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Wild Moos
Welcome to Wild Moos, the no-holds-barred podcast where the boardroom meets the playroom.
Hosted by Amy of Mooeys and Nicole from Wild Bird Marketing, this podcast dives into the messy, joyful, and often chaotic life of being a mother and a business owner.
Every episode is a candid exploration of the trials and triumphs that come with juggling spreadsheets and sippy cups.
From start-up stories that defy the "perfect mum" myth to scaling a business without sacrificing sanity, Amy and Nicole share it all.
Expect laughter, tears, and plenty of swear words as they peel back the curtain on what it really takes to thrive in the dual worlds of business and motherhood.
Wild Moos is a community, a confession booth, and your cheerleading squad all rolled into one.
Whether you're knee-deep in nappies, drafting business plans, or just dreaming about what could be, Wild Moos is the podcast for every mum who’s ever had to lock the bathroom door just to answer an email.
Tune in for your regular dose of inspiration, commiseration, and a reminder that you're not alone on this wild ride of entrepreneurship and motherhood.
Wild Moos
Wild Moos Podcast Episode 22: Teamwork and Transformation: The Story of Our New Salon Launch
What does it take to launch a new salon in just a few short summer months? Join us as we recount the incredible story of opening Winnie, our brand-new salon, from late June to August. Discover the untold stories of relentless effort and the remarkable teamwork that made it all happen. Learn how collaborations with Katie and her dedicated family helped us conquer logistical nightmares and personal sacrifices, including time spent away from our loved ones. This journey underscores the pivotal role of relationships and support, and the strategic moves that enabled us to open just before the bustling summer holidays.
But that's not all! Get ready for a virtual escape to Ibiza, where we'll share our thrilling plans for a champagne-filled girls’ trip at O Beach, contrasting it with a serene romantic getaway preferred by Martin. Dive into the complexities of event planning, from major product launches to the day-to-day operations that keep a team inspired and efficient. With insights into the evolving roles within our team and the invaluable addition of an operations manager, we discuss strategies for smoother, more effective future launches. Tune in to hear our reflections on balancing energy and responsibilities, ensuring every team member is at their best when it counts the most.
Nicole Bilham of WildBird Marketing Agency
https://wildbirdmarketing.co.uk/
Amy Lewis of The Mooeys Group
www.mooeys.co.uk | www.mooeysfranchise.co.uk | www.mooskin.co
Guess who's back. Back again. Shady's back To the friend Yay, fucking June, mate, it's August.
Speaker 2:It's shocking, isn't it? It's shit. It's really shit, because I was doing my franchise funnel yesterday and I was like linking to episode 10 franchise and I looked at it and I was like holy shitballs, it was June, was our last recording. Sorry, friends, martin's well upset with me is he?
Speaker 1:yeah, he's our biggest one and only fan.
Speaker 2:Sorry, marty yeah, he's like when I've got nothing to listen to, when are you recording? We're like, uh, when we're not looking after children and trying to take over the world how's your taking of the world going?
Speaker 2:well, winnie is open. Now. I forget how consuming it is to launch a salon, and we turned that around in no time at all, didn't we? I say we because this is the first time we've worked together. What a lovely little collab. Yeah, it was phenomenal. It was the best launch from a marketing and PR perspective that we've ever had. So, thank you, willem, thanks for having me Don't take a compliment. But also, I felt like I really feel like our team is coming together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it really reminded me of running an event, Really really did Well, it is an event, isn't it? Because you've got that clusterfuck of shit. We fucking need this before this happens, before we can do this bit and everyone. What's great about the people that you have brought together is everyone just mucks in. We're all grafters. Oh, big time. It's like right. What do you need? Who needs?
Speaker 2:what when? And it rafters oh big time. It's like right, what do you need? Who needs what when? Okay, and it was very much the same vibe in the salon with Katie and her family. They're so amazing and when you, you forget about this when you're in business.
Speaker 2:Like the connections and the like, the relationships, you build yeah, I got to know her entire family and it was so beautiful. I mean, me and her husband were a little bit cheeky together because he's got that naughty sense of humour, like he's really cheeky, really naughty so we were just taking the mick out of each other, which was great, but a bit of a distraction. The kids they're not kids, they're young adults are just beautiful, beautiful humans and hard workers. I was actually talking to her about it this morning and I said when I grow up, I want my family to be like yours. Because, she said it's not easy, especially when they're teenagers. It's not easy, she said, but it's our come, it's our value as a family that we all just get stuff done together. Whether they like it or whether they don't, we have a. If we've got something to do, we do it together. Oh, fully committed.
Speaker 2:And I was like that. That that family worked 15 hour days. They were, they are all grafters. Her mum was there cleaning, her aunties were there, her cousins were there. There was family everywhere. And it was so beautiful that I got the opportunity to build that relationship with them all but also these are the kind of people that you were.
Speaker 2:Yeah, these are my, my people because if it was my on, if the shoe was on the other foot, my family would be be the same. Yeah, it was very much like we've got a job to do. But then the team kind of followed suit with that New team. Like, their values and their culture is very quickly developed. It's brilliant. Yeah, it was so cool. Fucking hard work. Yeah, long days, hard work. It's really hard to be away from the family and it's getting harder as the kids are getting older because they're now asking me why I'm going away for so long. They understand, but they don't like it or they're getting upset about it. Yeah, that's really difficult. Yeah, and it was in summer holidays.
Speaker 1:That was a really tricky time well, it's tricky for lots of reasons, wasn't it like? Tricky for to jog the juggle at home, but also a tricky time within the marketplace to launch a salon at that time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I will never do it again in summer holidays. No, it has to be done before. But the thing is, if we didn't do it then and it was a call that we made four weeks before, not even that I don't think.
Speaker 1:No, it was three and a half weeks, yeah.
Speaker 2:We were like you have to try and open before the summer holidays because you need that trade. You're in a shopping center, it'll be busy, but you also need that trade where every other salon is fully booked and you need that overflow. When they can't get in somewhere else, they'll come to yours and they'll stay because they'll love it. Take it up. You've got to do it otherwise because we're on the fence. And katie was much more erring on the side of caution, of let's open in september, have loads of time, and I was like it's a no from me, yeah, and she was like, okay, and I'm never gonna say what you have to do, but I would strongly suggest now.
Speaker 2:I remember speaking to vanessa, who owns petersfield and hazelmere, and said oh, we're struggling, we just don't know about opening times. I can't remember she phoned me about something and asked how we were doing and I said, oh, we need to just like open, I think, before summer, rather than wait till September. And she went you're going to do it, amy, lewis style, aren't you? And I was like what do you mean by that? And she went well, just put it this way I would have taken four weeks to reopen Hazelmere, but you made me do it in two. I was like, oh, do I have a style? Is that? Am I known for this?
Speaker 1:and she went yes, yeah but it's because that is not just because you like to get things done quickly, that's because of your industry experience, because you know what works, because it's going to give them and I also know that that little bit of pain is worth.
Speaker 2:It is well worth it in the long run, yeah. But there was a few moments where I kind of looked at Katie and was like I'm really sorry, I really pushed this and we were training with no floor, there was still dust, like building site, was still furniture being chopped up, like yeah, it was really pushed and I think we've opened nearly what five out of seven salons we've opened with no treatment rooms because it's not been quite finished. But my message is always like just get the doors open, get people to see the front, and then when you close those doors after the launch, you have two days to finish. Yeah, and those two days you'll get everything done. Yeah, but just get it open. And those two days you'll get everything done. Yeah, but just get it open, yeah, and worry about the rest after.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, it's unlikely anyway that you'd offer those kind of treatments for launch.
Speaker 2:No, you wouldn't. It's all nails. You just want people in the front building. I remember in Farnham, one hour before we opened, martin shoved all of his tools in the treatment room and we just locked it and said we're still a work in progress. I tools in the treatment room and we just locked it and said we're still a work in progress. I mean to be fair. In Winchester we did have a toilet. They had to go to the shopping centre. Not that anybody needed the toilet, but they did. It was like shopping centre, let's just stand there. Sorry, ours isn't ready, was it?
Speaker 1:you or Katie. One of you sent me a picture of the toilet, saying this isn't working yeah, toby.
Speaker 2:Then her husband came in and her whole family after the first launch on the Friday, her whole family came in to paint and her best friend, who was lovely she was amazing, amy, yeah, she was brilliant and she was painting every night till like midnight. It was just lovely. I love that. I love that so much.
Speaker 2:That whole kind of just get it done grit, determination and it's not about the money and the team were just like no one's there, penny-pinching or worried about if they're going to get paid for that 10 minutes. They are there, part of something really sensational. Yeah, utterly devoted.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's cool. Have you taken a moment to celebrate for you?
Speaker 2:Have I Not really? No, no, why not? If I'm honest, I think you're going to try and unpack it and like no.
Speaker 2:No, because I'm really pleased. But I don't see it as my success. I see it as her success and I'm really chuffed that we turned it around. But she worked and her family worked like a dog. So I'm really pleased that she opened. I'm really pleased that we opened before I went away and also I'm like yay, number seven way, I'm a little bit closer to 10, so I'm not gonna. I don't want to celebrate big time, so I'm just like isn't that just what? I'm here?
Speaker 1:to do? What would it take for you to celebrate getting to number 10? So how are you going to celebrate when you get to 10?
Speaker 2:oh, I don't know. I would like a little trip to Ibiza. Yeah, I love Ibiza. It's my favourite place in the world. Tell me a bit more. I would like a girls' trip. I'd like to do something with Martin but, I would like a romantic trip with Martin, but if I was thinking about celebrating, I'm thinking like O Beach, so this for like if I was thinking about celebrating.
Speaker 1:I'm thinking like O Beach, so I'm thinking like I want champagne bottles with flares in and shit, and we're not just going to Essex.
Speaker 2:No, but that's not Martin's jam in the slightest. So if I said I really want to celebrate my by going to O Beach, so I'd be there, he'd be like uh, do I have to come? So it's not that I'm leaving him out. I just know that that would not be his jam and that is exactly how I would want to celebrate. I want to be like seeing unicorns flying in the sky and, yeah, drinking cocktails. So are you going to?
Speaker 1:commit to that then yeah how soon after? Oh wiki woo. It's really cool there as well. How soon after number 10?
Speaker 2:oh, within like months. Yeah, in fact I might plan it at the same time as the launch, so you know, like direct, when you do your plan for the yes, yeah, my gantt chart yeah, when I love a gantt chart, when I do my chart, it might be that we plan for the launch.
Speaker 2:I always need like a week after launch to just like not do too much, because it is so exhausting and also you have to have the answer to everything and you also have to be the person that's super motivated to keep everyone else going. And that's what I find the hardest, because it's like millions of questions, millions of I've got to think of absolutely everything and then, as soon as it's done, I literally go back into the cave.
Speaker 1:Yeah, see you in a week.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I'm done now. Please don't ask me any more questions. I'm done, um, but that will change as my team gets bigger, wouldn't it?
Speaker 1:it's also getting easier every time.
Speaker 2:I feel that you are making a blueprint for every single time you do it well, now that we've got you on board, it's easier for me, because before I was doing all of that as well. Yeah, um. And also Yaz, she's a lot more involved in the launch when before she was all about communication, but now she's doing more marketing wise. Yeah, um, and I feel like, as everybody knows their place and what they need to do or the requirements of them, it will get easier. But also, when I get to 10, that's when I'll have my ops manager we used to.
Speaker 1:That's exciting so when I'd run a big exhibition event, like a three-dayer, we'd have a, a rig and a d-rig team and and people that would come because you've got to be so careful of energy, haven't you? Yeah, if you've got a team that's training and then you wheel them out for launch, which is exactly the same for any exhibition or any event. So I wonder if you'll get to a stage where you'll have, like a pre-launch team yes a live launch team and maybe even a post-launch team, and also I feel like we've set.
