Heather Gilchrist, who opened the first Happitots nursery in October 1996, is one of ten finalists in the first T-Mobile and Sunday Express Women Mean Business awards. She described her success as 'just unreal, unbelievable!'
Ms Gilchrist set up the original 54-place Happitots nursery when she needed childcare for her son Thomas. She was unimpressed by the majority of nurseries she came across and decided that she could do better. The Royal Bank of Scotland provided a loan and helped with the business plan. The rest of the 50,000 outlay came from re-mortgaging her flat and ploughing in savings -'a big decision at that stage', she said.
Since then, Happitots has grown to five day nurseries, with a further three to open by early 2003. The nurseries offer a total of 302 childcare places across Scotland and employ more than 90 staff.
'We really go for high standards,' Mrs Gilchrist said. 'The biggest thing that's helped with my success is the staff. We employ a good mix, including lots of mothers.' All Happitots staff are qualified to Level 3 SVQ in childcare, or are working towards it.
Mrs Gilchrist said she also puts a high priority on communication with the parents. Each nursery produces a monthly newsletter for parents, giving updates for every age group. There is also a regular questionnaire seeking feedback from parents.
The nurseries offer children a range of activities, including swimming and French lessons. Visits from a hairdresser and a dental hygienist are also regular features.
Happitots is in the last stages of obtaining its Investors in People status. There is a group-wide newsletter, and staff vote on an Employee of the Month.
Mrs Gilchrist originally trained as a nurse, a job that took her to Australia and Papua New Guinea. But when her mother became seriously ill with cancer she decided to change career. 'You have to be emotionally detached to be a nurse. And I realised I couldn't keep on nursing,' she said.
She worked in medical sales for a time before starting Happitots. 'I think nursing gave me the ability to talk to people from a wide-range of backgrounds, and each nursery has different needs depending on the area it's in. And being a sales rep gave me the selling skills to go out and get the funding.'
The 20,000 winner of the T-Mobile Sunday Express Women Mean Business awards will be announced at London's Cafe Royal on 3 September. The competition is open to women in the UK who have been running a business for two years or more.
