Nicky Credland
Based in Dollar, South Perthshire, Nicky is a retired nurse who now runs her own First Aid training business, React Fast First Aid.
“Due to my nursing background in trauma and my love of outdoor activities, I tend to specialise in outdoor First Aid courses.”
Getting Started
After retiring from nursing at the end of 2019, Nicky wanted to keep doing something useful that also allowed her to use her existing skills.
Having first experienced First Aid as a young Brownie and Girl Guide, Nicky later did a St John Ambulance First Aid course and became a Nursing Officer with the Brigade once she qualified as a nurse. So providing first-aid training ticked all the boxes for her.
Nicky says: “Due to my nursing background in trauma and my love of outdoor activities, I tend to specialise in outdoor First Aid courses, such as cycling, sport, equestrian, forestry and other outdoor pursuits. However, I can run many other types of first aid training too.”
Newly qualified First Aid trainers can also work with Nicky to get the experience they need to also run their own business.
“I am extremely grateful for all the support GrowBiz have given me over the last 2 years. Their support has been invaluable. Just knowing someone was there to point me in the right direction was a great help.”
The Enterprise Journey
Starting her business at the beginning of 2020, the arrival of Covid-19 was a big blow for Nicky. “It prevented me running any courses for nearly 18 months,” she says. “Luckily, I was able to return to work and help back in the NHS, or financially I would have been in dire straits.”
Nicky has also found the current cost-of-living to be a drawback for her business: “A new business is always going to take time to become financially viable. Covid and the cost-of-living crisis has just made this harder and take longer to achieve.”
However, Nicky has learned a lot along the way, including how much time and effort is needed to promote her business and courses in order to get customers, and increasing her marketing and IT skills.
“In 2022, I put together a 90-minute Equestrian First Aid webinar,” says Nicky, something she takes pride in. “I am not overly confident or knowledgeable using my computer to put something like this together. With the tremendous help and support I received from GrowBiz, I completed a PowerPoint presentation. It was a huge project, but very successful in the end."
Support along the way
“My Dad,” says Nicky, when asked about those who’ve supported her in her business journey. “He was a Scout Master all those years ago when I was a Brownie. He taught me bandaging, CPR, etc. That cemented my interest in first aid.”
Nicky is also grateful to mountain rescue colleagues and students on the ‘First Aid in Mountaineering’ courses that she ran, and more recently, her first “guinea pigs,”—friends who agreed to come on her first course in 2021.
The support she received from GrowBiz has been crucial for Nicky as well. She says: “I am extremely grateful for all the support GrowBiz have given me over the last 2 years. Their support has been invaluable. Just knowing someone was there to point me in the right direction was a great help.”
“From someone who has been employed all their life, switching to being self-employed is hard, but if I can do it, anyone can. Cement as many skills as you can, such as marketing and IT, before you embark on your own business. I strongly recommend people to make use of GrowBiz, as they can help with all of this.”
Looking to the future
For the future, Nicky is hoping to continue to grow her business to being a more financially stable one, where she can concentrate on what she does best—training First Aid. She is also working on achieving Net Zero goals: “I try to use the three ‘R’s of sustainable living – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle,” she says.
“I use a hybrid car for travel and avoid travelling long distances for courses. My manikins have re-useable faces, so no need for plastic face shields or sterile wipes and I avoid disposable, single use equipment wherever possible. Most batteries are re-chargeable.
“Paperwork/forms/certificates etc. for my courses are kept to the minimum and most are now sent via email or using apps or computer programmes. I ensure that the few items which are single use—for hygiene reasons—are recyclable.”
As a small sole-trader business, Nicky is not sure what other steps she can take to achieve Net Zero and feels she may need future support for GrowBiz to help her set additional goals in this area.
Regarding other support, she says: “Just knowing there is someone I can call if needed is a big help in itself.”
