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Become Part of the TeamSo, you think you might want to join us... Make yourself comfortable, and I'll explain how losing my hearing, being a deaf Mum to 2 hearing children and starting a business have resulted in me being able to bring you an outstanding franchise opportunity for just one mumpreneur in each area of the UK. If you've been looking for a way to improve your work/life balance and enjoy a secure and reliable source of income - a business that you own and run yourself - that generates not only high levels of profit but also provides...
...then this may well be the most important thing you read all year. IS THIS YOU? Do any of the following paragraphs sounds familiar to you? "I want more time with my family" "I would love to work school hours so I can take the kids to school and pick them up" "I'm worried about my job. I'm not sure what the future holds and I need to secure a more dependable income for my future." "I can't stand the work politics any more. I need to be my own boss." "I've was recently made redundant and I don't want to be in that position again. "I've looked at loads of different franchises and business opportunities but wonder if they will offer me enough support. I just need a little direction and a kick-start, and I can run my own business." "I want to take control of my life" If you can relate to any of these statements, then you are not alone. Background by Julie Ryder, TalkFirst Founder
Over the following months and years my hearing deteriorated, for no known reason, to the level of profound deafness in both ears. I couldn't lip read and I certainly didn't know any sign language. My whole world changed and I felt my hearing identity slip away with nothing there to fill the gap. I had problems at work; my employers were sympathetic but didn't really know what to do with me. I saw friends who I'd known for years lose touch and social occasions were something to be avoided rather than look forward to. By the year 2002 - 11 years after the onset of deafness - I was married with two small children and could not understand ANY speech sounds even with hearing aids. Lip reading by now was my main method of communication with some signing thrown in. As you can imagine I felt low and tired, so when I got the opportunity to have a cochlear implant to improve my hearing on the left side I jumped at the chance. The operation proved to be a great success and opened up my world. My voice volume and quality improved. I could understand speech in a quiet room without having to lip read. For the first time I could hear my children's voices - they were aged 2 and 3 years old by then! I learnt to use an amplified phone and watching TV became easier. I still consider myself deaf, and my implant is one of the most successful in Manchester, but life is much less tiring and my confidence, self esteem and general health have all had a great boost! Not only that but both companies I have founded are as a result of my deafness. I established HearFirst Training in 2002. HearFirst delivers in house training courses across the UK to local authorities, NHS, Housing Associations, Children's Centres etc. We have a small team of deaf and disabled tutors who deliver deaf awareness training, British Sign Language, disability equality and awareness courses etc. Because we have all faced discrimination first hand we are passionate about bringing about positive changes within organisations that will make real differences to D/deaf or disabled people. For more information please visit www.hearfirst.org.uk My 2nd company followed in 2006, yes you've guessed, it's... TalkFirst Baby Signing. It started when we were working with several organisations who work with young children and they asked if I knew anything about baby signing. The experiences of being a deaf Mum to 2 hearing children, an accomplished trainer together with the extensive research I undertook meant that I could confidently say 'yes' I do know about baby signing and I can put together the best classes to teach them in terms of quality, education and fun! And that is exactly what I have done - add in the development of a unique signing puppet called Dexter, the first BSL baby signing dictionary in the UK and a healthy interest from a TV company to bring Dexter onto our screens and there we have it. I have however a problem - I can only be in one place at once. It makes sense to be a tad less possessive and franchise the classes so other people can teach our brilliant baby signing classes in their own areas. Susan Broxton became our first franchisee in 2006. She now runs several classes. The classes were an overnight success and she is looking to expand the number of classes on offer. 'You can't beat the job satisfaction when a parent tells you their baby is signing and communicating before they can speak. I started signing with my youngest 2 children and that's how I got into this. I now have a successful business which fits round my family life and gives me a lot more satisfaction than my previous job ever did. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't all been plain sailing, setting up a business with 3 children under 6 has had it's ups and downs but there is so much potential for me to grow my business as my family grows and because it is a franchise I get all the support I need from Julie and her Team at Head Office.' So there we are folks - after thinking the onset of deafness was the end of my life - it has proved to be the beginning of a new life which is more exciting and enriching than my old life was! There are a few things you ought to know... FACT ONE - Baby signing reduces frustration for child and parent. It brings on speech and accelerates language acquisition. There are no down sides. FACT TWO - More and more parents want to give their child a head start and are using baby signing. It is a growing market. FACT THREE - Babies keep being born. It is an endless supply of custom for you. Now those facts together create a scenario that represents an outstanding business opportunity, for those people able to see it and grab it. I mean, a truly outstanding opportunity. We are talking 'once in a lifetime' type of opportunity here - because this is going to be life changing for you... Think about it... Baby signing classes: Run by local parents, for local babies, Supporting parents and carers, BUT, crucially, you are supported by Head Office to ensure you can offer the best classes in the UK in terms of quality, education and fun. All offered within term time and school hours. The Opportunity TalkFirst is a recognisable brand, the focal point is Dexter, a large brightly coloured puppet who comes alive each week to teach the signs. The children love Dexter and he is very good at keeping the children's interest at the weekly classes. As a franchisee you will be given your very own large Dexter puppet to love and cherish! Large puppets are ONLY available to franchisees. Many of the children coming to our classes want their own Little Dexter and sales of merchandise, including the Little Dexters to take home, form an additional income for you. All the lessons are themed each week. You are supplied with lesson plans for a whole academic year which are well structured, of an extremely high standard and proven to work well for all concerned. Established methods of teaching are used, but above all, the classes are fun! There is plenty of music involved in every class but you are not expected to sing note perfect! Backing music and A3 sized song sheets are included in your franchise pack (which you display at your class) so there is no excuse for parents not to join in with you. Lots of other puppets and props link into the weekly theme and the children always get chance to use some of the musical instruments. WELL HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT BECAUSE IT GETS EVEN BETTER... Although you have everything you need to run a class, the most important ingredient is YOU! You can bring your own personality and style to your classes. Go for it and make the class your own! This is an extract from a real email sent by a Mum to Susan, our franchisee in East Lancashire. "We have loved your class over the last 12 months. Your classes have been thoroughly enjoyable. Charles is so much more advanced in his vocabulary for doing the signing not only is it so worthwhile it's so fun. We can no longer come to classes but we will still keep signing. It's a big part of what we do. We think you are fabulous - a huge thank you. It's a super job you do making such a difference to the world of new parents and babies alike." Apart from teaching the classes, part of your role is to fill up the places on your classes - don't worry though we cover all that side of things in the initial training and it's all there in your manual as well. What about signing experience We would like all our franchisees to have a qualification in signing or have signed with their own children or in a work setting. The good news is, we can offer BSL training to North West England franchisees via our sister company HearFirst. TalkFirst baby, Lois signs - she's 1 year old! Lois is now signing 'bee' and 'poo.' She did the poo sign when she'd filled her nappy the other day and we were well impressed! I think she's really starting to grasp this signing lark now. What Do I Need To be successful in this business you need to provide three things:
We'll provide you with everything else you need to build a wonderfully successful business - generating profits - right from Month One! Please note - you will be CRB checked. ONGOING INCOME FOR YOU... Oh, and finally, one really important business element - your customers sign up for 6 weeks at a time. Classes are different every week for 1 year. Many parents stay with you for the full year. Your classes are so good, why wouldn't they? This means that you are not having to find replacements for all the places on all your classes every few weeks. So more time is spent GROWING your business or just enjoying what you have. Now, hopefully, you're seeing why this is such a great franchise - and such a perfect business opportunity from your perspective. I'll give you the critical detailed financial projections shortly. But first I need to tell you that you can earn extra income from:
You will provide valuable classes to parents to help them:
Well, you can see why they'll want to come along to your class can't you. Don't forget, each area can only have one franchisee so get in touch today to make sure you don't miss out. What Can I Earn? Now, let's just go through the financial side of this business. Income Whilst the earnings potential vary from person to the next, you can work out what YOU would make from the following:
Remember, extra income is made through selling TalkFirst merchandise, teaching Baby Signing to Professionals and holding children's parties. Costs Now, with any business, it's not just the income that matters - it's the costs and, ultimately, the profit. And, once again, I've only got good news for you. You see another great advantage of this business is that you have minimal overheads. Room hire cost depends on where you are based and what connections you have! You'll also need some petrol money to get around but there really aren't any significant overheads. All your admin is done in the comfort of your own home. Licence Fee There is a monthly License Fee to pay for being a franchisee. Now for this, you're getting everything provided for you. All the website hosting, development of the class lessons and full support from the friendly folks here at Head Office. The License Fee is a percentage of your class takings. It is a fixed percentage so you know exactly where you stand. There is no Licence Fee to pay on Merchandise sales and parties etc You will have very few other monthly expenses. For more detailed financial projections please contact us. What Does It Cost? I guess, at this stage, you might be a little worried that the cost of a franchise like this has got to be too high. It's not, I promise. Franchises are £4000 plus VAT. Don't forget that for this you get everything - and I mean everything - to enable you to set up classes that are earning from day one.
To ensure your success as a franchisee we have put together a unique package for you. It includes:
ONGOING SUPPORT YOU'LL GET FROM US Right from Day One you'll feel supported and cared for by us. Matthew and Julie are a husband and wife team and work 'hands on' supporting franchisees. They have created and developed TalkFirst and care about it. They know that the success of TalkFirst is in the strength of the franchise network. The network is small because we are a young company. It is an exciting time to come on board. Everyone here is dedicated, fresh with ideas and positive. We are all pulling in the same direction and are committed to the success of each and every franchisee. Other support includes:
HOW TO APPLY Because we are responsible franchisors and also because each area can have only one franchisee (and we want to make sure it's the right one!) this opportunity is not open to everyone. We are carefully selecting the individuals that we allow to come on board. If you are interested in becoming involved and running a franchise in your area then you need to contact us on:
Tel 01706 872816 We are also planning some Open Days so you can meet us on an informal basis. Dates will be posted here shortly. If you can't wait contact us NOW. The following training dates are 2 day courses for new starters. New franchisees are required to attend one of the following 2 day training events prior to running their own classes
For more information on franchising we recommend you look at the following Websites:
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I was 21 years old in December 1991 and was working at NatWest Bank in
Rochdale. I picked up the phone and noticed
that I couldn't hear that well. After seeing my GP (thinking that my ears needed syringing) I was referred to an ENT
consultant who gave me the surprising news that I had a mild hearing loss in both ears and would need to wear hearing aids!
© 2006 TalkFirst Baby Signing Ltd