Making The Decision

Josh started Grizzlyware after being a sole trader for a large part of his working life. As Grizzlyware gained more work, Josh found that all his time was dedicated to client jobs and admin. Whilst he was grateful to be busy, this left little time for him to develop his own apps. He decided to look for a second member of the team to allow him more time to create new apps.

For I while I had been considering leaving my job as a lab technician. Although I enjoyed my work, there were no opportunities for progression and I wanted more. With a shortage of lab jobs in Cornwall and not wanting to move away, I decided to learn a new skill in my spare time. The tech industry had always interested me, so I decided to learn to code. I started with video tutorials and forums and then started having a go at building some things myself. I began to look forward to my evenings learning.

I had already helped Josh with small tasks for Grizzlyware, such as proof-reading and help with advertising. When Josh offered me an opportunity to join the team officially, taking over the admin and social media and doing some coding too, I couldn’t wait to start. I was nervous to take the leap and leave my lab job, but I knew it was the right time. Taking the job at Grizzlyware would allow me to continue learning and also free up more of Josh’s time.

Feel the fear and do it anyway

Going from a job trained for to unknown territory

Going from a job in a field I had studied for years to something fairly new was daunting to say the least. Although I had been learning to code for a while in my spare time, suddenly having my income dependent on it was overwhelming at times. To start with, I would doubt myself and wonder if I had made the right choice changing jobs. There was just so much I didn’t know yet! However, with Josh’s guidance, I started to really understand how to think like a developer. I began to change the way I approached challenging tasks. I had to teach myself that asking for help wasn’t admitting defeat, just a part of learning! As I gained confidence, I grew to share Josh’s passion for making Grizzlyware a success.

Working from home

Learning to code wasn’t the only big change, this was my first time working from home. I went from working in a busy lab for one of the largest employers in Cornwall to being part of a two person team. I would be working on my own in my little office at home. The benefits of working from home were obvious from the start – coffee from your favourite mug, music you like and working in comfy clothes! But working alone can be difficult too. To start with, it can feel quite isolated. Luckily, I have great supportive friends and family who I see regularly which stops any feelings of loneliness. It also took a while to settle into a routine. Having a flexible start time each day has been a huge help but it can also be easy to run late and then end up working into the evening!

It wasn’t just me that had to adjust though – Josh also had to adjust to having an employee for the first time. This involved remembering to tell me about changes of plan or new clients or tasks. To begin with, we didn’t really have a system meaning communication was a bit hit and miss. After realising we needed to keep each other informed more, we decided to use Hive to organise ourselves and share ideas. Hive has really helped us stay in the loop and I would recommend it to anyone who struggles with this!

Plans for the future

For anyone considering leaving a secure but unfulfilling job to try something new, I would recommend taking a leap of faith and doing it! I have really settled into my job at Grizzlyware and am excited to see where the next year takes me. I plan to continue improving my coding abilities and build some more websites as well as managing our social media accounts and admin.

As a company, we have some exciting plans including some more products and hopefully some visits to trade shows. We plan to keep expanding the business, and hopefully take on more employees within the next few years!

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