“It takes trust, intuition & selflessness to harness the new power of teamwork”
We can’t remember where we read this but it really stayed with us. We know a thing or two about teamwork and in this day and age we really value the importance of being part of and knowing how to work as a team. When we started our blog 2.5 years ago we were quite naive in realising that we were actually starting a business and there’s a heck of a lot that goes into making it successful. Aside from working together (which goes without saying ) we’re very lucky that we are always on the same page. We work hard at agreeing on the big things and the little things and we always take on board what the other one is saying. Throughout the way we’ve had some peaks and troughs and it’s not just ourselves that we have to thank for the success of WAT. We feel very proud to know that we can handle the pulls and pressures with a little help from a few special people in our lives. But before we get on to that, we thought we would “go a little deep” for today’s blog post and share a few of our “words of wisdom” and daily values we harness in our lives.
Please do not get us wrong, we are by no means saying we are pros in knowing how to live & practise a successful business, but we do feel like we’ve learnt a few things along our journey and some of our key lessons consist of the below:
TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE
Balancing two jobs is no easy feat and that’s where our two heads come in. You know what they say “many hands make light work!” At the end of every week we make plan of action for the week ahead. We know exactly what we have to call in from brands, emails we need to send and blog posts we need to write. We delegate accordingly and always start the week off feeling organised, knowing exactly what our tasks are. We also always bounce ideas off with each other – content for blogposts as well as the execution of projects. Often things sound like a good idea but in practice they aren’ that easy to execute – it really helps to be able to fine-tune our ideas together.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
This can be a hard one as sometimes we’re both too stressed with our day jobs to even respond to each others emails – but we’ve learnt along the way to be open and upfront with each other. If one of us is needs to be AWOL for the day, we both get it, there’s never any hard feelings. The same goes with brand partnerships & collaborations; they need to feel right and if one of us isn’t feeling it or our schedules won’t allow it we always support each others decisions.
THE POWER OF NO
This is definitely one of the hardest ones to keep up and something that we have really learnt over time. At first we wanted to do everything and be everywhere but that’s not always possible and we’re ok with that. For us all it’s a skill to find that work life balance and even more so when we’re balancing two jobs. We always want to make our content great and we’ve had some amazing opportunities to work with brands. Sometimes though we just can’t do it all, we’ve learnt that we would rather do a few things really well then 100 things not so well. The goal…not to spread ourselves too thin.
ADAPTING TO CHANGE
This is key when working in a team – we have to adapt to each others schedules and lives. What works for one of us doesn’t always work for the other. We often shoot at home and this can have its trials and tribulations. Sarah had her Mum living with her for ten months which meant a lack of space and now Philippa is living with her inlaws whilst she renovates her house; so again we have to adapt to works best at that time. With Philippa about to have a gorgeous bub in a few months we will also have to make way for a new schedule and perhaps a little ‘One-set’ for a few months! Again we fully support what the other one wants and that means constantly adapting.
PLAYING TO EACH OTHERS STRENGTHS
We’ve definitley learnt throughout the years what we both thrive at and how to make our skills work for the blog. Philippa is more visual and her strength lies with the images and layout of the posts. Sarah on the otherhand is more of the wordsmith and prefers writing up the content as supposed to editing the pictures. As for planning the posts, Sarah usually takes charge of the content ideas and ideas for the instagram feed whereas Philippa collates how we’re going to shoot things with moodbaords and references. We’ve got our roles nailed and again it helps keeps WAT running as smooth as possible.
TRUST & RESPECT
First and foremost we are best friends, but when you work with someone at the same time, your friendship takes on a totally different capacity. We are suddenly discussing different things and working through big decisions together; involving money, future plans and day to day life. That’s not usually something you hash out with your besty! That said, we’ve learnt we need to take time to understand how the other is feeling and to respect how the other one views things even when we differ slightly. We always have the upmtost respect for one and other and when push come to shove we fully trust in the other. We only want what is best for both of us!
Now onto the people (outside of work and our insta-husbands) that we want to thank for their unwavering team support. Two very special ladies that are our all round gurus and inspirations – our darling Grandmas. Now these aren’t any old Grandma’s; these women know a thing or two about team work, about working hard and about having it all. Both worked full time, ran businesses and had families. To this day they still look after their broods (cooking us Friday night dinners every week) running to take last minute photos when our photographer let us down (this actually happened last week!) and even looking after great grandkids on a weekly basis. Of all the lessons we’ve learnt along the way we really do have them to thank for helping put a strong head on our shoulders and the belief that we really can do anything if we put our minds to it.
We asked them how to have it all and how to keep it up…they’ve shared a few of their life lessons below with us.
Sarah & her Grandma Irene
LIFE LESSONS FROM IRENE 1-3
1) Always try to keep positive, be grateful for what you have and look on the bright side. And always try to find the good in someone. If you can’t say something nice – say nothing!
This feels like ten tips in one, but definitely life lessons worth remembering! This sums up my Grandma to a T -she has taught me everyday to be grateful for all the good in our lives and not to waste time worrying about the rest. The glass is always half full and there’s always something better around the corner…on to the next point!
2) When one door closes there will always be another – you can’t walk through two doors at once.
Even if something feels like it’s over; there will always be something else, you just might not know it yet. Whenever there have been had hard times in my family my Grandma is always there with her positive outlook; to let us know that things will get better. There is always another door to be opened even if it’s not the door you expected.
3) Work hard but always find time to enjoy life and have fun.
This makes so much sense to me and is such an important part of the work life a balance. I value how hard her and my Grandpa worked to support their family but they always made time to enjoy life. Spending time with family and friends and making memories is what it’s all about. You can never have too many good memories!
Philippa with her Grandma Anita
LIFE LESSONS FROM ANITA 1-3
1) Being successful in the office is one thing, but the biggest success for me is the blessing of my family.
This really resonates with me. Although my Grandma has been fortunate enough to build up a successful career, she’s always put us first and made sure we are always her number 1…something I hope to instate with my own family one day. You’re only as good as the team around you, and family is the strongest team you could choose!
2) There’s a lot to be learnt from listening to the youth of our day. I’ve found it to be invaluable in business as well as life in general.
It always impresses me how my Grandma is always so willing to keep up with the young generation & technology – whether it would be investing in a new iPad, setting up an Instagram account, or signing off whatsapp messages with a row of Emojis, she’s always “kept up with the kids” and I really think that’s whats helped keep her young at heart & have her daily zesty attitude!
3) Always value good health and never take it for granted!
This is something my Grandma has really installed within our family. Throughout the years we’ve experienced some testing times health wise and it really makes me think; you can have everything work wise – money, success, holidays, but without health and looking after yourself & body you have nothing.
*Thank you Grandma Anita & Grandma Irene for contributing to today’s post, we love you! *