top 100 Mumpreneurs, won the ‘Best Franchisee Marketing Support’ award 2012, ‘Best Interactive Business Award’ 2011, the Crème de la Crème business award 2012,  Finalist in The Extraordinary Woman of the Year 2011 award and Business woman of the year 2009 in the Leicestershire awards.

The Creation Station inspires children’s imaginations and supports families with engaging art and crafts classes and parties for children aged 3 months to 11 years. A network of over 55 female franchise owners operate across the UK.

Twitter follow @sarahcressall

Like http://www.facebook.com/thecreationstationltd