We talk to Sarah Owen, the founder and director of Pyjama Drama, which provides drama classes for children, operating through a network of 25 franchises across the UK
What do you currently do?
I co-run Pyjama Drama which provides drama and creative play classes for children up to seven years. We are a franchised business so have a team of talented business owners throughout the UK (including Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) who set up and run Pyjama Drama classes in nurseries, schools, in ‘public’ sessions and at parties.
My role in the business is supporting our franchisees on a day to day basis and continuing to develop our programme which means creating new sessions and writing new music. I also train our franchisees and their teachers in how to deliver the four age differentiated stages of our programme – from our ‘Dewdrops’ class which children start at six months old, through to our ‘Sunbeams’ classes which are for children from five to seven years.
What is your inspiration in business?
I am inspired by our team of franchisees who come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and who are amazing advocates for Pyjama Drama. Their passion for, and their belief in the power of drama and creative play for young children is evident in everything they do and as a result their classes are inspirational. It’s an amazing feeling to know that across the UK children’s imaginations are being ignited by Pyjama Drama and that parents are seeing the benefits of drama and creative play.
Who do you admire?
In a profession that is defined by youth and traditional stereotypes of ‘beauty’ I admire strong female actresses such as Julieanne Moore, Helen Mirren and Meryl and Julie Walters, who have all helped to rewrite the place of older actresses.
What defines your way of doing business?
Emotional Intelligence. Our business is all about people so the ability to assess and control my own emotions and the emotions of groups and individuals is really important. I am also interested in the different ways different people learn and this understanding can help massively when it comes to training franchisees, and giving them the best possible start as they launch their businesses.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out?
Take one step at a time; it’s much less daunting to view the development of your business in small sequential steps. And take advice at every step of the way, just make sure you spend the time researching who is best placed to give you the advice you need – there are a lot of people out there willing to take your money despite not having the credentials you need.
