Eight years ago today, The Haven Wellbeing Hub opened. Since becoming a therapist in 2002, I'd dreamed of creating a space where people could come together to access holistic therapies and wellness activities in one place. At the time, this felt like a fantasy. Over the next twelve years, I worked from home full-time on my therapy practice for a few years, then around a full-time job.

My husband and I became one of the many couples who heartbreakingly experienced fertility problems whilst trying to conceive in 2008. In 2013, to focus on more than #TTC, I decided to expand my therapy practice and develop my long-held dream of opening a wellbeing centre. I looked at my first property in November of that year, but the property got taken off the market.

In May 2014, I found another location that I thought would be ideal, and I met with the owner and was excited to proceed, only to find out that the building was to be demolished. I was devastated. I felt this was how I was supposed to move forward with my life, to put the time and dedication into developing a hub, a haven for others and myself to heal. I spoke to the Universe/God/Source, 'Isn't this what I'm supposed to do!' and threw my hands in the air! 'Why do you keep steering me the wrong way?'.

A little more about me asking the Universe - A few years prior, in 2007, I left IT Distribution for a reseller in Reigate, which I hated! After about 3 weeks, I was in floods of tears whilst driving to see a client in Hastings. I hated the travelling and the whole experience of working in corporate, but I couldn't see or think there was any option to move away from the role. In tears, I asked the Universe for help. The following day in the office, the two guys I worked with said I needed to work full-time in the office, a two-and-a-half-hour commute daily and not an option for me, or they'd let me go and pay me for 60 days. Needless to say, I enjoyed the rest of July and August off and started work for Wokingham Borough Council in September as a Senior in Domacillary Care. Thank You, Universe. 

Fast forward to November 2008, when a new shift pattern meant I was working over five weekends, so I started looking for a new job. In my journal, I asked the Universe for the qualities and aspects I wanted, including working for a local charity, working with the elderly, and several other items. I had an interview in December and started in Jan 2008 for a charity, as a community development supporting older people. Thank You, Universe.

Anyway, back to 2014. I was a trustee for a local community transport charity at the time, and at our monthly committee meeting in September, we met in one of the previously occupied offices. The following week, I spoke to the charity chair, who also happened to be the landlord, about my wellbeing hub and the possibility of taking on the 3 units at Evendons Lane. From there, everything seemed to move quickly, resigning in November from the charity I'd been with for seven years,  and getting the keys in mid-December. My family all helped decorate, including on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and January was spent laying floors, building walls, painting, painting and more painting and buying stock and equipment. 

I spent much of that time overwhelmed, not knowing which task to do next, but I constantly asked for help from the Universe, asking for the clients, therapists, and teachers to be brought to me. And thankfully, they came. The Haven Wellbeing Hub opened on Saturday, 21st February 2015, starting with three weekly yoga classes, four therapists offering their services and a beautiful shop. Over the following five years, the business grew, at one point, holding fifteen classes a week and eight therapists working for one of the 3 therapy rooms and three staff. There were many highs, and I am proud of myself for all that The Haven became, and all the people it helped, but also, there were some debilitating lows for me. 

I knew that The Haven helped me refocus from the hamster wheel of TTC, giving me the drive to birth my business. However, as I overworked to prove myself, work became all-encompassing, leading me to not deal with the sadness and grief of infertility, resulting in burnout.

In late 2017, I began looking to move The Haven due to some tumultuous events onsite, dramatically affecting my stress levels. Again, some of the properties I saw seemed great but fell through at the last minute until I found Easthampstead Works in November 2019. The space wasn't perfect, but I'd decided I had to move or close The Haven, as I couldn't continue at Evendons. 

After lots of work to prepare the space in January 2020, we opened on 2nd February in Bracknell and celebrated our fifth year of the Haven with a party on the 21st February; within a month, we were closed and wouldn't open again fully until April 2021.

Roll forward to a year ago, Feb 2022. I'd change the name of The Haven to Katie Palmer Wellbeing Clinic on return from Covid as I felt we could no longer run events and classes, so I focused on the therapies we could provide. We saw a slow increase in business in the first eight months back, but losing one of my best friends in October 2021 prevented me from being well enough to see more than a few clients a week. Still, due to the challenging economic climate, then in the coming months, the war in Ukraine, increased business costs and a decline in customers, I decided to close the business and go back to being a solo therapist. So full circle in under ten years. I'd seen a property to let on my drive to and from Bracknell from early spring last year and decided to finally go and take a look in the summer. I'd agreed to move in by the next day and given notice at Easthampstead Works. Again divine timing?

And now, here we are, Tuesday, 21st February 2023, eight years since the grand opening. I've been in Binfield Vineyard for six months and love it. The space is serene, warm and quiet, and the view is magnificent. My client base is building monthly as I feel ready to work with more people. I know I will not fall into the traps of the past, like overworking to prove myself, procrastinating because I don't feel good enough, or allowing others to define my value. I have grieved from my friend and have days when waves of sadness hit me, but I now take the time to let the wave wash over me rather than try and stop it from coming. 

I did a lot of work on myself during the CV-19 shitshow (I had the time!), and it helped me to accept that I will never give birth to a baby, but I have created and birthed a business that's helped many people, something I possibly couldn't have done if I'd had a baby. Not fulfilling our dream to be parents will always sting, and sometimes more than others, but it is what it is; life goes on, and we have much to be grateful for.

So you may think you know what your dream looks like, but it can be very different from how you imagined it and still turn out good. Would I have asked about the challenges of the last ten years? No, but I don't know best. The Universe does. The challenges have helped me grow, learn and adapt. I am not the person I was ten years ago, and much of that is thanks to The Haven.