It is wonderful to hear about teachers who have successfully transitioned to business owners. We caught up with Fiona Wiseman from Medway Fun Science to hear about her journey from teaching.

About Fun Science: Fun Science specialises in providing science edu-tainment to children aged 3-11 in locations across the UK. Our aim is to foster within children a lifelong passion for learning and a desire to find things out for themselves through access to high-tech equipment in a safe environment.

Fiona’s story…

What Franchise Do You Own?

I own Fun Science Medway

What’s Your Background?

I started as a Teaching Assistant, and then I became a qualified Teacher.

Why Did You Want To Leave Teaching?

I left teaching as I really wanted a better work/life balance. There seemed to be constant pressures from SLT, Ofsted etc and I wanted to avoid this kind of stress. I was also getting frustrated with the system which seemed increasingly broken.

Why Did You Pick A Franchise?

I wasn’t initially looking for a franchise, but a job that would involve going into schools on a sessional basis (prompted by a dinosaur experience day that was held at my then school). While researching opportunities, I came across franchises and eventually decided to go down that route.

I feel, with a franchise, there is a good balance between independence and support. There is no way I would have had the confidence to consider setting up my own business without a solid model behind me.

What Does Your Week Look Like?

My weeks can be quite variable, but at the moment I am running an after-school club one day a week, with birthday parties running on most weekends. During the week I am involved in some voluntary work in my local community, and then I generally spend a short amount of time each day checking and responding to emails.

Other admin tasks I carry out as and when, without a regular timetable. I try and prep for my after-school club at the start of term for all sessions, so that each week takes a minimal amount of preparation time.

What Did You Wish You Knew Before Starting A Franchise?

I think I underestimated the proportion of time that would go into preparation and admin.

What Support Did Your Franchise Give You?

There was initial support with equipment, training and a launch event. On-going support is with the web-site, advertising, booking system etc.

Recently I had a difficult time personally, which meant I needed to reduce my working commitment. The franchise supported me through that – we jointly agreed a reduced monthly cost until I was able to get back up and running again.

What Skills Did You Use From Teaching?

For me, the range of skills I developed as a teacher just meant I had the confidence to know I could ‘handle’ groups of children.

With my franchise, I feel I have all the good bits of being a teacher eg interactions with children, sharing knowledge – and the excitement of discovering/learning something new – but I don’t have the constraints of the national curriculum, and the external pressures that teachers are under.

What Are Your Top 3 Tips For A Teacher Looking For A Franchise?

I don’t really feel qualified to offer tips about looking for a franchise, but what worked for me was finding something that was a good fit to my skills set, and had an ethos that I felt comfortable with. I also asked existing franchise-holders how they felt about the franchise before committing myself  

Thank you so much Fiona for taking the time to share your journey with us.

If you would like to learn more about Mind Marvels you can visit our STEM page or Fun Science website