So here I am back blogging, change of tack this time as I have just moved business premises!!
So 2 weeks in and OMG!! Love the new premises but feel I must be getting old as found the process exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. But at the grand old age of 52 I grabbed the opportunity to customise my own premises and feel I got exactly what I wanted – Clinical but relaxing at the same time!
So it all started about 18 months ago when I had the bright idea of adding a coffee bar (HRCoffeeBar) to the business, (A result of some brainstorming). I thought my lovely clients can enjoy coffee and cake after treatment and my hubby being a caterer would have something to pass the time with – how easy is that! Well I had obviously forgotten how good he was as within 2 months they were No1 on Trip Advisor in Warwickshire (Bloody Hell) and they held that spot for over a year in which they grew and got busier and noisier and really started to invade my space. Clients were so supportive and never complained and remained loyal to the business so after a year I spied a vacant property & opportunity and grabbed it. And so the stressful journey began….
Bear in the mind the place used to be a bookies and was just one big empty space, at first I felt it would never work!! But working in the same premises as hubby wasn’t working either so I kept looking and eventually was drawn back to 5 Mansell Street and had some plans drawn up, luckily I have plenty vision and the plan started to unfold, bear in mind I am a canny Scots and wanted to recycle as much as possible to the dismay of the hard working (Dave & Alan) who had to try and understand my vision and need to recycle as they put my stamp on these premises.
You forget all the things you need to organise, new address spells new marketing material everything needed changing, suppliers need informing, bt & broadband we have a system in place for clients which doesn’t operate without broadband, then there is gas, electric, business rates and the list goes on. The bug bear in all this is the constant calls from electric companies all trying to sell the best deal – I think one day I was ready to have a heart attack!! They can only be described as Nuisance calls when you are trying to continue to work, train and move premises!! STILL with the help of a good New Zealand Sauvignon we are now through the other end and I am loving the new look HenleyRooms, clients love it – “It has a nice feel”, strange thing is when the building work was being carried out “Dave” thought he would check out the cellar and found an old wallet from years ago and only had my name Mrs M Lawson on the card, I took this as a sign I was meant to be here.
It has given me a new zest for the business, we have had two events so far with lots more planned and some new treatments which I will share my views on in the next couple of weeks, I realise I am very lucky to be able to do a job that I love!! I even get to have my name hanging outside lol
Thanks for reading as always let me know what you think, Mary x