Today is Nurture’s 3rd Birthday! And, like many lockdown birthdays it is not what I expected!
When I first started the business, I was often told to expect to take 2-3 years to properly get it going. And that advice seemed to be about right in my experience – year 1 was investment, getting the business going, year 2 was about getting established, and as we moved into year 3 I could see it really developing and growing. And then…..
Then, if you find yourself running a business based on the benefits of positive touch, and circumstances change so that you are required to keep 2 metres apart from anyone outside your household, then it gets…interesting!
We’ve celebrated 3 family birthdays so far in lockdown – the most significant being my eldest’s 18th birthday. It certainly wasn’t what he was expecting – no celebratory trip to the pub with his friends, no chance of the international competition he was hoping to go to with his sports team. But we still enjoyed a day of presents, games, and takeaway pizza. And the cancelling of A levels meant that he didn’t have to spend his birthday revising for an exam the next morning.
So it was different.
And as I celebrate the 3rd birthday of my little business, it is just that – different.
I’m not currently able to offer the massage therapy treatments that were the main focus of the business I established.
Instead I have launched online baby massage classes – I am able to continue to teach via zoom, and whilst it is not the same I know a lot of the mums are really appreciating having that connection and learning skills they can use in the extra time they have at home with their little one. There is the bonus that learning from home means they can be relaxed, and baby can feel happy and secure in a familiar environment. And they love seeing each others faces on screen!
I am also excited to be launching a new service – coaching. Purposeful conversations that help individuals find the answers for them, to help them change their attitudes or behaviours, to move forward towards their goals.
I worked as an internal coach as part of my previous work life and I have missed having those conversations, the power of holding space for someone to explore their thoughts, and that amazing lightbulb moment when suddenly an individual sees something in a different way, and realises the path that they want or need to take.
I’m excited about being able to offer this as part of Nurture’s commitment to overall wellbeing, and looking forward to conversations I might have.
So, here’s to birthdays, however different they may be, and here’s to finding and following different paths….
(this is a path through a local woodland that I’ve enjoyed exploring during lockdown)