My name is Sam Petter & I am a designer, mother & entrepreneur. I started Tatty Bumpkin Ltd in 2004 with a social enterprise award from Unltd for a children’s yoga programme & training helping women back into flexible work. In 2007 we launched our franchise & since then we have had over 50 franchisees, & 100s of teachers both at home & internationally.
Our 4 children’s yoga brands; Baby Bumpkin, Tatty Bumpkin, Tatty Guroo & Yoga Guroo are aligned to the National curriculums. We have been voted Best children’s National activity, I was awarded Kent Business women of the year in 2019, & recently we won Lloyds small business of the year in 2021 (I have also appeared on Dragons Den & been part of the Courvoisier Future 500). My vision is to create a global wellness brand for children. Currently our main area of business is in children’s classes & franchising, but we have, in the past had a range of organic & ethical clothing, toys & accessories.
Franchising the business has been a great move. The business model is the perfect for women who are time poor bur rich in experience and motivation. I love the collaborative approach of franchising – working together but rather than in competition and sharing resources and experience. During COVID the support of a team that are working together was invaluable. One of the best aspects of my job is mentoring new franchisees who have never worked for themselves and seeing them thrive and grow. The women in our network come to us with a whole working life behind them, I learn from all their different experiences all the time too!
