I’m Bella and I’m a Powerfront employee! I’m located in Los Angeles, not too far from our headquarters in Beverly Hills, California; but my teammates are scattered all over the globe.
Our “distributed workforce,” or structured remote working environment, allows our company to hire the most talented professionals in the world, along with so many other benefits. I primarily work from home, and this flexibility allows me to maximize my focus and attention at work. Our department does gather periodically for summits, team-building meetings, and special events, and those in-person moments are all the more exciting and meaningful because I don’t get to be with my colleagues every day. Being in different time zones and locations means that we have to be that much more intentional and effective in our communication styles, which comes in handy since we are in the communication and conversation business!
Here’s an example of a typical day in the life for me at Powerfront.
6:00 am: Wake up and drink the coffee! I prefer cold brew, so I pour a glass from my pitcher and savor while I briefly glance at my calendar to mentally prepare for any upcoming meetings throughout my day.
6:15 am: Quick jog around the block with my dog, Jack. I live down the street from Griffith Park, so if I’m especially ambitious I could wake up a little earlier and run up a trail to the observatory, but today I needed a few extra minutes of shut-eye so I do a quick mile around my neighborhood
6:45 am: Shower and brush my teeth, and put on my work clothes – a nice blouse, comfy pants and my fuzzy slippers.
7:00 am: Time to go to work! I step into my office, which is my dedicated workspace featuring a desk, laptop, iPad, strong internet connection, and a coaster for my second cup of coffee. I log into Zoom, a video conferencing platform, to say good morning to my smiling colleagues.
At Powerfront, we hang out in a big room when we’re not in individual meetings in order to stay focused and work collaboratively. A lot of the time everyone else is muted and focusing on their individual tasks, but it’s amazing to look up and be able to ask quick questions, say hi, and share special moments with my coworkers!
On Halloween we all dressed up and had a costume contest, and we all welcome the opportunity to say hi to each others’ pets and kids. It’s a great way to share a little bit of our lives with one another, and additionally this way everyone can hear snippets of what’s happening in other departments and stay aware of our shared mission and focus.
8:00am: I go through my emails first thing, then I open up our project management tool to see how my colleagues in Australia progressed on our website updates while I was sleeping. I’m always so impressed with the magic our talented team is able to perform literally overnight! I make a few notes and suggestions, and set up a meeting for the following day to discuss updates and next steps.
8:45am: While writing copy for an upcoming social media ad, I ping the creative team to see if they’re available to meet quickly. I’d like their feedback and suggestions on the type of imagery we could use to support the text and how we can best promote. We meet in my personal meeting room on Zoom and discuss the strategy, and while we’re together we also touch base about a few upcoming projects and decide how best to delegate these tasks going forward. We also brainstorm designs for an upcoming presentation in Milan.
10:30am: I’m getting a little hungry! I let the Powerfront team know that I am taking a quick break using our group chat on Google hangouts. That way if anyone comes looking for me, they’ll see that I’ve stepped away for a few minutes and will be back shortly.
10:40am: After grabbing a piece of toast, I sit down and let the team know I’m back to work. I continue working on a case study and occasionally will look up to ask questions that someone else on the team may be more informed about – for example, I’ll ask Jilee from Account Management how many agents a current customer has; or I’ll ask Ashley from Sales when the first meeting with them occurred. Although we’re all at home, it’s not dissimilar to popping your head into a coworker’s office or picking up the phone to check on something and chat cordially for a minute before returning to work!
1:00pm: Time for lunch! I let the team know, then heat up a bean-and-cheese burrito while I water my plants. I enjoy my lunch on my patio and enjoy the sun. Then I take Jack for a quick walk around the block and wash my dishes before settling back in for the rest of the day.
1:30pm: Back to work! At this point I prepare for the staff meeting. These online company-wide meetings allow everyone across time zones to hear about new sales, upcoming events, exciting features being added to our products, and overall company goals and how we’re all working tirelessly to achieve them. We also celebrate each other’s birthdays, anniversaries, and personal wins and special news. I spend the next 45 minutes creating a slide with bullet points about a recent convention in Spain our team attended, adding photos and videos, and text about an upcoming webinar we’re hosting. I ask our graphic designer if they can make it a little prettier so that it’s a bit more visually appealing. Words are my specialty 😉
3:00pm: The staff meeting ensues – this is an awesome opportunity for creatives like me to learn more about the technical aspects of our business and hear what our software development team is working on. It always sounds so incredible to me- after a staff meeting, I’m always inspired and blown away at what our technical team is able to create and accomplish. We are really making products that I never imagined would be possible! It’s also great to hear some words of wisdom and encouragement from our CEO, a true visionary whose passion is contagious. My friends at other companies tend to dread staff meetings but they’re really one of my favorite parts of working here! Everyone is so supportive of each other and always congratulates one another on a job well done. It’s really nice to work for a company whose employees have a shared vision and want each other to succeed, both personally and professionally.
4:00pm: After the meeting, I check in with my manager in Australia – it’s bright and early for him! We go through a few outstanding items and he gives his approval on my latest completed project. I say goodnight, or g’day in his case, and log out for the night!
The community built through Powerfront’s distributed workforce is unique – although many employees are on opposite sides of the globe, we share our achievements and celebrate each other’s successes just as we would if we were working side-by-side. Our communication styles must be that much more precise and carefully cultivated to ensure that all internal messaging is clear and constructive, which in turn makes us better at our jobs as communication and connection is truly at the heart of our business.
The benefits of our structured remote environment are endless, but it’s just as great as you’d think. Our executives are all very understanding and encourage their employees to have a healthy work/life balance. Appointments and meetings can easily be scheduled around the work day, or you can take a long break to pick your kids up from school and make them an afternoon snack before returning to finish up the day with a meeting with the European team. No commute allows the team to harness their energy towards their work- no stress from sitting in traffic, fewer expenses, and a reduced carbon footprint are also pretty big benefits!
Before my first day at Powerfront, I was worried that I’d have a hard time working alone from home every day. But I never feel lonely! Every Monday, I look forward to catching up with my department, hearing about everyone’s weekend, and collaborating with my co-workers. Some of my close friends are now people who live in countries I’ve never been to, but hope to travel to some day so they can show me around! I also love being able to interact with some of the top luxury brands in the world. It’s exciting and positively reinforcing to attend a great meeting with Neiman Marcus, Valentino or Sephora and work together to create innovative retail solutions.
If this all sounds great to you, check out our jobs page! We’re constantly growing and looking for dedicated, passionate individuals who want to change the world.
