Here's a number that made me stop and look twice.
When Amplifi Media studied the two million shows on Apple Podcasts in 2021, 44% had three episodes or fewer. Only 36% had made it to ten.
Moo Chats has just released episode 18.
I started Moo Chats in February to bring the conversations we have inside our salons out into the open. Real people, real stories, a lot of laughing. Eighteen episodes later, this one is a really special one for me.
Why this one matters to me
My guest is Vanessa Moss, our franchise partner at Mooeys Petersfield.
Long before she had a salon of her own, Vanessa was one of our most loyal clients in Farnham. She was in every week for her nails. Then one day she decided she didn't just want to sit in the chair. She wanted the keys.
She opened Mooeys Petersfield in August 2021. She isn't from the beauty industry, she has never trained in a single treatment, and she has no intention of starting. This year her salon had the highest month in Mooeys history, and she has just signed up for another five years.
Client. Franchise partner. And now a partner who has chosen to do it all again.
That last part is the one that gets me. Signing someone up is the easy bit. Having them choose you a second time, with five years of knowing exactly what it takes, is something else.
What five years has taught me about franchise partnerships
I said to Vanessa in the episode that a five year franchise relationship is like a marriage. You work that closely. So here is what I've learned about making one last.
Be honest before anyone signs. Vanessa told me that what she appreciated at the start was my honesty. In her words, "It's not a quick turnover. It's a slow burn and you have to build it up." You open the doors with no clients. People need to hear that before they commit, not after.
Expect the prickly conversations. We've had them. What matters is what you do next. As I said to her, "No matter how prickly it starts, we can always work our way through it." That has taken five years of mutual respect, kindness and understanding, from both of us.
Be there for the wobble. Going into her second year, Vanessa came to me and said, "Amy, I've bitten off more than I can chew." What she remembers me saying is that it probably wasn't as bad as she thought, and then asking what changes she could make. A partner doesn't need you to panic with them. They need you to help them think.
Standards matter more than background. Vanessa once asked me whether not being a therapist was a negative. I told her I thought it was a positive, and I still do. She spent years as a client, so she knows exactly what good looks like. "I demand perfection from my girls because that's what I received when I first went to Mooeys."
Give people one question to lead with. Early on I told her that when something goes wrong, all you have to ask is, "What can I do to make this right?" She told me in this episode that she has never forgotten it.
None of that is complicated. All of it takes time, and you have to keep doing it.
Why I'll keep shouting about them
Here is something I've noticed about the women in our Herd. They don't shout about themselves.
Vanessa said it herself in this episode: "I don't tell a lot of people I have a beauty business." This is someone who is in her salon at half seven in the morning because she wants to be, and who loves watching her team grow.
Our franchise partners and our management teams are the beating heart of Mooeys. They are the reason seven salons feel the way they do when you walk in. They get on with it, quietly and brilliantly, and they rarely stop to tell anyone how good they are.
So I'll do the shouting for them. That is a big part of what Moo Chats is for.
Come and meet her
Episode 18, "Loyalty, Laser Focus & The Diamond Moo", is Part 1 of my chats with Vanessa Moss, and it's out now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
And I'd love to know. Who in your business deserves shouting about? Tell me about them in the comments.
Amy x