In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two colleagues with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.

Jamie Searle:

We met virtually in the 2020 Melbourne lockdowns after Hannah had worked on a contract with me, and we started the business very quickly from there. Our first in person meeting about the business was a walk on a windswept stretch of beach where our 5k lockdown exercise circles overlapped.

We were both in transitional periods when we met. I had not long been in Australia, was moving house and was a new father. Hannah had a move to New York end prematurely with Covid, and was living with parents (and partner) whilst finding a new home. It was an interesting time to start a business.

We’re still in contact because, five years on, we’re doing really well as business partners. We’ve got complementary but very different skills and approaches, which is a big part of what makes Snack Drawer what it is today. We’ve got good communication and we’ve worked hard on that, especially with coaching.

We’re very different as people – in what we bring to the business and how our brains work – yet understand where each other is coming from on almost every challenge, decision, or debate.

We pretty much talk every morning on the phone before the workday even starts. And when it comes to the business partnership, we’re totally aligned on the vision and goals, both for the business and for ourselves personally, in the short........

© Mumbrella