You can always tell someone who works with young children – an enthusiasm for life and an alternative perspective are usually giveaway traits. Gareth Samuel investigates what makes working with children such an appealing lifestyle and how investing in a compliant franchise, is almost never a bad decision.

Ask any primary school teacher or classroom assistant – working with children is as frustrating as it is rewarding. Franchises that enable owners to work directly with children, therefore, are thriving, as a universal societal push sees parents and schools look for a more diverse range of activities for them to do.

For many franchise owners, investing in a franchise that enables them to work with children is a chance to forge a closer relationship with their own children and still bring in an income. Jo Weaving made her investment in a music group for children, Musical Minis, in South Wales. Previously she had worked as Store Manager for Carphone Warehouse, but when she fell pregnant with her first child, she knew that her lifestyle had to change to accommodate the new addition to her family.

I get to fit my business around my family life, I never miss a school concert or play and I’ve got a fantastic team behind me to allow me time off when I need it.
Jo Weaving, Franchise Owner Musical Minis South Wales

Jo Recalls: “I knew I didn’t want to have to put Jack in childcare all the time and, even though on paper I don’t earn as much with Musical Minis as I would have done at Carphone Warehouse, I actually take home more because I don’t have any childcare costs and as any parent knows, they can be huge these days. More importantly, I get to fit my business around my family life, I never miss a school concert or play and I’ve got a fantastic team behind me to allow me time off when I need it. It simply couldn’t be better.”

Jo has certainly reaped the benefits of working with children and now 10 years on, Jo has a large team of operatives, which sees more than 90 children per week classes which she runs in church halls and community centres across South Wales.

Many franchise owners are spurred on to invest in a franchise, such as Musical Minis, because of the extra time it allows them to spend with their own child during their crucial developmental stage. Being your own boss is a key appeal of the franchising model for expansion and the freedom that comes with this.

Few franchise owners who work with children are, it seems, millionaires – but for the majority of investors in this growing area, that it not what it is about. Investing in a franchise that allows parents to develop a stronger relationship with their children and give youngsters the chance to discover their individuality provides the proprietor with incomparable riches of a different kind. Franchising opportunities to work with children really do appear to be every bit the key to occupational happiness.