Hayley Goldacre

FRANCHISE OWNER

The Mum Club Jersey

What does a typical working day involve for you?

I host events for mums to meet other women who also happen to have children. I run the business as a side hustle, so I typically host two events in a month, mainly brunches. An average day involves juggling admin, making social media content, and looking after my daughters, who are three and one, full-time. Event days are the most fun. I set up at the venue, then welcome the mums as they arrive. I get to chat to some amazing women, introduce them to one another and witness friendships being formed, including some of my own. I capture the TMC magic on video, then edit reels for socials.

How did you get your job?

I went to one of The Mum Club events when it launched here last summer and loved everything about it. I was fairly new to the Island and didn’t know anyone so it was a great way to meet people. When I saw the franchise was up for sale, a friend and I put ourselves forward to buy it. She has since left the Island and set up a franchise in Scotland.

What motivates you in this role?

Being a mum myself and having had my youngest daughter during the pandemic, I know only too well how isolating motherhood can be. It’s one of the reasons I got involved with The Mum Club. I love that it helps beat that loneliness, connects likeminded women and helps them find their “tribe”.

Are there any future skills you will need to learn for your role?

I’m sure there are but I don’t know what they are yet. I’m still quite new to running a business and I’m learning every single day.

What are the three most important skills required for your role?

You need to be great with people – whether it’s talking to mums / venues / local businesses / influencers face-to-face or via email/ socials, communication skills are vital. Social media – I use it to promote my events, build relationships and strengthen the TMC community. Organisation skills – to keep on top of emails, DMs, ticket sales, make creative content for socials and post at times when your audience is most engaged.

What advice would you give someone interested in a career in your profession?

Start networking now. I am in my first year of running a business and still have a lot to learn but the people you surround yourself with will be crucial.

Tell us a fun fact

My career background is actually in journalism and I used to read the news on Heart radio. I resigned to move to Jersey.

Gary Tye

MANAGER- DE GRUCHYS FUNERAL CARE

Channel Islands Cooperative Society

What does a typical working day involve for you?

Truthfully, there is no typical day for a funeral director. Our role is so varied and every one of our client families have different wishes for their loved one’s funeral. In life we are all different, and it is important that a person’s funeral reflects that. We are here to guide and advise our families, providing them with options available to them and ultimately making all the arrangements for the day of the service.

How did you get your job?

When I left school, I spent 16 years in the Royal Navy. On leaving the Navy, I came to Jersey for the love of a good women (I haven’t met her yet! No, she is now my wife of 20 years). I started working for the Co-op as a food store manager. Working my way up into the senior management. After a few years I was asked if I wanted to manage funeral care. Having never worked within funerals my first reaction was, I do food not funerals!

So here I am, and I have never had so much job satisfaction within my working career.

What motivates you in this role?

Helping our bereaved families at what is understandably a very emotional and sad time for them. Being a funeral director becomes a vocation rather than a job. It is a privilege being asked to look after someone’s loved one, they have lost. I can go home at the end of the day and truly say I have helped someone at a time of need, rather than think how many pieces of paper I have pushed around.

Are there any future skills you will need to learn for your role?

As with any role – competent computer skills and English language is an advantage. Funeral directing is a unique role, and one of those roles you can’t really learn until you are working in it. Training within the role is most important, it takes a special type of person to be a funeral director. When I interview for a position with us, I will focus on the personal qualities of that person are they well presented, calm, confident and self-motivated.

What are the three most important skills required for your role?

Empathy (not sympathy) – we need to understand where clients are at, it’s a sad time for them and how we help them.

Care – small word and hard to define but you need to truly care about your role as a funeral director. Organisational skills – we only have one opportunity to get everything correct on the day of the funeral and every little detail is important for our client families.

What advice would you give someone interested in a career in your profession?

In Jersey we have only 12 funeral directors within the Island, making it a hard profession to enter. There are some pre-courses online with the National Association of Funeral Directors, this would give you some indication if the role is for you. You would need to be persistent and have a willingness to learn.

Tell us a fun fact

Modern day funerals are changing and do not need to be a sad occasion. I have had a family dancing down the aisle at the end of a service! Not for everyone but was right for them. We should celebrate those that go before us and there are no wrongs or rights in how that is done.