I’m writing this at the end of a year that has stretched me, as much as it has surprised me. I need to outline why we are closing our doors.
If you don’t know my story, I started my career in my family’s business, then moved into corporate, then into freelance life as a mum trying to make work work. I never, in a million years, thought that path would lead me into the franchise world.
But it did. And I am so grateful to have found this amazing industry 11 years ago.
When I found activ back then, I didn’t see a ‘franchise opportunity’, I saw something that could solve a very real problem I had at the time.
I’d left a well paid corporate role, I’d had a baby, and I needed a way to build a future without burning out or missing the moments that mattered.
activ gave me that.
As an activ franchise partner, I built a business that was bigger than me without ever feeling alone. I had 50 clients, didn’t employ anyone, and built something I was genuinely proud of while still being present for my family.
And honestly, I thought that was it. Job done.
But I kept feeling this pull. I knew activ was special, and I knew there was more potential sitting inside the model than anyone had quite tapped into yet. I had used it differently. I had seen what was possible.
So in 2021, I stepped up and acquired the UK wide network. It was terrifying, exhilarating, and one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Since then, activ has become something I could only have imagined when I started in 2014.
We are now a British Franchise Association approved marketing franchise built on SoloPower, our framework that lifts solo marketers beyond the ceiling they keep hitting alone. We in turn give businesses a smarter, safer, more human way to source their marketing.
My unique career path has given me a view across the whole marketing landscape:
I understand how big organisations buy marketing.
I understand how small businesses buy marketing.
I understand why freelancers struggle even when they’re incredibly talented.
And I understand why the market is crying out for something in the middle.
Not a big faceless agency. Not one person trying to hold everything together. Something that sits between the two and actually works.
This year, we refined our position as that sweet spot. Fully. And it has completely defined the future of activ.
Which brings me to why I’m writing to you now.
We’re closing our doors.
Not today. Not forever. And not with any drama.
But we are closing.
We have 3 final franchise partners onboarding before the end of December, and just one final induction date left for this year – 17th December. We’ll close applications for that on Sunday 7th December at midnight. If you have been through discovery and approval with us, you can book that slot here.
After that, we pause. We reflect, and we get ready for the next phase.
From that point onwards, we move to a new way of welcoming new partners – cohort based, focused, intentional, and capped so we can give people the very best start.
Our first cohort will be in February 2026, and those who join us will finish Q1 with a fully operational marketing business.
Alongside that, we have some further REALLY HUGE announcements dropping next week! Things that on a personal level would have been what I had dreamed for this business when I took over 5 years ago.
These things are shaping 2026 for our franchise partners and for the wider marketing industry – supporting people who want a safer, more structured route into self employment within marketing.
From Monday, there will be a series of announcements and you will hear everything from me first – I cannot wait to share it all with you.
Katie Bullon, CEO activ Marketing Group
