Bloom: Joy Buelens
Joy Buelens is Managing Partner of The Campus, a training centre for IT professionals. This cheerful lady is responsible for business development, account management and leading the team. She sees her job as a hobby where fun is the secret ingredient to keep going. With a true entrepreneurial spirit, coming from an entrepreneurial family, her business is her passion. 🥰
Born into an entrepreneurial nest of IT professionals
Where does your entrepreneurial itch come from?
"I have always been surrounded by entrepreneurs: my grandparents, my mum and other family. So I really grew up with it. For example, as a child, I didn't play with barbies, but I played 'company'. For example, I made greeting cards and sold them, or I organised 'exhibitions'. So the influence of my environment definitely plays a big role, and maybe it's also really in my blood."
So how did you end up in the technology sector?
"That was not such an obvious turn of events. After secondary school, I studied photography. By the way, I was among the last generation to learn how to work in a darkroom. But I also had the big dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Somehow, I wanted to become the next Nan Goldin, but I estimated the chances of that happening to be very small. Technology was also in the picture. My father, brother and boyfriend are all developers. So I had been surrounded by IT since I was a child. I first started working as a clerk, but at a certain point I quit my job to work as a freelance consultant and pursue that dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
Through my personal network, I ended up at OAK3 by Cronos where I got the chance to optimise processes. My growth to become a managing partner ran quite organically after that; my predecessor had quit and then I got the chance to take over OAK3 at the end of 2018 and turn it into The Campus."
The Campus
What do you do with The Campus right?
"In a nutshell, The Campus is a training centre for IT professionals. We retrain people, provide additional training and guidance on technology, frameworks and a lot of Cloud related topics. Our clients come to us to train their internal IT team in the technologies they need for their future. So those IT teams usually consist of developers, IT architects, DevOps and other IT professionals.
Our customers are often larger organisations such as banks or media companies. They are often in a transition phase from on premise to cloud.
In terms of content, we are also working on many exciting things. Because Cronos always focuses on the most innovative trends and technologies, we always have the opportunity to be the showcase for these technologies. Take quantum computing, for example: it is still very young, but we already have an introductory training course for it to get people excited and ready for it!
What is your role specifically in this story?
"I am managing partner and lead our small 'team'. That used to be just Charlotte, but since March we have welcomed Anne as a new colleague. Operationally, I am mainly occupied with account management and sales. I look for new customers and maintain contacts with them. In addition, it is important that we continue to look at which new training courses we want to develop together with our trainers."
So you are a team of 3 at The Campus. Who gives all these trainings then?
"We have a permanent team of about 40 trainers. That's another part of my job; building our trainer community and strengthening our network in it. For this, we usually start from our rich talent pool within Cronos. This is because 90% of our trainers work for a Cronos company and are therefore still involved in projects with clients on a daily basis. We are looking for these people so that we can provide our training from a practical, hands-on point of view. Our trainers bring their own cases and practical examples from their jobs. The people we select also have a lot of desire and enthusiasm to share and pass on their own knowledge. That is what all our trainers have in common.
Every week, I hear from at least one of our trainers. Then I hear how he/she is doing and whether there are any interesting opportunities. They often come up with their own ideas for technologies and training courses. Many of our customers and new students are also introduced by our trainers, so it is extremely important and fun to follow up on these people."
I consciously left the classic corporate world and came to Cronos to do business development in my own way. Even with larger clients, building and maintaining a personal and pleasant relationship is an important part.
Secret ingredient: fun
That sounds like a lot of work for a relatively small team. Where do you get your energy to keep going?
"I find my job very exciting. Helping people to refresh or deepen their knowledge makes them really happy and that is where I get my energy from! Through my job, I also come into contact with many companies, both within and outside the Cronos Group. It is a very rewarding job. We have a lot of very nice clients with whom I have a very open and transparent contact, which I find important. I consciously left the traditional corporate world and came to Cronos to be able to do business development in my own way. Even with larger clients, building and maintaining a personal and pleasant relationship is an important element. The better the contact, the better we can anticipate the needs of our clients and really make an impact with our training courses. The freedom I get to do that at Cronos is essential to me."
Successes and challenges
What were your greatest successes and what are your daily challenges?
"Without a doubt, the biggest success is the team we have built up at The Campus and the Trainer Community. I love the fact that they feel at home here. We can count on each other and everyone takes responsibility. One of my personal goals was to be a good leader and thus build a team where everyone feels valued and respected and likes their job."
"In terms of challenge, I am sometimes too cautious yet. I want to grow with The Campus, but in a healthy, calculated way. That makes me, I think, too good an entrepreneur. I always consider very carefully what we invest in as if it were my own personal wallet. It wouldn't be bad if I dared to take bigger risks. So I just want to be a bit naughty, not in the sense of being mean, but in the sense of being more daring."
Future
What do you still dream of? What would you like to achieve?
"In my wildest dreams, The Campus is a well-known training centre throughout Belgium and the Netherlands. All I would do is bring people together, make the right links and connect. That way, I can do what I do best: talk (laughs). Let me just talk to people all day long, be a connector who brings people into contact with the right others to achieve their goals. That's really a dream I have for my future."
Is there anyone you would ever like to meet?
"I am a fan of philosopher Henri Bergson. I would love to meet him and have a chat with him if he were still alive. He philosophises about the inner experience of time. Time is something that everyone is always busy with, and there always seems to be a shortage of it. With him, it is often about looking at your inner experience of time instead of measuring time in minutes. I like to work a lot and I also want to be able to do things besides work. Therefore, I often think about the balance of activities that I commit my time to, and how that feels. We are only on this planet for a short time, so it is important to use your time wisely. The whole topic intrigues me. I come from a family of entrepreneurs where work, work and more work always came first. This experience makes me more aware of how I deal with this myself and makes me want to do things differently.
Joy Buelens, she did not steal her name, is an incredibly enthusiastic, cheerful and good-natured entrepreneur. With her personal touch, she has managed to make The Campus, Cronos' technology training centre, a success story. We are already looking forward to hearing her story. Follow her on LinkedIn to stay up to date!
