My first 'term' as a Musical Moments Franchisee - Catherine

From the age of 5, teaching was always going to be my dream career and I never wanted to do anything else. After 20 years in the classroom, changing tack was a little daunting. However, 6 months into my Musical Moments franchise adventure, I now can’t imagine doing anything else!

I decided that Musical Moments was going to be my full-time job and I threw myself into marketing to care homes and community groups in my territory. I had an overwhelmingly positive response and bookings started coming in. Some even booked me there and then on the doorstep! The first home that booked me fortnightly gave me such a confidence boost and reaffirmed that I could make this my living.

The support from Maggie and the team of other franchisees has been amazing and I really feel like I have found my tribe! Having award-winning session plans and a magical kit box at my fingertips is a world away from nightly planning, assessment and stress. My mornings are much more leisurely and once my children are out of bed and off to school, I have time for my hobbies (knitting and baking at the moment!). It was very strange in September when the academic year began and I wasn’t welcoming my fresh, new Year Three pupils into my spotless classroom but it didn’t take long to stop feeling nostalgic. This January, I actually felt relieved that I wasn’t going back.

The skills I developed as a teacher have come into their own as a franchise owner. Being able to control my own diary is fantastic and keeping records of bookings and invoice payments is quick and simple. If you’d told me a year ago that I would be running my own successful business, I’d have thought you were bonkers but here we are!

I generally do 2 sessions a day and I hit my 100 the session at the end of November (3 months in) which was amazing! I am on track for 200 sessions in my first 6 months which equates to double my initial investment. One resident said to me as I arrived, “oh I’m glad it’s you!” and the activities lead at the same home described my sessions as “a breath of fresh air!”. It feels such a privilege being able to use my musical skills to brighten people’s day and bring them joy, fun and

connection. It feels such a privilege being able to call this my job. It doesn’t feel like work most of the time and I haven’t looked back!