One of the things I love as a photographer is meeting business owners who have a passion for excellent customer care and providing exceptional services for their clients. Upon visiting Debbie Ash and Debbie Read at their Vitawell clinic in Billericay, it was quickly apparent that both ladies are passionate about delivering outstanding results for their customers and their warm welcome and friendly faces instantly brightened up a grey overcast morning.
But what is Vitawell and how do Debbie and Debbie help their clients to look and feel fantastic? I sat down with both ladies to have a chat about the services that they provide and their ambition for their business going forward.
Debbie Ash Debbie Read
What is Vitawell and who are the Two Debbies?
Vitawell Medi-Centre was established in March 2016 by Debbie Ash and Debbie Read after 4 years of research into the latest innovative treatments in anti-ageing from America that are otherwise only currently available in Harley Street, along with other treatments in Health and Wellness that – although already available – are often disjointed in how they are delivered to clients.
The thought process behind Vitawell is to co-join all these treatments into one central clinic, for instance if you want to lose weight, look younger, feel good, get fit and have physiotherapy for a current injury, then all these treatments and therapies can be provided by Vitawell at our clinic.
What sets Vitawell apart from other clinics?
Vitawell Medi-centre is a small private clinic with a warm and friendly atmosphere that welcomes all its clients with the same enthusiasm and professionalism. It is an accessible haven for clients to undergo innovative and technologically advanced treatments in an ethical and safe environment. Both Debbies are fully qualified and listen to what each client is looking to achieve.
We believe that Vitawell is not about us, it’s all about the client and in providing an exceptional service that is customer focused. Our clients have remained with us throughout our start-up journey, and we have retained all of our clients since we began.
How has Vitawell evolved during the first 12 months of business?
Twelve months on, Vitawell’s client base is very diverse; with male and female clients ranging in age from 18 years to late 70’s undergoing our treatments with extremely successful results.
Since it started, Vitawell has increased its services and now offers treatments and therapies in Diet and Nutrition, Fitness and Personal Training, Health and Wellness, Anti-ageing and Medical Lab testing. Our clients can benefit from the latest technology available, including;
- the revolutionary 3D Lipomed+ non-surgical liposuction
- Diamond Microdermabrasion
- Neo-elegance LED Illumination non-surgical Red, near Infa-Red and Blue light Face and Body therapy
- Total Hair Systems
- Therma Paraffin Treatments
- SkinLove revolutionary facial range and Skinade – the science of “Better Skin from Within”.
We are both fully qualified in the Aesthetic treatments we offer and Debbie Read is also qualified in Nutrition, Sports Science and Physiology, Fitness, Personal Training and Sports Massage.
That is an impressive list of qualifications. How did you find the training process?
Debbie and I had some great laughs practising aesthetic treatments on ourselves after our training, including Debbie A’s infamous cold stomach and disappearing chin and my magic foot diamond microdermabrasion… but those are other stories for another time!
We still have practice days and we continually attend training, seminars and industry shows to make sure we are ahead with new innovations and developments and we keep up our CPD as this ensures our clients get the best of the best.
What is your most popular treatment?
We have seen many clients in our first year with varying treatments wanted, but our most popular by far is the 3D Lipomed which is basically “permanent body contouring”. We break down unwanted fat non-invasively, which the client’s body then disperses of naturally over a period of time. Our 3D Lipomed also does Radio Frequency Skin Tightening for wrinkles and fine lines and our Dermaroller diminishes and gets rid of cellulite on places like thighs and bottoms.
We are very proud to state that we have a 100% conversion rate from free consultation to treatment. All of our clients have started with one particular treatment and then chosen to undergo further treatment on a different body part or utilise one of our of many other treatments and services.
What has it been like getting started?
It has taken a lot of time and hard work to get started, especially with regards to getting our name out there and getting clients through the door. Our marketing has ranged from attending breakfast networking groups to leaflet dropping. We have also been featured in magazine editorials, trade brochure adverts and we constantly update out website, social media and blog posts. We even did a Tesco poster in two stores in Chelmsford.
The effort has been worth it, with all our clients staying with us. However, we always look forward to hearing from, and welcoming new clients who then refer us to their friends and family.
Client referrals and testimonials are so good for us – they really do work and are our best form of advocacy. We have also made the move to become accredited and a full member of the Consulting Room, who are a self-governing Aesthetic body who overview and regulate Aesthetic Clinics, we are seeing more and more referral clients from this avenue.
What are your goals for the next 12 months at Vitawell?
Our aim is to gain a constant flow of new clients month on month so that we can grow and continue to offer the newest and latest advanced treatments in Health, Wellness and Anti-ageing that come to the market.
Our ultimate goal is to find larger premises that allow us to offer even more treatments and therapies and in the future to expand to franchise level with Vitawell Medi-centres on popular high streets.
We pride ourselves on offering the best and most innovative treatments with good customer care, fully qualified and knowledgeable therapists and a warm welcome.
I can testify that you will definitely be greeted with a warm welcome at Vitawell and that the compassion of both Debbies shines through in all they do. To contact the Vitawell team you can call 01245 426005 / 07927 572 431 or email debbie.s@vitawell-medi.co.uk
You can also view details of all the treatments they offer by visiting their website HERE.
Ross Willsher is a social (weddings and portraits) and commercial photographer based in Chelmsford and covering Essex and London, who is passionate about creating images as individual as you are. His work can be viewed at http://www.rosswillsherphotography.co.uk / http://www.rosswillshercommercialphotography.co.uk
facebook.com/rosswillsherphotography | @RWillsherPhoto | instagram.com/rosswillsherphotography | http://www.linkedin.com/in/rosswillsher/
Ross Willsher Photography 