Orange's Clever Cookie Academy wins Business of the Year in 2023 Western NSW Business Awards

What started as a one-person show in a small shed, Clever Cookie Academy (CCA) currently has 425 kids (including some adults) on the books, including a staff of 15 teaching guns.

Owners of the thriving small business, Peita and Rob Mages took home wins in the categories of Excellence in Small Business and Excellence in Innovation in the Western NSW Business Awards on June 23.

The learning hub was also dubbed Business of the Year.

"You can't help comparing yourself to others at times and we're big on imposter [syndrome], so we thought 'there's no way, it couldn't be us'," Mrs Mages said.

"But we blitzed it we're really happy with the work we're doing and I think we have changed the space of learning in our region.

"We're not good 'stop and smell the roses' people, we just move so quickly from one thing to the next. We're obviously not realising just how many people are cheering us on and admiring us from the sidelines."

Across areas like english, math, science, languages, drama and more, CCA prides itself on creating a safe space for learning. It's where the important life skill of trying is always considered enough, and a spot where judgement has no place there.

Bright-coloured walls are donned with motivational posters, along with modern-age memes and quotes pinned about, which is simply one part of their "learning is sexy" success to date.

"[These young people] want to be here and for us, it's all about building a culture of safety, where wanting to try is a cool thing," Mrs Mages said.

"The way that kids are so passionate about wanting to come here, week by week, is what makes us unique. We're competing with what they really like to do outside of academic stuff as well, like their dance classes or their footy, but they're choosing to be here."

Awards now tally nine for the business, with major growth during the past 12 months setting CCA apart by adding extra curricular rafters to the offerings.

Sound Squad singing workshops, French language classes, arts sessions, and Project Shine for self-confidence building through acting - with more 'watch this space' items on the agenda.

Next business moves include a new HSC portal to prepare students via distance courses, as well as growing in the teacher and student resources space.

"Nailing those exams is about knowing the 'rules of the game', so having a more digital presence to do that is going to be our next frontier," Mrs Mages said.

"If online is done well it can hugely impactful and we do feel like we can pull it off and level that playing field, especially for remote students with being in a teacher exodus at the moment."

The Mages said they're still on a high from the Friday night awards, feeling the love from people within their "cookie community so immensely" - with the children and young people at the forefront of it all.

"They are the ones that give us the fire to keep thinking 'what's the next thing we can do for them?'," Mrs Mages said.

"They're fuelling it all and if it wasn't for them, I don't know where we'd be."

Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens. Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.