Just to be clear, I’m talking about our business here, Hills Massage, not our personal COVID experiences. I am also very aware COVID is not over, nor do we ever expect it to be. What I want to talk about is how we managed to get through it stronger than ever!
Don’t get me wrong, we faced closures, uncertainty, restrictions, changes in law and cleaning protocols. We had times that we were stretched to the limit financially, and we were very unsure of what was around the corner. We are just one small business, and every story is different. This is just our story.
It basically boiled down to three main things:
Rainy day planning
Our team
Our clients
Rainy day planning
There is a great thing about two Virgos running a small business (both Alec and I are Virgo's). There are negatives too but let’s focus on the positive right now.
Six years ago, Alec, my hubby joined the team as our Administrator/Practice Manager. Largely thanks to him, we had been saving for a rainy day. He made sure that we watched our outgoings very closely, and that we limited our waste. He also navigated the ever changing Government regulations so that we could take advantage of the help that was offered (cheers, Mark). This allowed us to build a small fighting fund early in the COVID period, that served us well while we weren't able to trade. It also allowed us to continue to pay our team in the early days of lock down to ensure their basic needs were met.
Our team
We are genuinely lucky to have built a team of people who enjoy what they do, and they do it with passion and skill. We were forced to close several times, and we had to add additional cleaning protocols to our clinic. We also had to come up with ideas of a way to reach our client base and be inventive with remote massage - Is that even a thing?
They certainly stepped up and went beyond their comfort zones, creating home stretching classes, hosting social media home care tips, researching, and putting together stretches and exercises for the most common conditions people experienced. We even had an online couple’s massage workshop for couples stuck at home.
More to the point, they worked above and beyond what their jobs required, and did so with as much of a smile on their face as they could muster. Shout out to Jackie, Sonia and Eilish - thank you!
Our clients
We really wouldn’t be a business without you! Your loyalty over the last three years has been phenomenal! I am truly humbled by the support this Hills Massage Community has given us.
We appreciate you interacting with us, especially all the social media live posts – where I was so nervous but trying to look assured and calm. The likes and comments and shares as well. The willingness to recommend us to your friends and family. The offers of Gift Voucher purchases to keep income coming in.
Your willingness to be massaged in a mask, to check in on us to see how we were doing and asking if we needed any help. It hasn’t gone unnoticed, and I didn’t want to leave it unmentioned. So, thank you. We are still around now in our 20th year, and we have so many exciting adventures planned. So please stay tuned we have so much more for you next year.
Thanks
Shell xx