All new branches will need to purchase their own public liability insurance (usually £120 – £150 per year) and you will need to obtain a DBS check if you are not already on the DBS update service. We can arrange this at a cost of £75. We also recommend that new branch owners set aside £150 per month for printing, additional marketing and phone costs though you are unlikely to spend all this, especially in the first few months.

We don’t charge a percentage of your earnings like many other franchisors and instead take a fixed monthly fee of £150 a month (rising to £250 a month in year 3). Part of this goes directly to regional marketing for your branch including Google Adwords. As we have multiple branches we are able to get a great deal on advertising which makes your money go further! Part of your fee covers the booking system that all franchisees use to book in parties and holiday club sessions. Again, we get a fantastic deal on this as the usual price for an individual user would be £50 a month. A further part of your fee is combined with the fees from other branches and goes towards maintaining the website and creating shared resources such as new promotional materials and videos which you are free to use. We also have a number of premium national links with companies such as the Children’s University, iFLY indoor skydiving and www.findschoolworkshops.co.uk

You can! However, it took far more than £9995 to start up (our website alone cost more than £3000!), not to mention the amount of time spent planning sessions and overcoming obstacles. Think of a franchise like a community where everyone chips in. If 10 people decided to start their own science entertainment company, they would each need to pay for a website, SEO, marketing, equipment, graphic design, training etc. If those 10 people buy into a franchise their money is pooled together to create one national website, greater SEO, more marketing and equipment from wholesalers. Plus, when you work with Fun Science you will be able to start trading from day one. The website is already created, your email address will be set up, all your marketing materials are already made, you will have access to all the equipment you need and you can simply follow our instructions to start inspiring children across your area.

There are no specific qualifications needed to run your own Fun Science branch but we would need to see some experience of working with primary aged children. This can be voluntary or paid and we will need to check a reference from this. Scientific knowledge or experience is not essential as this will be taught to you and you will have access to detailed manuals but can be useful. Experience acting or performing is also useful but not essential. The main thing we look for is a passion for working with children and a desire to have fun!

Not at all. When we started, there were two science companies offering very similar services to ours within 20 miles of our base but we soon found our niche! We have spent time and money making sure our website ranks highly for key search terms so that parents find us before they find our competitors.. Also, Fun Science is the lowest cost provider of science birthday parties in the UK. This is because most of the equipment involved in our packages can be reused, keeping costs down and enabling us to pass these savings onto our customers and dramatically undercut the competition. Plus our franchise fee is much lower than our closest competitor’s. Think about the amount of magicians, clowns and other children’s entertainers in one area then compare it to the amount of science parties – the market is by no means full yet!

We track the hits on our website with Google analytics and every month receive hundreds of visits from people across the country. We have also had customers enquire about parties all over the country and often have to turn them away or go ‘out of area’ to run these so it is clear that there is demand in other parts of the country. If you want to know if there is demand in your area specifically why not try asking parents/teachers around you?

No, but what we can do is to provide you with all the tools you need to be successful and will make it as easy as possible for you to succeed – after all, your success is our success too! However, it is completely up to you how much you choose to work. The more you put into it, the more you will get out, both financially and in terms of satisfaction, but if you would rather work part time to fit around family commitments you can still earn a full time wage.

It is completely up to you how much you choose to work so it is impossible to predict exactly how much you will make. We can, however give you a rough figure of how much profit each service will make based on our own experiences and you can find out more by clicking here. Luckily, Fun Science can easily be run from home meaning your only overheads will be just the cost of running a car, insurance, minimal printing and phone costs and your standard home running costs. If you want to know more about how much you could earn, why not get in touch with one of our existing franchisees? You can find all their details on the contact page. Some of our franchisees work part time and others work full time. If you would like to know which has a family situation most similar to your own then please do email us at info@fun-science.org.uk and we will put you in touch with a franchisee like you.

You will be able to leave the Fun Science contract once every two years without fees. If you leave before the initial two year break point you will be liable to pay a fee. This reflects the fact that a franchise takes time and effort to become successful and also reflects the fact that we do not make a profit from the initial fee. If you terminate your Fun Science franchise you will be permitted to keep our equipment for your own personal use and may sell any unbranded items. However, your website and email address will become inactive and you will not be able to run services under our name. You will also be subject to a contract of non-competition and will not be able to take part in running any business that could be seen as being in competition with ours for 1 year after termination of your franchise. You may choose to sell your franchise if you feel you have added value to it and can then leave the franchise without paying a fee. All buyers must be approved by us but we will help and support you through this process.

Most of our branch owners drive and have their own vehicle but not all of them and we do have two branch owners running their branch very successfully on public transport. It’s a lot easier to get around with a car but if your local area is well connected it is possible to run a Fun Science franchise without one.

Got any more questions? Feel free to call us on 07708 214840 or send an email to info@fun-science.org.uk and we will be happy to help.