Working between 4 office walls from 9-5 isn’t something I’ve ever found myself working in. For over a decade I worked as part of an international motorsports team, so the constantly changing scenery was something I just got used to. After I decided to travel less and enjoy home more, consultancy and freelance employment came calling.
I joined Hoxby earlier this year looking to add some diversity to my remote work and a sense of community for lonely home office days. In a matter of months, The Hoxby Collective has provided me with both, and more.
The alarm goes off at 06:30 and I break all mindfulness rules and check in with emails, multiple Slack teams, and Instagram! It gives me an idea of what I need to tackle first thing, as I’m very much a morning person. I don’t have to sit in traffic and get to an office for a particular time. This means I can take my partner to the train station for his 90-minute commute into central London. I get home, grab some breakfast and the first cup of tea of the day. Then it’s straight into business; which could be anything. Some days that means working with my fellow Hoxbies around the world on new opportunities. Other days it could be emailing clients of Corse Concierge, my commercial consultancy business. We work predominately with the motorsport industry; being flexible to clients’ needs whilst at a race in another time zone or on the way to catch a flight is critical to the success of both our business and theirs. Hoxby fits perfectly around this.
One of the best bits about being your own boss and having a flexible workstyle is that I can get out at lunchtime. I catch up with other freelancing friends or sit down and get to know a new client or contact a bit better. I don’t have to be back by a specific time and I no longer eat a hastily purchased packaged sandwich at my desk. Sometimes the MacBook comes with me and lunch fades into a planning or content creation session. If I’m in my office at home I like to take half an hour out mid-afternoon. Rather than the caffeine injection I used to rely on in my 9-5, I throw down my yoga mat and do a quick flow from my favorite website, Bad Yogi. This charges me up to do the admin or accounts jobs that I’ve inevitably left until the last minute!
Being based near Oxford there is always something mind-expanding going on, so I regularly attend events and lectures in the evenings. There are some great real-life networking opportunities in and around the startup and spin-out communities in the city. After a day online it’s nice to balance screen time out with real life conversation. You never know who you are going to meet or what you are going to learn in Oxford and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
After years of having my life dictated by travel-heavy, high-pressure work, my work is now integrated into my life which leaves me, and the people around me, so much happier.
Ella is an award-winning business development and operations director. Having worked in professional motorsport for more than a decade, she is used to working in demanding climates – both figuratively and literally. Ella now uses her engineering mindset to solve problems efficiently and join the dots in commercial scenarios. Away from race tracks and office spaces, Ella is a wannabe sailor and wobbly yogi.