The golden rule of working together
Heya, Jess here!
It's been 12 years since I waved Becca goodbye at Heathrow airport and she boarded a plane to Australia and never came back. Well, that's a tad dramatic — she does come back for visits!
Like any relationship, being apart does have its challenges. For the most part, though, we actually think it's a big factor in our ability to work so well together. (We even wrote a blog about it!)
Although we talk a lot about how being on opposite sides of the world is sometimes our superpower, there's another secret ingredient to making our long-distance co-founder relationship work: time together. It's actually an unofficial rule at Mustard – we've always got our next trip planned.
frequent flyers
As sisters, we joke that we started this business so that we'd have an excuse to hang out more. But we really do need to hang out – and not just over FaceTime – in order to fill our cups, and in order to keep Mustard thriving.
Recently, it was my turn to jump on a plane with Marc and Poppy (my husband and our daughter) and fly halfway across the world to visit the Australian team. With five glorious weeks to catch the tail end of an Aussie summer and be here for some very exciting Mustard moments, what better excuse could there be?
welcome party
The very first thing on our agenda was the launch of our newest color, Butter! Fresh off the plane and very jet-lagged, I was a bundle of nerves heading to our launch party at the iconic Sean's Bondi. Those nerves melted right away, though, and the launch was a total highlight of the trip – the energy, the vibe, the location and the company. Talk about starting on the right foot!
hype team
Next up was a trip to Life InStyle Sydney, the trade show where Mustard first launched six years ago. This time around, Becca was invited to give a keynote speech, and I was right there to be the official hype girl! Seeing Becca up there on stage, so confident and so knowledgeable, was a really big deal. It was such a perfect reminder of how far we have come since that very first trade show, when we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. This trip really reminded us why we started Mustard.
new, new, new
This year is set to be a really big one for Mustard. We have a whole lot of very exciting launches planned (Butter is just the beginning!) After months of planning over a screen, it was such a treat to be in the same room. Being able to talk through the ins and outs of new products together in person, was such a game-changer. This trip was planned around a big video shoot (our lips are sealed!) and although it was a mammoth effort to get it all shot over four big days, it was also one of the highlights of my trip. There's just something about being on a set for hours at a time, concentrating on perfecting every little detail, that sends us a little crazy by the afternoon. At 3 pm every day of the shoot, the giggles would start and I would be nearly wetting myself laughing! I love that although we work very hard, there's always room for silliness too.
The trip was a chance to introduce us to the new Australian team members who have joined since our last visit, there were lots of lovely new faces and so many new projects happening all around the office.
the little things
Being on the same time zone comes with lots of little perks, like no early morning or late night meetings, just regular daytime ones! In fact, some of the littlest things meant the most. We had some big, juicy work chats, just us. But there were also afternoons at the beach, bath time with our kiddies, and sister time that's even more precious when you don't get it as often as you'd like.
One of the very best bits of the trip was Otis (Becca's son) and Poppy being absolute besties. They adore each other and their little blossoming friendship was an absolute joy to see. Knowing that Poppy loves her Australian family so much makes me so happy, Poppy even gave Jono his first proper uncle name… 'Joncle!' (Jono+Uncle, genius!!)
goodbye for now
While we have managed to get long-distance co-working down to a fine art, it's knowing there's a reunion to look forward to that keeps us going through the trickier bits of life in business. Running a business can feel lonely at the best of times, so sharing the load is really important to us and something we don't take for granted!
A whole month together sounds like a long time, but it flew by in a flash. Even so, when it came time to wave goodbye again, we felt totally re-energized and re-inspired by our time together. Which is just as well, because the next few months are looking wildly, joyfully busy! Stay tuned!
Love, Jess
