Meet Pia
North London Franchisee
Pia is one of our newest franchisees and has made a very successful start.
Pia is one of our newest franchisees and has made a very successful start.
I was working for the City of London Corporation at the Guildhall working as an event coordinator for less than a year, prior to that I had just come out of university, studying International Business.
As both a creative and business minded individual, The Christmas Decorators seemed to be a perfect fit. The attraction of earning enough money between September and January and then using the rest of the year to grow the business for the following year interested me. I had the backing and support from my father and other family members, knowing I had a strong network around to help me finalised my decision. Although I am the youngest franchisee, this decision to come on board at a young age gives me great platform for my future. I am learning to work for myself, be the key decision maker for my own business and delegate tasks out. I am also in control of my own time and can make decisions that’ll benefit the growth of my business.
It was great for me to put my International Business knowledge from university into practice for my very own business. You are not able to learn everything in a short amount of time before the season begins during training, but franchisees and head office are there to support you whenever you need. You’ll find that you learn a lot of practicalities on site yourself.
Although everybody is super busy throughout the installation season, I was never let down with support from head office. Whether it was a technical question about how many sets of lights can be connected, stock & delivery queries, finance & invoicing questions or design & creativity ideas, each person at head office was there to support within their field.
I enjoy building relationships with my clients and seeing their happy faces once the installation has been completed. Christmas is a delightful time for all and it’s so thrilling knowing that you’ve made their holiday even better! I also love the creative side, being able to pull some unique and lovely ideas together for my clients. Being part of the franchisee network is wonderful too as there are many ages and walks of life, it is great to have a large common interest that is unique to us.
Ensure that you have a network around you to support you during the season e.g. hands to make garlands. Organisation is a key skill to have as well as great customer service and people skills. This is a very unique franchise which is joyful yet demanding, enjoy each season as much as you can and it is great to know that there is always an end date – 25th December! There is endless growth and potential within each territory, you’ll build a great passion for Christmas and for expanding your business as much as you can!