Ashtons Franchise Consulting helped with franchising The Teepover Club, a luxury children’s party business. We spoke with founder Camilla Culshaw about their experience of growing the business by franchising so far….

Basic information:

Founder: Camilla Culshaw

Founded:

Core Business started in 2019
Franchised in 2021

What they do:

They style luxury teepee sleepovers, picnic parties and pamper parties for children’s birthdays or just parties in general. They have a range of themes available and lots of additional extras to make it a real luxury party.

 Why they’re great:

They bring joy and magic to children – enabling wonderful memories to be made. They have won a number of regional and national awards, including Camilla recently winning the “New Woman Franchisor of the Year” Award at the NatWest Encouraging Women into Franchising (EWiF) Awards.

Q&A with Camilla Culshaw:

You can watch the full video interview with Camilla here:

How did you establish the business?

“I started the business about two and a half years ago. I was looking for a teepee to buy for my daughter for her first birthday and I sort of stumbled across the idea. The concept was big in Australia at the time, and my background is in interior

design and marketing – I was just so captivated from it! I thought I can do this with my experience, it went from there really. The market is currently booming.”

Why did you think about franchising in the first place?

“My business was growing, really booming, very quickly and faster than I could ever imagine. I was in a position where I was being pulled all over Hampshire. I was being asked to do parties in Andover, Chichester, the New Forest, and other new locations.

I didn’t want to turn down any parties, but I was thinking logistically – how am I going to do this? There was two ways I could do it – employ a team to work with me or look at the franchising route.”

How did you educate yourself around franchising?

“I did a bit of Googling on franchising, and I came across the British Franchise Association (bfa) website. They had a fantastic course for prospective franchisors, which I did. Then I looked on the bfa website at the sort of people that could potentially help me get to where I wanted to be. I came across Ashtons, and I had a great chat with Nick Williams.”

Who is your ideal franchisee?

“I see the franchise as ideal for mums. I’m a mum myself, it works really flexibly around my family. So, I’m looking at different avenues (for advertising), for example, Working Mums and websites like that. It’s very important to know your target market and place appropriate adverts.”

What is it like being a franchisor?

“I’m really enjoying it. It’s a completely different challenge as I’m no longer thinking just about my business – I’m thinking about growing all of our businesses and looking forward on behalf of my whole franchise network.”

What is your best tip for being a franchisor?

“Don’t try and take on everything yourself. At first, I thought, I can do this, but the more I looked into it, the more I felt I needed assistance. Actually, I needed quite a lot of assistance! Don’t be afraid to seek guidance.”

What does the future look like for The Teepover Club?

“Hopefully many more franchisees. I would like to have a network – I’m aiming for about 40 franchisees over the next five years. My dream is to be known for teepee sleepovers nationwide, with the word ‘Teepover®’ becoming a household name. We have lots of exciting things coming up.”

Want to know more?

To enquire about The Teepover Club Franchise Opportunity, visit: https://www.theteepoverclub.co.uk/franchise-teepee-sleepover

To enquire about Ashtons Franchise Consulting helping you to franchise your business, visit: https://www.ashtonsfranchise.com/contact-us/