Katie is the founder of Happy Teeth Education, an Endpoint Assessor for dental nurses and a mum to her little boy. She’s currently undertaking LJMU’s MBA Business Scale Up programme, which she’s using to develop and drive her own business, as well as her partner’s company, Fowler’s Gardens! She says: “I wouldn’t have done that without the MBA, which made me realise that I can apply what I’m learning to both!” We spoke to her about her entrepreneur journey and how she’s finding the course so far.

By Lauren Valentine

• Name: Katie

• University: Liverpool John Moores University

• Course: Master of Business Administration Scale Up Programme

• Current role: Founder of Happy Teeth Education

• Fun fact: Katie’s birthday is on New Year’s Day!

Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a student at LJMU?

“I’d started my business in July 2017 and, as it was growing, I wanted to match it with business acumen and an understanding of how to grow a company from an academic perspective. For example, I needed to learn the best way to prioritise spending and work out the best return on investment for projects. This is really beneficial when you’re an entrepreneur because you’re so full of ideas, so the MBA would help me to work out which ones would be fruitful both at the time and in the longer term. I was also interested in finding out how other businesses work so that I could compare them to my own and check I was on the right tracks. You’ve got to learn about calculating risk too. Starting a business is trial and error and nobody is born with the knowledge!”

How is the MBA structured and what’s it been like so far?

“We have different modules and do a teaching block every month. There’s also visiting lecturers: our finance module was delivered by a person who’d worked in a bank, so he had an amazing finance background. In fact, all of the lecturers come from key business areas and have so much knowledge and experience – they’re all so approachable though and always on hand. Even though we can’t meet them in person, there’s a huge amount of support! In normal times, we’d be able to visit places too to meet other entrepreneurs. Initially, I was quite nervous about it all being online, especially for things like group presentations where it helps to get to know each other. Saying that, we had one project where we had 3 days to research and present everything, and we pulled it off!”

What made you want to start your dental health business?  

“I started off as a Dental Nurse when I was 17, so I’ve worked in Dentistry for a long time. I worked my way up to managing the Emergency Access Dental Service . Whilst I was there, I saw so many young children with huge amounts of dental decay, some under the age of 5 and having to have teeth removed. They didn’t understand why and neither did their parents, even though tooth decay is 100% preventable.  When I had my son, I experienced first-hand the challenges parents face in making the right snacks and getting children into good cleaning habits. I really wanted to make a difference and focus on prevention rather than cure – that’s what drove me to do this.”

 How have you grown the business since the beginning?

“At first, it was just me delivering in schools or healthcare settings. Then I did an Entrepreneur Accelerator Programme with Natwest, where I got the opportunity to speak to a coach about some of the challenges, such as children not retaining the information I’d given them. I knew then that I had to do something creative that would stick with them. That’s where the idea for the George and the Happy Tooth book (named after my son!) came from. From the book came further resources: activity sheets for children, resources for parents, classroom ideas for teachers… This year’s lockdown prompted me to develop an online platform with guidance for teachers to build dental health into their RSE curriculum.”

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced and how have you overcome them?

“There are lots of ups and downs, and the lows can be really low. You’re often questioning whether people will like your ideas, whether they need them even. When I have days like that, I always wake up with a fresher mind and overcome it. That’s another thing that’s been great about the MBA: you can talk to other business owners and share your issues. They understand the workload, any mistakes and other difficulties that might not resonate with your friends and family.

Time management has also been a challenge for me, especially being a mum! As well as looking after my son, I manage my own and my partner’s business. I can work during the day and then again at night when my son goes to bed. I’m often doing two things at once too, like putting washing away whilst listening to a lecture. I try to utilise any free moments to keep on top of things rather than leaving it and cramming it last-minute. I love being busy though, I think it’s when I thrive the most.”

Is there anything you find particularly rewarding?

“Well when I said the lows can be low, the highs are also really high! When something positive happens like getting a new contract or seeing the difference you’ve made, it’s absolutely amazing. The feedback makes it so worthwhile too. For example, I’ve been working with some schools since the very beginning as pilot projects. Some have now made their own little dental areas where the children can play dress up! I tend to work with schools in less wealthy areas where there’s a higher rate of dental decay, so I learn a lot from their experience. I love giving the book out for free to schools, charities and children’s centres. Even though I need to make a profit, my priority is that people can access the information. I even had a woman stop me in the street once and tell me her kids love the book!”

 Katie’s work has gained even more relevance this year, as she notes that “dental decay has shot up again since lockdown as lots of people are at home, out of routine and snacking out of boredom.” The need to promote dental health and provide education in a fun and engaging way is therefore more important than ever. Having taken the time to reflect on her journey, Katie concludes: “I absolutely love it. I’m so proud of it. You don’t realise how far you’ve come until you stop and think about it!”  

Find out more about Katie’s business over on her website: Happy Teeth Education | Dental Health Education Resources for Schools