Hannah Beute is a podiatrist and chiropodist who likes to do things differently.
Based in Marlborough, Wiltshire, Hannah’s clients include patients of all ages as well as local businesses such as Zurich Insurance and Vets4Pets. She is also the podiatrist for Swindon Football Club.
She treats everything from hard skin, corns and ingrowing toenails to athlete’s foot and fungal infections.
After working in the NHS for a number of years and running her own mobile clinic, in November last year she invested £30,000 into opening her own state-of-the-art premises – called The Beute Clinic.
She was one of the first in the country to install the German designed ergonomic RUCK podiatry equipment in her practice and the first British podiatrist to use its PODOLOG THERMO cleaning and disinfecting machine.
Hannah, 28, is now looking to grow her team and plans to open more clinics across the UK and overseas in the coming years.
She says: “I was initially terrified about opening my own premises but my mum and my partner are incredibly business minded and encouraged me to find and open my own place. In just a few months, I have absolutely transformed my business.
“I’m now in a town centre and there’s parking outside which makes it easier for my patients. I’m also able to see a higher volume of clients as I’m not losing time making home visits.
“I’m now planning to open my next clinic and am determined to do so before I hit 30.”
Hannah has invested in innovative RUCK equipment including two podiatry chairs, professional magnifying lamps, stands with wheels and a Mobil System which allows her to take her equipment out to clients.
“All my RUCK equipment looks lovely, is extremely practical and has been created with that forward thinking and sleek German brand quality,” she says. “In fact, after buying their brilliant pink chair I was inspired to make the same pink my colour scheme in the clinic.
“My patients love the chair – it’s so comfortable. But, interestingly, they have spotted other things too. They are fascinated with my cleaning and disinfecting equipment which I purposefully keep on display and which they have not seen in other practices – and they ask how it works.
“If you go to a dental clinic you automatically expect a certain level of hygiene and dentists have been using thermo cleaning for years. As a podiatrist, I was trained to use soap and an instrument brush to scrub equipment clean after use. It’s just not good enough anymore.
“I love my thermo cleaning machine because it forces me to look at every piece of equipment individually and, when it comes out, I know it will be scrupulously clean and disinfected. Best of all, I can crack on with seeing my patients while it does its job.”
So what does she think of the industry?
“I think it’s time we became more aspirational as a profession,” she laughs. “I was born in the UK but travelled extensively as a child because my dad was a civil engineer working in countries such as Kuwait, Holland, India and Sri Lanka.
“The schools out there were very competitive and my school mates were much more interested in what grades you were getting rather than who had the latest iPhone.
“We need some of that competitiveness in our industry and we need more role models. I’ve been inspired by podiatrist turned businesswoman Margaret Dabbs and now I’m not content with one clinic – I want to grow and open more.”