GAYNOR SMITH

Gaynor Puts the Magic Into Jo Jingles

Professional singer Gaynor Smith is passing on her own passion for singing to the next generation, through her work as a Jo Jingles franchisee.

Gaynor comes from a performing family. Her Father is a professional magician in high demand for children’s parties and adult events alike. From an early age Gaynor loved to sing. She has been a professional singer since the age of seventeen, fronting an 8 piece soul band and singing jazz at weddings and corporate events.

After getting married two years ago and taking on a mortgage, Gaynor decided she wanted an additional income and so started looking for a part time job. She saw an advertisement for a Jo Jingles class teacher, working for the Jo Jingles Nottingham franchisee. Sadly, the job only offered a few hours a week, so Gaynor asked the franchisee to get in touch in the future if more hours ever became available as she felt it would be the perfect day job. Just three months later she heard that the franchise was up for sale.

‘It was a wonderful opportunity,’ says Gaynor. ‘I love music and singing and I knew from previous part time work in nurseries that, like my father, I really enjoyed working with children. Not only would this combine all of my skills but it would give me the exciting new challenge of running my own business. It seemed too good to miss, especially as we hope to start our own family soon which will mean I will need a child-friendly job.’

With the help of two class teachers, Gaynor currently runs 29 classes per week in Nottingham and Melton Mowbray. The business has gone from strength to strength with waiting lists now in place for many of the classes.

Gaynor was very proud to receive an award at the Jo Jingles business conference 2007 for ‘Midlands Franchisee of the year’.

‘This was a lovely way to celebrate the end of my second year as a franchisee,’ she says.

Gaynor is so busy with her new career that she has been taking fewer bookings for singing, but she doesn’t mind at all as she finds teaching children so rewarding. A real highlight is the participation in Children in Need.

‘Every year BBC Nottingham films my classes performing the Jo Jingles charity single at East Midlands Airport. It is just as exciting as being on stage with my own band.’

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LIZ WILSON

Jo Jingles helps husband and wife team sing in tune

Liz Wilson was able to return to her favourite part of the country, Dorset, and work in partnership with her husband thanks to a franchise with music and movement group, Jo Jingles.

Liz and Russell Wilson have been running Jo Jingles Poole for six years now and their respective backgrounds make them the perfect team. Before becoming involved with children’s music groups, Liz worked in the hotel and catering industry, primarily teaching front of house studies. She thrives on being with people and interfacing with customers, whereas her husband’s former position as a Director at Barclays Bank, has equipped him with enviable business and administrative skills.

It was the Poole location however, which first attracted mother of two, Liz, to Jo Jingles.

‘We lived in Poole when we were first married and always wanted to move back, but thought it was something we would do in later life,’ explains Liz. ‘But when my daughter was eleven and moving school anyway we happened to see an advertisement for Jo Jingles franchises in the local paper. I met with Gill Thomas and was really inspired by her enthusiasm and knew she was someone I’d be happy to work with.’

And so the family moved to Poole. Jo Jingles Poole was born and Liz and Russell Wilson haven’t looked back. Jo Jingles provides a fulfilling and lucrative career for both of them, but the real profit for Liz is seeing how children develop through attending her classes.

‘It is wonderful to see how they progress and react to the music,’ says Liz. ‘I get a real buzz when I see little ones starting to join in clapping and jiggling along in time to the songs.’

Liz also enjoys the movement part of the classes, since her own love of music was fostered primarily thorough ballet classes she attended from the ages of 5-15. Her family was inherently musical. Her father played the piano and Liz sang in choirs with both him and her brother.

Liz’s wish to encourage a love of music in her own children was the route through which she became involved with music and movement classes in the first place. When her son was two she took him along to an independent class in Surrey, where the family was living at the time, and the class teacher eventually asked Liz if she wanted to help out.

Leading music classes proved the ideal job for Liz, utilising her teaching and customer interfacing skills and fitting in well with family life, an important factor since her husband was then away a great deal which meant she could not rely on him to help out with childcare.

Inevitably, Liz’s own children have developed a love of music. Her daughter has achieved grade 4 flute and her son made grade 5 piano.

 All the class teachers were introduced to Jo Jingles by bringing their children to the classes and these children are now seeing the benefits now they are at school - one is playing the piano and another taking the lead role in the School Play.

‘It is results like this that make it all so worthwhile,’ says Liz. ‘At my daughter’s school they taught basic notation, at the age of 4, through walking around a room and she still remembers it vividly. We have a basic notation module in Jo Jingles classes that takes a similar approach and I like to think we are planting such strong musical memories and roots in the children we are teaching today.’

Jo Jingles Poole is now so busy that Liz employs three other class teachers and the four of them lead 45 sessions a week, many in nurseries. They are also regularly asked to run special Jo Jingles birthday parties.

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