ScaleUp Radio
ScaleUp Radio with Rachel Hill
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio , host Kevin Brent is joined by entrepreneur Rachel Hill , whose journey takes us from building and selling a multi site childcare business to breathing new life into a closed model village and launching a new consumer brand almost by accident. Rachel started Hillside Childcare at just 26, converting a granny flat into a 16 place nursery as a way of helping to pay a new mortgage. That first nursery eventually became a four site operation looking after 299 children. What makes Rachel's story particularly interesting is not simply the growth. It is what she learnt about making a business repeatable, creating a strong culture, managing one of the largest costs in a people intensive business and, ultimately, building a company capable of operating without her. That last point became particularly important when Rachel decided to sell. After years of being the person everyone turned to when something went wrong, the pressures following COVID left her questioning whether she still wanted to be the one responsible for fixing every problem. The decision to sell came remarkably quickly. During a dog walk, Rachel decided it was time. Rather than formally taking the business to market, she approached an established buyer directly through LinkedIn. Five months later, the deal was complete. Rachel handled much of an intensive due diligence process herself because she wanted to protect her staff and families from unnecessary uncertainty. She also rejected the first offer, negotiated a price she was comfortable with and ultimately achieved a clean exit with a one off payment and no requirement to remain with the business. One of the standout lessons from the conversation is this: A business that can operate without its owner is not only easier to run. It can also be considerably more valuable when the time comes to sell. Rachel had developed systems, policies, procedures and a management structure that meant Hillside was not completely dependent upon her day to day involvement. That independence became an important asset during the sale. But selling Hillside did not mean Rachel stopped being entrepreneurial. While the sale was taking place, she bought Bondville Model Village , a closed and run down one acre attraction containing around 200 miniature buildings. Rachel saw the potential in an underdog. After months of renovation, Bondville reopened, but the first version of the business model was not right. Trying to operate throughout the year meant the winter numbers simply did not work. Rather than persist with the original plan, Rachel changed it. Bondville became a seasonal attraction, creating a business model better suited to customer behaviour and the economics of the site. That willingness to change direction appears again in Rachel's latest venture. Unable to find the right candles for Bondville's gift shop, she created her own. The result was 45 by Rachel Hill , a range of candles inspired by the model village, each incorporating a miniature keepsake and its own story. They repeatedly sold out, leading Rachel to explore how the range could grow beyond Bondville through a dedicated Shopify store. In this episode Kevin and Rachel discuss: • How a 16 place nursery became a four site childcare group serving 299 children • Why replication and strong operating systems were critical to growing Hillside • How Rachel maintained consistency as the business expanded across multiple locations • Why staffing became one of the toughest challenges in the business, particularly after COVID • The importance of culture and creating genuine buy in from the team • Why Rachel closely monitored staff wages as a percentage of turnover • The pressures that come when the founder remains the organisation's ultimate problem solver • What finally prompted Rachel to sell Hillside • Why she chose an off market approach rather than putting the business openly up for sale • How she approached a potential acquirer directly through LinkedIn • What five months of due diligence looked like from the seller's side • Why Rachel kept the sale confidential from the wider team during the process • How she valued the business using profit multiples and property values • Why being prepared to reject the first offer mattered • The value of building a company capable of running without its owner • Why Rachel bought a closed model village while simultaneously selling another business • How Bondville was renovated and relaunched • Why Rachel abandoned the original year round operating model • The importance of accepting quickly when the economics of an idea do not work • How a product created to solve a problem in Bondville's gift shop became a new business opportunity • Why Rachel believes entrepreneurs should benchmark themselves against the best rather than simply comparing themselves with local competitors • The value of hiring people who are stronger than you in the areas where you are weak The one key thing Build the business so that it does not need you. Rachel's experience with Hillside demonstrates why owner independence matters long before an exit is being considered. Systems, procedures, capable managers and a strong culture helped Rachel grow across multiple sites. They also meant that when she eventually decided to sell, the buyer was acquiring a functioning business rather than simply buying Rachel's job. For any owner manager thinking about ScaleUp, that creates an important question: If you disappeared from the business for three months tomorrow, what would stop working? The answers are likely to point directly towards the systems, people and responsibilities that need attention next. Rachel's ScaleUp philosophy Rachel describes her approach as "go big or go home." Rather than benchmarking yourself only against the businesses around you, she believes in looking at the organisations doing something exceptionally well and asking what can be learnt from them. Equally, founders do not have to be good at everything. Rachel recognises her own strengths as creative and entrepreneurial and brings in people who can handle areas where she is weaker, including technology. That allows the founder to spend more time doing the things where they can create the greatest value. Before you listen Most founders I speak to feel busy but frustrated. Plenty is happening, but they are frustrated that they are not moving forward at the rate they want to. Their success creates more options, pulling them and their teams in different directions. Here is what more than 500 interviews on ScaleUp Radio have taught me: The founders who scale choose less, and deliver all of it. That is what the G90 Summit is for. It is a structured half day where we cut through everything competing for your attention, agree the three to five things that must happen in the next 90 days and build the rhythm to make sure they do. From the frustration and chaos of more, through the discipline of less, to the rhythm of done. Quarterly. Virtual. £97 a seat. Visit Smart90.co.uk/summit Listen to the episode Listen to the full conversation with Rachel to hear the story behind Hillside Childcare, the realities of selling a business, the reinvention of Bondville and the entrepreneurial thinking behind 45 by Rachel Hill. Make sure you do not miss future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you listen to your podcasts. And if you know somebody with an interesting ScaleUp story, you can nominate them as a future guest for ScaleUp Radio. Intro recording script The required ScaleUp Radio opening, G90 Summit message and closing make this longer than a genuine 60 second read, so I've prioritised retaining the wording and message you specified rather than artificially rushing it. Hi there and welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences. I'm Kevin Brent and in today's episode I'm joined by Rachel Hill. Rachel's entrepreneurial journey has taken her from starting a 16 place nursery at the age of 26 to building Hillside Childcare into a four site business looking after 299 children, before selling it in an off market deal completed in just five months. And there's a really important ScaleUp message in Rachel's story. One of the things that made Hillside valuable was that the business had been built to operate without Rachel. We talk about the systems and culture that made that possible, the reality of managing staffing in a people intensive business, what due diligence was really like and why Rachel was prepared to reject the first offer. We also hear what happened next, because while selling Hillside Rachel bought and revitalised Bondville Model Village, changed its business model when the original numbers did not work and has since created another venture, 45 by Rachel Hill. Rachel's philosophy is simple: go big or go home. Look beyond the competition immediately around you, learn from the best and hire people who are better than you in the areas where you are weak. Before we get into it, most founders I speak to feel busy but frustrated. Plenty happening, but frustrated that they are not moving forward at the rate they want to. This is because their success leads to more options, pulling them and their teams in different directions. Here's what more than 500 interviews on this show have taught me: the founders who scale choose less, and deliver all of it. That's what the G90 Summit is for. A structured half day where we cut through everything competing for your attention, agree the three to five things that must happen in the next 90 days, and build the rhythm to make sure they do. From the frustration and chaos of more, through the discipline of less, to the rhythm of done. Quarterly, virtual, £97 a seat. Smart90.co.uk/summit. Make sure you don't miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts, and why not give us a follow. You can also nominate a guest for ScaleUp Radio if you know someone with an interesting ScaleUp story. You can find how in the shownotes. For now, continue listening for the full discussion with Rachel. Social media collateral Could your business still run properly if you disappeared for three months? That question sits at the heart of my latest ScaleUp Radio conversation with Rachel Hill. Rachel started Hillside Childcare at 26 with a 16 place nursery. She went on to build it into four sites supporting 299 children before selling the business in an off market deal completed in just five months. There are some strong lessons here for any SME owner manager thinking about Business Strategy, Leadership Development and building a company that is less dependent on its founder. A few that stood out: ✅ Build systems before you need them Policies, procedures and a capable management team allowed Rachel to replicate the Hillside model while protecting consistency across multiple locations. ✅ Founder dependency affects value One of Hillside's strongest assets at sale was its ability to operate without Rachel. If everything still comes back to you, you may have created a demanding job rather than a genuinely scalable business. ✅ Know the numbers and change course When Rachel discovered Bondville's year round model was not financially sustainable, she changed it rather than defending the original plan. Good Business Strategy sometimes means admitting the model needs to change. ✅ Hire around your weaknesses Rachel knows where she creates value and brings in people who are stronger in areas where she is not. That is a valuable Leadership Development lesson as a company grows. And perhaps the biggest takeaway: The founders who create the most valuable businesses gradually make themselves less essential to the everyday operation of them. There is plenty more in the episode, including the sale process, due diligence, staffing challenges, negotiation, Bondville Model Village and the creation of 45 by Rachel Hill. Listen to the full Rachel Hill episode of ScaleUp Radio here: [EPISODE LINK] #ScaleUpRadio #Smart90 #StopTheDrift #G90Summit #BusinessStrategy #LeadershipDevelopment #90DayPlanning #SMEGrowth ScaleUp Radio LinkedIn Business Page ScaleUp Radio's latest episode features entrepreneur Rachel Hill, founder of Hillside Childcare and the entrepreneur behind Bondville Model Village and 45 by Rachel Hill. The conversation covers scaling Hillside from a 16 place nursery to four sites serving 299 children, developing systems and teams, managing staffing challenges and preparing a business to operate without its owner. Rachel also discusses the five month off market sale of Hillside, the due diligence and negotiation process, and the lessons she has applied to her subsequent ventures. Listen to the episode and explore the ScaleUp Radio archive here: [ARCHIVE LINK] Single promotional message / key takeaway: The one key thing is to build a business that can run without you. The systems and people that reduce founder dependency today can become some of the most valuable assets in the business tomorrow. ScaleUp Radio Rachel Hill - September 01 VIEW RECORDING - 65 mins (No highlights) Meeting Purpose Interview Rachel Hill on her entrepreneurial journey and business sale. Key Takeaways Built & Exited Hillside Childcare: Grew a single 16-place nursery into a 4-site, 299-child operation, then sold it in a 5-month, off-market deal to protect staff and families. Acquired & Revitalized Bondville: Purchased a closed model village, transforming it into a profitable, nostalgic attraction by pivoting from a failed year-round model to a seasonal one. Launched "45 by Rachel Hill": Created a successful candle brand for the Bondville gift shop, inspired by the village and featuring miniature keepsakes, with plans for a Shopify store. Core Philosophy: "Go big or go home"—benchmark against global leaders, not local competitors, and hire for weaknesses (e.g., IT) to focus on creative strengths. Topics Hillside Childcare: Building & Scaling Origin: Started at age 26 by converting a granny flat into a 16-place nursery to pay a new mortgage. Growth Strategy: Replication: Applied a proven operational model to new sites. Acquisition: Bought out two failing nurseries, converting a 16-place operation into a 299-child business across four sites. Systems: Used robust policies and procedures to ensure brand consistency across all locations. Success Drivers: Passion: Deep personal care for staff and families. Efficiency: Maintained a 60–70% staff wage-to-turnover ratio, a key profit driver. Culture: Created a family-like environment with strong team buy-in. Key Challenge: Staffing was the hardest part, especially post-COVID, due to a decline in candidate quality. Exiting Hillside Childcare Motivation: Burnout from being the sole "problem solver" and a feeling of no longer being able to fix issues post-COVID. Sale Process: Decision: Impulsive; made on a dog walk and executed immediately. Method: Off-market; contacted a specific, established acquirer directly via LinkedIn. Timeline: 5 months from decision to completion. Due Diligence (DD): Challenge: Handled the intense DD process alone to protect staff and families from uncertainty. Tactic: Framed DD requests to managers as a "thorough health check." Negotiation & Terms: Valuation: Used industry formulas (e.g., 4x profit) and building values to set a price. Outcome: Rejected the first offer to secure a higher, satisfactory price. Structure: One-off payment, not staged. No stay-on requirement. Key Asset: The business's ability to run without the owner was a major value enhancer. Current Ventures: Bondville & "45 by Rachel Hill" Bondville Model Village: Acquisition: Purchased a closed, run-down model village (1 acre, 200 buildings) while selling Hillside. Revitalization: Saw the "underdog" potential and spent months on renovation before reopening. Lesson: Pivoted from a failed year-round model to a seasonal one after realizing winter revenue was unsustainable. "45 by Rachel Hill" (Candle Brand): Origin: Created candles for the Bondville gift shop after failing to find suitable products. Product: Three scents inspired by the village, each with a miniature keepsake and a story card. Performance: High demand; sold out repeatedly. Future: Launching a Shopify store to scale production and sales. Next Steps Rachel Hill: Launch the "45 by Rachel Hill" Shopify store. Scale candle production to meet high demand. Continue building the Bondville Model Village brand on social media. Additional Resources Websites and Social Media Rachel Hill's own account: Instagram - @Rachel_Merry_Hill Connect with Bondville Model Village Bondville Model Village ( VisitBondville.com ) Instagram - @BondvilleModelVillage_ Facebook – Bondville Model Village
