It was an inspirational and motivating few days when principals from Razzamataz schools up and down the country gathered at Penrith’s North Lakes Hotel for their first three-day annual conference.
Penrith is home of Razzamataz Theatre Schools Limited, and with over 60 schools nationwide it was a chance to bring them all together at the home of the head office.
Razzamataz franchise partners were treated to a mix of training, wellness coaching, challenges and entertainment in what was described as the biggest and best conference to date.
The theme, “It all starts with you”, weaved through every element of the event, with guest speakers and coaches supporting franchise partners to understand how to maximise their business through their own actions.
It was a night of celebration for Asha Richardson and the Razzamataz South Lakes team — which has schools in Penrith, Appleby and Kendal — who scooped two awards.
“I still can’t believe it, with over 60 schools in the network, to be recognised for our hard work and commitment to the brand is so humbling,” said Asha, principal and owner of Razzamataz South Lakes.
Team South Lakes won the Razzamataz New Franchisee of the Year Award, which was judged by Suzie McCafferty QFP at Platinum Wave Franchising. She said:
“There is just no stopping this lady. Since taking over the business she has demonstrated such a huge amount of passion and dedication not only to her business and students, but to the Razzamataz brand as a whole. It’s no wonder her business has grown from strength to strength.”
The team also won the Razzamataz Outstanding School Award, which was judged by Alistair Smith, editor at The Stage Newspaper. Asha and the team were delighted to be able to take this award back to their Razzamataz families, staff and students.
Alistair said: “I thought this was an excellent submission, which clearly illustrated what a fantastic job Asha and her team are doing across their schools. The growth from 35 to 300 students was hugely impressive and I was also pleased to see the focus that Asha had placed on developing staff and Amber Gibney in particular.
“Asha is clearly an inspiring role model and the work she is doing to improve the diversity of students in a predominantly white, rural area deserves to celebrated, as does all the great work that the school is doing to offer free access to the local community.”
Asha was 23 when she started to work as a teacher for Razzamataz Penrith, but she knew she wanted a bigger challenge and believed she could offer so much more as a franchisee. She took over Razzamataz Penrith mid-pandemic and, in just over two-and-a-half years, the business has grown by 700 per cent.
