By Tracy Cox, All About You
Ten years. I have been sitting with that number for a while now, turning it over, trying to make sense of it. A decade. And yet when I close my eyes and think back to the day I walked through these doors as the new owner, it feels like no time at all.
I want to tell you the story. The real one.
Where it began
I purchased All About You ten years ago from a woman named Tracy. I had my own home salon at the time, and the idea of stepping into an established clinic felt enormous. There were clients already here, a reputation already built, and a standard already set. Big shoes to fill, and I knew it from the moment I signed the papers.
That first year was one of the hardest of my life. Almost everything fell apart. Staff left, one by one, for reasons that felt out of my control. I remember wondering more than once whether I had made a terrible mistake. Whether I had taken on something that was simply too big for me.
But then there was Tracey.
Tracey stayed. While everything else around me was unravelling, she was there. Behind the scenes, on reception, in the quiet moments when I did not know which way to turn. She held things together with a steadiness and a grace I will never be able to fully repay. I do not know what the story of this clinic would look like without her, and I am so grateful I never had to find out. She is now my friend, and that is one of the greatest gifts these ten years have given me.
Three Tracys. One clinic. Somehow, it was always going to work out.
The years that followed
If I am honest, the years after that first one did not get immediately easier. We moved. More than once. More than twice. More than I would like to admit. Each move brought its own chaos, its own costs, its own moments of wondering whether we were doing the right thing.
Then Covid arrived and the world stopped. We closed our doors like everyone else, not knowing when or whether things would return to normal. We came through it. Then came a recession that stretched everyone thin, clients and small businesses alike. We came through that too.
And now here we are in a world that feels uncertain in new ways, with news that weighs heavy and a future that nobody can quite predict. Through all of it, this clinic has kept going. And the reason, more than anything else, is you.
The people who built this place
A clinic is not built by one person. It is built by every set of hands that has ever worked inside it, every voice that has welcomed a client at the door, every therapist who has poured genuine care into every treatment.
Over ten years, so many remarkable women have been part of this story. Some stayed for years. Some for a season. Every single one of them left a mark, on this clinic and on me.
To Mannie, Melissa, Hayley, Sara, Leia, Tanesha, Julie, Canada, Caitlin, Cait, Cathy, Eden, Rebecca, Lucy, Yolanda, Jessica, Dona, Emma, Melinde, Mel, Amy, Rachelle, Tyler, Amelia, Georgia, Fiona, Kelsey, Tori, Jess and Tracey. Whether you remember your time here fondly or simply as a chapter that passed, I want you to know that you contributed to something real. Every client who has ever felt cared for within these walls carries a little piece of what you gave. Thank you.
And to our team today, Anna, Kendal, Aleisha and Cristal. You are the heartbeat of this clinic right now. Watching you grow, watching you connect with clients, watching you show up every single day with skill and warmth and genuine care, it is one of the things I am most proud of. Thank you for being exactly who you are.
The family behind the scenes
There is a part of this story that does not often get told, and I think it is time it did.
Behind every business is a family that carries more than they ever signed up for.
Jon, my husband, has renovated our clinic more times than he would have liked. He has never been paid for it. I cannot say he never moaned about it, but even so, he has always done it. For me, for the business, without question. His loyalty and his strength over this past decade have held me up in ways that go far beyond renovation work. He has been my rock, and I am so grateful for him.
And then there is Molly. My daughter was four years old when I purchased this clinic. Four. She has grown up alongside this business, and along the way she has missed evenings and moments with me that I wish I could give back. I am sorry for that, truly. But what I can say is this: at fourteen she has the best skincare and makeup available to her, and at this age those things matter. More than that, she has grown into someone remarkable. Watching her become who she is has been the greatest privilege of my life, and I am so proud to be her mum.
What ten years has taught me
I have learned that loyalty is everything. That the clients who come back, month after month, year after year, are not just clients. They are the reason this place exists. They are the people who told their friends, who trusted us with their skin, who kept booking even when times were tight and the world felt hard.
I have learned that people matter more than anything else. More than treatments, more than technology, more than any product on the shelf. The connection between a therapist and a client, that quiet trust that builds over time, is the thing that cannot be replicated or automated. It is what makes this work meaningful.
And I have learned that doing something you love, really love, is worth every hard day. Every move, every lockdown, every moment of doubt. Worth it.
Thank you
If you are reading this, you are part of this story. Whether you have been coming to us for ten years or ten weeks, whether you found us through a friend or a Google search or a flyer in your letterbox, you chose us. And that choice is not something I take lightly.
Thank you. From the very bottom of my heart.
Here is to the next ten years.
With so much love, Tracy x