So, it’s probably about time I told our story
It all started before that of course, back in the 1990’s when I returned home from university determined I wasn’t going to get a job, but that I would travel the world. For one reason or another that didn’t turn out quite as I’d planned, and as a result of a temporary job I got employed back in Luton, where I come from. But in 1995 I secured a better job, as a Business Analyst, at Abbey National, in Milton Keynes.
I was very happy there, back in the day, it was a great company to work for. It was much later when they were infamous for their Pop Idol style redundancy announcements, before their takeover by Santander. I was put at risk of redundancy under Abbey, not quite so Pop Idol style, but managed to secure another couple of roles. Ending my days there working for Santander, implementing and managing an SAP Purchase To Pay (P2P) system.
I met my husband at Abbey, and we got married in 2005. So both went through the Santander takeover together. Always worrying one of us would be made redundant at some point. Never really seeing the positive in it at the time.
There were varying incarnations of P2P system at Abbey and Santander, and on one of these projects I met a consultant who was and continues to be of great importance to me. He is still my main client to this day, we are good team.
At the point of my redundancy, I also met a lovely DBM outplacement consultant called Roger, who helped me no end. Including introducing me to LinkedIn, a tool I now use almost daily. He advised on my CV, training courses I might do in my last few months employed by Santander, that would stand me in good stead for the future, and of course, on how to set-up a company of my own.
At my first meeting with Roger, I wasn’t honest with either he or myself. I couldn’t put my finger on it to start with. Then as I reflected on my meeting I realised I needed to be up front and honest about what my dreams/plans for my redundancy really were.
I wanted a baby. There I had said it out loud. I couldn’t believe I was telling a man I’d only just met my inner most desires / feelings. But once I’d laid it on the table, our meetings were so much more open honest and productive.
Now, he couldn’t help me have a baby …. that plan we were exploring elsewhere. So Plan A, as he called it was left with me. But he would help me with Plan B. What would I do in the meantime, and/or if Plan A never happened.
Project Management and System Implementation and configuration was my bag. But where did that sit outside of big corporates? Did I want to just start applying for similar roles in other big corporations? No, not really, and so Oyster Flame was born, back in 2011, registered on 29th March.
My story continues, but let me leave it here for now. If you are interested, there will be more to follow.