Hayley Limpkin is the franchise owner of Razzamataz Medway and Maidstone. She opened full on day one after giving up a high-flying corporate career working with the likes of Virgin Atlantic and Sky.

Hayley Limpkin is the franchise owner of Razzamataz Medway and Maidstone. She opened full on day one after giving up a high-flying corporate career working with the likes of Virgin Atlantic and Sky.

“I’ve always had a dream of running my own theatre school. I initially thought about doing it on my own but if I’m completely honest, I knew I would need to break even as soon as possible and with a trusted model like a Razzamataz franchise I thought I had a better chance of doing just that. I also really loved what Razzamataz stands for and what it can offer students.

“The work home life balance can be difficult to get right. It can be all consuming so I have had to be really strict and set myself boundaries because I’m so passionate about my schools. Although I love it, I have to remind myself that it is a business and I have to make sure I get the cash flow right to pay my staff and myself!

“My advice to others would be to stay focused and be ambitious! Razzamataz is a great product, brand, and model that is proven to work. In your first year don’t wander from the guidelines and model laid out by Head Office because you don’t want to waste money on mistakes we have all made in the past. Don’t procrastinate – do the tasks you’re not so keen on doing first. They are normally the important ones!

“A typical day for me would mean I’m in my home office by 9am to listen to voicemails and answer emails and to book potential students into taster sessions. I quite often have meetings with local press and advertising as well as meetings with my teachers. I have a brilliant team but I make sure that communication is key and at least once a week I speak with them. I also have staff meetings and one to ones where we discuss how to Win, Learn and Change, which is basically a review of where we are and how we can improve. I try to take Mondays off and dedicate a half a day each week to plan what’s next for both of the schools in terms of what opportunities are on offer and what we would like to achieve.”