I fell down the stairs – 2 days before launch day. My head was full of so much stuff. I was exhausted. And my brain decided I was at the bottom of the stairs, when I had 4 steps to go. The force and speed in which I fell surprised me, and the sensation of the inside of my ankle hitting the inside of my shin bone wasn’t the nicest. My hair whipped with such force I thought I had sustained a facial injury from plait beating! As I lay there swearing (don’t worry, kids were at school, only the dogs were my witnesses), I then said out loud “I haven’t got time for this”, I stood up. I could just about weight bear. And continued with my day!
1 day before launch day, we spent 12 hours at the chapel – putting the finishing touches together, getting everything ready, goodie bags filled, staff informed about who was coming when for taster sessions and classes. The treatment couches were here (the right colour this time, with no face hole.. another story!!), prosecco was chilling, all was ready. The cake had arrived (Charlotte you are amazing).
the reed diffusers were here, Wendy and Laura, thank you. It was all coming together.
I felt in pain with my foot, but at that point we were all running on adrenalin! We couldn’t believe it was here, we were opening our doors. I’d sneakily stopped sharing the interior of the chapel on social media, as I wanted people who came to have the full ‘wow’ factor – the studio, the lights, the wallpapers, the colour schemes. At this point a huge thank you must go to Catherine who helped us with some of the interior design of the chapel – she sourced the beautiful chandelier in reception, the amazing black taps and hexagon tiles in the treatment rooms and kept us on brand. Thank you lovely lady.
Mark and I arrived at the chapel around 12.30 to meet James, our videographer . He was doing our launch day video and some bits for our promotional video to be released soon.
Gavin, our photographer arrived. Staff arrived. I realised I’d forgotten a knife to cut the cake (quick call home to dad and Pam),there was no hand wash in the treatment rooms (Nicola to the rescue!) Nicola also held things together so Mark and I could speak to everyone once we hit 2pm, as well as guiding us hugely in the run up to launch with her great social media expertise. Thank you!
People had started to gather outside so we went and put a ribbon across the wall (green of course), checked a few last minute things…. A few words were said, and in you came!
And the numbers!! Nothing had quite prepared us for the numbers! We expected between 80 and 100. Double that and we’re somewhere close (and that’s the ones we knew about who signed in!). We kept seeing people we knew outside, so it sort of evolved into a kind of wedding-ish receiving line! Squeals of delight (my children always tell me they hear me before they see me!), were the order of the day, Cheshire grin smiles, amazing feedback from you all. Positive, delightful, amazing. You all noticed the reed diffusers and amazing smell, and the most common word which was used was “calm”.
There were treatment sessions taking place with Hayley, our sports massage therapist, Amanda our traditional Chinese medicine acupuncturist, Jacky did some sessions of reiki and craniosacral therapy, and Keith, our podiatrist brought his pressure plate in so you could see a little of how he asseses your feet biomechanics.
Fiona, our counsellor was on hand to ask any questions, and Estelle and Shola ran a mini class of pilates and yoga. Our goodie bags flew out the door, along with a lucky bamboo (thank you Jill for managing this too!) The selfie frame was put to good use, and we kept Melissa and her friend busy doing face painting, glitter tattoos and balloon modelling! Mark and I made a speech, and I didn’t cry (there was huuuuge potential!), and some presents were given to Ella, Chloe, Zack and Josh to say thank you for being so patient with mummy and daddy, and to thank them for giving up their time, their holidays and part of their house!
Thank you all for your cards and gifts too. We really weren’t expecting anything, and you all feel like true friends who came to our housewarming party.
Can you believe we’re open?! It still all feels a little surreal, and I hadn’t really thought about the ‘next bit’, actually being in the space. The first few days felt like I’d come to work for someone else, I had to keep reminding myself it was ours.
Jill, our receptionist, and our very first employee, is wonderful and all patients who have met her have expressed how lovely she is. I’d planned a 3 hour induction on day 1, which turned into a half hour hello then off to fracture clinic ( I eventually took myself to urgent care the day after launch – I’ve broken a bone in my foot so, in the hottest few weeks of the year, I’ve been sporting a moon boot, which, whilst it helps my pain, feels like I have a duvet wrapped round my foot!).
Thank you for supporting us. Whether that’s from seeing us as a patient, liking our social media posts, writing blogs for us, writing reviews, or being just lovely! We wouldn’t be in the chapel without you, we wouldn’t be in a position to look at other services, take on staff, or be able to grow our business.
Plans for September onwards – more services, more classes, more! We are starting physio led pilates classes, meditation classes,more holistic therapies and podiatry (not just musculoskeletal either). Watch this space to be the first to know. Any requests? Let us know at info@tayloredfitphysio.co.uk
Many thanks for taking the time to read this. Do please share with anyone who may benefit from the range of treatments we offer, or from some of the wonderful people mentioned above.
Vicky Smith