Page last updated on 28th July 2025
Aidan Sahni, co-owner of family-run shoe shop Twinkle Toes
Our Small Business Focus feature puts the spotlight on local business owners who talk about how they use their smart meters, how they manage their energy costs and other helpful tips. In this edition, Aidan Sahni talks about his experience co-running the Sheffield-based shoe shop Twinkle Toes alongside his mother Yesim.
Aidan shares his story
Founded in 1999 by Yesim Sahni, independent shoe shop Twinkle Toes is a family-run business based in Sheffield, co-owned by Yesim Sahni and her son, Aidan Sahni. With a particular focus on sizing and fitting children’s shoes, Twinkle Toes stocks a range of different brands, as well as having developed their own footwear brand, TTKids which is being launched across the UK.
How do you manage your energy costs?
Gas is where we see the biggest change across the year as we use it for heating, whereas our electricity costs are fairly consistent each month. We try to even out the costs across the months rather than deal with much larger bills in Winter, so we pay a set amount based on previous usage.
How does your smart meter help your business?
The smart meter shows us our daily energy usage, which is particularly helpful for gas. By logging into our account, we can see what we’re spending on gas, and how, just by making small adjustments, we can save some money on our energy bill. For example, we now switch the heating off at 3pm rather than when we close, but the shop stays warm enough until 5pm. On a practical note, we no longer send manual meter readings to our supplier, which is one less thing to think about.
We are redirecting you.
How important is sustainability to your business?
We’re definitely interested in being more sustainable - it can be tricky when you’re starting out and have to prioritise business growth and the P&L [profit and loss], but we’re in a position now where we can really look to engage with the issue more. As well as keeping a closer eye on how long we run our heating during the day, we have recently fitted LEDs in the shop.
We are also working with an energy-efficient factory to produce our own brand of shoes, TTKids. The factory has its own solar panels and gets 80% of its energy from renewable sources. Our suppliers’ sustainability credentials are increasingly important to us when we make decisions about who we work with.
What is the best piece of advice you'd like to share with your fellow small business owners?
The importance of delegating, as you can’t do everything yourself for your business and be in multiple places at once. Delegation means being able to focus on a more manageable number of tasks, and it’s good for our staff to be more involved.
My mother has helped me with doing this, as delegating doesn’t come naturally to me. I can definitely see the benefits as freeing up some of my time means I can focus on other areas of the business, for example, expansion and growth.
What is the best part of being a small business owner?
We’re a family business so for us, it also means we get to see each other a lot more than maybe other business owners. Because we work together, and it’s by no means a 9-5, we get to spend a lot of time together as a family. In contrast, I was on a course for business owners recently and many of them were talking about how they work so much, they don’t get to see their family or partners that often.
We count ourselves lucky we get to work together and see each other most days. We have both family and non-family members working at Twinkle Toes and I’m very lucky to be working with such a great team in a business that I really enjoy.
How can you request a smart meter for your small business?
Simply enter your energy supplier in the box below and we’ll connect you. If your business works with a Third Party Intermediary (TPI) or broker, please contact them directly to request your smart meter.
We are redirecting you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does installation take?
Installations normally take about two hours and are arranged in advance so that you can make any necessary arrangements beforehand to ensure minimal disruption to your normal business operations.
Can I get a smart meter if my small business is in a rented premises?
Yes. If you pay the energy bills you can make the decision about whether to get a smart meter. If your landlord pays your energy bills, speak with them about getting a smart meter for your building.
You may need to check with your landlord that any changes to your meter are allowed within your rental contract.