We were lucky to catch up with Eileen Lamb recently and have shared our conversation below.

Eileen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I got my degree in Special Education because I love working with all kinds of children. One thing I love about Code Ninjas is that many kids on the spectrum or that have social anxiety often thrive here. We offer them a way to relate and work with kids who share their love of video games while they learn. They have opportunities to work together and build a community through the curriculum and clubs. Code ninjas often turns a solo activity into a team one.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

We are Eileen and Ryan Lamb, owners Of Code Ninjas Windermere. I’m a teacher and my husband is a veteran and now has been able to do his passion and creates video games. Code Ninjas combines both of our passions. We decided to open our business because we thought that something like this would be great for our own kids. We are so happy to share our passions with this community! Seeing kids explore their interests, develop new skills, and reach higher levels of achievement keeps us smiling.

An exciting learning adventure for tech-loving kids! Have a blast building awesome video games and developing ninja coding skills on the path from white to black belt.
In Code Ninjas CREATE, kids have a blast building awesome video games and developing ninja coding skills on the path from white to black belt.
Our fun program lets kids ages 7-14 learn to code year-round at their own pace! Drop-in at your convenience during weeknight and weekend hours.
Technology is advancing at an incredible rate, and we’re just getting started. Code Ninjas believes that there’s never been a more exciting time to advance our culture – starting with our youngest ones. Every kid deserves the chance to unlock their innate, unlimited capacity to learn.
Whether or not they pursue coding as a career, we want to provide kids with skills that will help them pursue their dreams.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The beginning of our journey to be small business owners was smooth but after a few months of planning and starting our construction COVID hit. My husband was deployed at the time and could not come home because of restrictions. I managed the build-out of the building, open during quarantine, and kept it afloat with the help of my amazing center director Austin. We had our Grand Opening in July 2020 in the middle of quarantine and through the support of the wonderful people in the community we were able to pull through the months of hardship.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

While my husband was actively deploying while our children were toddlers, I often felt alone and isolated. Looking back, I realize that I not only had depression but was suffering from postpartum depression. After caring for my children, I would lay in bed and read, trying to find a bit of an escape. After a few months, I realized that needed to pull myself out of the hole that I was in. I decided to start a dance school. I pulled myself together enough to establish a student base and market my business. This was the first time in a long time I felt I had a little bit of my identity back. It was also my first taste of entrepreneurship. Starting a business can be messy and scary but can bring a lot of personal fulfillment. Even though I had to leave my school behind when we moved, I always feel grateful for the life raft it was for my mental health and personal growth. It is essential, especially as women, to feel unchained by social constructs and have the support and opportunity to push ourselves and grow as people without guilt. It is not selfish to educate yourself, start a business or write the book. If anything, it enhances what we can bring not only to our families but to our community as a whole.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.codeninjas.com/fl-windermere
• Instagram: @codeninjaswindermere
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CodeNinjasWindermere
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-lamb-84235877
• Twitter: @windermere_code