Brendan Norris Counselling specialises in couples counselling and individual counselling sessions via person centred talking therapy. He left his hometown of Washington DC in 2011 and studied at the University of Aberdeen before settling here and setting up practice. Skene Business Centres Rubislaw Den North has been his business home since June 2023.

“Before coming to SBC, my wife and I shared business premises,’ says Brendan, ‘but after the pandemic she remained working from home and we gave up the shared office. I need to see people in person because of the nature of my counselling work, so I required a new office base, so we decided that SBC would be the best option.’

‘I chose the Rubislaw address because it’s a prestigious west end location and, unlike many other competitor options, has onsite parking for clients as well as myself. My clients pull into the car park and there’s always a space, plus they can find the location so easily. I’ve never had anyone get lost! Parking costs, bus gates and LEZ zones have made driving in Aberdeen more challenging, so this west end address works really well.”

Brendan’s 90sqft one desk room has been transformed with colourful striped armchairs, lava lamp, counselling books, plants and curious knick knacks, from globes to phrenology busts. He’s arranged patterned rugs over the office tile flooring, and added his own units to display artworks and journals.

“As you can see I’ve decorated my room, it’s very personalised and always surprises people when they come in. The building looks relatively modern and gives a professional feel. I like the fact my office has a window, I often keep the blind shut for discretion, but a window makes the space feel more open and airy”.

Another key appeal for Brendan is the fact SBC takes care of all office maintenance so he doesn’t have to factor that into his schedule.

“When you are self-employed you are responsible for the all administration involved in having a physical premises, which can take up a lot of time, especially if anything goes wrong (from a leak to an IT outage). Being at SBC allows me to focus on the work I do and I therefore have more free time to myself when I’m not working. We can go on holiday without worrying about the office at all. Mail, cleaning, the internet, it’s all taken care of! It’s like a turn-key house. It’s a God Send, I have nothing to worry about. To sum up, SBC enables me to run a successful business without having the headache of dealing with premises.”

brendannorris.info

Author and Photography: Janice Hopper

"SBC enables me to run a successful business without having the headache of dealing with premises.”