On Thursday 1st December we held another brilliant session from our ‘Make it Your Business’ series, this time based on childcare – from independent childminder to nursery care. It was a perfect morning for anyone interested in childcare, whether considering a career change or currently studying ‘Early Years’. As is our custom, refreshments started the day with pastry delicacies to get us motivated for the morning.
The event began with a brief introduction from Jo Austin, marketing and engagement coordinator, about The Women’s Organisation, the free services we provide to start-ups through the Enterprise Hub programme (part funded by European Regional Development Fund) and the support you can expect from us.
We were very lucky to have hosted Saeeda Aslam from ‘Happy Children Nursery’ and Sarah Higginson from ‘Liverpool City Council’, both experts in the field. First up Saeeda gave a brief introduction to the unique nursery she helped set up in L15. She shared her experiences, highlighting the challenges including managing turnover of staff and rewards of setting up a childcare business. Saeeda told us that childcare is a demanding yet a rewarding field as long as you are truly passionate.
Following this Sarah educated our attendees on the qualifications required and the legal aspects of setting up a childcare business. She also offered top tips of how to succeed in obtaining a registration from OFSTED. Reflecting on her own experience of running a nursery and then retraining in business to offer advice, Sarah advised that a good mix of knowing what you are doing in terms of childcare and building your business skills is a good mix if you are looking to go self-employed in this field.
Along with this, we held a question and answer session. This was a great opportunity for attendees to ask questions from our experts and find out a bit more. Thank you very much to both, our attendees really valued the tips you gave them!
After a quick break to grab another pastry, Sabah Shams, from the engagement team delivered the rest of the session. This included: a quick tour of the qualifications required to set up a business may that be childminding or nursery or after school club. Further, covering the legislation, insurance cover – basically everything you need to know! The most important message Sabah gave to our attendees was the significance of business planning and market research – as these really do determine the success of your business.
We had fantastic feedback and attendees thoroughly enjoyed the day. Below are some of the fabulous feedback we received:
· “Question answer sessions were really beneficial, really enjoyed the relaxed and informal session which was delivered in a professional friendly way. I have learnt really useful tips.”
· “A really helpful session, coming away with more confidence and insight to setting up my own business.”
· “So happy I attended this session today, made me think about lots of aspects of running a business.”
Do not worry if you missed out, we will be holding many other events next year – so be sure to keep an eye out!
An in the meantime if you would like to speak to one of our business advisers to look closely at your business idea on a one to one basis then contact The Women’s Organisation on 0151 706 8111 or drop a line to hello@thewo.org.uk