Laura Campbell, The Thyme Treatment Rooms

Laura Campbell worked for 20 years in various SME’s and the corporate sector before she decided to set up her own business, The Thyme Treatment Rooms.

"My two sons had just entered career paths that they were particularly passionate about, and this inspired me to think seriously about making a living from something that I really loved," she explains.

Laura had always had a deep practical interest in health and well being, and had accumulated an impressive array of related skills in her spare time; training as a fitness instructor, and gaining expertise in nutrition, weight management and sports massage therapy.

However Laura did not find it an easy decision to turn her love of complementary therapies into a full time venture:

"From the moment I first really considered starting my own business, to the moment when I took the plunge must have taken at least 2 years" she says, "I did a lot of soul searching during that time, and ultimately decided that I just had to give it a go."

In 2004, Laura started running her new business, The Thyme Treatment Rooms, from a converted room in her house, and rapidly built a loyal customer base. During this time she also developed an even greater array of therapeutic expertise, particularly in the field of Clinical & Energetic Aromatherapy, which has become one of her major specialisms.

By 2007, the volume of business Laura was generating necessitated a move to impressive new premises, and for Laura to employ additional staff to meet client demand:

"The customer base, both private and corporate, has just gotten bigger and bigger" she enthuses, "I now employ 5 part time staff, a freelance therapist, and we have another team member joining next month."

Laura’s passion for her work is matched by her passion for helping to support other local female business women. It was her organisational involvement with "Mission Possible" - a thriving start-up support/networking organisation based in Oxfordshire and the South West, which first introduced her to Enterprising Women:

"I’d heard really good things about Enterprising Women, and when they recently acquired Mission Possible they asked me to act as their Enterprising Women Champion in my local area - running local events. I met up in person with Bev from Enterprising Women, immediately struck up a rapport, and knew it was the kind of ambitious project that I would definitely like to be involved with."

As a consequence Laura is now responsible for organising and running 11 local Enterprising Women events on a yearly basis:

"We cover pretty much all of the topics pertinent to Women starting up and running their own businesses" she says, "from sourcing funding, through to areas as diverse as stress management, employment law, and marketing. I find it really rewarding being positively involved with women who are just starting out on their own exciting and challenging business journey."

Meanwhile, Under Laura’s dedicated leadership, The Thyme Treatment Rooms goes from strength to strength:

"Just one of the many business expanding projects we are working on at the moment is to deliver a programme of well being services to a large Hotel and Conference centre. It’s the kind of ambitious project that really excites me, and it all seems a million miles away from just five years ago when I was working alone from home."