Running a term-based children’s business means you’re always working inside a cycle.

The start of the year has been all about tightening the foundation

Twenty-five years ago, I stepped into the franchising world knowing absolutely nothing about it

In my last diary, I wrote about the part no one sees: the systems and decisions that quietly support a Stagecoach school behind the scenes

People often ask me what it’s really like to run a Stagecoach school. Sometimes they may think it is a very part-time proposition because, currently, we are open only on the weekend

December always feels like its own little universe. It is the month where we look back at everything we have built, plan ahead for what is coming, and somehow juggle the busiest catering season of the year. Right now, it is catering, catering, catering

As a multi-unit franchisee who has opened new salons and purchased both thriving and poorly performing locations, one of the most common questions I get from prospective and expanding franchisees is whether I recommend purchasing an existing location or building a brand-new one

In May, I was standing in my half-packed flat in England, preparing to uproot my family and move back to Ottawa—this time not as a teacher, but as a franchise owner

We are finally here. Over a year of thinking about it, a year within which I went from conversations with Stagecoach Head Office, to business plans, territory mapping and contracts

October has been a whirlwind in the truest sense. Just three weeks ago we opened location #6, and we’re already mapping out location #7 for early 2026

There are moments in the life of any franchise that feel like the closing of one chapter and the quiet, confident beginning of another

With September nearly behind us, two recent weekends have marked important turning points in this launch journey: the National Stagecoach Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and our first Discovery Day in Ottawa