From redundancy to a Clive's Easylearn Pop Music School franchise
Sharon McCarthy
Sharon McCarthy
Clive's Easylearn Pop Music Schools
Andover and Salisbury
Having been made redundant twice in the last 3 years, it occurred to me that no matter how hard I worked and no matter how many hours I put in, my destiny was not really in my hands but in those of someone else. It had been mentioned to me before that I should look into running my own business but having had no experience and with the economic ‘doom and gloom’ painted in the press every day, I was very nervous about actually taking that step.
I had worked in the Telecoms industry for about 12 years and had successfully set up 24/7 customer service centres and achieved great things with them but somewhere over the last couple of years I had lost my motivation and was being a ‘wage slave’ rather than loving my job like I had previously. Looking back I had become disillusioned and really needed a change!
When I was made redundant at the end last year I initially decided to take a little break from the rat race and spend some time around my family which I did and thoroughly enjoyed. That made the thought of going back to work in an office even more unbearable – I really wanted a job that I could do at home, see the kids off to school and back again, nag them to do their homework and take the dog for a walk during the day ... surely that wasn’t too much to ask? Well in most companies that really is too much to ask. Flexible working isn’t thrust upon you with much willingness and if you suggest working from home your employer normally thinks you just really want to hide for the day! So, I began my search for the ‘perfect’ job that ticked all of those boxes and soon realised that it wasn’t going to happen if I went back in to the same environment.
Around the same time my son, who is at sixth form college, started a part-time job as a tutor for a local music school. He would come home so motivated after spending a few hours teaching kids how to play that I was intrigued enough to look up the music school on the internet (I mean it’s not often you get an 18 year old enjoying his part time job is it?). I then read about Clive’s Easylearn Pop Music Schools and that they were part of a franchise and I could actually imagine myself setting up my own. I had the sensible arguments in my head about ‘the right or wrong time’ to start a new business but realised that if people were spending money on their children’s education and social activity in this current economic climate (which they obviously were), then what better time to start than when it might be at its hardest. If I could make it work now then it seemed to me like it would be successful long term.
We contacted the owner and franchisor of Clive’s Easylearn Pop Music Schools, Clive Brooks, and had a meeting soon after to discuss the opportunity further. It was evident from facts and figures that even in the current climate we would be able to fill two schools very quickly. My husband and I investigated the idea of a franchise business and soon realised that whilst you run your own company, you have the back up of a much larger organisation which appealed to me immediately. Running a franchise business really does take away so much of the risk as you are using tried and tested methods but you have all the pleasure of making the business your own.
Committing to the franchises seemed exactly the right thing to do and I have very quickly got stuck in to setting up the schools. In fact, we have been so impressed with the business model and how easy it is to replicate the success, we are in the process of signing for two additional schools in Salisbury which will open in September. The back up and support offered by the Clive’s team is second to none and they really want us to succeed – it is a breath of fresh air working with such like-minded people.
I believe that the current uncertainty in the job market has actually given me the push I needed to set up my own franchise business – it is exactly the right time because I want my success to be in MY hands and not someone else’s. Not only has this opportunity rejuvenated my flagging motivation but it has given me the opportunity to work flexibly from home (without feeling guilty) and it has also put me back in control of my career and there aren’t many other jobs out there that can offer that at the moment!
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