Balancing the Grind with Jacqui Olver, Head of Growth at HubHello

Jacqui Olver is the Head of Growth at HubHello, an early childhood platform connecting families, services and Government.

1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I started my career as a graphic and web designer within the fashion industry. I then moved into the financial services industry where I expanded into marketing. Over my 10+ years in financial services I had both generalist and specialist marketing roles.

Over time I found my niche and passion – which is a focus on delivering both new and recurring revenue through digital-led marketing and sales (and being powered by content and data/insights).

This naturally led the way for me to transition into SaaS. My current role is Head of Growth at HubHello, which is an Australian Edtech company specialising in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector (ECEC). 

2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

Outside of the regular morning routine, which is get-up, walk the dogs, get coffee, everything else can vary greatly on any given day (except the afternoon dog walk – that is non-negotiable).

My role expands across company strategy, employee engagement, marketing, sales and client retention, so in this week:

• met with new clients to discuss technical scoping requirements as they transition across to our platform
• caught up with various team members to discuss their priorities and anything on their mind
• worked with our front-end development team on UI and functional requirements for a new website
• analysed last month sales numbers and provided insights on performance and pipeline
• analysed client market research to help inform areas where we can improve our end to end experience. 

3) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

I’ve recently changed my perspective on this. When I used to hear the term ‘work-life balance’, my mind would instantly gravitate towards time management – how do we be more efficient so we can get more done so we don’t work excessive hours. Or how do I make sure that I take my lunch break so I can go to the gym, rather than having to go before or after work which bleeds into ‘home’ time. 

My new perspective is rather than focusing on time, I focus on fulfilment. What activities on any given day bring me joy, energise me, calm me – whatever I am needing to feel fulfilled. Since transitioning into a role which is more aligned to my passions, I’ve seen a dramatic shift in my fulfilment, so that would be my number one tip.

Assess what makes you happy, motivates and inspires you to grow and then ask yourself if you are in the right environment to achieve that. Without the right environment I personally don’t believe you will reach the level of fulfilment that gives you that ultimate feeling of balance.

4) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

In the past 12 months my partner and I have bought a house and moved into a new area, become ‘pawrents’ with now two puppies and I’ve changed jobs into a completely different industry.

So there has been a lot of big changes, but probably from a routine perspective some things I’ve started that have had a big impact on my fulfilment are:

• Spending daily dedicated play time with my dogs – I saw ClickUp posted the other day that #DogsAtWork increase happiness by 10,000%. They were having a laugh with that stat, but I can definitely concur that spending time with my dogs each and every day, multiple times throughout the day really helps my mood. Even when (and this is true) I was on a video conference call with a client and they had to mute me because my dogs were snoring so loud in the background!
• Spending time reading and listening to podcasts – I love learning. Learning new things that I can go and experiment with in my role is exciting. So I get a lot of creative energy when I spend regular, dedicated time to learning. When I was so focused on time management in prior roles, I never had time to just sit and learn on a regular basis. I am far more energised (and I believe) performing at a far higher level than previously due to my continued investment in learning. 

5) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

• Books – The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. Whenever I speak to people who are struggling at work due to challenging dynamics with stakeholders I recommend this book. Again this is about fulfilment – the people you work with will impact that, so if you are constantly bucking heads or they are putting you down that will be a massive blow to your confidence and self esteem. I’ve been there and this book dramatically changed my perspective and helped me to pick myself back up.
• Podcasts – Since moving into SaaS I’ve really got into marketing podcasts. My regular playlist consists of Refine Labs – State of Demand Gen, Advance B2B – The Growth Hub Podcast, Adam Holmgren – The Demand Generation Movement and the DTC podcast. You can tell by their names that I am focused on all things demand gen!
• Newsletters – I try not to subscribe to too many newsletters and if they are more a product flog then I just unsubscribe, but the two that I’m really enjoying at the moment are Dribble (all things UI, UX) and Cognism (a blend of marketing, sales and content tips).

6) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

A leader that has a global remit and needs to be available for teams and clients in varying time zones. When I’ve heard global CMOs speak in the past and they provide a day in the life – their days always look like 12-14 hours, which for me isn’t appealing. I’d love to hear from a global leader that has really nailed the ability to still retain balance.

7) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

Get a dog! 

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