Indefatigable franchisee Louise wins major industry award
06-February-2023
A crafts teacher with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and a seriously ill son has won the hearts and votes of judges to land a major industry award.
Louise Richardson, owner of Creation Station in Fareham for eight years, has won a Great British Franchisee Award – one of the highest honour in the franchising world.
That comes on top of three previous wins - Franchisee of the Year in 2018, the Inspiration Award 2021, and the People’s Champion Award 2021.
“I honestly don’t know how she does it,” says Sarah Cressall, CEO of the Creation Station network. “Louise has had more personal pressure than most of our franchisees.
“And yet, where others have pulled in their energy to focus on dealing with the here and now. Louise gains strength from giving within a structured framework to look after herself as well.
“Apart from running and growing her own franchise, Louise also works as a Business Development Manager, supporting a team of 15 franchise partners in her region.
“We would struggle without her support in Head Office as she is an exceptional organiser with insight, common sense and compassion.”
Former primary school teacher Louise has expanded from initially offering birthday parties and art and craft sessions for babies and toddlers to after-school clubs, holiday clubs and school workshops, as well as piloting adult classes in care homes and creating and establishing Creative Teens sessions.
With a Business Studies degree under her belt, she’s developed her business from three postcode areas to five, which almost doubled her trade, and saw her profit triple in only her second year of trading.
“My eldest son Has Cystic Fibrosis and needs medical treatment for 90 minutes a day,” says Louise. “Having my own business gave me something else to focus on.
“I was able to continue working when I was in hospital with him, even taking resources in with me that I could prepare for sessions.
“Then he was diagnosed as autistic. This has made 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.
“I’ve since been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 2020 which meant I had to completely overhaul how I run my business so I could continue doing it.
“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 a member of staff who now runs all my baby and toddler classes.”
Louise says she’s worked very hard to grow her business back to where it was before the pandemic and has seen class numbers at their highest all year with party bookings increasing.
• The Great British Franchisee Awards are run by whichfranchise, supported by Lloyds Bank, BDO, Worldpay from FIS, AMO Consulting and Chantry Group