My Story – Why I went From teacher to franchisee to franchsior!
Five years ago I was on Maternity leave – it was coming near to an end and I knew I didn’t want to return to teaching.
After 20 years of long hours, missed bedtimes, missed meal times, weekends spent planning, school holidays spent in my classroom prepping, unreasonable paperwork, I was ready to leave.
I saw an advert for a Mess Around Franchise and my interest was peaked. I downloaded the prospectus, arranged a video call with Krissy and I really, really liked what I saw and heard. I just couldn’t commit financially – going from a secure full-time position to a self-employed salary is a huge risk, especially when you are a family of 5.
So I returned to work as a full-time Deputy Head – for another 2 years I battled on, I was grumpy at home, I hated leaving my daughter for over 10 hours a day. It was now time to leave for good, no matter what the financial burden would be, nothing was worth the person I was becoming.
Just as I was making that decision another advert for Mess Around popped up on my FB feed – it was fate! I got back in touch with Krissy in March 2019 and I launched Mess Around West Suffolk in July 2019.
Did we manage financially? Yes, I won’t lie – I am not bringing in what I was as a full-time deputy head (yet!) but I am also not paying out the childcare that I was, I am more present at home and if I want a weekend (or weekeday) off on a whim I can! I run my own hours, I determine when I work, I decide if the paperwork needs doing or not – The benefits of being self-employed far out-weigh the drop in salary for me.
Why am I telling you this? Well, I want you to know I have been where you probably are right now, I’ve had all the difficult decisions to make – would I change anything? Yes! I would have bitten the bullet and made the leap in 2017! I love my business, so much so that I am still running it whilst now running Mess Around Ltd too!
If you are considering making the leap but are still unsure please do drop me an email – we can have a chat (no obligations) and I can help answer any questions you have. As I said, I have been there and I have experienced it first hand.
Download your prospectus here and drop me an email at rachelle@messarounduk.com to arrange a chat!
