Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton reveals she STILL works weekly night shifts in A&E at a London hospital while running her £1.6M cosmetic surgery business
- EXCLUSIVE: Dr Leah Totton won Lord Sugar’s £250K investment in 2013
- Returned to NHS part time and splits her time between business and night shifts
- The trained doctor, 30, now turns over £1.6million a year and is expanding
- Was recently offered £5million for business and is opening third and fourth clinic
- She has offered her top tips to a successful business in rare personal interview
Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton has revealed for the first time how she juggles running her multi-million pound aesthetics business with working weekly night shifts in a busy A&E at a London hospital.
The doctor, 30, who is originally from Derry, spends two to three nights of the week answering emergency calls on a basic salary, despite her businesses turning over £1.6M a year at her two clinics in London and Essex.
Leah has previously alluded to returning to work for the NHS after winning Lord Sugar’s £250K investment in 2013, but now she’s revealed for the first time how much of her time is devoted to her work as a doctor.
She admitted: ‘There are times when I am in hospital on a night shift or working over Christmas when I wonder why I decided to do it. But I love the NHS, I trained many years to be able to practice as a doctor and to be able to help people is a privilege.’
The entrepreneur set up her Dr Leah clinics in 2014 after winning the show, and then decided to return to her job in A&E – where her salary is likely to be £27 – £31K pro rata – as she felt it was her duty to ‘give back’.
Dr Leah Totton, 30, originally from Ireland, won The Apprentice in 2013 and owns a multi-million pound business with Alan Sugar in London, but revealed she continues to split her time between working in the clinics and helping out with weekly shifts as an NHS doctor
Leah won an ‘exceptional talent’ scholarship to a good school at an early age, which saw her score straight A and A star GCSE and A-levels before she graduated top of her class at a London medical school.
After becoming a successful doctor working in a busy A&E department, Leah took a break when she won The Apprentice in 2013, going on to start her award-winning non-surgical cosmetics clinic.
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But she didn’t forget her roots, and once her clinic was up and running, returned to help out with the busy shifts.
She said: ‘I loved working as an NHS doctor but I also knew that I wanted to provide a better life for myself and my family. I began working as an aesthetic doctor alongside my A&E work in 2012 and went on to win The Apprentice series in 2013.
The Irish trained doctor, 30, who lives in London, has seen a staggering success rate since opening an injectables clinic in London, which now turns over £1.6million a year. Leah recommends finding a growing market which hasn’t peaked and becoming an expert
‘I decided to return to the NHS after I had set up Dr Leah Clinics in 2014, and continued to work as an NHS doctor, splitting my time between this and my business.
‘This was a very personal decision and something I felt I had to do.’
‘As the business grows even bigger I am not sure how much longer I will be able to continue my NHS work, but I am grateful that I have been able to do it this long.’
Speaking about her humble beginnings in an unusually personal interview, Leah revealed that growing up in Derry and witnessing daily bomb scares and riots motivated her to want to become a doctor.
Leah won the 2013 Apprentice series and become owner of a multi-million pound business with Lord Alan Sugar by the age of 30. She says being a recognisable figure head is part of her business’ unique selling point, and recommends finding your own USP
Recalling the day of the Omagh bombing in 1998, which was carried out by a terrorist group called the Real Irish Republican Army, and left 29 dead and 300 injured, she said: ‘I remember it vividly.
‘I was in a shop with my mum and aunt just outside Omagh on that day, we knew there had been a bombing nearby and it was a bad one as they made announcement asking for medical personal to attend the local hospital to assist.
‘That moment, when I was just 10 years old, was truly was the first time I knew I wanted to become a doctor.’
Leah is seen celebrating with her team on board Alan Sugar’s yacht after celebrating a record-breaking year which will see her opening her third and fourth clinics next year. She says part of her success stems from ‘ignoring her competition’
Her clinic has won ‘Best Aesthetic Clinic London for the second year in a row, and she is launching her own skincare range. However Leah admits a successful business means hard work and you may need to sacrifice your work life
Explaining that her background gave her the motivation to want more, Leah said: ‘My mother works as an administrator and my father as a taxi driver, and they worked hard to make ends meet.
‘Growing up we couldn’t afford luxuries which made me truly appreciate the value of money, but also motivated me to work as hard as I could to be financially comfortable and to make sure my family were financially comfortable.’
She continued: ‘I was fortunate enough to be naturally very academic, I was highlighted as a ‘gifted child’ at a young age.
In December 2017 Dr Leah missed the Apprentice annual Christmas party with Lord Alan Sugar as she was working a night shift for the NHS
Dr Leah is seen writing a medical chart at 4am during another grueling night shift-which she juggles alongside her busy cosmetics clinic which counts celebrities including Lauren Goodger as clients
‘Our schooling system in Northern Ireland is based on academic ability as opposed to fee paying, and this was great for me as I attended a really good school for free, and they pushed me academically.
‘I worked hard and obtained straight As and A* at GCSE and A level, winning academic prizes in my country at both levels.’
Leah went on to become the first family member to attend university, and continued to work part time in retail before graduating top of her year in her medical degree and qualifying as a doctor, working in a busy London A&E.
She said: ‘We opened our first Dr Leah Clinic on my 26th Birthday on the 22nd January 2014 in Liverpool Street and it was a huge success.
‘Two years later later we opened our second Dr Leah Clinic in Loughton, Essex, and we open our third clinic in Baker street and our fourth clinic in Canary Wharf in 2019.’
Leah has revealed her top five tips to starting a successful business, admitting that she lacks a social life but it is worth it to grow her business and help the NHS
And Leah, who credited ‘straight-talking and encouraging’ Alan Sugar for his ongoing support, continues to go from strength to strength.
This year her clinic won Best Aesthetic Clinic London for the second year in a row, and she is even launching her own cosmetics range.
Additionally she has become an award winning cosmetic doctor and the youngest ever female doctor to sit on the medical board of a pharma company, and plans to expand her London City and Essex clinics to include two more in Baker Street and Canary Wharf in 2019, forecast to double the value of her business.
‘I don’t have much of social life’, she admitted. ‘But it’s worth it for the sake of my business and helping out the NHS’.
Dr Leah’s top five tips to starting a business
1. Obtain sector expertise
Have knowledge and expertise in the sector you wish to form a business in.
I was a medical doctor and an aesthetic doctor prior to opening a chain of aesthetic clinics. The best business owners are those who best understand their industry and are skilled and experienced.
You should not rely on staff alone for industry knowledge – I believe it needs to come from the founder or a founding partner.
2. Select an emerging industry– timing is everything
I entered the non-surgical cosmetic industry back in 2013 at a time where aesthetic treatments such as Botox and filler were stigmatised and it was an unregulated sector in it’s infancy.
The non surgical cosmetic market has seen huge growth over the past five years, with treatment such as Botox and filler becoming much more mainstream.
At present the UK cosmetic market is valued at over 4 billion per year with the non-surgical sector making up now over 75 per cent of market share.
The foresight of being able to see which industries are going to boom, like the dotcom entrepreneurs in the nineties did, and positioning yourself to become an industry leader is true entrepreneurship.
3. Have a unique selling point
If you know you’re industry you can find the gap in the market and fill it.
I did this by offering clients an affordable option for regulated non-surgical cosmetic treatments.
When I started, the industry was unregulated and clients had the option to either have unregulated cheap Botox in backstreet salons or go to Harley street and pay huge prices for plastic surgeons to perform their treatment.
My other unique selling point is that I am a known face, so my company’s figurehead is another thing which attracts customers and makes us stand out.
People thinking about starting a business should consider that over time booming industries become saturated. An established industry’s leading brands do things well so it is harder for new businesses to improve on that, or have a USP and stand out.
4. Ignore your competition and detractors
I read business books prior to doing The Apprentice which recommended analysing and studying your competition.
I ignored this completely both on the show and in my career in business.
I have no idea what my competitors charge for their treatments or what their plans for the future are. You should of course know your market place, the latest innovation and the value of the services or products you offer, but don’t waste time obsessing over what your competitors are doing.
I attend conferences in my sector, discuss with colleagues the latest innovations and use market data and customer feedback to determine price points and service offerings.
I choose and price treatments based on results and what my clients are willing to pay, versus analysing, copying or undercutting my competitors. Focus on yourself and your business and remain determined to bring your vision into fruition.
5. Work hard
Everyone says it but it really is true- talent alone does not equate to success in business, you need to put in the work.
This can involve making sacrifices, I have very little social life but I am willing to make that compromise in order to build my brand.
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