Employee motivated to launch her own specialist therapy enterprise

Miss Desmond, from Armthorpe, said she hoped to employ up to 10 people over the next five years.

She bought half of her boss Emma Cain’s franchise to start the venture.

The two halves are now operating as separate franchises.

Miss Desmond said: “I have worked with Motivation & Co. delivering motivation and exercise classes to the elderly since 2009 and have loved every minute, so when the opportunity arose to buy part of Emma’s franchise, I simply had to go for it. I get so much pleasure out of seeing the benefits that gentle exercise and mental stimulation has on the elderly and now I can use my enthusiasm, skill and passion to grow the Motivation & Co. business in South Yorkshire.”

Miss Desmond runs classes in care and residential homes in Doncaster, Sheffield, Rotherham, Goole and Gainsborough. Motivation and Co. was launched by North Yorkshire businesswoman Elaine Everett in 1997 after she witnessed her grandfather’s decline in physical and mental dexterity after he moved into a care home.