Louise Richardson – Winner of Great British Franchisee Award 2023
Louise Richardson worked as a teacher but things changed back in 2014 when Louise had her second son. Louise wanted more control over her working hours to be able to support her children and provide extra support for her son who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.
“I loved my teaching role and knew I wanted to continue to work with children but I needed more flexibility than teaching could offer. I came across The Creation Station and I had a big ‘A-Ha!’ moment. This could be something that would work around my family’s needs and something I would LOVE to do. Eight years on – I have been able to achieve my goal of more time with my family and also run and grow my own very successful Creation Station business. which I absolutely love.” Louise Richardson Franchise Partner in Fareham and winner of the Greta British Franchise awards.
Here is how Louise has grown her business and achieved the flexibility she needed.
Louise initially began by offering family classes – art and craft sessions for babies and toddlers, alongside birthday parties and event activities.
The Creation Station Head Office team are very proactive in responding to market opportunities and developing new income streams for franchise partners. In October 2014, when the new activities within the education sector were developed Louise trained to provide After-School Clubs, Holiday Clubs and School Workshops.
When Creation Station launched its sessions for Adults in 2017, Louise was one of the first to take part in some of the pilot activities which enabled her to run sessions in Care Homes and for Adults in the evenings, and it was incredible to watch her business continue to grow and develop. In 2020 she was involved in creating and establishing plans for our Creative Teens sessions when The Creation Station realised that this was the only age range that they didn’t offer sessions for.
Louise has worked brilliantly across her local community during the last 8 years. As well as running holiday craft sessions as part of Port Solent Kids Clubs, she has provided crafts at The Taste of Wickham Festival and also attended Wickham’s Jubilee Big Picnic Lunch event. She has participated in creating a Christmas window display for Wickham Community Centre for the last 2 years and several years ago created a backdrop for the stage at their Christmas Lights Switch-On Event.
Louise has also loved being able to support various charities including George’s Rockstars (who fundraise for musical therapy in children’s wards in the local hospital), a counselling service that offers a retreat day for victims of sexual trauma and Crohn’s and Colitis UK. She has also donated craft materials to the Play Workers at her main local hospital several times.
Recently Louise has developed a partnership with Westbury Manor Museum, and will be running a number of craft workshops during school holidays and weekends.
While Louise’s business was flourishing, she had numerous personal issues that she was also having to manage:
“My eldest son has cystic fibrosis and needs medical treatment for 90 minutes a day. Having my own business gave me something else to focus on.
He has had several hospital stays of 10 days – 3 weeks over the last few years, but I was able to continue working when I was in hospital with him, taking resources in with me that I could prepare for sessions and running Zoom calls on my laptop.
Then in March 2021 he was also diagnosed as autistic. This made even more demands on my time as his anxiety levels are huge and it has been a challenge to balance my family life with my work life.’
Louise’s 2 Sons
To make things even more challenging, Louise was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in February 2020.
Louise had to ‘overhaul’ her business processes to keep it going:
“The pandemic actually helped, as I was able to take some time out to evaluate my business.
When I returned I focused on my most profitable classes. As people’s confidence returned and classes got busier, I employed an amazing member of staff who now runs all my baby and toddler classes.”
Sarah Cressall, CEO of the Creation Station network, said:
“I honestly don’t know how she does it. Louise has had more personal pressure than most people and yet presents the world with a very positive attitude.
We would struggle without her support in Head Office as she is an exceptional organiser with insight, common sense and compassion.”
Louise with Sarah Cressall – foudner of Creatio Station, winning the Franchisee of the Year Award in 2018
Louise offers a wide range of exciting art classes across Fareham, Portchester, Wickham and Cosham:
View Louise’s Classes Here
Click below to find your local award-winning classes, parties and events from your local Creativity Ambassadors.
Find Your Local Award-Winning Activities Here
If we don’t have a Creation Station in your area, find out about running your own flexible fun and rewarding creative business with full training and ongoing support.
