Hello!  This is the DIY section. Below you can find out much more about Mother Funkers with a view to becoming a Mother Funkers Event Manager (an MFEM) yourself.  At the end of this section there is a phone number for you – to ring Sally  and have a chat.

 

If you have made an enquiry or come to this bit of our website it must mean that you are intrigued and may fancy running Mother Funkers nights where you live.   We are nearly in our fifth year now and hundreds of women have danced at our events in different locations in the UK. There are MF nights in Farnham, Surrey;  Brighton and Hove, East Sussex; Worthing, West Sussex, Rochester in Kent, and in Altrincham Cheshire. As a brand MF is becoming well known and trusted as the high quality night that it is so proud of becoming. We would like there to be a Mother Funkers in every town – we would love you to consider getting involved.

  

Sally Kennedy, the Director of Mother Funkers, is the originator of the idea.   She was dancing in her kitchen one day – getting her kids their tea – and realised that she really needed to get out and have a good dance in a proper venue – with neither hob nor sink. The listing magazine showed endless lists of places she could dance in Brighton – but they all started at around 10.00pm. As a mother of a 5 year old and 8 year old she couldn’t even contemplate such hours. So Mother Funkers was born… it was never intended to be a business – but was borne out of a genuine passion for what it does and what it gives the people who come to it. We believe this lack of cynicism is what makes it so special. It has gone from strength to strength providing high quality dance nights for fabulous women. The interest shown in the concept of Mother Funkers by you and so many others like you proves what we had sensed all along - that we weren’t the only ones dancing solo in the kitchen.  Mother Funkers is a simple and effective way to provide the right situation to enable women to relax and dance in a safe attractive environment to fantastic music and in an amazingly light atmosphere.

 

Mother Funkers began in November 2004 in a big church hall on the outskirts of Brighton.  It was quickly moved to a bigger venue with two bars and a big dance floor. Over the last four years a great deal of experience has been gained. The months of organisation, research, design, development, and experimentation are over (and paid for!) - we feel now it is a good time to roll out the concept and get as many women dancing as possible in as many places as possible. All you need to do is take advantage of the reputation we have built up of being a high quality night and reap the benefits. It isn’t difficult to run a Mother Funkers night – once women have been and know how good it is, word of mouth takes care of the rest. And we help you from start to finish!

 

To get involved there is an outlay - the amount depends on the size of your venue and your décor requirements – but you get a lot for your money – not just in terms of ‘gear’ but also our time, our experience and our reputation. If you were to start from scratch the costs and the effort would be much greater. And so would the risk.  

 

Mother Funkers can earn you some money – for yourself or as a fund raiser, but it is not a main ‘second income’ as such. You can also do it with a group of friends – so no one carries the full financial responsibility. You can get sponsors on board too. Whatever you want to do, you can – but if you follow the way we do it and your events are packed and successful, then any initial outlay will be made back quite quickly and you will earn some money.

 

WHAT YOU GET FROM US

We provide everything you need to ‘brand’ the night and make it more than just a ‘disco’– you can add extras if you like - but apart from the venue and the DJ – we provide just about everything: Which is:

 

·     You receive the Mother Funkers Joining Pack which contains THE MOTHER FUNKERS FORMULA – the fifteen points that make it work;  The ‘to do’ lists to produce the event – week by week, day by day, hour by hour, from start to finish and beyond;  The playlist – hundreds of dance tunes from the 60s to contemporary, chosen by the women that go to Mother Funkers  and to be amended by you according to local taste; templates for all your administrative requirements; advice and recommendations on your extra décor;  You also get help from Mother Funkers, should you ask for it, with generating local advertising and publicity (radio, newspapers, magazines); If we do any  nationwide publicity and marketing then you benefit from that at the same time which helps the ‘brand’ to become even more well recognised; most women are good organisers and throw a good party but there is training, advice and support from Mother Funkers should you need it;

·      Your area, chosen venue, event contact details and ticket selling facility is automatically added to our website.  You probably saw how this works when you looked at this website for the first time. We get a lot of publicity so we have women from all over the country looking at the site – most of them asking when it will be near them!  You also get your own Mother Funkers email address so you don’t get MF mail mixed up with your personal email.

·     You also receive: Posters: 25 to 200; Flyers: 2500 or 5000; Up to 250 tickets; Letterhead Template; Dedicated email; Your own page on the website; Mother Funkers Branding;  Velvet Tablecloths; 200 Mother Funkers Pens; 200 Mother Funkers Coasters; 300 Request Slips; 500  Mailing List Forms; an MF Door Kit and a DVD for the night itself.

·     You get the exclusive right to run MF in your area – so you don’t need to worry about someone setting up near enough to you to take your women away from your event!

 

 

 

What makes a great MFEM…?

 

The most important thing is that you want to dance and you want to create an event that you yourself would want to go to. So the first question to ask yourself is… ‘Do I throw a good party?!’ 

 

 Mother Funkers needs sociable women with a sense of humour, excellent organisational and planning skills, powers of persuasion, and a positive outlook. You need to be self motivated and able to work independently. A thorough knowledge of the area in which you live, and good connections with the women that live there, especially those with children of school age, are also key to the success of the night.

 

Your communication and ‘people’ skills need to be excellent. You will be keeping a Mailing List and communicating with the women that go to the nights on a regular basis; you will also be communicating with the local media.  

  

The ability to plan ahead and attention to detail are also vital, however it's not enough to plan an event perfectly; you also have to make it work on the night. Your job doesn't end until the doors close behind the last dancer. The music has to work, the venue has to look wonderful, the unexpected problems have to be dealt with and the women themselves have to feel that everything possible is being done to give them a fantastic night out. 

 

We give lots of help and support and there are guidelines to keep you on track. We take away a lot of the tiresome time consuming aspects – design, printing, and website to name just three, leaving you free to get on with filling the dance floor.  Even if promotion and event management are new to you there is nothing to fear – most women are fantastic organisers and naturally rise to the occasion of Mother Funkers. 

 

To run Mother Funkers you will also need:

 

A landline number for Mother Funkers (we use our own with no problems at all)

A P.O. Box number

An HSBC Business Account in the name of your Mother Funkers

Outlook

 

 

 PRESS

 

There has been a very satisfying amount of interest in the Mother Funkers concept since the first night in November 2004 including articles in the Daily Express, Woman’s Own, Family Circle and In the Know, and various radio interviews including Radio 2’s Johnny Walker and BBC GMR’s Terry Christian.

 

Here in Brighton there have been lengthy articles in The Argus; interviews and write-ups in The Latest - a widely distributed Sussex magazine; an online interview with mother@work and coverage included in the Enterprising Women Expo.  We are linked with Mumsnet, Raring2Go, Latest 7 Magazine, The Family Grapevine and Medway Mamas. Sally frequently does radio interviews and gives talks about the Mother Funkers concept at women’s forums.  

 

 Media interest certainly helps – it is good for the profile of Mother Funkers and anyone involved in it – it doesn’t matter whether the event is held in a church hall or a more sophisticated venue – the spirit of the event is being recognised as unique. The Mother Funkers publicity, together with the already successful ingredients that make up the night, will increase your chances of reaching and pleasing all those whose dancing shoes are gathering dust in the cupboard under the stairs.

 

The publicity that Mother Funkers generates will also help you to negotiate from a position of strength with venues, potential sponsors, ticket outlets and the people who you will need to hire for the night such as DJ's and mobile bar owners. They will see that you are promoting something with a proven track-record and they should be more willing to get involved and to offer you better terms. 

 

Sally is also available to you for any local press or radio you may require to get your night off the ground. Of course you are welcome to do all the publicity yourself, but you often get only the one chance with the press and it can be difficult to get another or to change first impressions. Sally gives a good interview and has extensive experience with the media, so if you are feeling nervous and want help, you get it.  

 

 

We are constantly contacted by the many women who go to the nights and it’s feedback like this that inspires us:

 

“I just want to thank you again for creating the amazing Motherfunking dancing space over the last 3 years that has brought so much joy to me (and my friends).  Friday night was absolutely fantastic (and both of my requests were played - the icing on the bun!)  Mother Funkers is such an amazing concept and it brings a lot of sparkle into so many women's - and a few men's - lives.”

  “I love dancing but the night club scene just doesn't work for women like me, it isn't aimed at us and it starts far too late. Over the last couple of years of going to Mother Funkers I feel that I've been able to reconnect with something that makes me really happy - it's just great fun and I've realised how much I'd missed it. The atmosphere is very relaxed - it doesn't matter whether you're young or old, dressed up or casual, nobody cares, they're there to dance and it's very liberating. I've brought lots of friends along and they all feel the same - we dance till we drop and we love it! - It's given me back a part of myself that got submerged with motherhood - and the dance nights are packed with women like me!”

 

“…thanks for a great night last night, I feel loads better for having shaken my arse!
 Hope we will have the chance to do it again soon.”

“Thank you for Friday night - it was fabulous we all had a great time.”

 

“For me, MF is a chance to step out of the hum-drum, routine, day to day life that I and many women lead (particularly those with kids) and let go, be a bit wild, shake it all about, and have some fun! And it’s great to be with friends in a different way (i.e. not always sitting having meaningful conversation over coffee or being distracted by kids). For me and my mates it's been a lifesaver!”

 

“Thank you for all the organisation you have to put in to make it such a fun evening. I am looking forward to the next one.”

 

 “Am a bit hung-over and got woken by baby at 6 but it was WORTH IT!”

 

  “That was a fab evening!   Organised really well, and although I prefer ‘club’ music, managed to dance to all of it.  Really good DJ, who joined in and actually played the requests!   A good fun evening, with lots of silly dancing women and nobody telling us off or standing at the bar with a pint!   

 

“Listen, at this stage in my life, with a one year old plus a toddler not quite three, even going dancing by myself in someone's living room sounds like a rakish night out! I am sure we will be in absolute heaven.  My husband's been saying, 'What do we need a table for? We're going to be straight onto that dance floor!' You can tell we are two people in need of some non-child related fun...”

 

“The February session was fab, I bought about 30 girlfriends as it was my birthday and they ALL loved it. “ 

 

“Thought it was a fantastic night – the music was superb – far and away the best ever.  Please tell the boys RESPECT for the early Pointer Sisters track they played very early in the evening…

 

 “It was another great night for me, even though I was really tired, I still managed to dance the night away. I loved the choice of music. I've known my group of friends since my daughter was in reception, 9 years ago, and I never knew they were desperate to dance too! You have made it possible for us and I think you're fabulous.”

 

 “Thanks for a fab venue, beautiful decorations, great atmosphere and fab music....”

 

“I would like to say what a fab night I had at the inaugural Mother Funkers at The Old Market in Hove.  Have not had such a major boogie for years - was knackered afterwards because I just danced for 3 hours non-stop!!!  Badgered a friend to come with me before hand (she loved it) and she brought another friend who was visiting from London, and even woman with a life (no children, proper job!) thought it was the best thing she had been to for a long time.”

 

“Just wanted to say that Friday was brilliant. I came with some of my book group and they had a great time. There was a good mix of music, not all stuff I like but something for everyone. And the danceable tracks just kept coming.”

 

 “…  I just wanted to let you know that the music on Friday was absolute class. The DJs really, really knew their stuff, their timing was brilliant and as an old northern soul gal  like playing Tobi Legend and Jimmy Radcliffe quietly at the end when we were all getting our coats on. I loved the music – it was such a pleasure to be able to dance again to the tracks I used to love dancing to when I was younger (and a bit fitter!!) Definitely the best MF event I’ve been to.

 

  “I'm bursting at the seams, when oh when is the next wigshake in Brighton????”

 

“Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank you for letting me be myself again" would pretty much some up the night.”

 

And one of our favourites!

 

“Godmother Funker - please grant me a wish...

 

As soon as I heard about the Hanbury Club night I knew I was going, whatever it took to get there. In fact, it was so fixed in my head as a fact that I would be there twirling under that glorious dome (in my special gold top that is just made for funker-twirling)..... that it didn't occur to me to buy a ticket. One of my mother funking sisters has told me you are sold out......... please tell me they are wrong! I promise that I will pay extra, and will dance to every track all night and help you clear up at the end (if capable) if you will just take pity on me and let me in............. Hope to hear from you.  - Even if you can’t let me in - I still love you and everything you have done for mothers who are just bursting to be funkers.”

 

We do love what we do!

 

 

 FINANCES

 

We can look at the finances only briefly here, if you require more details we will send them to you. 

 

The profit you can make depends on four main factors:  

 

1.   Venue Hire-  the cost, facilities and capacity of the venue;

2.   Ticket Price -  the price you charge for the tickets;

3.   Publicity Materials and Décor Costs - you can have the basic package and add to it if you want to.

4.   Other Sources of Income- e.g. Sponsorship these can help you reduce your outgoings, thereby increasing your returns.

 

Mother Funkers receives 5% of the ticket revenue per event you hold, based on the capacity of the venue, plus 5% of all other income generated by your Mother Funkers.

 

The Mother Funkers Package currently comprises of:

 

·       Set Up Fee 

·       Artwork and design for initial set up of your details for posters, flyers and website

·       Posters  

·       5000 Flyers 

·       Up to 250 tickets 

·       Mother Funkers Branding  (Board or Drape) 

·       Velvet Tablecloths –  for up to 20 x 3’ cabaret tables (or equivalent) 

·       200 Mother Funkers Pens   

·       200 Mother Funkers Coasters   

·       300 Request Slips  

·       500  Mailing List Forms  

·       Letterhead Template 

·       Dedicated email 

·       Files for all admin

·       Website page

·       Mother Funkers Desk Kit – Board and Box

·       Event DVD 

·       Some P&P applies (unless you collect)

·       Advice and Training

 

The basic cost lies between £600 and £900 – it depends on the venue’s requirements. 

 

 

 

 THE LAW - WHAT WE EXPECT OF EACH OTHER

 

When you decide to bring Mother Funkers to your area there is the unavoidable formality of a contract between us which takes the form of a legal agreement.

 

The contract has been drawn up by lawyers who have to imagine every possible eventuality. Many of the conditions are included to protect you and Mother Funkers, and the concept, from people who are not involved with Mother Funkers helping themselves to the whole thing.  

 

The other thing that the contract tries to deal with is ambiguity; it would be a great shame if you and Mother Funkers had different ideas about the agreement between us, and the contract is designed to minimise the possibility of misunderstanding. We have also tried to minimise the legal language but appreciate that you may find it rather over the top – we do! ...but it has to be written this way to make it legally effective.

 

We think the Agreement is fair, but you shouldn't take our word for it. You can get good free advice from www.businesslink.co.uk and we would really like it if you spoke to them as we want you to be very comfortable that this is all good and fair.

 

 

THE NEXT STEPS

There are many variables involved in Mother Funkers so we don’t try to cover them all here.     This is what happens next:

 

1.              Talk to Sally!  Any questions, any queries, get in touch. You are very welcome to contact another MFEM to help you in your decision making.

 

2.               After talking to Sally and deciding that you would like to become an MFEM you will be sent:

 

-          an NDA (A Non Disclosure Agreement) which you need to complete in duplicate and send back to Mother Funkers.  The form protects the ‘Intellectual Property’ of Mother Funkers. It is not the MF Agreement. It simply serves to protect wonderful Mother Funkers from burglars and con artists – which we are sure you are NOT, but we  KNOW are out there! It is a normal business requirement.

`    Once we have the returned form you will receive:

 

-          the Financial  Information in more detail

 

-          the draft Agreement and the criteria for choosing your venue.   Make sure you are 100% happy with the Agreement and feel free to discuss any aspect of it with Sally.

 

-          the MFEM Application Form which you need to return with a deposit of £50, made payable to Mother Funkers.  The deposit covers initial activity, meeting you and visiting you.

 

                        All of (2) above is the MOST complex it becomes!! Then it’s all about dancing! Hooray.

 

3.              When you have found a suitable venue Sally will come to meet you, view the venue and hopefully give the thumbs up. The requirements for the venue will be decided and the kind of package you will need.

 

4.              We choose a date for your first Mother Funkers according to the dates possible and finalise it with the venue. You then pay the balance of the Package payment which is set according to your requirements and we sign the finalised Agreement.

 

5.        Your Mother Funkers Supplies will follow at the appropriate times for your event.

 

 

NB From finalising the date of your first event to the event itself you need at least nine weeks to get everything in place.

 

 

 

 

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION!

 

… NOW IT’S OVER TO YOU! PICK UP THE PHONE

 

  Call Sally on 01273 555334