Music Bugs - the Story
My name is Claire Bennett, I am a former nurse and I live in Wiltshire with my husband and our 4 children, Katie (10), Eleanor (10), Ewan (7) and Matthew (5).In May 2004 I set up my own business Music Bugs, running preschool music and singing classes for local families in the Swindon area. The decision to set up Music Bugs came about when I tried to enrol my youngest son in music classes that were running locally. We tried a number of different classes but always came away feeling disappointed and frustrated with the way that they were run. The classes were either far too strict (lots of rules and regulations and a far from friendly welcome) or were unimaginative with a poor selection of activities and props that failed to capture the children’s attention.
I felt passionately that young children and their parents should be able to come to a session that was friendly, welcoming, fun, interactive and stimulating and that children should be allowed to join in and take part at their own pace.
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Undeterred by the fact that I had never sung in public before, or that I had no formal childcare/musical/teaching qualifications – I decided to take the matter into my own hands and set up my own singing and music classes. I spent several months researching and collecting literally hundreds of songs and sourced props and instruments from suppliers around the UK running ‘test’ sessions for friends who had young children of their own.
Finally in 2004, Music Bugs launched with two classes a week. The sessions were so well received that mums began to recommend us to their friends who recommended us to their friends and so on. Within months, 2 classes had become 4 and then 6 and before long the demand meant that I had to employ a Class Leader to help with the extra sessions. As the demand for sessions continued to rise, two further Class Leaders were employed and between us we now see over 200 children and their parents/carers each week.
The really wonderful thing about Music Bugs was that the classes only ran during the school term and were scheduled to fit inside my children’s day at school. This meant that not only was I there to take and collect them from school each day but I had absolutely no childcare costs whatsoever! I really felt that I had managed to achieve a pretty good work/life balance (not bad for a mother of 4) running a business that was so enjoyable, rewarding and profitable.
The success of the business prompted me to turn my thoughts to franchising and I attended a seminar in Bristol with the BFA (British Franchising Association) to find out more. It was clear after meeting with several senior advisors at the BFA that the concept of the business was suitable for franchising but a lot of work and investment was needed to develop the business systems and to create a strong image and brand for the company.
Personal investment and savings enabled me to take on a BFA affiliated solicitor to help with the legal aspects of franchising the company and registering Music Bugs as a trade mark. I also employed the services of a brilliant designer to re-brand the business from top to toe and to create our new website www.musicbugs.co.uk
In October 2006, we ran a successful pre-launch advertising campaign in several national parenting and educational publications and are about to welcome our first franchisee on board in the next few weeks. Enquiries are also coming in from mums around the country looking to launch Music Bugs in their own local territories during Easter 2007.
This is a business which is particularly well suited to women who are looking for a complete career change or who would like to run their own flexible business that can be fitted in around their family commitments. Franchisees can choose whether to run the business part time or full time and will benefit from all the training, equipment and support that they need every step of the way.
The last 3 years have been enormously challenging at times but with the support of my family and friends I have managed to cope with the pressures of running and expanding the business and meeting the needs of my own family. The next 5 years are going to be really exciting for Music Bugs and I look forward to helping other women and mums just like me, set up and run their own Music Bugs businesses around the UK and Northern Ireland.
January 2007
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