Latest / The Women Behind the WOW / Georgia’s Story: From Class Leader to Toddler Sense Business Owner
Transcript
- Lee Whitwell: Georgia. ⁓ before we get into the business stuff, can you tell everyone who you are, where you're based, which WOW program you run and what your class is, unlike families that have never been to toddler sense before. Georgia: Happy. Lee Whitwell: Today I'm chatting with Georgia who runs Toddler Sense and owns a WOW Centre Now I really want to speak to Georgia because it really shows how confidence and opportunity can grow over time. started as a class leader, moved into franchising and eventually opened her own WOW Centre. So today is going to talk about that journey, what she learnt along the way and what she loves about Toddler Sense and what she would like to say to someone wondering whether this could build something. Georgia: Okay, so yeah, I'm Georgia. I run Toddler Sense in Chichester and Haven't. So Toddler Sense is amazing. I love it. It's so much fun. And there's so much variety. think that's what's so amazing about it. So a typical class is you arrive to a wonderful play area with soft play, balance equipment, ball pool, tents, tunnels, bouncy castle, really working on little ones, gross motor skills and burning lots of energy. So it doesn't matter if they're... crawling or trottling, up, so jumping and running. There's lots of things for them to explore and develop those gross motor skills. So that's first part of the session. And then we move on to then our second part, which is our leader led. So that's where I lead the activity. So we do singing and dancing, bubbles and lights, parachutes, puppet shows, definitely a favorite of mine, the puppet shows, and so many more things. And... As I said about variety, every single week is different, so every week is a different adventure. So whether it's under the sea, or whether it's dinosaurs, or going to the circus, there's always something different. So it's exciting for the children as much as it for the adults, because you don't know what surprise we're going to have. So it's amazing. Lee Whitwell: I love all that. Okay so go back what year was it when WOW became part of your life? What happened? Georgia: 11 years ago. So 11 years ago, I had my little boy, who's not so little now, he's only 12. And I was in a job, I was working in school as a teaching assistant at a special needs school, just doing part time. And I did enjoy it, but didn't feel the same. I didn't enjoy it the same as when I was there full time prior to having my eldest. I was just looking for a change, but I knew I still wanted to work with children. I just didn't know what I wanted to do. And so I purely was just Googling and came across Baby Sensory actually to start with. And I thought, well, this sounds fab. I want to know more about this. And then I stumbled on the fact that you could get a franchise in it. And I was like, okay, this seems interesting. And so I went along to a class to see what it was like. didn't take... My eldest at the time, he was a very busy child and he would have been the top age of the classes and I thought, actually, no, I just go just to see it in action ⁓ because I was looking at it as a point of doing it rather than just going as a parent. So I went along and I loved it and I thought this was fantastic. But the thought of running a business really, really scared me ⁓ and I always wanted to do it and I was quite determined. That's what I wanted to do. But at the same time, the experience I'd had previously working at school, when I was a swimming teacher prior to that, I've always worked with children, but children, not babies. And also not really the parent side. So teaching swimming, you just have the children, the parents out the way. it was a weird way in the sense of I wanted to work with children, but I just didn't feel very experienced in this. So I actually started as a class leader. And that really then boosted my confidence. And I was like, actually, I can do this. But then because of WOW is incredible and has lots of other programs, I then found out about Toddler Sense, which I hadn't originally found out about, I started with baby sensory. So then found out Toddler Sense and I was like, this is a bit more me. However much I loved baby sensory and I did two years of that as a class leader and I loved every minute of it. When I then... experience travel sense, I was like, this is more me. It was more energetic, it was faster paced. And I got that interaction with the children a lot more than I did with the baby sensory. So yeah, so then I trained as a class leader and then for a year I did that. And then I finally took the plunge and took my franchise on in Chichester and Heaven. So yeah. Lee Whitwell: So right from the beginning you actually were thinking about a franchise, right from the beginning you were actually thinking that one day you might start your own business but this was a little bit of a step in for you. Georgia: Yeah, but it boosted my confidence, knowing definitely I want to do it because it is a commitment. There is a financial commitment in there. I had to make sure that it's going to work with my family and still gave me that flexibility with a young boy. And so I just wanted to be certain. So that's why I do it that way. But I'm also quite driven. So I'm like you said, I knew I wanted to have a franchise. I wanted to have that business. So it was like... It's that next thing of what I'm looking at. So I'll find my confidence and then I'll, yeah, I'll then take on the business. Lee Whitwell: So you were a franchisee for Toddlersense. No, sorry, you were a class leader for Toddlersense. And then, so the opportunity came up in an area that was a business already running or it was a brand new business or had you told the person that you worked for in the beginning? So how did that all come about? Georgia: Yes. Yeah, so with the Baby Sensory and the Toddler Sense, they're actually two separate franchises in two separate areas. But they both knew from the beginning that's where I was heading. That's what I wanted to do. And yeah, so they obviously encouraged me and was like, well, we'll help you, support you. to feel like you can do it, they've done it. So they supported me and encouraged me to do it. And yeah, when I was in a position that I was like, yeah, I'm ready now, I can do it. And I took on an area that there wasn't toddler sense. there was baby sensory running, a separate baby sensory. So not actually one that I've been working for, but she's very established, but there was no toddler sense at the time. then, yeah, so I came along and started that nine years ago. Lee Whitwell: So what were you most nervous about? were you, you know, you learned all your lessons, you knew you could do it. That gave you that confidence. But actually in terms of a business, what were you most nervous about? Yeah. Georgia: Wow, all of it really, even though I was confident in the classes and I told myself this, I was going to get comfortable with the classes and then I can then put my energy into the business side. was a still, are they going to come? Are they going to come to my classes? Because they haven't heard of Todd Cassens. And yeah, how do I run a business? What does that entail? Is it a bit of social media? Yeah, even like doing the... the figures and all these kinds of things that don't come naturally to me. And they are things that I don't like doing. I like doing classes. But it was a very much like, don't know. having support of my regional to one, give me that confidence of like, yes, you can do this, but also just to break things down and say, well, this is what you can do. And this is how you can look for venues or even going to the Baby Sensory franchisee and having a conversation with her and she's directing her graduates. So I had a natural flow of these people that were leaving her classes and looking for something. So, yeah. Yeah. Lee Whitwell: was it difficult? Like I know that's kind of that fear isn't it, it's the unknown but when actually you start, what was, was there anything in the beginning that was the trickiest thing? Georgia: Smugly not filling the glasses. I was blown away. That went really well. There was a, think because of the baby sensory was already there. There was a natural flow and also all these past customers that were looking for something and there isn't anything like toddler sense. There still isn't anything like toddler sense. yeah, so that bit was okay. It was then juggling it all was quite hard because it's not just turning up, it's, my territory is a lot further from where I live. So it was the juggle of, I had a trailer, so going to pick up the trailer, then driving to the venue, then setting it all up, make sure I had it all ready. So it's like an hour and a half to two hours to set up. It was the journey was half an hour to an hour depending on traffic. So it was all those kind of logistic-y things I think was trying to get my head round. But again, once I got into the flow of it, it was... It was okay. And I learned things like how to turn the trailer in the wind and the snow and the ice and what happens when you get yourself locked out of a building and you can't get back in and yeah, trying to unload your trailer in the pouring rain. But it didn't matter because as soon as you started your classes, opened door to families, they just walked in, went, wow, and loved every minute. So all those challenges I had in that morning, you forget, you're like, yeah, this is great. Lee Whitwell: I started with a trailer and I can remember, I was all right going forward and I had a long journey. So I had an hour's journey, but I couldn't go anywhere on the way home where I might get stuck. I was often like, yeah, ⁓ gosh, what's the film? Austin Powers, do remember the Austin Powers scene? Or occasionally I had to just. unhook it and turn my trailer around and go in the right direction. I I learned quite quickly, but yeah, I had a trailer for a Your equipment, Tona Sensor equipment, would have been a bigger trailer than I had for Baby Sensory. Georgia: was a hefty trailer. And not quite as easy to unhook and move, but you can do it. It wasn't as easy. Lee Whitwell: No, gosh, yes, I remember those days. ⁓ So I think one of the trickiest things when someone starts up, and actually as a regional, there's not much that you can help really, apart from reassuring, is finding venues. Because finding a venue that, first of all, you're starting and you want to grow, but you don't. You don't want to book it for the whole day, but it needs to be available. Finding a venue that is big enough to run these fabulous programs that we run. I think that's, and I think that can be quite, you know, like it's one of those first things that a franchisee has to do. And I think it can be quite, you know, I talk a lot about resilience, but that's right. The beginning is finding that perfect venue on the right day that you want it for the right hours, all of those things. So how did you find? Georgia: Yeah. Lee Whitwell: finding venues in the beginning. Georgia: It was quite hard because yeah, like you said, you look round and some will be like a sports hall and yes, it's got the space, but the acoustics are wrong or it's too big and that you know the children are just going to just run laps of the hall or others you look at and you're like, this is perfect, but they've got like chess club or a craft club for like an hour smack bang in the middle of when you need it. So it was perseverance, a little bit patience. So some venues it was I like it when, just let me know, can you put me on a waiting list? Can you let me know when you have that availability? ⁓ And sometimes it was having those conversations and being like, look, I'm going to be able to give you this many hours. ⁓ So it kind of depends on the hall, because some of them, if they've got a business head on, they're going to go, well, I'd much rather have you in for the whole morning, ⁓ potentially more if you're doing afternoon classes, than one hour in the middle of it. Yeah, lots and lots of conversations, lots of looking at different halls. And even you have to think about like access to the hall, how easy it is because we're 12 % got a lot of kit. So have to think about is it upstairs or is it like you've got to go through 10 doors and all these corridors. Like it's not going to work. Like you have to have a door that's right out into the car park so you can back your van up or your trailer right to it and just not bring everything in. So there's lots of kind of things like that you've got to think of and There are lots of halls and sometimes it might be a scout hut or something like that. It's like a hidden away that you wouldn't necessarily know or some schools have halls available for community use. there are other things. Sometimes we just think of village halls, but there are other options, but it just does take time just looking around, even just going for Lee Whitwell: Yeah, I mean it all gets sorted, it all gets sorted doesn't it? It all gets sorted relatively quickly but I think that's in the beginning that can be quite one of the trickier things to do. Georgia: I'm not worrying, I think if you feel like actually no, this one hasn't worked and you find another one or this is temporary while you're waiting for that amazing one, like it's okay to change. Like you don't feel like you started there, you have to stay there. Lee Whitwell: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I think that can be again, yeah, changing venue or changing day can feel perhaps like, ⁓ but it all works out. There's enough customers, isn't there, that they're going to be happier coming there or, you know, happier with that particular day or that particular time. I guess actually in any of the businesses, it is, you know, it is having the confidence to... change and make things and make things suitable for you as well actually you're never going to please all your customers but actually it needs to fit in with you and it needs to fit in with your life at that time doesn't it? Georgia: And I think that was a big thing. I'm a people pleaser. So I want to please everyone else. And I always want to make the time right for the families or the venue right for the families. And it's like, well, I've got to think about myself as well. And that's why I've gone into having my own business so I can fit it around my family. So yeah, you have to be sometimes thinking, actually, no, if that doesn't work for me, if I need to start my class a bit later because I'm doing the school run, then that's OK. Families, they work things out to be able to come to classes. So, yeah. Lee Whitwell: Definitely. So your story is interesting because... ⁓ At what point did you think, do know what? So within WoW, I don't know how many years ago, everybody had the village halls or venues. No one ever, no one thought about having their own venue. And then one of our franchisees, let's say 10 years ago, I'm making up that number, launched their own venue, their own WoW center. And we were like, what is this? What is this crazy concept? And then I know it's for us it's been like this thing we've all kind of wanted but you know and some some franchisees have been in this business for 10-15 years and they've still not done it but you did it really quickly and you did it with Tottenham. Georgia: Yeah. So yeah, I did after a year. I had, obviously I had my couple years of experience as a class leader, but for my own business, after a year, I took the plunge and went for a PV. I think, so my regional at the time, she had a permanent venue. So it was always kind of a thought at the back of my mind that this is what I'd like to do, but hers was baby sensory. So I didn't know. if I'd find a space that would be big enough, but the thought of not having to tow my trailer and lug all this kit was just like, I need to try and find something again so I can fit it around my family. The thought of just being able just now to lock the door and walk away is brilliant because I can just go, oh, I'll come in half an hour early to finish up whatever I've not finished or managed to finish doing. Yeah, for me, I was like, I need this space. And yeah, I just started looking ⁓ and found it on Rightmove for four places. So it worked out well because it's a place that some, wanted someone to come in and look after the place. They didn't want to hire it out like a village hall. They could have done, but they didn't want to. They wanted someone that was going to be here looking after the building. yeah, so that's, yeah, that's me. Nearly eight years. Lee Whitwell: So how have you made, so I guess you've got a venue that you have to fill, but you can fill it by doing parties? Georgia: Yeah, yeah, so I run my classes during the week and I do parties at weekends. There is scope for me to do more and I definitely want to. It's just again, it's just finding that balance for me as well. But I can, I can recruit and I have recruited. So I've got, I've had class leaders that can come in and they can run classes in the week. I've got classes that comes and does parties for me. So the business can keep running even when I'm not in here. Yeah, to help cover those costs. But I was quite fortunate when you kind of look at the monthly invoice comes in, you're like, it's a lot of money. But when I've broken it down and gone, well, if I hire the whole for the amount of hours I'm using in the week, if I then lease a van or get enough trailer, whatever I do, time I've put all these things on, plus a storage unit, it's gonna cost me more money. So more money. more time, more stress. I was like, this is just, yeah, it's made sense for me. For some people, it's not for them and they'd rather expand and go around their territory more and do different pockets so different families can come to them, whereas I'm obviously just staying in one place. But yeah, it's worked for me and my family and my business. Lee Whitwell: And we've got the new concept coming in working with nurseries and nurseries being able to come into your venue. So obviously you've not got a wow centre, that's not possible. You can go into nurseries and bring toddler scents there. But actually the opportunity for nurseries to come to you and your venue with all the, you know, soft play out and the blow up. Georgia: Fancy, Lee Whitwell: Yes, bouncing castles and everything inflatables. Wow. Georgia: Yeah, yeah. it's, yeah, it's, I mean, yeah, like you said, and going to nurseries and we can, we can bring an element of toddler sense and bring that imagination and those sensory activities. And definitely there's a place for that. But yeah, if an opportunity can come that the nursery has a minibus or even walking distance, that they can come and get the real toddler sense experience. That's amazing for them because, you know, how many nurseries have soft play and bouncy castles and... and all this kind of equipment as well. So, yeah. Lee Whitwell: Yeah, and I bet you've got lots of nurseries around you. Nurseries, preschools. Yeah, amazing. I guess like any of the programmes, it's just evolving, isn't it? Because everything changes all the time. it's, it's, yeah, putting ourselves still up there and out there where, you know, we can offer these amazing opportunities to all of our Georgia: Yeah. Lee Whitwell: one year old, what you 13 months to four and half years aren't you so amazing. So in terms of a percentage your you know jazz hands running your classes and all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes what would you say what's What goes on behind the scenes? Georgia: That's hard question. We haven't mentioned, I also run many professors, but we'll have a catch up about that another time. ⁓ But yeah, there's lots that go on. So obviously the lesson plans, you have to learn the lesson plans. And when you're first starting, that's going to take a lot more time. And it's going to take a lot more time to practice your puppet shows and to listen to music of like a parachute, when you're going to bring up the bubbles, when you're going to bring out the balloons. So those kinds of things take take quite a lot of time, as well as learning or development information. So a big part of our activities is we don't just shake, shake her like there's a reason why we're doing that. And we like to explain that to the families. And also, we have different age groups of classes. So we like to share how that changes as well. So and how it develops the child. So there's a lot of that that needs to be learned. Once you've learn your lesson plans, that becomes a lot quicker. You kind of refresh yourself, okay, yeah, or I did that that way last time. That worked well, didn't work well, reflecting on it, but yeah, that becomes quicker. So you've got your lesson plans. Then you've got, once you've got your venues up and running, you've got, and even when you're established, so yeah, nine years, I'm still having to do marketing. Marketing takes quite a lot of time. whether that's social media, whether that's going out and handing flyers, whether that's emails, or it would be approaching nurseries if you're looking at going to nurseries. all those kinds of things take time. What else you've got to... Bookings. So we have an amazing website where all the bookings go through our website and you can have it set up as well. The payments are taken from it as well. So you don't have to sit there and input everyone's details, but you have to set up the classes and those kinds of things and send out those booking emails. And so that takes time. So there is quite a lot of behind the scenes to it, but it's, I suppose, quite spread out. And, or you might have like a really dense part when you get towards the end of the term, you go sending out renewals and then it kind of fade off again. So, but you can fit it around you and your family. So. ⁓ For instance, I have a Tuesday, generally my admin day, so I will spend a bit more time on a Tuesday solidly doing, catching up on emails or doing those bookings and things like that. But some people find that they want to work in an evening or they might find that they want to get up early and work in the morning. So you just fit it around your family ⁓ and know that it's okay. I've learnt it's okay to wait. So when you send an email or when you get an email, don't have to reply straight away. I was always this person at beginning that was like, have to apply straight away. And it's like, it's okay. They get it. They get, we're family. We have families. They get that we're running a business. So it's okay. You just have the auto response that says I'll reply within two, three days, whatever it might be. But yeah, sorry, that was a long one. Lee Whitwell: No, no, no. I think I always, when I'm speaking to anybody new, know, owning your own business is not a work-life balance. So for anyone coming in who wants work-life balance, it's not. You're starting your own business. But the word is flexible. So, you know, you do get flexibility. When your children are small, you know, it is a choice whether you work school holidays or not. Most don't. Most don't because most of us have come into this with smaller children. You know, if our, you know, child has something going on at school, nine times out of 10, we can be there for it. However, you've still got business to run. So I think it is, it's not a work life balance because running your own business, you're constantly thinking about things because we are so passionate about what we do as well, aren't we? We're so passionate about, but Georgia: it. Lee Whitwell: You know, it's down, it's our responsibility to make this work. It's our responsibility to be the best we can be. However, it definitely works around your life at that time. Georgia: I think getting them involved as well, if you've got young children, even if you're not living in that area, you generally are going to know where the soft plays are, where the parks are, or where the library is. And you can go with your children and get them handing out flyers or getting them wearing the branded t-shirt. And even if you go to like the school fates and summer fates and stuff, get them walking, if they're going around, you've got a stand and they're going around with... Lee Whitwell: Yeah. Georgia: another adult with fliers or whatever, you can get them involved if you want them to. Because it's, yeah, it's just, you've, are generally the ideal customer, you? You're a parent with a child, probably in the age bracket or thereabouts of Tuplasets. So yeah, they can always help and being involved too. Lee Whitwell: I remember those days, mine are now both teenagers, there's absolutely no way, I mean they would roll their eyes at me now, yeah there's no way, but yeah in the past, ⁓ my days, going to those fates and things and you know probably bribing them with an ice cream at the end of it my children, but yeah absolutely, I mean I suppose our children know nothing different, they've just all been, they've been in the world of wow since they can remember, they don't know, they don't actually so When my children were little, I never ran any holidays. I never worked in the holidays. Now they're slightly older and I run my classes, you I do run holidays and I do weekends. They don't remember what they had before. ⁓ But yeah, me and my husband have never had to juggle school holidays with, you know, he's never had to take time off of work purely to child mind. So we don't know any different because it's always been like that, but... you know, that for me, I couldn't imagine that, you know, we've always had that flexibility. So. Georgia: It's like my youngest is starting school in September. And so when they start school, often they do just mornings for a week or even for two weeks. And so I've already in marked, well, that week I'm not working. So I can be there for him and I can just do that and take him to school and pick him up. And yeah, I mean, if I was employed, it would be hard. have to take a week's holiday. And then I'd like, do I want to take a week's holiday for that? Lee Whitwell: Yeah. Georgia: because I'm not actually spending it with him, but with knowing it's my business, can just say, actually, no, I'm not going to work. When I've dropped him off, I'll then probably have a cry in the car, then I can do some admin, so I can still use the time for my business, but I'm not actually going to be in class that week, so I can be there for him. Lee Whitwell: Yeah, yeah, I couldn't be employed now. I've not, I have not in the whole, what 16 years nearly, there's not been, you know, have our ups and our downs, you know, it is like a roller coaster of emotion having your own business. But I have not, I've not regretted one day of being involved in this. I couldn't imagine, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. couldn't imagine. I couldn't, I could not be employed. Georgia: No. I like being my own boss. like, yeah, going, actually, I'm not going to work Fridays or, yeah. It's, yeah, you just, yeah, make the decisions. Lee Whitwell: So on this journey of being your own boss and having your own business, what have you learned about yourself? Georgia: I'm resilient. I'm determined. And even when, even when I question myself and when I think I feel like I'm struggling or whatever, I still get through it. I still, there might be a dip like we had COVID and I took Dog the Sense on Zoom. ⁓ And I did it and I still had a business at the end of it. And it's it's mad to think that, yeah, we did that on Zoom. We came, when we came back to the, so because of I had the WOW Centre, I was fortunate that we could come back. I think we had seven in a class. We were in our meter by meter box. We had to try and stay in, so we kept our social distancing. And I did it and kept a business at the end of it. So yeah, so determined. And yeah, when I thought actually, I don't know if I can be able to survive this, it did it. So I'm of myself for that. Lee Whitwell: Yeah. it work. Do you know what? had a conversation with a potential franchisee this week and for Toddler Sense and she's never been to a class. She came to Toddler Sense online during COVID. So she was telling me, you know, so it meant so much to her, but she hasn't actually seen a class yet. She's going to be blown away when she's actually in a class. Georgia: Just a Lee Whitwell: ⁓ and sees the huge amount of equipment, ⁓ vivid colours ⁓ and the energy. yeah, that was quite an interesting conversation that she has really fond memories of Toddler Sense, but she's only seen it online during Covid. yeah, she, yeah. So... Georgia: Amazing. I'm proud of this business. Well, I'm proud of this business because I built it from nothing. I said that there wasn't a franchise here before. So I've literally built it from nothing. So I'm proud of that. But I'm also proud of how it shaped me. If you said to me 12 years ago, 13 years ago. You would stand at the front of a room and be able to talk in front of room, dance in front of a room or sing in front of the room. I'd be like, no, but it's not doing it. but yeah, to be like, I've just grown so much confidence and belief in myself, I suppose as well. ⁓ so I'm proud. Yeah, I'm proud. I'm proud of the business I've built. I built for nothing, but I'm also proud of. of how much I've grown, changed and become confident as well. Lee Whitwell: Love it. Lovely answer, Georgia. That's a lovely answer. It's a brilliant answer. Final question. If someone is listening to this and wondering whether running a WOW business could be for them, what would you say to them? Georgia: Just do it. Just do it. Yeah, just if you, like I generally love coming to work. How many people can say that they love their job or love going to work, seeing so many different families, you see them time and time again, they keep coming back. I've got families with their fourth child. Like you just keep seeing them. We grandparents coming. It just, it doesn't matter. how bad your morning's been. Like I said, if you've had a really stressful morning getting there, as soon as you see them and how happy they are, and they tell you how amazing those classes are and what a godsend they are to them as well, it just makes it worthwhile. So yeah, if you're considering it, if you want to do it, go and find out more. Go and find out more, go and visit a class, see how brilliant they are and know that all the support is there. So if you don't feel confident in singing and dancing in front of a room, like I'm one of those, I was there, I was like, I don't know if I can do this, but you do, you just practice and you could do it. Or if you don't know where to start with marketing and social media and all that stuff, there's your regionals that help you. It's all that support is there. So you're able to set up a business if that's something you want to do, work with children if that's something you want to do and know that you're going to have that support behind you. You're not just thrown out into the world and not know what to do. Lee Whitwell: Is there anything else, while I finish up, is there anything else that you would like to say or think would be good to say? Georgia: Bye! I don't know. I suppose the other thing with WOW is that there's always more you can do. So I was fortunate, I started as a class leader and then a franchisee. And I've said I've now taken another program. So it's kind of like there are opportunities that you can do more. So whether it's taking on a class leader or more class leaders or having multiple venues running at the same time or even taking on another franchise, there's always that room for growth as well. So if you are a driven person and want the next thing, is scope. It's not just you just do a few classes, you can really build your business and yeah, build on your class leaders and everything else or take on other programs because yeah, there are fabulous programs within WOW that all complement each other as well. Lee Whitwell: I think that's why it's worked for me is because you just grow and just different things come up and that interest you and nothing stands still. I think that's what it is, isn't it? And I think for me and my personality, that works very well for me. I'm not very good at staying still. ⁓ And even if you stuck with the same program. within that same programme, things change. So at the moment we've got Sensor, I can never say the word, the Sensorthon running, haven't we? We're raising money for our charity, Tommy's Charity. I don't know if we've got the final thing yet, but up until this year, at one point, I was reading it, so 1.9, one million, 915,000 pounds raised before 2026. So it's things like that. We work with charities. Georgia: at night. Yeah, super. Lee Whitwell: We partner with other businesses, don't we? You know, where we actually have new lesson plans. I mean, I can remember the royal weddings, royal births, partnering with the Sea Life Centre, partnering with the Teletubbies, you know, like big, big names, Mothercare. Georgia: Yeah. Lee Whitwell: is another care around now, I don't think they've kept around now are they? you know, partnering with and that's all, you know, new challenges, new things, new things to get involved in as well. So yeah, we are a business that is always striving to be, you know, top of the, we have to keep keep being there, don't we? ⁓ So So Georgia, ⁓ I'm gonna put this in front of me and then I can read it properly. I'm not gonna put my glasses on. So thank you so much for chatting with me today. It's been lovely chatting to you. Lovely talking about Todd the Sense and your journey and ⁓ I think especially that your journey is from class leader to give you that courage, but you always wanted to have your own business and then starting from scratch. ⁓ which again, you we have resell businesses out there where you literally land on your feet and you're already running, which is different to starting from scratch, however, very, still very possible. ⁓ So, and then you take it on your well center again, you don't have to have a well center, but you know, that some, some franchisees don't and don't want that because you do have overheads, obviously. ⁓ But you know, your journey has been very exciting and you are in, you are. Georgia: Amen. Lee Whitwell: I find you very inspirational. ⁓ know, I'm very good at social media. And your photos too. So thank you very much. I hope that wasn't too painful. Cool, well enjoy clearing up after toddler sense. think that's what you're doing now, aren't you? Georgia: Yeah it is yeah tidy up I'm ready for the next day. See you later. That's all right. Lee Whitwell: Thank you.