When people see a new clinic launch, they usually see the finished result – the polished fit-out, the treatments, the branding, the photos.
What they don’t see is everything happening behind the scenes.
Sunday was supposed to be move-in day for our Teneriffe clinic.
We loaded up Dan’s ute and my Patrol, strapped Jack into the car, recruited Layla for manual labour, and headed into the city feeling organised and ready to go.
Only to realise the access code we’d been given didn’t work.
Out of hours.
No one to call.
No way to get in.
Complete fail!
So we turned around and drove everything home again.
Monday morning, after finally sorting the access issue, we started all over again.
This time, I somehow managed to play a real-life game of Tetris and fit almost the entire clinic setup into Dan’s ute, including a desk we had purchased Sunday afternoon and spent Sunday night assembling, only to get it into the clinic and realise it was way too big for the space.
So after all that, we carried it straight back downstairs and loaded it back into the ute again.
Flat packs really humble you.
Five minutes before arriving back at the clinic Monday afternoon, Jack decided it was the perfect time to fall asleep in the back seat, so Layla stayed in the car with him while Dan and I unloaded everything upstairs ourselves.
Between carrying furniture, organising stock, last-minute treatment bed repairs, and trying to make everything fit and flow properly, the clinic slowly started feeling like Envy.
Not just another clinic space, our space.
There’s still one more trip to go.
The advertising TV still needs mounting.
The S4 cabinet still needs stocking.
There are still little finishing touches everywhere.
But we’re close.
And while opening a second location is exciting, moments like these are a reminder that small business growth isn’t always glamorous. Sometimes it’s late nights, flat packs, access codes that don’t work, and carrying furniture up stairwells while trying not to wake your toddler.
But honestly?
I wouldn’t change it.
Because building something from the ground up, with your family beside you, makes the finished result mean that much more.
