Redundancy to Award Winner – Winning The Rochford District Business Award

When I started my business in November 2013 following redundancy from Lloyds Banking Group. I never dreamed I would beocme an Award Winner. So lets take you back to to the start.

May 2013 I received the news I was being made redundant from my role as a call centre Operational Analyst . I had 2 children under the age of 4 and I was already qualified in Massage, Manicure and Pedicures and practicing on friends and family only. The news was a shock and I wasnt sure what I was going to do. I applied for a couple of part time admin roles at other companies but deep down knew I wanted a more meaningful role and wanted to help people. On speaking to a colleague who had decided to retrain and become self employed it inspired me. I came to the decision to go self employed as a Holistic Therapist. So I took that leap of faith and I’ve never looked back.

November 2013 my business was born, I trained in Indian Head Massage and signed up for further courses to start in 2014. At this stage winning an award wasnt even on my radar. All I wanted was some clients so I could do what I loved and help others with their health and wellbeing. I was doing all the treatments on a mobile basis for the first few years.

Fast Forward to August 2018 which was a turning point in my business. My business had grown to the point that I decided to have a treatment room built in my garden in Hullbridge, Essex. This meant that I would be able to see more clients as no longer needed to include travel time, set up time etc in my bookings. My regular clients made the switch to come to me instead and I attracted more clients. I was loving working from my cabin, still having the flexibility of working for myself.

Everything was going well and then Covid happened in 2020/2021. This meant while we were in lockdowns I was closed. My business adapted to selling crystals, wellbeing items etc contactless.

Once I was able to reopen fully I was back to growing my business. I was finding more and more people were seeking complementary treatments to help with stress and anxiety. Therefore my business evolved again to offer other services such sister support circles and wellbeing walks.

Entering The 2025 Awards

At the end of 2024 I entered The Rochford District Business Awards 2025. I had seen and heard of other businesses entering the awards and being finalists and winners in the previous years. So I thought why not give it a go and see how I get on. I entered the awards in three categories

• Innovative Business of The Year
• Customer Services Award
• Micro Business of the Year

To enter the award I had to complete an indepth application outlining with evidence and supporting information on the categories. In January 2025 on my birthday I received the news that I was a finalist in the category of Innovative Business of The Year. For this category I had explained how my business had adapted and was offering subscription boxes, wellbeing retreat days and other health and wellbeing events. I was super proud of being a finalist. The awards evening was really fun and I shared the awards evening with many of my business friends. I wasn’t successful in 2025.

The 2026 Awards

So at the end of 2025 when Rochford District Council released the categories for the 2026 awards and opened the nominations I looked at applying again, I nearly didnt. But I saw that their was a brand new category ‘Sector Champion‘. The Category was advertised that each year it was going to be for a different industry and that for 2026 it was ‘Personal Services’. The businesses that came under this category was Hairdressers, Beauty, Tattoo, Massage, Holistic Therapies and many more. So I knew I had to enter the awards for this category as it may have been my only chance.

While filling in the application it made me explore and reflec on my achievements. Some of the questions I had to answer were….

• What made the business owner choose the personal services sector for their business?
• Describe how the business delivers exceptional personal service and how they ensure a high standard of client care in their area of personal services (e.g. barbering, hairdressing, tattooing, nail care, aesthetics, personal training, massage etc.). Please provide specific examples
• What innovative practices or unique techniques has the business introduced in the last 12 months to improve client experience or results in the personal services sector? How have these contributed to the success?
• How does the business support the ongoing professioanl developemtn and wellbeing of their staff or practitioners? Include any training, mentorship, or wellbeing initiatives.
• Please provide evidence of any sector specific accreditations or qualifications and/or awards

Once I pressed submit on 18th December there was no turning back. Of course in the back of my mind I was hoping I would win and how nice it would be to win. The waiting then started to find out if I was a finalist. The council then they extended the award deadline to later in January and on social media requested for more entries especially for personal services. Then February I received the email to announce I was a finalist and inviting me to the evening. This was amazing and I knew I was one step closer. I then saw the list of other finalists and thought how strong the category was.

The Awards Evening in March 2026

The Award evening arrived so myself and my husband got dressed up and headed out to Saxon Hall. We were greeted by members of Rochford District Council, mingled with some other businesses, grabbed ourselves a drink, had some professional photos taken and then found our table. During the evening there was entertainment from Mushroom Theatre School and a magician.

The evening was opened by Danielle Belton, Chair of the Council and then we were served our 2 course meal. I was sat at the same table of someone else in my category so I thought that I probably hadn’t won. I looked around the room and saw all the other finalists and again the self doubt started to creep in.

After the meal the Award presentation started. My category was the 8th of the evening so I nervously watched and clapped as the other winners were annouced. After around 5 categories we had another short break for more entertainment and I popped to the toilet. We grabbed another drink and then the rest of the evening continued.

As it got closer to my category I felt more and more nervous. The category was annouced and my husband started recording as the finalists were announced. My heart started pounding and I reached for his hand to try and settle my nerves. The Sponsor of the category was invited up to the stage to annouce the winner and I never expected what came next.

The Winner Is ‘Holistic Wellbeing With Nicola’

When my business name was called I couldn’t quite believe it. My husband cheered and Lauren from Hobbs Chiropractic Clinic (another finalist) turned to me. I didn’t know what to do or how to act and pretty sure I said ‘Oh My God’. I weaved my way round the tables and up to stage as we were sat right at the back.

They introduced my business and said

‘Through inclusive, innovative therapies, workshop and retreats, Holistic Wellbeing With Nicola delivers consistently outstanding client experiences, continued growth and leadership with the personal services sector’

I was in total shock and so overwhelmed by the fact that the judges had choosen my small business as the winner. As I collected the award and stood on the stage I was shaking, smiling and holding back happy tears, so when I went to the mircophone to say ‘Thank You’ the speech I had in my head had dissappeared. What came out my mouth was complete rubbish. It was something along the lines of ‘Thank You Everyone, I was a finalist last year and this is just lovely, I’m so overwhelmed Thank You’

So I can now call myself a Award Winner

You can see videos from March 2026 awards on my social media channels. Facebook and Instagram

Thank You Everyone

I just want to say a massive Thank You to my Family, Friends, Clients, my fellow business owners for your support, advice and encouragement.

To Rochford District Council for putting on the awards and the Laughing pear catering for sponsoring my category