OCTOBER was an unusual month for me at Head Office. Apart from a few days here and there I hadn't managed to have a proper break for a holiday since Summer 2009. Running my own business from a home office with no office staff means I never really get the time to switch off and escape. There is always something to be done for the franchise network as a whole or for an individual franchisee. The phone constantly rings and emails always need to be answered. After a manic September with 2 new franchises on board and the launch of our 21st Anniversary photo competition, I definitely felt the need for a break - hence I set off for the last 2 weeks in October to Athens and Nice to coincide with half term.
The first 2 weeks in October were busy with our photo competition. We were aware of a few technical issues with uploading photos to the competition site. With these in mind we extended the competition for a week until 17th October so everyone could make sure their photo had been entered. We were delighted that so many people had entered from all the places Musical Minis holds classes - local classes, nurseries and Children's Centres. Each franchise area has had their entries judged locally with guest judges and submitted their local winners entry into the national competition which will be judged in November.
For the 2nd half of October whilst I was abroad, Musical Minis did survive! As with any organisation, nobody is indispensable - more people could do with realising this! I have a great team of franchisees who worked around my break. I was able to check emails regularly and deal with them as necessary. Franchisees had my mobile number so any urgent queries could be dealt with - however there were none. My son, who has recently graduated from University and is now at Law School, was left in charge of dealing with phone calls, post and certain emails. I spent one day in between holidays at home which allowed me to make sure everything was in place before going away again.
Franchisees had a busy October. As mentioned earlier they had to find a local competition winner. Many held parties to celebrate Musical Minis 21st Anniversary. In Lanarkshire, one of the new franchises, the franchisees Ann Raeburn and Karen Smith, were delighted to be involved with the Commonwealth flag handover ceremony from Delhi to Scotland. They ran Musical Minis in Ravenscraig Sports Centre in Motherwell alongside a host of other events to mark this occasion.
October, for Musical Minis as a whole, has seen a surge in new members. This combined with an increase in the number of Children's Centres and nurseries we are in has meant franchisees have been really busy. Luckily they have managed to have a restful half term and are raring to go again.
Running Head Office from overseas for 2 weeks has been manageable. Now I'm back in the UK I feel more energised and hence more efficient. Roll on November!
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