You don’t need to have all the answers

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“You don’t need to have all the answers. That’s what experts are for,” says Anne-Marie Martin, founder of diddi dance, a dance class business aimed at toddlers and preschoolers.

Former professional dancer Anne-Marie started diddi dance in 2003 and has since scaled her franchise business to 40 locations in the UK.

We spoke to Anne-Marie about the amazing growth of austria rcs data her company, the lessons she’s learnt, and the advice she’d give to others thinking about building a franchise business.

How it started
Anne-Marie had a passion for teaching dance and wanted to ensure children had a positive first impression. Seeing a demand for fun and engaging classes for toddlers, she decided to start running her own. Before she knew it, her friends had booked a venue for her to teach at. “They told me to turn up – that first class was a little bit daunting!” says Anne-Marie.

Things quickly snowballed from there. “I went from one class a week to seven and thought ‘wow’, all this from just one venue in North London. The demand is huge!”

As popularity grew, Anne-Marie started to explore the idea of expanding the business.

Piloting the franchise
Anne-Marie had loosely heard of the term ‘franchising’ and thought maybe this was a good option for her business.

“I went to a franchise consultant and we did a feasibility study on how I was operating and all the figures involved. Then we did what’s called a pilot franchise with a couple of friends of mine who were stopping performing and looking to teach. We looked at areas outside of London and tested it, in return for a free franchise.”

Building the business
In 2007, family took priority for Anne-Marie as she fell pregnant with her first child. But by 2010, Anne-Marie felt ready to build on the seven pilot franchises that had been performing well. She had a clear objective: to ensure that every child had the same energetic and enjoyable diddi dance experience no matter where the class took place in the UK.