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."
Anne Crump shares how she changed career to do something she loves .
Hannah’s return to work after maternity gave her the motivation to be her own boss doing something she loves in Norwich .
Deirdre has recently joined The Creation Station and now runs art and craft classes for all ages in Chesterfield.
Louise was looking for a new challenge and the freedom that flexibility could bring to her working life.
Vanessa Whitehouse is making a difference with award winning Creation Station workshops.
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.
Sarah Cressall talks about the opportunities that The Creation Station has to offer.
I've been running my own Creation Station franchise since 2014 and love it! The Creative Hub Head Office team are fantastic and the support and advice I've received from them has been invaluable. There's a great national network of franchisees who can answer any question you ask, at any time of the day (or night!)Louise Richardson
Who wouldn't love the flexibility of this business! I can honestly say it has ticked all of the boxes I had set down from the beginning with 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.Avne Wilson
The head office team are fantastic and the support and advice I've received from them has been invaluable.Kirsty Hickson
Perfectly designed for a Mum who wants a family friendly financially rewarding future.
You can run your own flexible business and help inspire children's imaginations with the UK’s leading art & crafts activity company, Us!