Wendy Hale put her faith in the universe, and In The Pink Therapies and Training has become a force to be reckoned with.

From secretary in a bank to qualified therapist, tutor, assessor, and quality assurer in complementary and alternative methods of healing is not a well-trodden path.

But Wendy’s interest in the world of therapy and her love of learning combined in perfect unison when she launched In The Pink Therapies and Training in February 2015.

Wendy offers Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT), The Healing Trust, Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) and UK Reiki Foundation approved courses as well as 17 treatments.

 

She explained: “I did a course on Reiki – a Japanese form of energy healing aimed at enabling relaxation, relieving pain, and speeding up recovery – more than 20 years ago. I enjoy learning so I quickly ended up doing courses in massage, aromatherapy, and reflexology followed by crystals, Indian head massage, lava shells, and bamboo.”

After working from her home and renting a room above a gym, which Wendy adds “was not the quietest environment”, her dream premises arrived out of the blue – or should that be pink.

Wendy said: “I sent a message out into the ether for a building to become the home of In The Pink. I didn’t want an upstairs, but I did want a training room and a separate therapy room as well as a carpark either onsite or nearby.

“This building that I didn’t know was there popped up, which was fantastic.

“We were open around a month and then lockdown hit.”

Despite the worries regarding keeping the lights on at her new building, Wendy rolled her sleeves up and called on the help of Superfast Business Wales to ensure the business came out of the pandemic in the perfect place to succeed.

“I attended online courses on social media and digital marketing and had a 1-2-1 with business adviser, Peter Mackenzie, who lent his expertise.

Wendy continued: “Peter was great in terms of helping me modernise my website in terms of pictures and advanced content by helping it flow better and improve the user experience.

“There was also an emphasis placed on keywords for search engine optimisation (SEO) and that has had a big impact as I am now number one for massages in this area on Google and in the top three for all the treatments I offer. Sales both in terms of treatments and courses has improved.

“I created a Google My Business profile, which was enhanced with pictures, and helped improve my digital footprint.

“On top of that, I added a PayPal function to the website that made taking bookings a more straightforward and smoother process by saving time and easing any worry regards payments.

“Even what appeared to be small tweaks like links to the website and social media platforms on my email signature has helped make everything more accessible.”

 

Wendy has also introduced changes to her proactive outbound marketing, with positive results supporting her business growth.

She added:

“In terms of social media, before the help of Superfast Business Wales I was posting probably once every two weeks at most. Now I am posting around two times a week and engagement has increased thanks to sharing a range of content from course information and upcoming schedules to success stories and helpful tips and advice.

“Being able to dive into tools such as Canva, Picktochart, Powtoon and Kahoot also make the learning experience more engaging for those on the courses.

“I now also aim to send three e-newsletters a year that include information on courses, classes, and therapies, as well as gift vouchers.

I have more than 70 people signed up to the newsletter through MailChimp, which is promising given we lost so much data due to GDPR.”

In addition, Wendy has streamlined her operations with the introduction of cloud software with the help of Superfast Business Wales.

“Using iCloud has also been a fantastic development,” she said.

“It’s fantastic to have all of my course resources such as slides, presentation notes and assessments, wherever I am and on all of my devices at the touch of a button.”

 

Not only have the improvements had a positive impact on In The Pink Therapies and Training, but they have provided Wendy with plenty of enjoyment.

“It has made everything more exciting for me as I have always loved technology, and it has allowed me to use time to do other things such as improve presentations and online course writing,” Wendy added.

“Thanks to Superfast Business Wales, I’ve got a greater understanding of how everything flows and how to make things happen now.”

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