Name:

Doctor Bharti Rajput.

Age:

38.

What is your business called?

Sole Body Soul.

Where is it based?

Dundee.

What services does it offer?

Sole Body Soul is a private foot care (podiatry) clinic which goes beyond catering for skin and nail problems by offering specialised treatments for foot pain in relation to overall body posture. Our Foot MOT treatment addresses general foot problems and provides solutions to improve the form, function and beauty of the feet.

To whom does it sell?

The general public.

What is its turnover?

£368,000.

How many employees?

8.

When was it formed?

2011.

Why did you take the plunge?

When I arrived in Dundee in 2002 to study for a PhD, I had to find a way of sustaining myself through my studies.

After working various student jobs, I spotted an opportunity for foot care services in Dundee.

As I was already a qualified Podiatrist, I borrowed £700 from my father and bought some essential medical supplies and equipment.

I bought a B&Q tool box for £16.99 for all my surgical instrument packs, scissors, dressings, paddings, medicaments, lotions and potions and went door to door seeking out sore feet that needed some help.

I then found a base on a room rental basis in the West End of Dundee and word soon spread about my services.

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. As a child growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, my older sister and I kept chickens and sold the eggs for a small profit, and I used to sell ‘Bensia’ non-sharpening pencils to my classmates in school. They were very much the trend in the 90’s.

I’m also very creative and I didn’t want to create the kind of boring, blue and white clinic space that seems to be the norm in healthcare practice. I want my clients to feel at home and relax and leave with happiness with every step.

I also wanted to create a service where our clients could benefit from a complete foot care service, from an accurate diagnosis to the resolution of their complaints in an all under-one-roof concept, with innovative solutions not available elsewhere.

I am a huge believer in using technology to make our lives more efficient and to enhance our client outcomes.We have invested heavily in leading equipment from the USA, Italy, Germany and Spain.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

The £700 seed funding from my dad and subsequent funding from the profits of the business.

What was your biggest break?

Setting up my own flagship clinic space in 2011 which has grown to become the largest Podiatry- focused clinic in Scotland. Seeing my dream that I had often doodled in my PhD lab books, from the logo, to the room plans become reality was a very proud moment. The ‘icing on the cake’ was being awarded an MBE which was presented by HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2017.

What was your worst moment?

There was a time when the business was undergoing a huge growth period and my personal relationship had broken down. I knew that when I entered the door of the business I could not afford to let my emotions get the better of me or I would be not only letting my clients down but also my team down. In those times I developed the biggest skill of leading with resilience.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

My role has evolved from a single-handed start-up to now having a team of 8. As Clinic Director my mantra is Mentor, Market and Manage. Whilst I enjoy all three areas, and can quite happily get lost in a good spreadsheet, my most enjoyable part is working with my team in my mentoring role helping them grow in their clinical skills and ensuring that the values of the business are retained as we grow, whilst infusing my philosophy alongside clinical evidence into treatment protocols.

What are your ambitions for the business?

To be a leading provider in the private healthcare sector specialising in innovative foot care treatments and ensuring that a visit to the Podiatrist becomes just as essential as a visit to the Dentist as people become more well informed about their foot problems through our social media efforts.

What are your five top priorities? To ensure that each day I am able to serve my team to ensure that they can deliver a world class service. Ensuring client satisfaction and that each person has happiness with every step having visited us. Keeping at the cutting edge of technology and always looking for innovative treatments to deliver the latest treatment choices to our clients Working on various blog posts, articles, videos to help people understand more about their feet from my platforms Getting some time out each day to reflect and meditate and get a good night’s sleep.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

Being in business can be all consuming and it’s about each day aiming to have a sense of balance to ensure that you are paying enough attention to the other important things in life such as health and family. Also, don’t sweat the small stuff.

How do you relax? I love taking a nice walk along the Broughty Ferry Beach. I’ve always felt so lucky to live in Scotland as there is an abundance of places of natural beauty right on your doorstep. I am also quite a cook and have added an Indian twist to many Scottish Dishes including curried stovies!