1 year and counting…reflections from Julia’s first year
1 year and counting…reflections from Julia’s first year
Our wonderful Julia reflects on 1 year at Boo….
Well ok, it’s been a little more than a year to be honest. I arrived at Boo on 15th February 2023 to ‘help out’ within the capacity of my own admin support business. To cover the CMI administration until Becci had recruited a new office manager.
I’ve been self-employed for over 10 years. Working from my own home office for the majority of that time, apart from some occasional work at clients’ business sites, but that’d been a while. So the Boo office was a refreshing change of scenery. And what a lovely change of scenery that is!
It’s not just this amazing historical building though, I quickly realised that Boo was very different to the businesses I’d worked for back in those ‘employed’ days.
It’s tough running a business on your own, especially in the current economic climate, and I have to admit that I had been pondering the options of getting a ‘proper job again’, maybe just part time, so at least I’d have one regular source of income especially when some months my business accounts are less than profitable.
Having worked for myself for so long, I’m fiercely independent, and used to managing my own workload. I develop efficient ways of working, love to get new systems set up, and prefer being left to get on with the job from beginning to completion. I’d be so frustrated being micromanaged and stuck with ‘this is how we do it, because we’ve always done it this way’ office systems.
Becci, welcomed me with open arms and left it to me to get on with the job. I did need help understanding what Boo does, but I could instantly see changes that would streamline some of the admin processes, and it wasn’t long before the first new spreadsheet appeared… to ease the process of tracking the CMI programmes and learners.
The culture at Boo took a little time to understand. It’s just so lovely! Not like work at all! We are a TEAM. Each having their part to play. The wellbeing culture runs through our hearts.
So when Becci asked me to stay, how could I resist!
From May 2023 I became officially one of the team, working 2 half days per week, handling the CMI administration. Then last month, my hours extended to 2 full days per week, to give me additional time to assist Becci and TeamBoo.
I am struggling to find the right words to describe how it feels working for Boo: ‘Nice’ and ‘lovely’ just sound a bit lack lustre. But it feels so right when you’re trusted, encouraged, appreciated, and truly are part of a supportive team who are doing such meaningful work for other businesses and staff in public services. The social side of Boo is another wonderful bonus too.
So, yes, working for Boo was definitely one of my best decisions. And long may it last.
Julia Page
TeamBoo Administrator
April 2024
