Mentoring with Faisal Mahmood
Be at the school gate on Friday. Without the guilt.
Hire the manager you keep putting off. Get the rota and the invoices off your kitchen table. And build a nursery that runs properly when you're not in the building.
A straight conversation. If it isn't right for you, I'll say so.
- 12 months of mentoring
- 5 places in the first group
- Mon 2 Nov 2026 first group starts
01Right now
You're holding the whole nursery together. Most of it after dark.
You know the answer. A proper manager, so you can step back. You've known for a while.
But every time you get close, something else lands on your desk and it slides to next month. Someone's off. A parent needs a word. The rota needs redoing. Again.
And there's no one to talk it through with. The team can't see you worried, and your partner's heard it all before.
An ordinary day, as it is now
- You open up and greet the parents at the door.
- Someone's off sick. You're covering a room to keep the ratios right.
- Lunch, standing up, with a queue at the office door.
- School pick-up. Someone else collects your own children.
- The rota and the invoices, at the kitchen table.
Sound familiar?
“If I'm not there, it doesn't happen. I can't even afford to be ill.”
And the reason to wait
“I'll sort it after the Budget.”
Something I've heard owners say, in one form or another. The hire, the pricing, the bigger building. All after the Budget.
02What you've already tried
None of it was your fault. It all gave you more to do.
You've put the effort in. The trouble is that every option handed the work straight back to you.
Podcasts, books and courses
You learned plenty. Nobody helped you actually do it.
A virtual assistant
You had to explain everything, so it was quicker to do it yourself. There were no systems to hand over.
A marketing agency
More enquiries don't help if the nursery can't run without you.
New software and AI tools
Bought, half set up, never finished. No time to set them up, and nobody did it for you.
Asking your deputy to “sort of” manage
No clear role, still on the floor full time, and it all slid quietly back to you.
What you need is someone to help you decide, help you build it, and keep you to it. All three.
03Who you'd be working with
I was the owner everything depended on. So I rebuilt it.
Here's the thing. For years, my business only worked because I was there. When my son was born, I hardly saw him.
So I rebuilt it to run without me. I went down to three hours a day, and cleared my mortgage by 2014. The company is still running today, working with NHS trusts, police forces and the public sector.
I'm not an early years expert, and I won't pretend to be. You know childcare. I know how to build a business that runs without its owner. I've already mentored a nursery owner. Put the two together, and you get a plan that fits your nursery.
I also founded Progressive Business Network in Peterborough, so you won't be making the big calls on your own.
“Waiting is not a strategy. It is procrastination wearing a very respectable suit.”
04The FLIGHT Method™
From holding it all together to a nursery that flies without you.
Six stages, in order. We start with what matters to you, and finish with you stepping back, knowing the nursery is in good hands.
- 01 / 06
Focus
Decide what matters now, starting with your vision for your life and your nursery.
- 02 / 06
Launch
Commit to the decision you've been putting off, like hiring your manager, and start.
- 03 / 06
Infrastructure
Get your rota, invoicing, parent messages, tools and AI set up. Where you're stuck, I do it for you.
- 04 / 06
Growth
Grow your revenue towards a 25% goal, and plan what's next, like a second setting.
- 05 / 06
Hustle
A steady weekly rhythm, with the group call, the plan and WhatsApp, so nothing slides back.
- 06 / 06
Transition
Hand over the day-to-day and step back, knowing standards stay high.
Why it works
Most help stops at advice. FLIGHT goes in order: decide, commit, build, grow, keep it going, then step back. And you're never left to do the hard part on your own.
05Your numbers
Add up what doing it all yourself is costing you.
Three rough answers. Don't overthink them.
Worked out over 48 weeks a year. These are your own figures, not results from Bright Matter. The 25% is a goal we work towards together, never a promise.
06What you get
Twelve months. Five places. Everything you need to step back.
Bright Matter is twelve months of mentoring with me, using the FLIGHT Method™. Here's what that means, week to week.
Weekly group mentoring on Zoom, for 12 months
Every week you leave with one clear next step, someone keeping you to it, and other owners working on the same things. It's much harder to put things off when you're reporting back next week.
A private one-to-one call, every month
An hour just for your nursery, your numbers and your decisions. Twelve of them. Bring the things you can't say in front of the team.
WhatsApp me any time
When something comes up between calls, you're not left sitting on it. Help when you're stuck, not a week later.
Your Vision and 3-Year Plan
Your vision for your life and your nursery, broken into yearly goals, quarterly numbers and weekly tasks. You'll always know what this week is for.
Your systems, tools and automation, set up
The rota, invoicing, reminders and parent messages, set up to run without you. I show you how. Where you're stuck, I do it for you.
Why only five places
Each member gets a private call every month, WhatsApp any time and hands-on help with their systems. I can do that properly for five people.
When it starts
The first group starts on Monday 2 November 2026. When the five places are filled, they're gone until the next group.
The investment
We talk it through on your call, once we both know Bright Matter is right for your nursery. You can pay in full, or spread it over 12 months.
Pick a time that suits you. No pressure, and no hard sell.
07The promise
The “Do the Work” Promise.
Come to the weekly calls and do your weekly tasks for your first 90 days.
If by day 90 you don't have your vision, your 3-year plan, and at least one everyday job (like invoicing, reminders or parent messages) running without you, I'll keep mentoring you, free, until you do.
To be straight with you: the promise covers your plan and your first systems. The 25% growth is a goal we work towards and track together. It isn't guaranteed.
08Is it right for you
Here's who it's built for. And who it isn't.
A good fit if
- Your nursery is established, with a staff team.
- You're still the one covering rooms and answering every question.
- You know you need a manager, and you've been putting it off.
- You'll turn up each week and do the tasks.
- You want to grow without letting standards slip.
Not the right fit if
- You're still planning to open your first nursery.
- You want someone to take the nursery off your hands.
- You want guaranteed numbers or a quick fix.
- You're not ready to make decisions and act on them.
09Questions
The honest answers.
Anything else on your mind, bring it to the call. I'll tell you what I genuinely think.
It's going to be expensive, isn't it?
It's a serious investment, and I won't pretend otherwise. Here's the honest way to look at it. You're already paying for this problem: in your evenings, in the manager you haven't hired, and in growth that hasn't happened.
On the call, we'll look at your numbers together, and I'll tell you plainly whether I think it's worth it for you. You can also spread the cost over 12 months.
Shouldn't I wait until after the Budget?
Here's what I think. The Budget might change some of your numbers. It won't hire your manager or sort your invoicing. We plan around whatever it brings.
I haven't got time for weekly calls.
The group call is one hour, and every one is recorded. Your weekly tasks are sized to fit around the nursery, not on top of it. The whole point is to give you time back, not take more of it.
Will AI really work in a nursery? It's all about people and care.
You're right, the care is the heart of it. AI isn't for the care. It's for the rota, the invoices, the reminders and the parent messages: the admin that takes you away from the children and your team.
You're not from early years. Will this fit my nursery?
Honestly, I'm not an early years expert, and I won't pretend to be. You know childcare. I know how to build a business that runs without its owner. I did it with my own, and I've already mentored a nursery owner. Put the two together, and you get a plan that fits your nursery.
Is the 25% growth guaranteed?
No. It's the goal we work towards together, and we'll track it. What is promised is in the “Do the Work” Promise: your plan and your first systems in 90 days, or I keep mentoring you free until you have them.
Do I need to be good with technology?
No. I show you how to set up your tools, step by step. Where you get stuck, I do it for you.
Is there a smaller way to start?
Yes. If Bright Matter isn't the right first step yet, I'll say so on the call. I also run workshops and a shorter mentoring programme, and I'll point you to whichever fits.
In their own words
Your first testimonials go here
Kept for the words of the first Bright Matter members.
→Your next step
Let's talk about your Fridays.
One straight conversation. We'll look at where the nursery is now, what's in the way, and where you want it to be.
I'll tell you what I genuinely think. If Bright Matter is right for you, I'll take you through everything. If it isn't, I'll say so and point you to a better first step.
5 places. The first group starts on Monday 2 November 2026.
Not ready to talk yet? Get the free Friday Afternoon Audit