Making the leap from a stable teaching career to owning and running my own franchise music and movement business with Boogie Beat was a daunting step. However, after only 18 months of running my business, I was honoured with multiple award wins and nominations. In 2024 alone, I won the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Franchise Business of the Year Award at both the regional Scotland and national levels, as well as the Encouraging Women in Franchising (EWIF) New Franchisee of the Year Award. Additionally, I was a finalist for the Virtual Franchising Award’s Franchisee of the Year and the Shining Star Steve Franks Award at the What’s On 4 Kids Awards. These recognitions have been a humbling reminder of how far I’ve come since making the leap into self-employment. As I reflect on this journey, I realise how much my teaching career has contributed to my success as a franchisee.
Transferable Skills: From Classroom to Business
There are obvious connections between running a music and movement franchise for children under five and teaching Primary One. The most significant is my love and enthusiasm for working with children. Working with children and families has always been a passion of mine, and I was thrilled to incorporate that into my new sole trader venture.
With over 10 years of experience in schools, I had a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw from when dealing with various situations. This background has enabled me to provide high-quality, curriculum-linked music and movement workshops and classes within my community. But beyond the obvious skills, there are other, more subtle qualities I developed as a teacher that have helped me in this transition.
Wearing Multiple Hats
As a teacher, you’re required to wear many different hats. There’s the obvious role of teaching children, but there’s also planning, time management, and collaborating with colleagues and external regulatory bodies to create a cohesive experience for children and families. Building relationships is a huge part of teaching and, of course, of running a business.
As the franchisee of Boogie Beat Edinburgh, Mid and East Lothian, it’s my responsibility to build relationships with my team, my franchisor, and other important figures in the community, such as nursery managers, care home activity coordinators, local hall and community centre administrators, and local community groups like playgroups, Rainbows, and Beavers.
A key part of maintaining these relationships is having excellent communication skills. Keeping everyone up to date with the correct information in a timely manner is something I excel at, thanks to my teaching experience. In teaching, I often liaised with multiple partners to create action plans for specific children or families, ensuring everyone worked together as a team.
Organisation and Attention to Detail
My teaching career also honed my ability to keep detailed and accurate records. In education, it’s essential to track where a child is in their learning journey and provide evidence to
support their progress. Similarly, with Boogie Beat, it’s crucial—especially when running multiple classes with different team members—that I have an oversight of who is attending which class, where they are in their Boogie Beat journey, and what support they need to participate fully. Ensuring that the community centres or halls we use are fully informed about attendance expectations is also vital.
Teaching is an all-consuming job, and there’s a famous quote that resonates with many who have made a similar transition: “I left my full-time job to get a better work-life balance by working for myself, and now I work all the time.” Coming from a career that requires hard work and dedication, where downtime is a rarity, I’m accustomed to operating at 100 miles an hour. I’m used to juggling many different tasks simultaneously while meeting essential deadlines, and these skills have significantly supported me in building a successful business in a relatively short space of time.
Building a Sense of Community
One of my biggest concerns when leaving teaching was losing the sense of community I’d built with colleagues, students, and families. However, running Boogie Beat has allowed me to create a new kind of community—one that includes my incredible team, the children and families we work with, and the wider local groups and organisations we collaborate with. Managing a small team is an absolute joy, and I’m grateful every day for the opportunity to combine my passion for working with children with the challenge of running my own business. My team brings so much enthusiasm and creativity to our work, and together, we’ve built something truly special.
Giving Back Through Charity Work
Supporting local charities is a cornerstone of my business values, and I’m incredibly proud of the impact Boogie Beat has made. In 2024, we partnered with Love from Jamie, raising £1,500 to help families facing the devastating loss of a child. This charity provides vital financial and emotional support to those in need. Looking ahead to 2025, we’re thrilled to support Team Jak, a charity close to my heart, which brings joy and comfort to children with cancer and their families through play and music therapy. Integrating charitable giving into Boogie Beat is one of the most rewarding aspects of what I do, and I’m committed to continuing this work in the years to come.
Building a Successful Business
I am a hyper-organised person who uses time blocking as a major part of my organisation system to ensure the smooth running of my business. I deeply care about the experience that children, families, and elderly people have with Boogie Beat, and I do everything within my power to listen to and act upon feedback, continually improving our offering.
The skills I developed in my teaching career have been instrumental in my success as a franchisee, and I look forward to seeing where this journey will take me next.
If you’d like to learn more about how I started my journey with Boogie Beat and the key lessons I’ve learned along the way, I was honoured to be featured in a detailed article on
Money.co.uk. The article provides insights into my experiences as a business owner and the values that drive my work. You can read the full story https://www.money.co.uk/business/case-studies/boogie-beat-music-and-movement
Find out more about running your own Boogie Beat franchise here
