It was second time lucky for a Birmingham circus school after it was crowned the city鈥檚 top small business.
-based CircusMASH has won the Small Business Big Success competition run by Intuit QuickBooks, the online accounting software firm which also sponsors Aston Villa鈥檚 shirts.
The company, which operates from the All Saints Centre in Vicarage Road, will now enjoy a prize package worth 拢20,000 including 拢10,000 in cash, advertising and prizes.
CircusMASH鈥檚 co-founder Zaq Andel said: 鈥淲e entered last year not really knowing what it was but we had a really fun night so decided to give it another go this year.
鈥淲e felt we had done a lot since last year and had really succeeded so figured if someone else had a chance of winning, then so did we.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really humbled by the award as there were so many great small businesses which entered.
鈥淚t gives us recognition for our work as, when we started, we faced a battle to change people鈥檚 perceptions of what circus was.鈥
The competition, which is run in association with the Birmingham Post and Mail, culminated in an award ceremony this week at Villa Park.
Mr Andel, who hails from Chicago and specialises in circus development, met co-founder and choreographer Joe Fearn at a youth circus school in the US while the latter was on an exchange programme there.
After finding a shared passion for circus and circus skills, they decided to return to Mr Fearn鈥檚 native Birmingham as they saw a gap in the market for a school which could teach those skills so unique to the circus.
They started out in 2010 with just one class in a community centre which has now grown to a full programme offering a variety of workshops aimed at three key areas 鈥 schools, the events and corporate sector and community projects.
Fees generated from their work in schools and the corporate market pay for the community projects whereby people can attend free, open-air events for a couple of hours to learn more about circus skills.
Among the classes on offer are trapeze and aerial skills, open practice, fitness for circus skills and hand balancing among others.
Mr Andel said: 鈥淭hings really started to get moving in 2011 where we became more of a multifaceted company, offering the different elements such as education in schools.
鈥淲e also started looking at running more classes and company events and it attracted interested from people keen to have a career in the circus industry.
鈥淎s that grew, so did the corporate market and we鈥檝e started doing creative consulting to design unique events for clients.
鈥淭his helps to fund the community work we do where we offer an immersive circus experience for a couple of hours at which people can try out elements of the workshops and classes.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also working with Solihull College with a view to introducing a circus BTEC qualification.
鈥淚t all helps to break some of the stigma which surrounds the circus.鈥
Mike Williams, finance director with Intuit QuickBooks, said CircusMASH鈥檚 story 鈥渞eally stood out鈥 to the judging panel, praising the firm鈥檚 passion for the business and its focus on impacting the local community.
鈥淏y providing circus workshops for kids, the community and professionals, they鈥檝e created something entirely unique within the region and are dedicated to shifting people鈥檚 perception of circus arts,鈥 Mr Williams said.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e committed to injecting their profits back into the community and doing the best they can for Birmingham.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to working with them in the future and supporting them in their growth.鈥
Looking ahead, CircusMASH, which now employs up to 30 mostly freelance teachers and staff at busy times, is planning to open a new teaching school in Birmingham before setting its eyes further afield.
Mr Andel said similar schools already ran successfully in Bristol, Cardiff and London and he felt that CircusMASH could be not just a successful name regionally, but globally.
鈥淎t the moment, we teach in one venue in Kings Heath which was under threat of being knocked down,鈥 he added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the perfect height and space for us but eventually we would like to be in our own state-of-the-art facility.
鈥淎bsolutely, we want to open a second school in Birmingham in a larger facility - one that could welcome students and residential space for visitors from all over the world.
鈥淲e want to expand CircusMASH - we would like it to be a name known, not just regionally, but globally.鈥
In partnership with Intuit QuickBooks
