Case Studies

Interview with Cath from the Leeds Franchise

Former Marketing Director Cath, enjoys the exciting business of diddi dance!

Find out more about Cath from Leeds and how a diddi dance Franchise was for her:

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.
   The first thing that pop’s into my head is …… aaahhh I’m 40 this year!  Then I think about how great being 40 is going to be, I have 2 children becoming increasingly independent (Ben 4 and Ella 2), which has given me the time to focus (a tiny bit) on me, and the future.  I started the diddi dance franchise in September, running it with my friend Caroline.
2. What did you do before joining diddi dance?
   In my former life I was Marketing Director for a big multi-national company and worked in all corners of the globe.  Whilst my job was great fun, it was long hours, hectic and difficult to get a good balance between my family and work.
3. What attracted you to diddi dance?
   I was looking for the opportunity to combine work without compromising on spending time with my children.  It’s perfect because I get to dance with children in the day and bring smiles and laughter to their faces and then be in time to pick my own children up from school and nursery and (hopefully) bring a smile to their face too!  I specifically chose diddi dance because I think all children love to dance, and diddi dance brings out this endless enthusiasm in a fun, creative way.  It is also unique in that it is the only pre-school dance programme to explore lots of different dance styles from around the word such as salsa, hip hop and rock and roll.
4. Did you consider other Franchise opportunities?
   I did look at other pre-school franchises but quickly realised that diddi dance was the best for me for three simple reasons, a completely unique concept – which with my marketing background I know to be a key success factor, a great territory area vs other franchise offerings and a very reasonable price and low start up costs.
5. What territory do you cover?
   Our territory is Leeds, and we cover the majority of the area from Morley in the south all the way up to Roundhay and Boston Spa in the North and most areas in between!  We currently have classes in Beeston, Boston Spa, Churwell and Gildersome, and hoping to open in Roundhay very soon.
6. What training and support have you received to establish your franchise?
   We attended a 4 day training course in the company head office in London where the Managing Director, Anne-Marie trained us personally.  We attended several classes, had one to one training on all the dances and also met several other diddi dance franchisees.  We were also trained on the business side of running a diddi dance franchise.
7. How are your classes going?
   Great guns, we have already opened 2 extra classes to cater for the extra demand we have had.  Teaching the classes is absolutely brilliant, the children and the mums/carers have so much fun, you can’t help but enjoy yourself.
8. What do you enjoy most about being your own boss?
   I can plan the work around my family and be in control of my the times and hours I work and this can grow as my children become increasingly independent.
9. And finally, what is your favourite diddi dance?
   I have not taught it yet, but I am so excited to teach hip hop.  My daughter already has the moves off pat and it is definitely her favourite!  Where else are you going to see 15 toddlers, 15 parents/carers doing hip hop on a Monday morning????  Go diddi dance!