A different kind of careers service
Through my work as a business loans manager for Foundation East I have seen how running a business can turn someone’s life around. That’s one of the reasons I was really pleased to help Kate and Shelly open KrazyDayz nursery in 2010.
KrazyDayz has been successful because the entrepreneurs behind it identified a market opportunity and have continued to be innovative. They have managed to diversify while enhancing their core offering.
Kate and Shelly knew that parents in Wisbech didn’t have enough choice in childcare, and yet mothers thinking about returning to work need to know their child will be safe and happy. Armed with this knowledge they set about creating the type of nursery that they would want their own children to go to.
Parents with children at KrazyDayz can certainly know their children are well looked after. The nursery recently received a 5 star food hygiene award, and has just opened a woodland garden where regular bug hunts take place.
But Kate and Shelly realised that parents’ worries about childcare don’t stop on their child’s first day at school. To help parents overcome the problem of care for older children, KrazyDayz has plans to start an afterschool club, which will include lots of cooking and art and craft. This greater flexibility in childcare can be really important for parents whose jobs don’t allow them to collect from school.
Not only has the nursery fulfilled Kate and Shelly’s dream, but it has also grown so much since last June that they now provide employment for five staff. Just as importantly, they also help the careers of the parents of each of the 34 children on their books.
I can see why Kate and Shelly were awarded the Enterprise Fenland Network Breakfast Entrepreneur of the year 2010 – they are constantly thinking of new ways to provide an even better service for parents and children.
It has been so rewarding to see how a small business loan at a crucial stage when Kate and Shelly were converting the nursery building has boosted the careers of so many people.
Peter Davis, Business Loans Manager