Franchises for Women UK When the Music Stops Stephanie Richardson

My Career background  

"As a qualified Beauty Therapist, most of my working life has been spent in this area. I have run my own Salon in the past and also worked for major leisure chains, most recently Centre Parcs.  My specialist areas were Aromatherapy, Reflexology and Remedial Massage but this was hard physical work for long hours and with poor financial rewards for the amount of effort expended.

I dreamed of working for myself again but as part of a team and with great support around me. As a singleton I was aware of the fast growing and lucrative world of dating and with friends I tried Speed Dating with When the Music Stops. Both my friend Denise and myself ended up working as part of the When the Music Stops team nationally."

Why a When the Music Stops franchise?

"The Dating Marketplace is a fascinating one; it attracts publicity like no other industry I have been involved in. Everybody both married or single, young or old wants to know who is going out with who and the Press and TV people are fascinated by it all, which helps immensely. Where else could you possibly generate such valuable free publicity?"

"The Franchise package I bought was great value, in comparison to most and the support and training I’ve received has been first class. WTMS helped made me feel entirely comfortable that I had the skills to run my own events before I ran my own and the Operations Director who provides my day to day support and advice has been an inspiration."

"I love working in such an exciting environment, there is always something different happening and I’m able to put my own stamp on things and do it my way. But there is a safety net and there is always someone around to help when I need a sounding board."

Looking back on my first year

"I started running my events in Derby, Nottingham and Lincoln in March of 2006 and have now run dozens of events in each of my locations, for a diverse range of age groups too. We run events for those aged 21-35, 25-39, 35-49 and 40 plus. The type of events that we run range from Dinner Parties, Speed Dating, Party Nights, Sunday Stroll’s and Murder Mystery evenings for singles, through to Barbeques, River Cruises, Valentines Ball’s and Christmas Events.

Typically my profit per event is around £450 and the Franchisee takes up to 90% of that, so from 3 events per week a really tidy income can be generated. There is also an income generated from our 1:1 Introduction Service and from our Dating website too."   

My hopes and aspirations for the future

"The last year has flown and it has been really successful, my biggest speed Dating event attracted 45 people and at £20 per head that is good going. Some of our Dinner Party events now attract up to 36 and at £35 per head again, they can be very profitable for the Franchise Partner."

"I have recently booked myself onto a Refresher Training Course with When the Music Stops, which I hope will help me get more of the website provided as part of the franchise. The course spans a Friday and Saturday at a very comfortable and prestigious hotel. Meeting other Franchise Partners gives me a real buzz, it’s great to exchange ideas."

"So no regrets at all, just lots of positives, it’s a life I’d recommend to anybody, who can claim to be a people person and enjoys the freedom of being your own boss and working from home."