In this episode of Scale HER Up – The Female Entrepreneur Show, I’m joined by Katrina Walker, co-founder of A Flat In Town, a central Edinburgh letting agency that has been “letting with heart” for 20 years. Starting as a temp in a small letting business, Katrina fell in love with the variety, the people and the privilege of being trusted with someone’s home – and eventually decided to build her own agency.

Katrina shares how A Flat In Town grew from a simple idea in her mid-twenties into a long-standing business that truly cares for both landlords and tenants. She talks about the joy of seeing tenants turn an empty flat into a home, and why she has always approached letting from the perspective of being both a landlord and a former tenant herself. “Letting with heart” is not just a tagline – it’s how she and her team work every day.

We dive into what it really looks like to build a business around the life you want. Katrina and her business partner factored potential children into their very first five-year plan, and she is honest about the juggle of nursery runs, school hours, sick days and being the last parent at pick-up while trying to run a professional service. She shares how business ownership has given her flexibility, and how that has shaped the way she now supports her own team as an employer and mum of two teenagers.

Katrina also talks about navigating regulation, doing things to best practice not bare minimum, and the reality of managing people – from brilliant team members to the occasional hire who reveals outdated views about women working. She explains why outsourcing HR and legal support was a turning point, and how a strong business partner, supportive husband and trusted friends have been crucial parts of her support network.

After years of relying on word-of-mouth, Katrina has recently stepped into more networking and visibility. She shares how getting out of the office has brought fresh ideas, confidence and a reminder that 20 years in business is an achievement to be proud of. Her message to other women is clear: let your business serve your life, listen to your gut, use your support network and give yourself permission to plan a future you’ll actually enjoy.

In this episode, we cover

1. How Katrina fell into letting after university and why small-business experience was the best possible training
2. The story of A Flat In Town and what “letting with heart” means in practice for landlords and tenants
3. Why home and community matter so much to her, and the satisfaction of seeing tenants turn empty flats into real homes
4. Building a business in your mid-twenties and consciously planning around future family life
5. The honest reality of the juggle: nursery pick-ups, school hours, sick kids and late-night work
6. How being a business owner created flexibility – and how that now shapes the policies she offers her staff
7. The impact of an all-female team, hiring for attitude and fit, and learning to trust your instinct in recruitment
8. Dealing with sexism and unhelpful attitudes, and why bringing in external HR and legal support was so important
9. Working in a regulated sector and choosing best practice over bare minimum from day one
10. The value of five-year plans, setting clear targets and writing them on the wall for the whole team
11. Discovering networking later in the journey and finding it energising rather than intimidating
12. The importance of rest, listening to your body’s warning signs and letting your business support a life you actually want