From Performer to CEO – How Savanna Madden Built a Team-Led Business and Now Helps Founders Step Out of the Day-to-Day

When Savanna Madden first started her theatre school, she wasn’t thinking about scaling, leadership, or stepping into a CEO role. Like many class-based business owners, she simply wanted to create something meaningful, something she loved, and something that allowed her to share her skills and passion with others.

What began as a small setup with just 12 students, taught back-to-back on a Saturday in a porter cabin in a car park, quickly grew through word of mouth. Parents recommended her, students stayed, and demand steadily increased.

But as the business grew, so did the pressure.

There comes a point in many class-based businesses where growth no longer feels exciting, it feels heavy. Where the diary is full, the evenings are gone, and the weekends are no longer yours. And that is exactly where Savanna found herself.

“I’d hit the ceiling. I couldn’t physically cram in any more students.”

When Growth Forces You to Change the Way You Work

Reaching capacity can feel like success, but it often brings with it a difficult decision. Continue as you are and stay fully booked but stretched, or change the way the business operates entirely.

For Savanna, that meant letting go of something she loved, teaching, in order to create space for something the business needed, leadership.

Her first step was bringing in another coach to take on some of her students. On paper, it seemed simple, but in reality, it introduced a completely new layer of responsibility.

Managing people is very different from managing a timetable.

“I should have done it at least six months, maybe even a year earlier.”

Because what many founders don’t realise is that the moment you start thinking about bringing someone in, you are probably already behind where you need to be.

Building a Team That Can Deliver Without You

Over time, Savanna expanded her team, adding more coaches and bringing in administrative support to help manage the growing demands of the business. By the time she went on maternity leave in October 2023, she had built a team that could continue delivering the service without her being physically present in every session.

What followed is something that challenges a lot of assumptions about business growth.

Her most profitable year happened during the period she was not teaching at all.

That shift didn’t happen by accident. It came from putting the right structure in place and creating an environment where her team could operate confidently, while still maintaining the quality and consistency that parents and students expected.

“Parents would say, they’re just like another version of you.”

Not identical, but aligned.

That distinction matters, because the goal is never to create carbon copies. It is to create a team that understands the ethos of the business and can deliver it in their own way, while still maintaining a consistent experience.

What It Actually Takes to Build and Keep a Strong Team

One of the most valuable parts of Savanna’s journey is not just how she built her team, but how she has kept it. In a sector where staff turnover can be high, she has created a team where people stay, grow and remain committed to the business over the long term.

That doesn’t happen by chance. It comes from consistent effort and clear intention.

Key structures Savanna has put in place include:
• Regular one-to-one check-ins, particularly at key points in the year, to reflect on performance and set future goals
• Termly reflections on students, giving coaches the opportunity to flag progress, challenges and development areas
• Ongoing training sessions to support both professional development and new ideas within the business
• Open communication channels, ensuring team members feel supported and heard

Alongside this, she has also focused on creating an environment where people feel valued and motivated to stay.

What helps retain her team:
• Giving coaches the freedom to bring their own personality into sessions
• Providing a strong sense of belonging and shared purpose
• Introducing wellbeing incentives and rewards to recognise effort
• Maintaining a clear structure without micromanaging

It is this balance, between structure and flexibility, that allows the team to feel both supported and trusted.

The Shift Most Founders Avoid (But Need to Make)

There is a moment in almost every class-based business where the founder is doing everything. Teaching, admin, marketing, customer communication, problem-solving, and everything in between.

And often, it is worn as a badge of honour.

But over time, that approach becomes unsustainable.

“A business that relies on one person isn’t really a business.”

It is a powerful statement, because it challenges the way many founders see their role.

Growth does not come from doing more. It comes from doing things differently.

It comes from stepping out of the day-to-day and into a position where you are leading the business, rather than carrying it.

From Founder to CEO – A Different Way of Thinking

Savanna’s work now focuses on helping other founders make that transition, not just practically, but mentally. Because stepping into a CEO role is not just about systems and structure, it is about identity.

Her framework centres around five key areas that support that shift:

• Values – understanding what the business stands for and how decisions are made
• Ownership – taking responsibility for growth, direction and outcomes
• Identity – moving from being the doer to becoming the leader
• Capacity – creating space within the business to allow it to grow
• Expression – using your voice to communicate clearly and lead effectively

It is a shift that often feels uncomfortable at first, but it is also where the biggest growth happens.

Why Savanna Is a Judge for the Class Business Awards

For Savanna, being part of the Class Business Awards is an opportunity to step behind the scenes of other businesses and understand the stories that have shaped them.

“I love seeing what people have built and the impact they’re having.”

She is particularly interested in the depth behind the business, not just what is being delivered, but why it exists in the first place, and the difference it is making to the people it serves.

When reviewing applications, she will be looking at:

• The value each business brings to its community
• The impact created beyond the class itself
• The journey the founder has been on to build it
• How the business has grown and been sustained over time

Because behind every successful class-based business, there is more than a timetable. There is a story, a purpose and a commitment to something bigger.

Watch the Full Interview

Savanna’s journey offers a clear and honest look at what it really takes to move from doing everything yourself to building a business that can run and grow beyond you.

It is not about stepping away completely, but about stepping into a different role, one that allows the business to expand, evolve and continue delivering impact at a greater scale.

🎥 Watch the full interview with Savanna Madden on the Class Business Academy YouTube channel.