Learning made fun

Jam-packed June

JUNE has been busting out all over!

The first week of June was half term for most of the Musical Minis franchisees. Whilst this is an opportunity for them to concentrate on their own children, it's also a chance for them to plan ahead for the following half term. At Head Office half term is always busy sorting out franchisees orders and dealing with the influx of administration that comes in whilst franchisees have time to sort it out.

The sunny weather has been a great contributor in encouraging children in classes to put on their Musical Minis t-shirts they receive with their membership packs. We know that some of our youngest members are swamped in their t-shirts so I have been working closely with a fellow EWIF (Encouraging Women Into Franchising) member to find an alternative. All will be revealed in next months update when I hopefully will have taken delivery of 500 baby friendly alternatives.

Musical Minis marketing campaign has taken a huge leap forward this month. Plans for our 21st Anniversary Celebrations are well underway. Our offer for prospective franchisees launched in May, has proved very popular and I together with my Regional Managers and some of my franchisees have spoken to or met up with a number of interested people. Events for the children are nearly finalised. We will be running a competition and details will be announced shortly.

A really exciting development, after months of planning, is that our new website is about to be launched. As soon as it has gone live I will let you know via my blog and I would love you all to have a look and tell me your views. We have tried to keep the parts we know our users like but modernise the site and make it easier to navigate around. We are really pleased with the new look.

Franchisees have been busy sorting out Summer parties. A number of franchisees have decided to run them this year with the majority opting for Teddy Bears Picnics. If you are interested in attending check with your local Musical Minis franchisee. In Ayrshire, Liz Rowe, the franchisee, is running 8 picnics around the area each with a different children's character attending e.g. Mickey Mouse, Iggle Piggle, Peppa Pig. To see all the Ayrshire party details click here.

Finally we have found that having both a group Musical Minis site and a Fan Page on Facebook has been confusing some people. With this in mind we have decided to close the group site and would be delighted if you would choose to follow us on our Fan site instead. The fan site can be found by clicking here. 

Ayrshire Teddy Bears Picnics

JOIN Liz Rowe, our Ayrshire franchisee, for lots of fun this Summer.

TEDDY BEARS PICNIC
VARIOUS DATES AND VENUES IN JULY & AUGUST
(SEE BELOW FOR INFORMATION)

Join in a Musical Minis session
Bring your rug and packed lunch

Oh and of course bring your Teddy

TICKETS: CHILD (0-5) - £6   ACCOMPANYING ADULTS - FREE
(Spaces are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis.)

For ticket information contact Liz on 01563 520005 or email [email protected]

www.musicalminis.co.uk

Tuesday 6th July   PRESTWICK 11.45am - 1.15pm    

Thursday 15th July    KILMARNOCK     11.15am - 12.45pm   

Friday 16th July   PRESTWICK   11.45am - 1.15pm

Tuesday 20th July IRVINE 11.15am - 12.45pm   

Friday 23rd July    MAUCHLINE   11.15am - 12.45pm   

Monday 2nd August    IRVINE  11.15am - 12.45pm

Wednesday 4th August   GALSTON 11.15am - 12.45pm  

Tuesday 10th August KILMARNOCK 11.15am - 12.45pm

Business Ethics

HONESTY and integrity are values that most of us seek out and aspire to. It is therefore extremely disappointing when you find businesses that do not cherish these values and resort to underhand and dishonest measures to try and gain a competitive edge.

As the franchise owner of Musical Minis, a business that has been operating for nearly 21 years and which has been franchised for some 13 years, it is inevitable that I have encountered others whose business ethics I disagree with. We have built up a successful business by delivering to parents a programme that we devised, aimed at stimulating and improving cognitive development through music. Over the years competition has become more fierce but we have maintained our competitive position by having a distinct approach that thousands of parents and children have appreciated.

Marvelous May

MAY was another action packed month at Musical Minis as it saw the launch of Musical Minis' 21st Anniversary celebrations.

For prospective franchisees we are offering to pay the VAT on all franchise sales. From 1st May to 31st August we will pay the VAT on the cost of the franchise saving any new franchisee a considerable sum of money. In celebration of our 21st we are currently also finalising an action packed Autumn term for all the children in our classes - watch out for updates.

In addition to our 21st celebrations my time at Head Office has been spent analysing all the franchisees income and expenditure for the Spring Term and giving them individual feedback on ways they can increase their profit. At Musical Minis we provide our franchisees with ongoing support and a large part of this is to support them with business acumen. In a separate exercise all franchisees costs were studied to provide them with average prices throughout the UK so they have a benchmark to go on.

Business Plus Baby

Read HelenLindop interview with me on her blog: I Started A Business With A Baby – Karen Sherr of Musical Minis http://businessplusbaby.com/2010/06/03/i-started-a-business-with-a-baby-karen-sherr-of-musical-minis/