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Case study talking tots

Case study: Talking tots

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Talking has always been a passion for Lisa Houghton and Tracey Park. Between them they have spent over 30 years as paediatric speech and language therapists and now they run Talking Tots, a franchised business to help pre-school children to learn to communicate through interactive classes.

The two friends from Lytham St Annes in Lancashire spent years working together for the NHS before they finally decided to start their own business after a discussion over dinner with their husbands in 2005.

Lives at a crossroads

" We were at a crossroads," Tracey, 44, remembers. "If we hadn't done it then we would have been stuck in our jobs for the next 20 years."

"Our husbands said it was a fantastic idea and they, and our children, have been completely supportive," Lisa, 38, adds.

Although they loved their job at a community clinic they were becoming increasingly concerned by the decline in social and communication skills among pre-school children. One of the reasons for this decline was, they believed, due to our hectic lives.

"Parents have very busy lifestyles and there's always background noise," Lisa says. "Children don't learn how to listen."

Tracey and Lisa were also becoming disillusioned with the greater emphasis on the 'numb-crunching' aspect of their work in the NHS. They had already set up a small private clinic and reduced their hours to part-time but they were still dissatisfied.

Award nomination

Less than two years after deciding to go it alone Talking Tots is in profit. They've been nominated for 'Inspirational Business Mum of the Year Award' in the 2008 Prowess Awards, sponsored by Yell.com, and they're poised to take Talking Tots to the next stage in its development.

"It's our baby and we have to decide where to go next," Tracey says.

Talking Tots now has 14 franchised outlets including several in the London area, as far west as Wales and in Durham. The two business women believe Talking Tots could expand to 200 franchisees and that the format could travel abroad. But they are reluctant to relinquish the idea - especially since it's just beginning to generate profits.

"It's very much a cottage industry," Tracey says.

They still run the business from a converted dining room in Lisa's house.

"It's bursting at the seams and we're now at the sticky stage when we'll have to fund and manage our network and move into offices. It's step out of the box time," Tracey says.

But, while they admit that running Talking Tots is hard work, they remain close friends who quickly forget any sharp words said in the course of a business day.

"We know each other inside out," Lisa says.

Work/Life balance

Lisa has two daughters - Olivia, eight, and Beatrice, four. Tracey has three girls - Hannah 20, Jemima,17 and Amelia, seven. The mums work Saturdays and evenings but manage to drop the younger children off at school and pick them up at the end of the day. It helps that the children get on well together.

Both husbands provided practical support. Tracey's husband John is sales manager for a sportswear business and was able to offer advice with their business plan. Lisa's husband, Richard is an engineer in the Royal Navy. She says she learnt from his organizational skills - although the fact that he is away from home several days a week was hard as the business was taking off.

Lisa and Tracey were keen to use the close-knit business community in Lancashire where they found accountants and lawyers who understood franchising. They have also employed a local firm to design their website. They considered joining a franchising association but found them too expensive for a small business.

Keeping in regular contact with franchisees by text, email and phone is vital. Lisa and Tracey monitor the work of each franchisee closely and keep an eye on enrolments and class numbers. A new franchisee has to visit them in Lytham before they will consider signing them up.

Tracey says one of the highs of running their own business was selling the first franchise.

"It showed that someone recognized that what we did was important."

Lisa adds that returning recently to a class where they launched Talking Tots was "very emotional". Tracey adds:

"If you really believe in an idea just do it."

Useful links

www.talkingtots.info www.bizmums.yell.com

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