Fifteen mums launch their own children’s arts and crafts Creation Station franchise in August 2016

With the growing demand for more creativity in childhood, fifteen mums have chosen to change their careers and run their own arts and crafts Creation Station franchise.

Now 104 women and men are running their own Creation Station franchise with their own exclusive territory across the UK. The franchise opportunity provides a comprehensive marketing mix of all year round income streams including preschool and family fun classes, after school clubs, retail, party and event entertainment.

Liz Edwards says:
“I wanted to replace my full-time salary and do something that I really enjoyed. When I came across The Creation Station I could instantly see the potential. Their values are all about making a difference, and that’s really important to me.  Training has been awesome! It’s given me the knowledge, confidence and skills to start my business straight away. From the team at Creative Hub to other fellow franchisees I feel I’ve joined a really supportive family, it’s a great feeling”.

People are attracted to the Creation Station because it also offers a flexible business opportunity that can be tailored to suit the needs and aspirations of each franchise owner.

Farah Wahed explains:
“I’d attended the classes with my own children and so I had first hand experience of the benefits of the Creation Station approach on nurturing my childrens imagination and potential.  I reached a point in my career where I wanted to have more control over my working week so I could prioritise time with my children and at the same time build a business was that mine. The Creation Station has so much scope I know I have the potential and support to build my business at a rate that suits me and my family.”

The fifteen new Creation Station franchise owners are inspiring imaginations in the following locations:

• Liz Edwards is running Creation Station Sleaford
• Sharon Keirle is running Creation Station Cranbrook and Exminster
• Julia Martin is running Creation Station Bicester
• Joanna Cameron is running Creation Station Lancaster
• Christina Turnbull is running Creation Station Gateshead
• Catherine Scott is running Creation Station Chester
• Louisa Theyers is running Creation Station Spondon
• Rachel McLauchlin is running Creation Station South Shields
• Tina Harris is running Creation Station Greasby
• Paula Martin-King is running Creation Station Sunderland West
• Farah Wahed is running Creation Station North Finchley
• Victoria Rundle is running Creation Station Malborough
• Cheryl O’Connor is running Creation Station Ormskirk
• Kay Fletcher is running Creation Station Belper
• Laurie Keating is running Creation Station Shirley –West Midlands

If you would like to find out more about running your own Creation Station franchise click below to request your free information pack

The Creation Station Beats 5000 others and to Reach National VOOM Final

The Creation Station has beaten 5000 other businesses to make it through to VOOM 2016. The 10 Impact award semi-finalists made their pitches to a panel of expert judges, and it can be officially announced The Creation Station with the Head Office in Devon has made it through to the final three. This means they are still in with a chance of winning the trip of a lifetime alongside the world’s leading social businesses, during an all expenses paid trip to Richard Branson’s home on Necker Island.

The Creation Station has beaten over 5,000 other businesses to make it through to this year’s Impact award final and the winner is set to be announced ahead of the national VOOM final 28th June.

Presented by Virgin’s charitable foundation Virgin Unite the Impact Award is a specially designated category which will be presented to a business which measures impact as well as profit; finds a solution or environmental need; has a viable and financially stable business model and has impact at the core of its business.

Holly Branson, Chair of Virgin Unite said:
“It is inspiring and incredible to see so many new and established businesses which have Impact at their core. The attitudes of business are changing, profit is no longer the solitary benchmark for success – more and more I’m seeing businesses who are putting their people, the environment and social responsibility at the very heart of their business. I wish each of the three finalists the best of luck – they’re all fantastic!”

The three finalists are Paint 360 from Norwich, MacRebur from Dumfries, Scotland and The Creation Station with 97 franchises across the UK. The Creation Station is a company which has impact at the core of its business – the company is passionate about nurturing children’s creativity.

Since it’s inception in 2002 the business has gone from success to success thanks to the hard work of its colleague base and founder Sarah Cressall – developing the business from one location growing it so it’s now in 97 locations across the UK.

Sarah is a mum of three and was looking for ways to inspire her children’s creative side and encourage discovery through their unique creative potential. The Creation Station was born and their aim is to help young children learn to make choices, share, listen, observe and problem solve.
The judges were blown away by Sarah’s passionate pitch which showed she had the vision and ambition to scale her already well established company.

Anna Jones, Entrepreneurship Director for Virgin Unite and Judge for Impact Award said:
“It’s clear Creation Station has empowered hundreds of women in the UK to establish microbusinesses through its franchise model, whilst offering a product that creates the perfect environment for families to spend time with their children in creative play. I wish Creation Station and the other finalists the best of luck in the final – they’ve raised the bar and we’re all now so excited for the final!”

And the prize awaiting the eventual winner is almost so good it’s priceless! The winning business will get an all-expense paid trip to Necker Island for a four-day Leadership Gathering taking place in 2017 called ‘Disrupting for Good’, six hours of dedicated mentoring and workshops with Virgin Unite and the opportunity to pitch to the Virgin Impact team for investment.

Sarah Cressall, The Creation Station said:
“I’m absolutely over the moon to have reached the top three in this prestigious Impact award. At Creation Station we are really passionate about nurturing children’s creativity and unlocking potential through art and crafts experiences. I’m particularly proud of all our franchise owners and our Creative Head Office team who deliver our brand values through our art and crafts preschool classes, parties, clubs and events right across the UK.  What has been really inspiring is seeing the calibre of great businesses in the UK who are creating change through ideas and innovation. I feel hugely privileged to have reached this stage in the competition. I’d like to thank all the children, families and businesses we have had the pleasure of working with and also to thank Richard Branson and the teams at Virgin who have helped us raise the profile of the importance of creativity in childhood. And finally my wonderful husband Duncan and three boys Sam, Ollie and Josh without whom I would never have started this inspiring business.”

The three finalists will all be invited to the VOOM Live Finale at ITV studios in London on 28th June. Before the Live Finale, they will each take part in in-depth phone calls with the judges in order to decide the winner, announced at event and which will see the national VOOM finalists pitch to Sir Richard Branson, Tyra Banks and some other incredible judges.

Creation Station are entered into Virgin’s Peoples Choice Award which is based on public voting. If Creation Station win they have pledged to invest the £10,000 prize into free local community creative workshops for children and families in need across the UK.

If you would like to find out more about The Creation Station franchise just click below to request your FREE franchise information pack

The Creation Station is passionate about inspiring imaginations and nurturing potential

 

Over 250,000 children have been inspired by an amazing team of 97 Creation Station Franchise owners and the ‘Creative Hub’ Head Office team.

 

Mum to three, multi-award winning entrepreneur and Founder of The Creation Station says:
“I started The Creation Station back in 2002 because it seemed that creativity was being squeezed out of every part of childhood. From results-driven education, to time-poor parents, there wasn’t the opportunity for children to explore, discover and develop through creative activities.

I believed that my three children, as well as others, would benefit from hands-on fun creative activities that inspired their imagination, unlocked their natural curiosity and nurtured their potential.

I feel privileged that we’ve been able to help inspire over 250,000 children and families through our award-winning hands-on creative classes, birthday parties, after school clubs and events. I have been able to achieve this with thanks to an amazing team of Creation Station franchise owners and a great head office aka ‘Creative Hub’ team that I am fortunate to work with. Our 97 franchise owners provide the fun and educational experiences across the UK and in Southern Ireland, they all come from a wide range of backgrounds but share the same core values and want to help nurture the wonder within each child.”

Click here for a little snapshot of The Creation Station’s ‘Inspiring Imaginations’ conference and their award winning franchise owners.

If you would like to find out about the award winning Creation Station franchise just click below to request your FREE franchise information pack

Discover how to achieve flexibility & freedom and run your own award winning childrens arts & crafts activity business

At some time in our lives many of us reach a watershed period and priorities change. For many it is one, or more the following;

• becoming a parent and the all consuming career is over taken by the over whelming desire to be there for your children.
• looming redundancy or being made redundant and wanting to be in control of your own destiny.
• simply waking up and asking whether you want to spend the rest of your life doing what you do now, but decide to seize the moment to follow and pursue a passion or a dream…

Claire Darnley runs the Creation Station and Create Club in Halesowen

‘I’ve been running my franchise for almost 18 months  now and I love running my own business and being in charge of my own future. It has enabled me to enjoy more time with my family than I would otherwise have had and allowed me to see my baby grow into a little boy. I love knowing that there are so many revenue streams and avenues which I haven’t explored yet, however I’m excited that my business can grow with me and my family at a pace which suits us!  Claire Darnley inspires imaginations in Halesowen.

Here at The Creation Station, we know a little about this because we are fortunate to have some of the most talented and driven people in our franchise network. They often have reached a stage in their lives where their priorities have changed  and they have made the decision to turn it into an opportunity to do something about it.

They all identified running their own Creation Station franchise would give them the personal and financial satisfaction that they wanted and needed.

Sara le Roux inspires imaginations in Penistone

“I invested in my ‘Creation Station’ and haven’t looked back since! If you’re looking for a business that is flexible to your family’s needs then ‘The Creation Station’ is definitely for you. With fantastic support from both the Head Office team and the other franchisees, you have an experienced, solid support network available to you whenever you need it. It’s hard running your own business but ‘The Creation Station’ is an incredibly rewarding opportunity. It provides you with all the tools and materials that you’ll need, but still allows you to inject your own individual personality into your creative classes, parties and events.” Sara le Roux inspires imaginations in Penistone

Here are some of the reasons why over 100 proactive and switched on people have decided to invest in their own award winning Creation Station franchise;

• The market is HUGE! – With the squeeze on creativity in education there are so many opportunities to help inspire children’s potential through the award winning classes, parties ,events and clubs.

• High Demand – children love doing fun art & crafts activities and many parents love not having to do it at home!

• Educational Benefits –The creative programmes are all educationally based, to support nurturing each child’s individual potential. They help to develop problem solving, thinking skills, self-esteem as well as physical hand and eye co-ordination and many other core skills.

• All done for you – the session plans are tried and tested and if you want to add your own creative flair you can but you don’t have to. This means it’s really easy to run the sessions. All the products are supplied at a discounted rate and delivered to your door, freeing up your time for the things that matter most to you.

• Exclusive areas with an amazing network – This means everyone has exclusive rights to deliver The Creation Station experiences in their area. This enables lots of  tops tips and ideas shared between franchise owners, providing a very positive and supportive network. Lots of people have said they feel they have an extended family of 99+ friends across the country!

• National Brand – We have helped inspire 170,000 children and families since 2002 through our growing network of successful franchise owners. We are able to work with great partners such as Lego Duplo, Sony, Haven Holidays, CBeeBies TV presenters and many more.

Many people who are awarded the franchise, don’t have any experience of working with children or aren’t particularly creative. That’s ok, because there is lots of training, support and on-going development. What they do have, is the desire to run their own rewarding business as well as achieving personal success.

Penny Gilbert helps children and families explore their creativity in Oxford

“Who wouldn’t love the flexibility of this business! I have been running my franchise for just over four years now and I can honestly say it has ticked all of the boxes. I had set out from the beginning making sure the work/life balance fit in around my family. I schedule my classes, parties and events around my home life commitments and can be Mummy to my children all at the same time as being a successful business owner.” Penny Gilbert – worked in investment banking and is a Brown Owl for the girl guides.

If you feel you would like to find out more, come along and chat with Creation Station franchise owners at a free Discovery Event. Here you can learn more about how this exciting and rewarding opportunity could be just what you are looking for.

The upcoming Discovery Events are: 

Saturday 17th October – Coventry 9.30am -1.30pm

Meet Sara le Roux, Claire Darnley and Catherine Stanley plus head of awards Maggie Seager and Founder Sarah Cressall

>> click here to reserve your place

Saturday 7th November – Hemel Hempstead 9.30am – 1.30pm

Meet Ruth Morris, Claire Darnley, Penny Gilbert  & Nicole Norman plus head of awards Maggie Seager and Founder Sarah Cressall

>> click here to reserve your place

Saturday 28th November – Exeter  9:30am – 1:30pm

Meet Nicki Smith and Alice Simpson plus head of awards Maggie Seager and Founder Sarah Cressall

>> click here to reserve your place

Exclusive areas are going fast so please note when an area is awarded it’s gone. To find out if your area is available email maggie@thecreationstation.co.uk.

By the way, it’s important that you receive the free information pack before a Discovery Event, so if you haven’t got yours yet, click here and we will whizz one across to you.

New Apprenticeship Opportunity in Business and Marketing With The Creation Station In Woodbury, Devon.

A pioneering apprenticeship scheme designed to give ambitious young

people opportunities to build their career, launches at the award winning and UK leading. childrens art & craft activity business The Creation Station.

The 14 month training and development programme will equip 17 – 24 year olds with skills, experience and qualifications in business administration and social media marketing.

Sarah Cressall founder of The Creation Station didn’t hesitate to commit to the programme to take on and support a new apprentice “What the Entrepreneur Circle has put together with Skillwise is a great opportunity to help young people looking to develop their career. For someone looking to kick start a new career, this is a very exciting opportunity as there is huge demand in business for people with digital marketing and  social media experience”.

There is an initial training programme of 10 weeks and a 2 week residential course at one of the Skillwise academies, learning how to deliver marketing and social media support . Successful completion of this stage will see the apprentice achieve level 1 certification in business administration. This will be followed by 12-14 month work placement, at The Creation Station, Creative hub in Woodbury. Successful completion will lead to a level 2 certificate in business administration, plus an NVQ in business administration and an Entrepreneurs  Circle post–graduate certificate in business and marketing.

Applicants must have  at least maths GCSE at minimum C grade. After the initial 10 week training, apprentices will work 30 hours per week, an receive a weekly wage of £100 – £200 per week.

Apprentices at The Creation Station have previously  continued and joined the team in full time employment. So if working with an exciting, creative  and dynamic company interests you, apply on-line by visiting;

www.mynewapprentice.co.uk/dreamjob

The desire for flexibility and running your own business inspires eight women to change their career to run their own Creation Station franchise.

The desire to be your own boss and to have your own flexible business with lots of support, inspired eight women to change their careers. They have moved on from a variety of careers including teaching, genetic engineering, publishing, nursing and also from being a stay at home mum to running their own Creation Station franchise and now inspire their local community with award winning art and craft classes, parties and events.

Finding flexible working that enables parents to prioritise their children and family needs can be a challenge. Many parents want flexibility to have time with their pre-school aged children and also to be there to support their school aged children.

Rachel Simpson from  Nottinghamshire  wanted to change her career from teaching but still wanted to inspire children. Having always dreamt of running her own business but not enough confidence to go it alone, she felt the Creation Station could give her the rewarding and satisfying business opportunity she had been looking for.

Shobhana Sankar from Sutton has a background in genetic engineering, both Rachel Simpson from South Nottingham and Indi Johal from Letchworth Garden City worked as Teachers, Mel Valente from Gosport has worked as a Nursery Assistant and Nanny, Leanne Griffin from Thame was a stay at home mum, Sinead Thornton had a career in nursing in the Republic of Ireland, Hayley Raison from Sevenoaks worked in the Financial Sector, and Sally Martin from Paisley worked in Digital Publishing.

“Since having my daughter Kaydie, 4 years ago, I have been looking for a better way of balancing work and family commitments. Although I worked part time in the financial sector, when Kaydie started school, I was desperate to be around for her after school, as my mum had been for me.  As well as this, it’s  also important for me gain a sense of pride and achievement from my work. When I’m a granny  I don’t want to look back and think ‘I wish I’d done that…’ I want to look back with a feeling of job satisfaction and to say Wow! I achieved that and I loved doing it too.” explained Hayley Raison from Sevenoaks “What I love about running my own Creation Station, is that I am making my future happen by doing the things that I love and that are really important to me – all this is now possible – and it feels wonderful.”

The Creation Station is the UK’s leading and fastest growing children’s creative experience franchise. With a passion for helping to inspire children’s imaginations the experiences include: Baby Discover classes, Little Explorer classes, Arty Birthday Parties and Event Entertainment.

These experiences operate in over 500 centres and are delivered by over 75 franchise owners across the UK.

“I am very proud of our team of franchise owners, as they share our passion and values about nurturing creativity and help to inspire children’s imaginations” says Sarah Cressall founder and Managing Director. “Our eight new inspiring ladies are very warmly welcomed to our team and we are fully committed to support, nurture and help them to achieve the personal and
financial success that they want.”

For more information about The Creation Station experience please visit www.thecreationstation.co.uk  To find out about running your own Creation Station franchise call Maggie on 01395 349462 or visit www.thecreationstation.co.uk/become-a-franchisee

The Creation Station Franchise Wins The Best National Franchisee Support Award.

The Creation Station, the UK’s leading children’s arts and crafts activity franchise business, designed by Sarah Cressall, to support  working mums, wins the 2012 Franchise Marketing Award ‘Best Franchisee Marketing Support’, with McDonalds a commended runner up.

It’s not every day that a business designed to keep three little boys entertained wins the  Best  Franchisee Marketing Award, beating established franchised businesses including McDonalds.  The Creation Station was set up in 2002 by Sarah Cressall, mum to three boys under three and half years of age, to help provide educational creative play activities to develop concentration and inspire their imaginations. Now, over fifty female franchise owners operate across the UK providing toddler classes, local birthday party entertainment and event entertainment for children aged three months to 11 years.

Children's Arts & Crafts activity franchise designed for working mums, wins national award for Franchisee support.

Judged by an independent panel of experts, the Franchise Marketing Award rewards organisations that have raised public awareness through creative marketing techniques and as a result have achieved sustainable growth for their brands.

“Many of our franchise owners hadn’t heard of a children’s franchise before and want to know if we helped them with their marketing. Winning such a prestigious Franchise Marketing Support award is a real testament to the passion and commitment myself and my whole team have for supporting mums with a work from home business, that’s family friendly and enables mums to put their children’s needs first,” states Sarah Cressall  “Our female franchise owners love the flexibility of working from home because it really is designed around family life”.

Adrian Goodsell, Franchise Exhibitions manager at Venture Marketing Group, comments: “The creativity and innovation we have seen in this year’s entries reflects the high calibre of marketing franchisors must use to raise the profile of their businesses and attract potential franchisees.”

The majority of The Creation Station Franchise owners are mums who take their children along to their classes to reduce childcare costs and increase time with their children. The educational classes are based on the government Early Years Foundation Stage ( E.Y.F.S)  and include Baby Classes, Toddler Classes, Arty Birthday party entertainment and Event Entertainment for the public and private 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.

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

Sarah Cressall is listed in the top 100 Mumpreneurs, won the ‘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 three months to 11 years. A network of over 50 female franchise owners operate across the UK.

Follow @sarahcressall

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