Founded by Sonographer Lauren Hunter, Mini Me 4D is the first clinic of its kind in Grangemouth, Scotland, equipped with brand new state of the art HDlive ultrasound technology, allowing you bond with your baby through amazing 4D images. The modern, welcoming clinic provides a professional, affordable and sought-after service to pregnant women and their families, providing reassurance and time to bond with baby throughout all stages of pregnancy – whether you are newly pregnant and anxiously awaiting your 12-week scan, want to check how baby is doing in between hospital scans, or you want a package which gives you 4D videos and 3D images. Lauren is passionate about making this service accessible to families. Here she shares her business journey so far with the Natural Parent Magazine.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I’m very enthusiastic about my job and I love working for the NHS. I also enjoy chatting and getting to know people, taking time to reassure them and explain their scans to them. I wanted to provide a service where pregnant women and their partners, family and friends could feel at ease and be reassured as well as obtain beautiful ultrasound images of their baby. I wanted to combine my skills as a sonographer with my people skills to give a more personal and unique service and hope that Mini Me 4D gives people this experience. The scans we provide are intended as bonding and reassurance scans and should never replace their NHS scans.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I decided to start the business while on maternity leave with my third child. I felt it was now or never! I wrote a business plan, acquired a business unit for the clinic and then got to work getting the business ready to open!
I got the keys to the unit in April and opened in August and the business has grown since then.
As someone who has worked for the NHS for a long time, it was a challenge and there was a lot more to opening a business than I anticipated, but it was and is such an exciting journey to watch my dreams becoming a reality.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
When the business recently reached 50 Facebook reviews and they were all very positive, that felt like a huge moment and it felt like I was doing something right. It’s also a fantastic feeling when customers return to the clinic for a second scan.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
This is another challenge and I am definitely still learning to balance this. I have three children aged 9, 6 and 15 months and I still work as a sonographer for the NHS two days per week. I try to do most of my admin when the kids are in bed but sometimes find it spills into family time.
