Greg Cartwright catches up with Spencer Hickson, founder of Groove Noise and Inner Trust, to discuss his new franchise and the journey from consideration to launch.

For many DJs, the thought of giving up their business is a daunting one. It’s understandable when you’ve worked so hard, invested so much time and money, and built something that reflects directly on you as a person. The thought of letting all that go is difficult. But, for a multitude of reasons, there can come a time when selling up and moving on feels like the next logical step. Spencer Hickson – a DJ, counsellor and business owner based in Cheshire – is in this position now, as he looks to the future and considers how a franchise model could work for his Groove Noise mobile DJ business.

“I’ve been doing the [Groove Noise] gigs since 2013,” Spencer tells me over Zoom. “I enjoy it and I’ve always enjoyed that nocturnal lifestyle. But as I’ve got a bit older, and after I’d trained as a counsellor and started Inner Trust, which grew, I’ve started to think I don’t want to do as many gigs.”

You may remember Pro Mobile speaking with Spencer over three years ago about his background in counselling and how he combined it with his love of music to create Inner Trust, a Nantwich-based non-profit social enterprise. Inner Trust runs sessions that combine the creativity of DJing and music with one-to-one counselling and group workshops, helping boost the confidence of disadvantaged people in schools, care homes and other environments.
Since we last spoke just a year after Inner Trust had launched, the world has gone through some significant changes. Care homes, in particular, have had a rough time throughout the pandemic. And the frustration Spencer felt at not being able to go in and bring joy through music is palpable.

This was a frustration shared by all DJs, musicians and entertainers, whose instinct is to share music with people and bring them together through that shared love. Many DJs turned to live streaming and video technology to reach audiences, Spencer included.

“I thought it was really good that DJs had that outlet, although some people had technical issues with streaming,” he says. “But then I’d seen some other stuff – more high-end DJs – using green screens behind them and then visuals, which I thought was really cool and looked really effective. If you’d got it on a big screen at home with decent speakers, it would look and sound great.”

But as Spencer points out, despite best efforts, these virtual events just aren’t the same. It’s extremely hard to match those physical experiences that offer true human interaction and communication, whether that be gigs, counselling sessions or a simple face-to-face chat.
“It was an odd time, wasn’t it? That human interaction – especially in the care homes – just wasn’t there,” observes Spencer, talking about Inner Trust’s Musical Minds project. “Back in December, when we first went back into the home I’m working in now, some of the ladies that knew me had come to the session and obviously I’d have loved to have gone and embraced them, and they wanted the same from me. But we had to stay on different tables and one of the ladies said she had to go, because she thought it would be like it was before, where we’d dance and we’d interact. So that was quite sad to see. It was still a good session, but it was really hard.”

Thankfully, a few months on, things are looking up. Whilst care homes are still practising caution, especially with Omicron outbreaks affecting staff levels and dementia patients being some of the most vulnerable, all of Spencer’s other groups are back to normal, providing fully interactive in-person sessions that give people the chance to try their hand at DJing and tap into their creative sides.

Those of you who read our piece about the Inner Trust project back in issue 97 will know that Spencer started out as a club DJ in the early 90s. He describes electronic music as his passion, which is why, back then, the idea of DJing weddings just never entered his thoughts. But after attending a few weddings as a guest, he noticed that many DJs were struggling to appeal to the younger couples and their friends. There was room for improvement; something new to bring to the table.

“I did a few gigs in my local town, just birthday parties to begin with. In my mind, I thought I needed to avoid the microphone – ‘Where the Music Does the Talking, Not the DJ’ is our strapline,” explains Spencer. “It’s not that I don’t use a microphone. But younger couples, for instance, want their own control over the night. A wedding is very different to a house music event, there’s no way to know what music all the guests like, because it’s a taste thing. I quickly realised it’s about handing control back to the client, admitting you don’t know their friends or family, but working with them on the playlist.”

Spencer believes this is where the success of Groove Noise lies – and the hundreds of five-star reviews across Facebook, Yell and Hitched prove it. “I’m really proud of myself. I’ve created something that really works,” he tells me. “Because I’m trained as a counsellor, I treat every customer the same as I do in a counselling sense. It’s empathy, it’s full of respect, it’s no judgement. And it’s reflected in our reviews.”
Part of Spencer’s drive also comes from not wanting to let down customers who’ve had bad experiences with DJs in the past – an ethos shared by readers of Pro Mobile and the leading figures in the industry.

“There are still people out there giving us mobile DJs – Pro Mobile readers and other professionals – a really bad name,” Spencer points out. “Someone will phone me up and say, ‘Are you free on Saturday for a wedding? We’ve just been let down by a DJ.’ And I feel angry that someone has done that to a wedding couple. If I couldn’t do it – if all my family had died – I would still find them a replacement. I wouldn’t just leave them. It’s not professional. It’s not ethical.”

So, what initially started as a quick earner soon turned into a full-on business model. Thanks to Spencer’s customer-first, club DJ-style approach and determination to make a good name for mobile DJs, Groove Noise – founded in 2013 – has since flourished into a successful DJ business. Most recently, Spencer picked up the regional award for Wedding DJ of the Year (North West) at the 2022 Wedding Industry Awards.

As for many other DJs, the pandemic threw an unexpected spanner in the works, bringing uncertainty and instability for business. It also led to Spencer questioning his own work-life balance and considerations about the future of Groove Noise, which has racked up over 350 gigs since its launch.

“I’d be doing three to four gigs from Thursday to Sunday in my heyday, but quality of life and lack of sleep was costly. So I thought maybe I should stop. But then I was reading all the reviews and customer testimonials, and I thought it would be such a shame,” says Spencer. “I was worried I might sell it to one of those DJs that are the reason I started, who’s just going to tear it apart with bad reviews.”

Concerned about Groove Noise falling into irresponsible hands, he started investigating alternative ways to sell the company. The idea of franchising popped up, which he liked because he wanted to retain some control: “I’ll sort all the marketing and you go and do all the gigs,” he says.
“That way I can keep the image, the reviews, and all the stationery – those things that I think are important and what customers see and react positively to.” But then COVID-19 hit and there were questions about whether a franchise plan would come to fruition anyway.

Once events got the go-ahead again in June 2021, the gigs picked up, and it was a shock to the system for Spencer after 18 months off: “It was a surreal change. Up until December it was just crazy and then I’d started to turn gigs away. But it was nice because it reinforced the idea that the franchise could still work. There’s still a market.” Following his instinct, Spencer went ahead and the Groove Noise franchise was born.

Spencer was initially using another company to handle all the marketing and sales, but it wasn’t going well. “Everything was taking ages. Just a spelling on the website was taking two weeks. So we parted ways with them,” he explains. “They’re OK at selling franchises but they didn’t understand our market.”

This was also clear when it came to the company’s ideas for training the DJs. “The franchise people thought we needed a big operational manual that’s got everything in. But I said, ‘That won’t work for this industry.’ If you’ve got a DJ at a wedding thinking, ‘How do I put those DMX controllers in there?’ he needs to be watching a video not flicking through a manual. The training needs to be what DJs are into and what young people are into, which is watching video content.”

In the end, Spencer created a two-week training package that involves the franchisee heading down to Cheshire, where Groove Noise is based. He’s created loads of video tutorials and timelapses of his setup, with close-ups for detail. Spencer would love his first franchisee to be somebody local and he also mentions how great it would be to have a female franchisee to train, to avoid the usual stereotype of the male DJ. Once training with his initial franchisee is complete, the plan is to iterate and improve the training, before taking on more DJs.

Though there’s no doubt that Spencer’s unique ethos and approach will run through the heart of the Groove Noise franchise – as it does with all his projects – how he goes about instilling this ethos in his franchisees is perhaps the biggest challenge. He hopes his background in counselling will help define the training, with a focus on authenticity and strong customer service skills. Even if they’re a fantastic DJ when it comes to music selection and technical skill, they’ll need the right type of training to ensure they provide the high standard of customer service that Spencer expects.

“Someone might love music, be a good DJ, but can be a bit of an arse [laughs], and isn’t a people person,” he tells me. “It’ll be interesting to see. I’m hoping it isn’t necessarily just somebody who is a DJ. A wedding DJ can be trained because it’s such a mix of ages and you need to cater for that with a wide variety of music. It’s the other things, like thinking on the spot about getting this gear in there or holding it here while they change the room around – they’re the testing parts. Once you’re up there playing, that’s the fun bit.”

Before our Zoom call ends, I ask if his outlook on the world has changed since the whirlwind two years since March 2020. But, rather reassuringly, he’s as steadfast as ever in his beliefs and his commitment to authenticity.

“When you’re training to be a counsellor you really have to put yourself through it. You’ve got to sort your stuff out in those three years of training,” says Spencer. “From that, I’ve found peace in myself and it’s allowed me – whatever I’m doing – to do it in this person-centred way, whether it’s a wedding or going into a care home. It’s partly about being centered in yourself and being able to be authentic.”

Bolstered by these words, Spencer is ready to embark on an exciting chapter for Groove Noise. Perhaps it’s having an attitude like this that not only gets you through a global pandemic, but sees you emerge from the other side with a whole new business plan. “The good name I’ve built with Groove Noise is the foundation and that’s what will sell the gigs,” he says. “If the DJs can deliver it how I do, they’ll be fine.”

For more information about the Groove Noise franchise visit
groovenoisefranchise.co.uk