myCareer profile
Zoe Saccoccio
Owner
Turtle Tots West Yorkshire
Turtle Tots Ltd
Zoe Saccoccio began her career as an estate agent before joining Turtle Tots in 2014. She now owns and operates her own swimming pool and swim school: Turtle Tots West Yorkshire.
Tell us about your career
“I started out with Turtle Tots in October 2014 after having my children. Prior to this I was an estate agent, but I found trying to achieve a good work life balance was difficult. I wanted to find a new career opportunity that would enable me to run my own business and provide flexibility for my family – while also being rewarding and challenging. I found Turtle Tots.
I initially ran the swim school alone, teaching 28 clients from two pools, and doing all the marketing and admin. When I reached around 100 clients, I took on my first swimming teacher, and as the business, and my confidence, progressed I expanded, taking on an admin lady and a second teacher. I also decided to outsource my online marketing, which helped massively with brand awareness and growth.
After a couple of years, the business stabilised at around 200 clients and I realised that without a major change the franchise would continue to stay at this level. I decided to look into how I could build my own swimming pool, and last year I finally took the plunge. The project has been a major rollercoaster, but I’ve learned so much in the process – from the initial planning approval stage to the technicalities of building and maintaining a pool plant room, the learning curve has been huge.”
What are your future goals?
“When I set out to build the pool, location was very important because I wanted local people in the residential area of North Leeds to be able to access it without the need for a 15-20 minute journey across the city. When we first opened the pool in May 2019, we started with 94 clients and my goal is to have 200 swimmers enrolled within the next 12 months.”
What's the best piece of career?
“The best advice I can give would be to think outside the box and not be put off by anyone else’s more conventional ideas. I firmly believe that if you work hard, focus on your business and surround yourself with like-minded people, the rewards will come.”
Think outside the box and don't be put off by anyone else’s more conventional ideas.
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