Allan Presland has visited over a thousand nurseries in the last 15 years, not just in the UK, but in the US, in Australia and New Zealand, in Africa and in Europe. In doing so, he has noticed a consistent pattern. Childcare owners who are skilled and passionate about their vocation and who work incredibly hard and yet have businesses that are struggling financially or not returning the rewards their owners expect.

These business owners have often spent years learning their vocation and eventually saved up enough money to open their own nursery. They may have a huge bank loan – or a second mortgage – which they have invested in the building. It’s been painted and decorated, they’ve hired the staff and engaged with them, they’ve built brilliant relationships with the children and their parents, they’ve even done battle with Ofsted and got a ‘good’ rating, and then… the bills keep piling up, HMRC are on the phone every week and it becomes increasingly difficult to make ends meet.

The stress is enormous, and the impact on personal relationships is unbearable.

The problem is that, whilst they are vocationally exceptional, these entrepreneurs running small businesses often have no formal training in management, marketing or accountancy – all the “hats” that they are required to wear when running a childcare business.

And yet some nurseries are very, very successful!

Allan’s book explains what it is that those successful nurseries do, that the less successful ones do not. It explains how to adapt processes and systems within any childcare business to enable it to increase profitability and thrive.