"I am really convinced that hemp can play a big role in our future, whether for food or as a raw material for various products." - Luisa
I was excited about the remote work concept and also the chance to work in a Startup. I mean how often do you get the chance to experience the growth and the development of a company from the beginning on.
How I ended up at Signature might sound a bit crazy at first. I lived in a student residence in Hamburg at that time. The same one as our CEO Florian. At this time I was, surprise, a student of musical theatre and had just had a photo shoot and discovered that I really liked this work in front of the camera.
Florian was looking for a “model” for the new Buddies and wrote a tender in our student residence WhatsApp group. Encouraged by the recent photoshoot I replied to his message, we met, and a few days later was the fotoshooting.
Through this I found out that he was looking for an assistant and fittingly I was looking for a side job. It was summer 2020, shortly after the first Corona Lockdown and the job in the gastronomy I did before, wasn’t possible and it has never really been my thing anyway.
I was excited about the remote work concept and also the chance to work in a Startup. I mean, how often do you get the chance to experience the growth and the development of a company from the beginning on? And I was not disappointed. It’s always been a great work environment and a super supportive team.
Another special thing to me was the topic of hemp of course. During the photoshoot for the Buddies I didn’t really get what this CBD oil was, I was shooting with because I've never had heard of it before. And also hemp itself hadn’t been something I’ve had spent much thought on til then.
Of course I knew the terms weed, cannabis, and hemp, but all of them meant an illegal drug, for me, of which I had no idea what’s in there and what plant it is.
Well this changed drastically, especially because of the many researches I did at the beginning of my work at Signature. Now I know a lot more and use hemp products myself, like our peeled hemp seeds in my muesli every morning or in the bread I use to bake.
Research and appointment coordination were my main tasks in the beginning and it happened more often than you may think that I first had to google a few terms before I could start researching because it was a completely new field of work for me. I am very grateful that Florian has given me this opportunity and that I can experience a such different working world than the one I was originally trained for.
Over time my task area changed a bit. The appointment planning stayed but the research got less and less and instead the HR part arose.
I’m kind of the person who is responsible that everyone in the company is happy. If someone has a problem, doesn’t like the way things are going, or just needs someone to talk to, I’m the person to contact. To this end, I meet regularly with all the staff to see how they are doing, if everything is OK workwise and if not, what should be changed.
In the HR Department I also take care of our Employee of the month election, the monthly online get togethers and the welcoming of our new team members.
Luisa Pfau
Additionally, I started to support the marketing department a little while ago. I occasionally write posts for our Signature Blog and record the voice overs for our YouTube videos there.
I love the great variety of my tasks and the chance to have a look in so many different departments of a company.
There is never a day that is the same due to all of these diverse tasks. I usually get up between 6:30 and 7am. Yes, I’m an early bird. First of all I check if there are any super urgent new messages and then start my day with some sport or a yoga-stretching-combination. This helps me to get ready for the day physically and mentally.
After our marketing kickoff call at 9am I do whatever comes up that day. My daily business is planning Florian's appointments. The rest of my duties vary, including recording voice overs, composing texts, a call with someone every now and then, and even a small research sometimes.
In between I make my daily break to practice singing and in most evenings I go to a dance class at the fitness center. I don't have fixed times when I do what and it's also not the same time I call it a day everyday. So if I feel like taking a break and, for example, starting work again after the dance class, I can do that.
I have that issue is that when I receive a message or an email, I always want to reply to the person as soon as possible, even if it's at a time I've actually said I'm done for the day. But that’s just how it is when you integrate your work into your life.
This integration-work-life balance makes it possible for me to plan my day so freely, go to the gym so often and having a film shoot every now and then.
The remote work and the flexibility means a lot to me. It offers a great freedom to use my time the way I want. I can follow my artistic path and still have the opportunity to earn a regular income. And the side effect of getting a glimpse into a completely different work environment than what I was originally trained for is super exciting and I learn a lot from it.
Also being able to work everywhere is really amazing. Because my family is very important to me, but they live at the other end of Germany and for this reason I don’t see them very often.
But due to the remote work concept I can decide spontaneously to visit them and don’t have to take vacation, because it doesn’t matter if I work from my apartment in Hamburg, my parents house or the train between them. This opportunity is amazing!
In general I prefer direct human contact and to work with people in the same room, but the flexibility of remote work is just perfect for me.
At first I was a bit embarrassed to tell people that the company I work for is about hemp, because not all people are as open and interested in new things as the people of Hamburg. In my little home village of 1000 souls, for example, people still look at me a bit puzzled or even sceptical by the mentioning of the word hemp.
But my parents and my sister have been very interested from the beginning, or at least pretended to be, and I have gained a lot of self-confidence regarding this issue over the past two years at Signature.
Now I am really convinced that hemp can play a big role in our future, whether for food or as a raw material for various products.
And someone has to show that to the world. Why not us?!
