How Covid forced a franchisee to become even more successful
05-October-2022
Necessity is the mother of invention - and Emma Winterbourne, a young mum herself, has won a prestigious award for being the very embodiment of that spirit of survival.
Emma, owner of The Creation Station in Thame and Aylesbury, found her entire business model undermined by the Covid crisis, with no chance of delivering face-to-face crafts lessons and parties during lockdown.
So she adapted to survive, taking her sessions online immediately, with no previous experience - and the experiment was so successful that online lessons are now a major part of her business and she expects to double her turnover within a year.
“It’s difficult when your business is service-driven rather than product-driven, so I’ve reshaped my business as the market has changed,” she says.
“I’ve even been delivering online lessons for babies, which I never imagined was possible. Some of my fellow franchisees decided not to try it because it was too scary, but I can’t believe how successful I’ve been in bringing a group of babies into my business as new customers.
“The children I’ve always supported need a challenge and another face to see, even if it’s over Zoom, and their parents need contacts with the outside world.
“The parents say I’m the one normal thing still in their lives at the same time on the same day, week in, week out. Their one little bit of normal.
“The pandemic has brought us closer together. I’ve built up a special relationship not just with my franchisor but the other franchisees in the network.
“We’ve supported each other, we’ve been there for each other, I found a lot of strength and resilience I didn’t know I had, and I was able to share that with people in the network.”
She describes her award success as like winning The Great British Bake-Off.
“I love the recognition for all the hard work and passion I’ve put into my business.
“You can be a mum and a business owner and get through adversity and get an award like this. When you’re self-employed, there’s no-one to tell you well done.”
Emma won the newly-created award from whichfranchise for being an outstanding franchisee in all aspects of her business.
The Great British Franchisee Awards recognise franchisees’ exceptional performance and business experience, ability to drive business growth, staff retention, customer satisfaction, community involvement, inspired leadership, and franchise involvement.
The awards are run by whichfranchise, supported by Lloyds Bank, BDO, AMO Consulting and Chantry Group.