AMID often heated debate about the best way for ministers to encourage healthy lifestyles, a serial entrepreneur explains why she decided to take the risk of buying into the slimming business.

Name:

Amanda Boyle.

Age:

53.

What is your business called?

Scottish Slimmers.

Where is it based?

Aberdeen.

What services does it offer?

Scottish Slimmers is on a mission to transform the way the world thinks about weight loss and wellbeing, currently through a network of local group meetings in 100 towns and cities across Scotland and online.

What is its turnover?

£1.5 million.

How many employees?

52.

When was it formed?

1980.

Why did you take the plunge?

I was introduced to the business and found a brand that has been around for almost forty years that I felt was in need of a refresh. Its model for day-time classes was stuck in the past and there was little acknowledgement of modern trends, of people’s working lives or of the internet to reach its audience. For all that, however, its ethos for healthy, balanced, nutritious eating is exactly on message for today.

As a business it presented opportunity as well as solid foundations. It all made sense to me as an individual and as a business person.

The weight loss industry seems to be predicated on making people, particularly women, feel bad about themselves and it’s unnecessary. I felt I could do something positive. There’s great satisfaction in enabling people to realise a sense of achievement that comes with feeling good about themselves.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

My default setting is contrary, so my career path has been dominated by innovation and change.

I started out in marketing and communications for organisations going through huge change programmes. This began with Royal Mail when it first flirted with privatisation and the second was the NHS as it was beginning to embrace market-led forces. I always found myself fighting against the status quo, believing I would do things differently if given the chance and eventually I decided to leave the workplace and do a masters in organisation development.

I then spent almost ten years in the construction industry, building a business from startup to multimillion turnover before I decided it was time for another change.

After the financial crash, access to funding for businesses was drying up. In 2010, driven by the lack of support for start-ups, I introduced the concept of crowdfunding to Scotland, built one of the first UK platforms (bloomvc), and was deeply involved in changing how alternative finance is regulated.

More recently I have been acting as a consultant, particularly to businesses looking to change or scale up for sale. That’s how I was introduced to Scottish Slimmers.

What was your biggest break?

Co-founding Caledonia Contracts (shopfitters) in Dundee in 1997, which was my first start-up. A contractor had gone bust, creating an opportunity for someone to step in and make a name for themselves and that’s exactly what we did.

We made the conscious decision to work only with high street multiples where there was a prospect of repeat business.

In my early roles, I had bosses who encouraged me to take calculated risks and embrace change. When the opportunity arose, that’s what I did.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

It’s great to build a team and see people in the business achieve things they didn’t think they could; building confidence, skills and growing professionally is good for business and for individuals.

What do you least enjoy?

Dealing with banks and bureaucrats.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

Scottish Slimmers is a well-known brand that had lost its way, and my aim is to build on that strong heritage with services and products that encompass wellbeing to make it as relevant in 2020 as it was in 1980, with products and services that fit our lifestyles today.

We’ve introduced ready meals, we’re beginning trials with exercise and activity partners, and we have a stronger focus on helping people make positive changes in their lives.

What are your top priorities?

Programmes to get more people more active are high on the agenda, we live such sedentary lives in comparison to previous generations.

Better information and education about the links between food and well-being; two thirds of the population is at risk of obesity-related illness, in particular diabetes and cancer, there’s a great deal more at stake than dropping a dress size.

At the moment, I’m focused on Scottish Slimmers Works, our employer-based services that aim to tackle the cost to business of weight-related illness and absence.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

It’s important for government to be more aware of the impact of demonising food or behaviour; policies for low sugar or low fat usually result in food packed with even more unhealthy alternatives.

Otherwise, I would like to see school leavers and graduates better prepared for the workplace which would make employing young people a more attractive proposition for more small businesses.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

I often follow my instincts and have learned to support these with data; show me the numbers, the research and the evidence. I’ve also learned that anybody is capable of change, especially when it comes to their habits, with the right encouragement and support.

How do you relax?

I swim, run and occasionally cycle – sometimes I combine these in triathlons. I read constantly. At the moment I’m reading ‘The Know It-Alls’ by Noam Cohen and ‘What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School’ by Mark H. McCormack.

I have a Netflix habit that is currently being fed by The Crown, Billions and Silicon Valley.