It is said that ‘teamwork makes the dream work’ and that couldn’t be more true than at the recent conference for the BBC’s Dragons’ Den backed theatre school franchise.
Many entrepreneurs state that running your own business can sometimes feel like a lonely place to be. The biggest advantage of being part of a franchise network is that it allows you to create the business that you want but with the support of a vibrant network.
At the annual Razzamataz Theatre Schools conference, the theme was exploring the many benefits of teamwork. Throughout the day, the hashtag #WinningTeams was prominent to inspire the franchisees to think about how to make the most of their own teams and the network in general.
Razzamataz Theatre Schools takes pride in supporting all principals during their whole journey with the franchise business. From those that have just started out to those that are enjoying more than 12 years as Razzamataz principals, the conference is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to gain new skills and bring back lots of new ideas to implement in their own schools.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the day is actually hearing about the successes and challenges that principals face on their day to day journey. Three school principals spoke about their first year and shared best practice, the highs and the lows and just how much they have learned during their first year.
One of the highlights was a segment on exploring colours and personality traits, a motivational session led by Brian Costello from Headstrong. During the talk, Principals found out how to make sure that they have a team of people who complement each other’s personality traits and also how it applies to their own students.
To run a successful theatre school, a key ingredient is what happens in the ‘back room’. Meticulous planning and attention to detail is an important part of the process, which will now be made a whole lot easier thanks to a new Business Management System.
Razzamataz has spent years trialing and perfecting the new system at the flagship school in Medway. It has been especially created to fit in with every element of the schools and will make communication with parents much more streamlined.
The day session ended with a fun Cryptic Chase where principals were put into teams to compete against each other to win a number of physical and mental challenges. The session was designed to highlight the importance of working as a team and to make the most of each individual’s skill set.
“There was one year I couldn’t make the conference as I was filming and I found that year so tough without any drive or motivation,” says Michael French, Principal of Razzamataz Barnet. “It is useful to bounce ideas off each other, discuss the same challenges, possibly lend a hand to someone else and talk about how you dealt with a certain situation. I think for a lot of us who work from home it can be mentally challenging and sometimes we need to remind ourselves we are changing lives with what we do. The network is filled with driven, like-minded people which makes it so unique and exciting.”
After such a busy day, another highlight this year was the wonderful evening performance by the students of Razzamataz Carlisle and Penrith who were selected to entertain all the principals during the Awards celebration, where they performed their piece from RazzaMagique at Disneyland Paris.
To conclude a truly wonderful day and night, the Awards ceremony was a chance for everyone to congratulate the franchisees on their successes of 2017.
The Franchise of the Year award is the much sought-after award of the evening and the judges were looking for someone who shows above and beyond commitment. For the third year running, Hayley Limpkin and Emily Miller, joint Principals of Razzamataz Medway was delighted to accept on behalf of their students and teachers.
“The amount of effort put into making the conference an informative, productive, fun and rewarding day for all franchisees was just brilliant,” adds Debbie Mitchell, Principal of Razzamataz Carlisle. “One of the highlights of the Razzamataz calendar every year and feeling really inspired and focused for the year ahead now! I particularly loved the Casino tables and photo booth as little extras.”
