If you received my mailout then you will already know that Louise, our exemplary manager, has left our employ. But I don't get much room to write in my emails and I wanted to take the time and space to write a proper thank you to Lou for her extensive contribution over the last seven years.
When Lou first joined us we had three shops in Petworth - Therapy, Therapy For Feet and Kids Therapy. Phew, what were we thinking?! It was Lou's job to manage the day to day running of the shops and staff - no mean feat at that time. Despite being thrown in at the deep end, Lou set about streamlining and organising the company with enthusiasm and determination.
The years progressed, our shops went through various reincarnations and Chris, Lou and I became a tight knit team. Mind you, with Chris and Lou both being Scorpios there were a few explosions along the way. But it's not easy to be part of a business run by a husband & wife team. Chris and I can shout all we like at each other, knowing that we're married and it will all be okay. I'm sure it was more of a minefield for Lou!
As our shops became better organised, Lou began to join me on buying trips. It was great for me to have her company and support when making such important decisions. Lou's knowledge of our customers and their needs ensured that we were sourcing the best products for Therapy. Over the years we became very adept at selecting ranges. We developed an efficient routine in showrooms which involved rummaging through the rails together muttering "too short", "they don't like elastic", "no use if you've got a big bust" etc. Most of the time we didn't even speak. We'd arrive at a particularly inappropriate item, Lou would look at it and pull a face, and I would dissolve into a fit of giggles. I feel sorry for the poor sales teams who had to stand back and watch us pick their collections apart!
Then of course there was the time that Chris and I planned to sell up and move to Montana...Once more Lou took our latest scheme in her stride and continued to respond efficiently to our requests for more changes within the company. But we decided to stay in our beloved Petworth (how could we think of leaving?!) and so the dynamics changed again, and here we were, full circle, back to our one original Golden Square shop.
The last three years with one shop and one manager have been a real luxury for me. With Lou looking after the business so capably I was able to take some time out and explore sculpting again, as well as taking stock of my life and deciding that it was high time I committed myself full time to Therapy again. Yes, a double edged sword for Lou. Thanks to her hard work I'm ready to take back the running of our business and she is faced with starting over.
That's scary...and exciting. I am sure that the skills and experience that Lou has gained in working so closely with Chris and I in Therapy have equipped her well for her next move. Hard working, creative, organised, loyal, intelligent, good at details and able to see the bigger picture - any small business like ours would do well to snap up Louise Saunders.
It just leaves me to say a personal thank you to Lou. We've had some real adventures over the last seven years and a lot of laughs together, and I look forward to continuing our friendship into the future.
Love,
Laura x
0 comments:
Post a Comment