The Mooeys Brand So Far!    

I cannot believe that we will be celebrating 10 years in business this December. I am in the processing of negotiating my new lease for the Farnham branch and it got me thinking about those first few months, and how far we have come as a business, brand and what we have to look forward too.

So with that, I wondered how many of our amazing customers know what is happening in the world of Mooeys and where we hope to be in the next 5 or even 10 years.

From little Acorns…

Mooeys started off as an idea when I was managing the Aqua Sana spa at Centre Parcs, Longleat.
An idea for a salon that I would want to go to as a client, but also one where I would want to work in as well. I wanted a salon that just specialised in a few treatments and doing them really bloody well. I used to love the Gordon Ramsey programmes, where he used to go in and streamline the menus to make them specialists in a specific cuisine. So, I took that concept and put it into a beauty salon fundamentally.

I searched all over Surrey and as soon as I hit Castle Street, I knew that’s where I wanted my first little salon to be. I worked there for the first 2 years and then handed the reigns over to the gorgeous Jo (Glam-Ma Moo) when I went on my first Maternity leave.

Was it a fluke?

Whilst I was on Maternity, I decided it was time to open up a second branch to see if the concept worked. I needed to know if Farnham’s huge success was just a fluke, or if it could be set up in a whole different town. I always knew I wanted a whole chain of Mooeys salons, but needed to test the model first. So, we opened Horsham in just under 3 years from Farnham’s opening.

Horsham didn’t take long to get established which I really think was down to the lovely Emily who runs that branch. Emily has always ran that salon as if it was her own, which was always the intention as I just can’t be everywhere unfortunately.
She has taken that salon from strength to strength and been with me since the fit-out stage. I am super lucky to have the most incredible team working with me and managing/working in the salons as it makes my job of creating and growing the company so much easier knowing that the salons are in safe hands.

Next came the products

Waxing has always been my passion, and I had tried every single wax brand out there on the market. I knew exactly what a waxing specialist wanted, and what a business owner would want from a brand aswell.

My two salons alone used to spend approx. 20k a year in wax, so initially I thought that I could save my own costs by making my own wax, and get a wax that I absolutely loved rather than just putting up with what was available in the industry.

This then grew very quickly into a wax range that included pre and post products aswell. But as I was working with an aromatherapy specialist to create our signature blend, I thought about the possibility of having this range as a multi-functional range that clients could buy aswell. What if we could create a pre wax cleanser that was also an alcohol free skin tonic that could also be used as a hydrating spritz? Then a pre and post wax oil that was completely natural, nut free and suitable for every use you would require a body oil for. Think a treatment for hair and cuticles, as well as a skin nourishing oil etc.

The Mooeys Professional range then grew into something that is not only used and sold across our own salons, but is now distributed to other beauty professionals up and down the country. How cool is that!

Then came Franchise!

I knew I wanted many salons, but now my plate was pretty full as I was bringing up small humans! Setting up numerous locations was just too much for me to take on, however, with my experience in large spa’s, I had a real passion for systems and processes which fundamentally is what Franchising is all about.

So, during my second Maternity leave, I put everything in place that was required to Franchise the Mooeys brand. It wasn’t long before the brilliant Emma came along and decided that she wanted the first Franchise in Haslemere in 2018.

Now it was time for training!

Ok, so we now have our own range, 2 salons and a Franchise branch, I knew I needed a management training programme to deliver to all Franchisees and their management team, but also to my own management team too. We all needed to run the salons similarly, and I wanted to be able to offer my knowledge to our team. There isn’t anywhere you can go in the Beauty industry to obtain this type of training, and although colleges offer a level 4 qualification in Spa management, I wanted our Herd to have a much better understanding of how to operate and run a high street salon.

This is where our Business Master training was created, which we still deliver annually across our network…you may even see a few cheeky certificates dotted around the salons.

I had a taste for creating training at this point, so during lockdown I studied to get my teacher training qualification which enabled me to then go on and create our Mooeys Master waxing training courses.

With the help from some of you lovely lot, I started by creating a Fertility awareness course to help beauty therapists understand fertility journeys better, and know how to take care of their clients the best they can. Then came the pregnancy waxing course and various other waxing qualifications too.

These training programmes are now delivered by our amazing regional trainers across the country, including one of our own Moos in Horsham and of course the Gorgeous Jo who is now running the Haslemere branch, but also delivering training for us.

I really wanted our own Moos to have the best knowledge available in the industry, and as there isn’t anything that teaches therapists how to wax pregnant clients, or know what could go wrong and how to deal with it, or even understanding sexual health (which still baffles me considering we are carrying out intimate waxing!) I created what I wanted for my team. Just like our products – these courses are also available to other beauty professionals, and you will see if they are trained with us as they will have a Mooeys waxing specialist sticker in their window.

Then came Mooeys Godalming franchise with our own Glamorous Moo, Gigi who used to work in the Farnham branch, shortly followed by the Glorious Vanessa who opened Petersfield. Last but not least, the Beautiful Kria opened the Newbury branch.

Laser Hair Removal

We launched laser hair removal in our Horsham salon last year and after its success, Godalming decided to join the gang along with Petersfield – coming in October 2023.

What a whirlwind!

I cannot believe what we have achieved in such a short space of time really and I am super excited for the future of Mooeys.

Within the next year, we are looking to add two more locations to our network, get our training known as the best waxing training in the industry, and we may even launch another product – so watch this space!

Without people, we have nothing!

Everyone who works within the Mooeys brand really gives a damn, and that’s what truly matters.

I couldn’t do any of this without my network of incredible souls. The list is endless across so many groups who cross over. Colleagues, clients, family, friends, business colleagues who have become friends, clients who have become friends and colleagues, and friends who have become family. I am one lucky Moo! And although sometimes I feel like all I do is work, when you are all working to the same dream of beauty industry domination, it doesn’t just feel like work – it feels like we are part of something super special.

With people who care as much as our Herd, I truly believe we can achieve anything.

Lots of Love

Amy x