Kirsty Hickson the owner of The Creation Station Driffield, won the award for Best Can Do Attitude at the 'Release the Magic' national conference as she has overcome challenges to make the most of her business.
"I knew starting a business would never be easy and you would think that with 12 years teaching experience behind me I would find it easy to put myself out to an audience. Well the truth is my comfort zone for so many years was to be the quiet reserved type, who very much kept myself to myself and out of the limelight, someone who struggled to talk to people I didn’t really know. Obviously this is not the attitude to have when running a business, so I had to set my mind to not only build a business but to put myself out in the community as a confident franchise owner. So taking the bull by the horns and taking the plunge I have thrown myself into every possible situation that has arose for me, not only to build my business, but to build my confidence and to thrust me out of that comfort zone.
From business meetings with other women, getting myself in the paper numerous times, working collaboratively with my local councils, and taking on market stalls, I am willing and ready to try it all. I am now growing in confidence and also finding the contacts and business network that works for me. From simply contacting my council about a market stall, I ended up building a great partnership with them and worked for them throughout the summer to provide crafts at our local market. Through running crafts at the market I have met some fantastic community members and will hopefully be supporting a community art project in the town.
From the success I have had from working out in the community in my town, I have extended this to grabbing every opportunity to get out and about in my franchise area, from market stalls to events, to joining parent groups and meeting them for coffee and play dates where I can show them who I am and tell them what I do. This has boosted my business and confidence no end.
I still have a long way to go to build the business to how I would like it, but I have made the first steps by doing it, which as I say is completely out my comfort zone. What’s more is that I am absolutely loving the new experiences, meeting people, parents and of course the very reason I went into this, the children. I love running my own business so much, it has made me a more confident person, stronger and a much happier mummy and wife to my family. For all those reasons, I will not be beaten by the hard work. The Creation Station has most definitely been the making of me."
Katie is running her Creation Station classes in Renfrewshire as she wanted to improve her quality of life.
Lyn's award-winning arts & craft classes are sparking curiosity in Watford and Rickmansworth!
Deirdre has recently joined The Creation Station and now runs art and craft classes for all ages in Chesterfield.
Meet Tracy the new 'Head Of Inspiration' at The Creation Station Yarm.
Reshma was a chartered accountant who had a dream of being self-employed so she started a Creation Station franchise in Eastbourne.
Hayley's passion to achieve a flexible work balance and encourage children to ask questions and solve problems creatively has led her to an exciting new career!
Eleanor runs successful, award-winning, classes for all ages in Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Stalham and Wroxham.
Sarah Dunn runs successful, award-winning, fun, creative art and craft classes, after-school clubs, parties and events for all ages in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
Claire Darnley runs 5* award-winning creative art and craft classes in Halesowen, Birmingham.
Jo runs award-winning, fun, creative art and craft classes, after-school clubs, parties and events for all ages in Lancaster and Kendal.
Jen runs award-winning, fun, creative art and craft classes, after-school clubs, parties and events for all ages in Hove, East Sussex.
Abby Newall runs award-winning, fun, creative art and craft classes, after-school clubs, parties and events for all ages in Chichester and Arundel.
Louise was looking for a new challenge and the freedom that flexibility could bring to her working life.
Sarah is inspiring the children and adults of Bury North with classes, parties, events, and more!
Sharon Keirle runs award-winning, fun, creative art and craft classes, after-school clubs, parties and events for all ages in Cranbrook, Dawlish, Topsham and Exminster areas.
Jann Thorpe runs award-winning, fun, creative art and craft classes, after-school clubs, parties and events for all ages in the Macclesfield area.
Chantal Craig runs her Creation Station franchise providing creative workshops for adults, kids classes, parties and events to Hitchin, Letchworth and Stotfold.
Claire Lyon is making Doncaster super sparkly with her award winning creative workshops.
Vanessa Whitehouse is making a difference with award winning Creation Station workshops.
Kate Knubley is running award-winning Creation Station art and craft classes in Wimborne, Verwood and Broadstone.
Emma Winterbourne now runs her own award-winning Creation Station franchise in Thame & West Aylesbury.
Vicky Whitwell is running award-winning, fun, creative art and craft classes, after-school clubs, parties and events in the Coventry West area.
Emma McCalla-John invested her twenty years of expertise in teaching music into her dream of being her own boss.
Lisa Hagg tells us about her six years with her Creation Station franchise and her highlights from 2016 so far.
Find out how Cathy Huston changed career and now runs her own Creation Station business in Preston.
Sarah Cressall talks about the opportunities that The Creation Station has to offer.
Sara le Roux gives 10 insider tips that you need to know about running a franchise!
Shobhana Sankar inspires imaginations with The Creation Station in Surrey.
Ruth Morris, owner of The Creation Station Aberdeen and winner of the Best New Franchisee 2014, shares her story of her first year running her own successful business.
Tracy Hull who runs her Creation Station business in Basingstoke says "I live being a role model to my children.....".
Sarah Finan has taken control of her working life and now inspires children's imaginations with her own Creation Station business.
Liz Cairns passes on her reasons for joing the The Creation Station.
Karen Carnsen says that The Creation Station has given her the confidence to be her own boss and she is very positive about the future.
I wanted to have the freedom of choosing my work hours to fit around family life. I knew I wanted to work with children and be my own boss.
Running my own franchise with a nationwide brand that shared my family and personal values was the obvious choice for me.
Jackie wanted to ensure she had time with her pre-school children but wanted to steadily build a rewarding business that could grow further when they started school.
Lavinia decided she didn’t want to work for someone else but didn’t want to start a business from scratch.
Lucy wanted to give something back to her community and found the values of The Creation Station could help her achieve a fulfilling and rewarding business opportunity.
Following the birth of her twins, Hayley Sugden wanted to go back to work and The Creation Station franchise provided everything she wanted.
I have been running my Creation Station franchise since March 2013 and I can honestly say they have been the most fun filled happy months in employment I have ever had.Kirsty Hickson
I've been running my own Creation Station franchise since the end of last year and love it! The head office team are fantastic and the support and advice I've received from them has been invaluable.Kirsty Hickson
I've bought my franchise from a lady, who has been running it for 18 month at the time and I am now in my 3rd year and am LOVING it!Alexia Ispani
You can run your own flexible business and help inspire children's imaginations with the UK’s leading art & crafts activity company, Us!
Perfectly designed for a Mum who wants a family friendly financially rewarding future.