Such a transformation has taken place! In December , Heidi graduated from a local massage school and also learned Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupressure, and cupping therapy. The purchase of a 3-year old massage business was also completed that month β it was a crazy time! Renu was in the basement of an office building on Odana, and it had a much different feel than it would once we left that space.
Within 9 months of ownership, all the therapists either quit or were let go β both because of the decrease in business and also due to some resistance to the changes Heidi wanted to implement. It had originally had lots of spa-type services, drawing lots of one-time clients, and Heidi wanted a more therapeutic-based business that had a lot of loyal regulars. So we really did begin anew in mid Heidi learned the hard way to be picky in hiring β after taking the first available applicants too quickly!
It took some time to build a team that would be a good fit β most of those therapists have been grads of East-West as well. Since building the team after rebranding, Renu has had a very low turnover in therapists. We find those who are a good fit, and they stick around. Heidi was still working as a massage and cupping therapist, and the magazine did a great job of showcasing the uniqueness of cupping therapy. And I still love how my shirt matches the font color!
That was , and we stayed in that first space for another year. Olga joined us in November β and is still with us! Olga keeps expanding her skills and is excellent at all of her endeavors; we are very lucky to have her on our team. Amanda joins our team at the Normandy location. The team-building continued as we moved into an above-ground office space on Normandy β right next door to East-West!
Renu was there from through It was a much brighter space that felt more like the energy of our team, and it really worked well for us, except for a few recurring issues. But it was a bit hard for some people to find us there. Heidi would dream of one day having an actual store front with all the visibility that entails, but she also really liked that it was a small business with a great team and great clients, and was content to keep it that way.
