Pros
During my time at Supernova we were getting things done. Launching brands & products, developing campaigns, creating ideas, testing ideas, proving ideas, growing ideas. We were doing things in ways that were new. Finding out what customers really wanted, and it wasn't just following trends, it was making new ones based on evidence. The excuse 'This is how everyone is doing this, so we will too' was not an option, and I love that. We were given a chance to prove our ideas, but we had to actually prove them. It was exciting and the approach was challenging, but sometimes the best outcomes involve overcoming big challenges and finding ways around what other people see as dead ends. It wasn't feasible to say 'That's not in my job description', almost everyone wanted to work together to make new ideas a reality. Supernova is an independent business so you really feel like you are on the rollercoaster with them. It was exhilarating and my customer-knowledge and problem-solving skills definitely improved by trying to remove ego from each situation and focus on what the customer wants. Aside from all of this there are always exciting photoshoots, product ideas, brand designs, events, team building exercises going on, it was a vibrant place to work filled with energy.
Cons
Re-inventing the wheel is often really hard work. Doing things differently is hard work. That's the reality. Stability and certainty are hard things to achieve with independently-owned rapid-growth businesses particularly in the beauty industry . Thats the hardest thing about this type of work. It's challenging, you have to push to find solutions where there can often seem like dead-ends. It's a results-based industry that often centres around rapidly-evolving trends and the ability for a company to grow and still face these challenges can lead to predictable stress within the organisation. There is very little room for passengers and it can be hard work. If results are down, real change needs to occur and ownership taken. There is always room for improvement with team management and culture development as a way to strengthen the group as it faces these challenges, but so many of the Cons are intimately linked to the Pros. I could say that I wish more of my ideas had been listened to and implemented, but what we did make is pretty amazing and I'm glad I got to make a contribution at all.