A glimpse inside the mind of one of yachtings truly fantastic women, I had the pleasure of catching up with Elisabet holm the head of Marketing at the World renown Baltic Yachts at Monaco yacht show. It's been a pleasure of mine to work on a baltic yacht and become a part of the extended baltic family. The following conversation with Elisabet delves into her life, career growth and development and thought's on a woman's journey in yachting.
Hi Elisabet, thank you for agreeing to talk with me, Elisabet. Would you like to start by telling me a little bit about yourself?
So, let's see, I started at Baltic 27 years ago. I knew nothing about Baltic nor boats. I had absolutely no idea what kind of brand Baltic was. I knew they were building sailing yachts in that small village of Bosund, but I had absolutely no idea what kind of products they were building.
I had studied marketing before, and I was actually applying for another job, but the person who got that job came from Baltic. Without telling me, the company I had applied for the job before with, sent all the applications to Baltic. That way I built contact with them and got hired eventually.
In the beginning I worked with after sales and some admin work. However, I was super curious about how the business worked, so I've done literally everything in that company. Alongside after sales I have done admin, inventory, some quality assurance and even project management. But I had always my eyes set on marketing, and that is what I do there now, as the head of marketing.
That's amazing. Have you been in the shed and explored with carbon works?
No, but I do enjoy spending time with the production team. Talking to the workers and get their view and find out all the amazing things they do there. So, every time I work on the Baltic Log, our customer magazine, we go through the projects and talk to all the project managers. Every time I'm blown away about the things we do.
It's amazing. What we produce at Baltic blows my mind.
That’s the beauty of Baltic Yachts, you are creating and producing products no one else is. How long have you been in the yachting industry?
27 years, but as I said, I knew nothing about Baltic when I started. I'm not a sailor, but I really love my work. Baltic is like my extended family.
What about yachting excites you and motivates you to keep doing your job at a high level?
I guess, it’s the innovation and the handicraft that are so amazing. I think it's in our blood up north, in Finland, to do the job well. That will give you a sense of pride and happiness even. We take great responsibility in what we do. Moreover, it's a super interesting industry. In my job I get to do so many different things. Like here, I can serve coffee, and the next moment I'm at a fancy party, or I'm on board for a sea trial, or taking photos, or we're writing the magazines. I think it's obviously the diversity of it all. It's all about the people. You meet so amazing people in this industry. The things you see and do, are like no other business. One special thing about Baltic is the atmosphere amongst my colleagues, it is just great. I think that's what kept me going through all these years. People, I normally say, are the best part of my job, but also the most challenging thing to handle but it makes it all worthwhile. Even though I've seen so many Baltic yachts launch over the years, every spring when there's a new Baltic, it's amazing. It's so exciting to see it touch water for the first time. You can feel that sense of pride, this is what we have built. You know about all the hard work that went into it, all the hours from the men and women working behind the scenes.
Elisabet, if you could give one piece of advice to the younger you, starting off in the industry, what would you say?
I would maybe believe a little bit more in myself and claim more space. It's difficult in this industry to make it. I should have trusted my instinct a little bit more, that I was doing a great job and just asked for the things I wanted and needed.
Yeah, absolutely. That's a really good piece of advice.
If you don’t believe in yourself no one else will. Sometimes the boys can be a little bit overprotective. You know, as a woman, we don't want to stress you, you shouldn't do this or that. I think you must be a little bit more forward.
Do you feel like the industry has grown in its attitude towards women? So, in your 27 years, do you feel like your position is valued more? Or do you feel like you get a lot more respect than you used to? If and why has that changed?
Well, I think it's changed in the way that you see women in more different positions and jobs within the industry. Just during this show, I met with three female captains. Never met one before, to be honest, here in Monaco. So, I think that it’s nice that more people make their way into this industry and into unconventional positions. But it is a traditionally male dominated industry, and it takes time.
Finally, working at Baltic and it's a busy company, always growing and achieving. How do you find having a work-life balance? Do you leave work at the office? Or how do you cope with that? It's a real issue within the industry, having a work life balance. How do you balance your time?
For me Melissa that's an ongoing process. I try to have a balance and for example not to work from home. Because I don't like that. I don't want to bring work into my home. So, I always go into the office at eight o'clock in the morning. I work hard; I try to be really efficient, so I can leave at four and have my evenings to myself and my family. You know, Melissa with age, we're trying to, slow down a little bit and enjoy life more. You don't have to be so perfect. I think that is also a good advice that I would have given maybe to my younger self. Perfection doesn't exist. No, and you're just going to kill yourself in the process trying to achieve it. But work-life balance is always challenging.
Elisabet, thank you very much for taking the time out of your day during what has been another busy and exciting Monaco Yacht Show.
I've had the pleasure of witnessing Elisabet's hard work and precise craft in her role at Baltic Yachts. An inspiration to any woman in the yachting industry.
As always, keep smiling, laughing and loving the sea xo
Comments