What’s in a name?
How I went from a corporate cog to an independent business owner…
It all began with an arch of flowers. A rainbow of beautiful blooms around a doorway, spotted on my way back from a meeting in Pimlico. My instant reaction was, ‘One day, I want my very own project management company with a flower arch above the door!’.
Fast forward 18 months and I don’t quite have the office with the arch, but I have the business and I have a name: Bloom. And this is the story of how it happened.
The Lightbulb Moment…
I’ve worked for almost 20 years in project management. I’m a natural organiser both at home and at work, so it is a job that suits my personality and has probably shaped it too. There is an energy that comes from pulling a whole host of different people together to achieve a final result and I definitely thrive on that.
Working in a large corporate firm suited me, as I loved the fast pace, the close partnerships with colleagues and the potential to keep progressing. I was overseeing a team of 30+ when I attended an Empowering Women leadership course. The life-changing moment came at the end when the trainer asked, ‘How long have you got left to work – and how do you want to spend that time?’.
Taking a step back…
When promotion comes and you take it, it’s hard to take a step back and analyse whether this is what you actually want to do. But I realised moving into ever-larger leadership roles meant I was doing less of what I really loved, which was project management. I’d learned so much from being in a corporate environment – I wanted to take the opportunity to explore new ways to deliver for the next 20 and more years ahead.
Questioning how I wanted to spend my time made me question everything. And this was an interesting process, but not an easy one – it actually put me into a complete spiral. When someone says ‘you can do whatever you want’, it’s empowering, but you’re also faced with the existential fear of freedom. If I could do whatever I wanted, what would that look like?
Going it alone…
I followed up the course with some coaching, exploring what I need to do to survive financially, as well as what I was really interested in. I talked to so many people, I explored other options and even other industries, but I kept coming back to the challenge and satisfaction of project management. And I made the hard decision to leave the comfort and stability of my current job and set up my own business. I made sure I was honest with my boss and my peers and – with their support – took the leap.
It’s all in the name…
The name ‘Bloom’ obviously comes from flowers but it’s also a great metaphor for a construction project. You start from a little seed of an idea until you eventually get to the amazing part where the project has bloomed. Life is so short and we spend much of it working, I really want to embrace the joy in what we do. I hope Bloom helps conjure up the image of a joyful and successful delivery.
Even more importantly, though, Bloom represents me. I’ve gone through a time of extensive growth, putting in a lot of work through the coaching and also personally through therapy and counselling to reach this point. I’ve regenerated as a person and ‘bloomed’ on both my personal and professional journeys. As such, I want the company I build to provide the platform and freedom for those who work with me the opportunity to bloom too. It’s a big step to be telling the world about my company, Bloom.
Whether you’re actively looking for a project manager or would just like to start a conversation, I would love to hear from you!
Yaeger Irwin is the founder and owner of Bloom Project Management Limited. She is passionate about her work, having spent the last 20 years delivering complex and high-profile projects to a wide range of satisfied clients. Get in touch to find out how Bloom could help with your next project.