“Life now looks and feels very different; I’m very grateful to everyone who has supported me to achieve this.”
New Woman Franchisee: Emily Kerrison, Kidslingo
Feeling as though her career had progressed as far as it could, Emily wanted to channel her experience and energy into something new for herself.
This year’s EWIF awards was a real night to remember for a hundred different reasons, not least being the chance to celebrate some of the newest, rising stars in the franchising world. This time, we were overjoyed to welcome Emily Kerrison as our New Woman Franchisee winner for 2023.
Emily is a classic example of a woman who felt her career had progressed as far as it could, and wanted to channel her experience and energy into something new. After 15 years teaching in secondary schools, she joined the Kidslingo franchise in January 2022, and started her own teaching business based in Ipswich and Felixstowe.
The Kidslingo franchise was founded to give people exactly like Emily the support and business model they need to deliver high-quality French and Spanish classes to kids aged 0-12, and inspire them with a love of language. In just one year, Emily grew her business to include four other tutors, and plans to take on a fifth.
Whilst franchising can give women, like Emily, an incredible springboard to success, this level of achievement is only possible when you pour your heart and soul into a new venture. Emily has shown a level of commitment and determination which really set her apart from the competition.
“It was amazing to win! I was genuinely shocked, as I was up against such stiff competition,” Emily told us. “This only happened because I threw all my energy into my new business, and have a huge desire to be highly successful. I believe I won the award in recognition of the brilliant opportunities I have brought, and continue to bring, to the children.“
Emily’s story shows how franchising is not just a great way for women to achieve their ambitions of becoming successful business owners, but also to turn their passions and interests into an exciting and rewarding new career. For her, this new business is so much more than a way to make better money – it’s a new way of life, for both her and children in her area.
“Learning a language is a key skill, and to be able to teach young children in such a fun way is an advantage to the local area. Winning this award has given me a kind of ‘rubber stamp’ of being a ‘proper business’. It’s also raised the value of investing in a franchise. I think many women don’t really understand what it means to be a franchisee, so I’s been good to talk about this to people.”
As Kidslingo CEO, Anna Neville, says, ”I had huge confidence in Emily’s ability from the offset. She has grown her business beyond my and her expectations in such a short period of time. She is a fantastic example of what can be achieved as a franchisee when you put your mind to it.”
Within just a few hours, Emily was receiving numerous messages of congratulations from her clients, friends and family. And, since winning, her business has boomed as well as her confidence! “In June, I decided to purchase a second territory, and take on two more tutors – growing my team to seven!”
We’re very happy to have given Emily the recognition she deserves for all her hard work making her Kidslingo franchise such a success during her first year.
Franchising offers all women the chance to ‘be their own boss’. Organisations like Encouraging Women into Franchising (EWiF) and The British Franchise Association (bfa) provide support to women wanting to enter franchising with services like EWiF’s volunteer mentors and the bfa’s free online Prospect Franchisee Certificate.
