Things I've learned in the short time we've been demolishing, sorry renovating, an old bank...

I may have run small businesses before, but I’ve never owned a commercial property or taken on anything of this size and magnitude before — however it has been a dream of mine for quite a few years, making The Wellness Lounge Leeds a true passion project for me.

It’s been 6 months since we picked up the keys to the old Halifax Bank on Garforth Main Street and, while a lot has happened, there’s still a huge amount to do. The vision is to develop a beautiful suite of high-end treatment rooms to rent, along with a soft focus therapy room and a podcast / content creation room. Add a creative co-working space — for small businesses and those who don’t want to work from home every day — and a Community Room, and you’ll be seeing the vision as I have for over 18 months.

I’ll write the backstory another day, but for now here are a few of the key lessons I’ve learned so far — no doubt there will be more to come:

Everything takes longer than expected and patience is not one of my virtues. This is one of the reasons I’ve rolled up my sleeves, picked up a crowbar and started ripping floors up and knocking down walls – can’t be waiting for others to do it, and there’s a huge sense of satisfaction in doing some of the renovation work myself! I can truly say I’ve been part of making this happen, turning my dream of creating a space for small businesses into a reality for myself and others.

Dream big but be prepared to compromise: I’ve had to re-think quite a few of the design concepts due to costs and whether or not walls are load bearing! I have a grand vision for the project, both design-wise and for what the business model will achieve for independent practitioners, therapists and other small businesses — but I’m also realistic enough to accept that whilst I believe everything is possible, the financial costs may be too high at this stage. I do already have a phase 2 planned, just fyi!

Inspiration for new ideas comes from all sorts of places and from people you’ve never met before. I’m grateful for all the suggestions for my business plan, even the slightly ‘alternative’ ones. A couple of young lads who did some early work for us thought the ground floor would make an excellent bar, the basement (or dungeon, as I like to refer to it) would be a banging nightclub (I can see the comments on Facebook already!), and the top floor ought to be converted into a suite of rooms ‘rented by the hour’. Now, whilst I may make more money with that business model, it’s not a route I plan to go down!!

You learn so much extremely quickly — I know more about suspended ceilings, plasterboard, data cables and isolation valves than I ever thought I needed to know. Educating yourself is a great way not to be taken advantage of. The moment I can start a conversation with a professional using their language, there’s a shift in the way they talk to me. I’m really lucky that everyone I speak to can see how passionate I am about The Wellness Lounge Leeds, and I probably bring them along into the vision so they can see it too!

Allow for there to be hidden costs everywhere. Past experience has taught me well here. Whether it’s running my own business or having a new kitchen installed at home, there are always costs you’d not thought about and things always cost more than expected – that’s life! Once you’re mentally prepared for it, you can cope much more easily and simply adjust your plans to suit.

However, while costs may be higher than anticipated, don’t shrink your dreams to fit your budget. If you reduce your plans to fit a restricted budget you may end up resenting the end result. Either find a way to fund it, or plan a phase 2, 3, even 4 where you can realise the entirety of your initial vision.

This one’s specific to UK businesses (maybe even to Leeds City Council): business rates empty-property relief goes on the building, not the business — so when your building has been empty 2 years, full rates are due from day one!!! I’d budgeted for 3 months’ empty-property relief plus hopefully 6 months’ discretionary relief during the works. Nope — as our building had been empty about 2 years, that relief was all gone, and an unexpected £10,000 rates bill was not a welcome addition to my costings! See the point about things costing more than you expect…

Have a Plan A, B, C and D — and don’t be too disappointed if Plan A doesn’t work out. I usually put all my hopes into one desired outcome and get disheartened if it doesn’t work out exactly as I’d visualised. I’m learning that having a few scenarios in place lessens the disappointment. I’ve also found that if I understand why something can’t be the way I’d planned, I deal with the change far more effectively — so if you’re told something can’t be a certain way, ask why; it makes the decision more acceptable.

The perfect end to a stressful day comes in the form of a pick axe, a crow bar and a lump hammer, knocking down walls and ripping up floors…. Never underestimate the empowerment of being part of the solution.

Knowing that I’m part of creating high-end treatment rooms to rent to independent practitioners and therapists is an incredible feeling. The thought of offering flexible spaces for beauty therapists, sports massage, aestheticians, Reiki healers, podiatrists, various talking therapies and so many more gives me great joy — especially as I know it’s greatly needed in our area.