Ashtons Franchise assisted in franchising Little Dreams Consulting in 2021, after the founders realised a growing demand for their baby and child sleep consultancy.  We spoke with Jenna Wilson about their journey so far….

Basic information:

Founders:

Jenna Wilson (original business)
Fay Smith (co-founder of the franchise)

Founded:

Core Business started in 2016
Franchised in December 2021

What they do:

Little Dreams Consulting are baby and child sleep consultants, working with tired parents around the UK to help everybody get a better night’s sleep. They work with children from 4 months old up to 10 years old using a behavioural approach to provide support to the families.

Why they’re great:

Founders Jenna and Fay are both passionate and highly qualified professionals in sleep consultancy. They are positioned as experts in the area and as such have won awards, spoken on local radio and regional news, been featured in The Telegraph and The Times and spoken at a number of related industry events.

Q&A with Jenna Wilson:

You can watch the full video interview with Jenna below:

Why did you choose to franchise the business?

“A family friend mentioned franchising when I was just starting to grow, I initially said it’s not for us. After a time, when we realised there was so much demand, and also that different areas of the country have very different cultures, and we are not experts in all of those, that the way to grow is to make use of those cultures and areas”.

Why did you decide to work with Ashtons Franchise Consulting when franchising Little Dreams?

“We wanted to do this properly, we didn’t want to do a half-baked franchise, we wanted to speak to the professionals, so that is why we contacted Ashtons Franchise. One of the main reasons we wanted to go with Ashtons was that (in being able to also use Ashtons Legal) it was a very joined up process – so we had our advisor, Richard Langrick, from Ashtons Franchise and then our solicitor, John Chambers, from Ashtons Legal and they were able to discuss things between them, so nothing was lost in translation”.

Why did you decide to become a BFA Member?

“We felt it was really important to be accredited to make sure that we did everything properly (that is another reason why we chose Ashtons Franchise as they are recognised by the bfa), and for potential franchisees to recognise that what we are offering is the highest quality franchise. Then there is the support that they offer – we didn’t realise how much support there was out there for us”.

Who is your ideal franchisee?

“They are most probably going to be a parent – a lot of the interest we have had so far has been from mummies who are highflyers in their careers but then they have had children and realised that actually it isn’t going to work around their family. There are sleep consultants who are daddies, so we are very open to daddies as well. The franchise is ideal for anyone who wants to make a success of the business but also wants to be mindful that they want to work it around their family”.

What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learnt since franchising?

“Managing the relationship with franchisees and trying not to treat them too much like employees, because that has been what we have been used to. It has been a learning point in that they need more freedom”.

What does the future look like?

“We would like 5-6 franchisees this year, a few more the following year, so that in 3 years we are well established at 15-20 franchisees. My business partner, Fay, and I are looking forward to supporting other people to run their own companies and help families get a much better night’s sleep”.

Want to know more?

Enquire about the Little Dreams Franchise Opportunity.

Enquire about Ashtons Franchise Consulting helping you to franchise your business.