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Writer's pictureCaroline Manley

Teacher to Franchisee in 2023

As a former teacher, the end of a half term seems like a good time to reflect on

my first two months as a Musical Moments musician and franchisee. The

training in York in August already seems a long time ago, but I will always

remember it as such an exciting day, learning how to run the sessions, set up

the business and hit the ground running, not to mention the excitement

(especially after being a primary teacher!) of opening the giant props box with

all the kit and our ukuleles. Each session has a similar structure of types of

activities, with different music and sometimes themes, so as a musician it is

always exciting to look at the future session plans to see what music is coming

up. You also have the pleasure of deciding what to play on your instrument for

the live performance section.


The first few weeks were a mixture of running the first few sessions, and

visiting all the care homes and centres on my territory to encourage them to

try a session. It was lovely to be out and about, and to be welcomed into so

many, by the amazing staff and activities co-ordinators who work so hard to

give their residents fulfilling day-to-day experiences. Two months on, I have

already built up a relationship with several care homes who are now booking

me regularly, and every one of them feels like another family, as you get to

know the residents and staff very quickly.


Every session brings joy to so many, but there are also the unexpected

moments which can be really special. Yesterday, in the middle of a song, a

gentleman took a harmonica out of his pocket and joined in, then did a brilliant

duet with another lady playing my ukulele! Also, one of the residents told me

the activities coordinator was getting married that weekend, so we added

‘Congratulations’ to the session. One care home always ends up turning the

session into a dance party at the end!


A couple of weeks ago, we had the annual team day, when it was wonderful to

get to know the whole team of franchisees and experience training together,

before enjoying a games afternoon and a meal together whilst sharing ideas

for growing the business and receiving a goody bag of new props.

There are so many reasons to love running a Musical Moments franchise; the

music, the relationship with clients, the flexibility of running your own business

whilst enjoying all the support you need from Maggie and your colleague

franchisees around the country. I would highly recommend it!

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