Mum-of-five Liz Burrin, tells www.motherswhowork.co.uk how she juggles running two successful Kumon franchises with looking after her family. Liz?s five children are aged from six to 13 years, so any work she undertakes has to fit in around school and school holidays, which is why she loves this franchise so much.
Kumon franchises are effectively study centres where children go for tuition. The classes are run outside school hours, so it is an ideal franchise for mothers who are looking for the flexibility of being their own boss, and an income generator that fits in around their children.
How difficult was it to open a Kumon franchise with five children to take care of?
It was very challenging particularly as my youngest at the time was not at school or nursery. However, because of the nature of the job, I started off my Kumon franchise with just a handful of students so my working hours were only a few a week. As the centre grew, one of the most important factors was to make sure I organised my time well so that despite the fact that I was working more hours, my own children didn?t miss out on time with me.
How have your found the work-life balance?
I think any mother who works and has young children finds it difficult to balance work and personal life and I am no exception. I work between 9am and 3pm whilst the kids are at school and still do both school runs and all the running around to the activities such as swimming, tennis, rugby, netball, hockey and music, with my husband helping when he is able to. I then run two Kumon classes a week on top of those working hours and do enrolments and parent meetings out of this time as well. My husband is very supportive and we try and work as a team whenever we can, but we have no grandparents living nearby to help so it is very challenging at times to ensure that everything runs smoothly! The most important thing is that I am extremely organised (probably annoyingly so!) but the fact is, I have to be!
Are there times when you have to sacrifice your Kumon centre for your children or visa versa?
Up to this point I have never had to close my centre because of our children and I don?t think that our kids suffer because of my job as a Kumon instructor.
You have set times where you centre is open, how flexible have you had to become to accommodate everything?
I plan to work everything around my centre times and my husband and I work together to make sure that the kids always have one of us there for them.
What have been the major difficulties you have had to overcome in order to run a successful study centre in Ponteland, Newcastle?
Balancing the children and work ? I do find it hard to switch off from Kumon, especially as all our kids study both Maths and English, so even when I close my office door, there?s the kids Kumon to oversee!
Having one centre and a large family sounds difficult, but you have just opened a new franchise in Gateshead Low Fell. How will this affect your life?
Again, being organised is the key.? It will be difficult, I have no doubt, but as long as I am planned and the kids know exactly the score of how things will work, then I?m rather hoping it will be fine!
You run some sessions on Saturdays – how do you fit time in with your family?
In short, no! Sundays are my time purely for the family. I do miss shopping though – I never get time to do that at all!
What advice do you give to other mothers who want to start a franchise yet still spend equal time with their family?
Make sure you have the support of your own children and your husband or partner. Remain positive and optimistic and be organised ? set aside the time for your family.
How do you plan your day with student work to organise, centres to run and a family to keep happy?
Prioritise those tasks that need to be done whilst the kids are at school. I need silence so that I can concentrate on setting students? work so this is always done in the daytime. My family are happy as long as I?m around and as I work from home the majority of the time this works well.
What do you like most about working for yourself?
Working from home means that I?m there for our kids when the phone rings and they need to come home from school if they are ill. I can make sure their tea is on and ready for them when they come in. I?m able to be flexible when they have school plays or assemblies. I consider myself very lucky that I am in such a fortunate position of being able to balance the kids and my work, however challenging that may be.
If you are interested in running a Kumon franchise, visit www.kumon.co.uk.
