Balancing work and motherhood with Lotus Thai Massage
After moving to the UK from her native Thailand, Panipak Hanger found herself swept into the busy life of a working mother. Craving more flexibility, she decided to put the skills she’d learned back home to good use and moved into one of our flexible serviced workspaces in August. We spoke to Toon – as she prefers to be known – about how becoming her own boss and doing what she loves, has also empowered her as a mother.
Training in Thailand
Before moving to the UK, Toon underwent extensive training in Thai massage and honed her skills working as a masseuse at a hotel. It was there that she met her now husband, Ed, and after spending seven wonderful years together in Thailand, the pair decided to move back to the UK for their son’s education in 2017.
However, after a few years of working behind a sushi counter in a supermarket, Toon found that her job lacked the fulfilment that she once felt with Thai massage, and it also lacked the flexibility she needed for her son. She said, “As a parent, you often get given last minute plans or emergency duties. We found that when I was working set hours, I wasn’t able to make it to as many school meetings or things like that.”
A gap in the market
When we interviewed Toon, she came prepared with notes, and this same thorough approach can be seen in the extensive market research that she did before setting up Lotus Thai Massage.
Her husband Ed, who joined us, said: “She wanted to see if there were any competitors nearby. She did a lot of research. She was looking on Google Maps just seeing if there were any similar businesses.”
Toon takes up the story: “I found that King’s Hill didn’t have anyone doing Thai Massage. I felt that I could offer something different to the other massage places around here because Thai massage is quite unique from other forms of massage. It is quite strong and really works on the deepest muscles and tendons.”
Moving into King’s Hill
Initially, Toon had tried working as a mobile masseuse but found this business model didn’t fit with the level of service she wanted to offer. “It was difficult because I wasn’t able to make the customers as relaxed and comfortable as I would have liked. I couldn’t utilise all my specialist equipment. I have a treatment bed that is custom built and sent from Thailand, but I couldn’t use it.”
Needing to find a space that provided consistency and flexibility, Toon settled on Churchill Square Business Centre. Ed tells us: “What made the decision to move here was the flexibility of not being tied into a long-term contract.”
Toon also discovered that customers love the centre’s additional features. “When customers come, they can easily find parking, and it’s free, which is not always easy to find. Also, I do a lot of appointments late – seven or eight in the evening. The intercom and security allow both me and my customers to feel safe. The staff provide a lot of additional support: printing, copying, fixing things. If we ever have a problem, we know we can just ask.”
Business advice for SMEs
From just one conversation, it is evident that Toon has a massive amount of passion for what she does. So, we were not surprised to hear her advice to new business owners. She replies: “Love. Love what you do first and foremost, and then really take good care of your customers.”
It is this passion which Toon hopes will propel her through the next few years of business, and she already has a path in mind. “The plan is to build up my client portfolio so I can quit my other job and start doing this full time. I always want to keep working on myself and continue training and offering new services, but I’d like to get to a place where I can take someone else on board.”
Toon mentions that the flexibility of Capital Space’s simple, monthly licence will come in handy when that does happen: “My customer’s privacy and discretion is especially important to me. Often salons divide a room by a curtain but, if I hire another masseuse, I’d like to set up a second room so that customers feel comfortable.”
With her thorough attitude and her passion for Thai massage, Toon is well set up for a great future in Kings Hill.
