Loved By Parents Fab Woman of the Year 2011
Name: Wendy Shand
Age: 37
Family Members:
Rob - husband
Barnaby - son aged 9
Maisy - daughter aged 7
Monty - son aged almost 2
Previous Career: SAHM, primary school teacher
What is the Name and Nature of your Business?
Tots to Travel (www.totstotravel.co.uk) is an online holiday lettings company specialising in family friendly properties. We source, visit and vet self-catering holiday properties in multiple countries, ensuring that they are suitable for families with young children, specifically assessing safety and ensuring all the kit parents need is provided. We market these properties to parents and help them find the holiday that best suits their needs. In addition, we help holiday home owners extend their holiday season by niche marketing their properties to the young families market. What Inspired You to Start It? My inspiration for the business came after a family holiday in which my then 2 year old son fell into an unenclosed swimming pool, while staying at a gîte in France. I realised that there was a gap in the market to provide genuinely safe and family friendly holiday properties, which allowed parents to relax, instead of working even harder than usual. At the time, the options for parents were either very expensive hotels or resorts with kids clubs, camping or more-shabby-than-chic self-catering properties that seldom suited families with young children. There was nothing that addressed the very specific needs of this target segment. As a mother, I completely understood what parents needed, so I specifically decided to target parents with children under the age of five, ensuring that the properties provide everything that families with young children need. By targeting this sector which is not bound by school holidays, Tots to Travel is able to secure bookings for property owners outside of the peak holiday season, extending their season and boosting their income.
How Did you Get Everything Up and Running?
In 2005 I studied an online business course using Tots to Travel as a case study. I quickly realised that the idea was viable and approached Welsh Business Eye for pointers. Ffatri Fenter (The Enterprise Factory) gave me an initial £100 on the back of my business plan to ‘test’ the concept which I used to pay for the logo and to undertake some initial marketing. Ffatri Fenter also lent me £1000 as an interest free loan to get the business off the ground. Mentor Mon, (the business advice service in Anglesey) offered support and assistance with accessing local council funding. This resulted in the promise of 40% of my start up costs (IT, website development, marketing etc.) which subsequently fell through when my husband was posted at short notice to the south of England, posing one of my greatest challenges yet! Despite that early set back, I flew to France, lined up my first 9 properties and it grew from there. Within the space of five years, we’ve grown our annual turnover to £1 million pounds and we have over 300 properties on our books in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the UK, the Balearics and the Canary Islands, all of which have been personally visited and vetted by my team of marketing agents.
How Does it Fit in With Family Life?
When I started out, my children were 4 and 2. The challenge I had was a combination of being able to work and look after them, but also the fact that my husband, an RAF Pilot was frequently abroad and it meant we had to move house several times. By running an online business, I have been able to combine looking after my children and managing the house moves without too much disruption. As the business has grown the demands on my time have become greater. But I quickly realised that in order for the business to grow, I needed to work on the business, rather than in the business. I outsourced or hired in help to cover much of the day to day activities, while I focused on the strategic side of the business. So much so that in 2009, I gave birth to my third son and despite taking maternity leave, the business continued to function well and made record sales. It is a business I have managed to grow alongside my family life – it’s like my fourth child! As a family we decided that Tots to Travel has the potential to be huge, so my husband has now (very recently – March 2011) resigned from the RAF and is working with me full time in the business.
Biggest Learning Curve So Far?
That you can't do everything yourself. There is no way Tots to Travel could reach the scale it had - and still leave me time for my family - if I hadn't learned to outsource from the beginning. You need to focus on what you're good at and outsource the rest.
Most Positive Experience?
Getting my team of marketing experts in place to help me grow the company. We have kissed quite a few frogs along the way, but now have a fantastic team in place. What's more, we're growing it with our new Business in a Box programme, in which mums who want to work flexible hours around their kids, can train up to become one of our agents and create their very own small business. I love that I'm helping other mums achieve the work/life balance they want.
Where Would You Like to Be in Five Years Time?
Overseeing Tots to Travel which will have a turnover of £5million and over 600 properties on its books, managing the sister businesses I hope to launch in the next two years, being recognised as the travel expert with holiday with children, being recognised as the holiday lettings expert ofr home owners, signing a buyer for the business and starting up my next big thing....
What Would You Like to Give to Other Mothers Hoping to Combine Motherhood with a New Business Idea
To run a business that is going to be a real success, you need to think big! Have a big vision and big juicy goals and work backwards! Also, be sure to identify your skill set and outsource anything else. You cannot grow your business if you are doing the day to day minute – you will never get the time to see the big picture or spend time with your family. To get the balance right, you need to do the bits you do best and outsource the rest.