Marketing
Jane Bozic
If you had told me ten years ago that I would be running my own baby swimming franchise I probably would have laughed! At school I was academic and driven and after studying a business and marketing degree in Southampton I began my marketing career. I worked in the industry for over eight years for a variety of companies, including one of the UK’s largest privately owned companies. I launched products worldwide, was responsible for major exhibitions and events, managed brand, marketing and PR strategy and was key media spokesperson. I reported to an extremely demanding board of directors and managed staff both in-house and agency based. At the time I absolutely loved it – it was varied, challenging and involved a lot of overtime!
Then my son Jack arrived and my outlook on life completely changed! I went to a BFA franchisee one-day workshop which really clarified in my mind that franchising was going to be ideal for me. Shortly afterwards I found out about Puddle Ducks. I watched some Puddle Ducks classes and completely fell in love with the programme, it was inventive and fun. I came away from the meeting totally exhilarated - I couldn't wait to get started!
After I signed the franchise contract I received both office and teacher training from Puddle Ducks. It was really hard going and totally took me out of my comfort zone but I came away with the skills to teach my own classes and manage all of the admin associated with running my business. I was given masses of documentation and processes that to this day continue to surprise me with the depth of detail and information. On top of that, Tracy and Jo were always at the end of the phone if I ever needed any questions answered.
I started Puddle Ducks classes 2008 just after the recession hit and initially really struggled to fill my classes. I spoke to Tracy often on the phone and she was always so positive, and never short of ideas! Eventually my classes started to grow - parents and children really do love Puddle Ducks – and it is not surprising! Even with the little experience I had at the time, the training, lesson plans, manuals and support allowed me to achieve amazing results from my swimmers.
Now my business has grown substantially and I often have to pinch myself just to check it’s real! I feel so proud and blessed to be a part of Puddle Ducks – it is a dream to be doing something as rewarding as teaching and there is such an immense satisfaction from building a successful business.
Although running a Puddle Ducks franchise is seriously hard work, I can structure my days to suit my family and I, and I always have the school holidays to look forward to when I really do try to switch off from it all. I'm so excited about the future of Puddle Ducks - both my own business and the brand as a whole: I can honestly say that joining Puddle Ducks is one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Jane owns the Dorset and Southampton franchise
