Do you need some inspiration as you grow your career, learn new transferable skills, embark on a career change, or discover your untapped potential? If your answer is a resounding YES, then you’re in luck because we have major motivation coming your way, thanks to our new spirited client at The Business Centre (Cardiff) Ltd, Robin Johns.
Married father of two and resident of Barry, Robin is on a transformative journey as a curious student of life fuelled by a zest for learning and desire for reinvention after a career change. In an interview at his Serviced Office, we wanted to know more about his career, passion projects, and why he chose us to help him reach his ambitious goals.
Career change sparked by Covid
“Like most people, Covid was instrumental in my career change and forced me to reevaluate my skill set. Before the pandemic, I worked in a company called Riverbed in customer support and technical enablement for appliances. I became a globetrotter, travelling and visiting over 100 countries.
“But amid social distancing and lockdowns, my career shifted, and I took on a new position as a Knowledge and Training Director in the 100-million dollar cybersecurity & networking company, CATO, headquartered in Israel.”
Working from home: The missing piece
Although the company has a branch in central London, the travelling time from Cardiff is around three hours. To avoid this gruelling journey, Robin initially chose to work from home and built a shed in his garden as his office. It was an attempt to separate his home and work life, but he soon realised something was missing.
“As the lines between home and work blurred, I started missing that human connection. I also craved a professional, creative space to accommodate my new career, skill-building endeavours, and passion projects.”
Never before seen at The Business Centre (Cardiff) Ltd
With Robin’s newly built shed leaving him feeling isolated and uninspired, he set off to find a flexible office space in Barry to reach his ambitious goals. That’s when he came across The Business Centre and all our exclusive benefits, including a CF business address, call answering services with professional receptionists, high-speed broadband connectivity, flexible contracts, and so many more premium services.
He swiftly snapped up one of our Serviced Offices and now uses the space in innovative ways never before seen at The Business Centre (Cardiff) Ltd.
From home to our Serviced Office “Recording Studio”
“Instead of an office, I use the space like a recording studio to record podcasts, videos, training material, and demonstrations. It’s where I excel with great resources on hand if needed.”
He loves his Serviced Office and all the opportunities it brings to learn new technology and level up his transferable skills. He even fitted the space with a 3m green screen to amp up the production quality of his videos.
10-minute travel time
The Business Centre (Cardiff) Ltd is conveniently located just 10 minutes from Penarth, Cardiff City Centre and Cardiff Airport, with easy access to the M4 motorway. For Robin, it’s only 10 minutes from home and his children’s school.
“The school run picking and dropping my kids is an absolute breeze. Plus, if I need to pop home for any reason during the work day, I can do so without hassle.”
Embracing a changing career and gaining transferable skills
His new address allows him to further his role in CATO while learning transferable skills beyond his job scope.
“I have enough space to lead knowledge and training in the company, from product education to cyber security. I also started hosting Cato Network’s thought leadership podcast, Convergence, as well as weekly cybersecurity series called Cybertalk.
“Beyond CATO, I’m eager to learn more about everything and gain skills that are transferable, especially amid tech layoffs. I’ve learnt how to design games and even built a few games for the company. I’ve also learnt video production and video and audio editing. I’ve even dabbled in music production and released a track on Spotify that recently hit half a million streams!”
“The greatest skill is learning how to learn”
Robin attributes his insatiable hunger for learning new skills to being greedy and curious for information.
“The crux of it all is I want to consume as much as possible and know how everything works. I believe the greatest skill is learning how to learn.”
His advice for those struggling to learn is first understanding that everyone has a different way of consuming information.
“Some people are auditory and need to listen to audiobooks or how-to tutorials. Others are more visual and learn from reading or watching someone else do it. Many learn from hands-on practice, needing to feel and interact with the experience.
“The key is to discover your way of learning to make the process easier. In other words, learn how you learn.”
By continuing to learn, Robin’s life goal is to be able to talk about any and every topic, educating and enabling those around him.
The Business Centre (Cardiff) Ltd: Accessible, affordable, convenient
In conclusion, Robin circles back to The Business Centre (Cardiff) Ltd, saying it has made his life goal more attainable than ever before
“It has everything I need to thrive, from accessibility to affordability and convenience.”
If you’re ready to move away from your home office just like Robin, our flexible office solutions may be just what you need. Read more stories from our happy clients to help make the decision easier. To secure your space or find out more, contact our helpful team at 0800 634 9920 or drop us an email at: [email protected].