Imps Club

What is the business? Running children's activity classes using some of the basic principles found in Karate training.

Investment required: £4,995 Franchise fee + £1,000 Equipment fee (also allow up to £4,000 for launch costs, marketing and training).

Earning Potential: £15,000-£60,000+ depending on hours worked. Approximately £40-60 per hour depending on class size.

Is there training/support for franchisees? There is full initial and on-going training up to and including national certification.

Best suited to: An active mum (or dad) who is looking for a rewarding business opportunity that they can work around their family commitments and keep fit at the same time or someone with a fitness/martial arts background looking for a new direction and challenge.

An Imps Club franchisee does not need any specialist knowledge to start with as we have a comprehensive training program and all lesson plans and content are provided. You just need the confidence required to get the message across to children in a very basic way. Lessons are taught via adventure stories and routines in which children join in with the emphasis on FUN! Another advantage is that you get fit and active at the same time!

Above all you must love working with children and helping them build confidence.

For more information: Imps Club Office on 0800 7566990. You can find out more information about Imps Club on our website www.impsclub.com

Name: Maria

Location: Bristol

Family: 3 children aged 11, 9 and 6.

How often do you work?
I teach 9 hours per week and am about to launch 3 more. I run some of the classes straight after school at 4pm and some during the day for pre-school. I plan to add more sessions during the day when my children are at school.

How does the job fit around your family life?
The job is perfect for me. I drop the kids to school and then run a class at 10am and then sometimes another at 2pm which leaves me enough time to finish and be there to pick my kids up at 3.30pm. In my after school classes my kids come with me and join in the fun.

How much roughly did the franchise cost you?
I was up and running for under £10,000 all together and recouped most of this back within the first 6 months.

What did that investment buy?
The start up costs bought me the initial franchise licence for 5 years, training to get me to a certified Level 1 instructor, detailed CRB check, franchise manual, lesson plans and a huge training bag full of props to use in my lesson adventures, a professional fitness level CD player, 2 Imps Club Gi's (uniform), polo shirts and tracksuit, large supply of merchandise including t-shirts, grade books, belts, certificates etc. I also had a large supply of posters, leaflets, brochures and business cards.

Do you get support/training?
I get all the support I need. The initial training was superb and as a complete novice I soon gained the knowledge and confidence to deliver the Imps Club lesson plans. I'm really getting fit now and I aim to get to a Level 2 instructor by continuing with the Imps Club in-house training program.

Are there on-going costs?
Apart from the management service fee of 10% there is very little on-going costs. There are optional training courses that you can attend and apart from topping up my merchandise stocks (which I make commission on) there is very little else.

How much do you earn roughly?
I earn an average of £40-60 per 45 minute class. This is after taking out all costs. I also get 25% commission on all merchandise sold.

Do you advertise?
We are heavily promoted and supported by local schools and sports centres and classes can be full before you even start them! Before starting a new class I will use the Imps Club promotional flyers to advertise the class. Imps Club also list my classes on their website and advertise on national children's activity website. Imps Club also provide me with a cover letter of introduction to local authorities.

What is the best thing about Imps Club for you?
The best thing about Imps Club for me is I can earn a full time salary from part time hours that are flexible work around my family commitments. Working with children and seeing them develop confidence gives me a huge sense of satisfaction. To see a shy child that will not let go of their mother's hand in week one turning into a confident and motivated child in week four always gives me a glow of pride in my work.

Are there any downsides to the job?
I suppose there are down sides in every job and you really need to motivate yourself in Imps Club as children can easily pick up if your in a bad mood! So I have to always think and be positive, forget my bad mood and smile, not a downside exactly but something that I did not have to worry about when I worked in an office!

Would you recommend this franchise opportunity to other Mums?
A year ago I would not have believed it possible that I could have achieved all of this. Don't get me wrong, it has been hard work learning and getting my classes up and running but I now love what I do and would not swap it for anything. I would recommend an Imps Club franchise to anyone who loves being around children and has the drive and motivation to make it work for them too.