My new normal: Nadine Hellmann
In normal circumstances, my job involves... juggling marketing, PR and sales tasks – and a thousand things more! Little Tummy is a young but growing company specialising in healthy baby food, so each day is hugely varied, and always really busy. Pre-Covid, I would thrive on being on the go, attending meetings with potential investors, buyers, and our sales and product team, but I’d always make sure to allocate some time in the morning to get my head around more strategic topics and set my priorities for the day.
This year, the biggest change to my day-to-day work has been… not seeing my team or travelling to meet partners or investors. As the co-founder of a new business, meeting lots of people is an essential part of learning, as well as growing the company. So at the beginning of lockdown, I felt a little detached, and I wasn’t particularly excited about working from home. It took me some time to appreciate that working remotely has benefits too, such as not losing time on commuting, and shifting to video calls instead of taking the plane for the sake of a one-hour meeting in another city.
I’m adapting to working remotely by… planning out my daily schedule as I did before, and working on a set morning routine, as this is when I am at my most creative and productive.
The recent innovation I’m most proud of is… our new website and meal range, both of which we launched during lockdown. Offering a delivery service for our meals has also been a positive step, as parents seek even more convenience but also assurance about the quality of their foods.
The most significant challenge has been, and will always be, to switch off. For me, working remotely makes it even harder to decide when to end the day and make a lovely dinner. I’ve started to put my phone away an hour before I go to bed, and as a little gift for myself, I bought a beautiful pink box to hide my Mac book, earphones and any work-related documents.
I’m keeping my team motivated by… trying to highlight some positive aspects of the current situation, such as being able to work on more strategic, long-term projects for the company and being more flexible in arranging work-life balance. As some team members have young children, I’ve really worked to make sure they feel supported as they try to juggle work and family in these extreme times. We also keep reminding ourselves that this too shall pass.
For me, leadership during a crisis means… being honest about the company’s situation and what steps we have to take as a team to navigate through a crisis. As a manager, I’ve also learnt to make decisions more quickly, in response to the ever-changing and uncertain environment we are in.
My role model for crisis management is… my grandmother. Living through a war makes people more resilient and used to uncertainty – she taught me the importance of keeping calm and appreciating what you have during a crisis.
The three most important values that will see my business through adversity are…entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and resilience.
The biggest change I hope we’ll see in my industry post-crisis is… more food brands that truly empower our generation to lead a healthier life. I think many people have had time to reflect on the fact that keeping fit and healthy, and being able to stay in touch with their loved ones, is the basis of a fulfilled life. I hope that more businesses will support us in making that possible.
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