Women’s Day – Women of Webnode

March 8th, 2023

There are about 3.8 billion women in the world. That’s 48% of the world’s population. Each of them has a unique life story, and there are 3.8 billion women’s stories ringing out across the world.

There are exactly 68 women from around the world working at Webnode. That’s 49% of all employees. Each of them has a unique life story, and there are 68 unique women’s stories ringing across Webnode.
Let us tell you about some of them
.

Zuzana – Chief Sports Manager with a piece of metal in her heart

Do you mean an ordinary forty-something? Not at all – she has a history of experiencing what it is like to bounce back from the bottom. She has worked as Chief People Officer for more than 5 years at Webnode, but her work content goes beyond traditional HR boundaries.

She looks after the whole HR agenda – from recruitment, budgets, benefits, reporting, and HR campaigns, which are often cheeky but unprecedented. For example, nechcu makat v korporátu. She is also responsible for the integration with team.blue, which Webnode is a part of since 2020.

This includes administration, some facilities, a bit of finance, and a little bit of customer care and marketing. These are activities that she absolutely loves. The company events Zuzka comes up with and organizes at Webnode are phenomenal. Challenging and fun, but their purpose is to engage people. These events are meant to entertain employees, they’re meant to show our people that we always push to do more, mainly because we value them, and we value what they do.

When someone tells you that their company is great and that it’s more than just a job to them, most people go, yeah, yeah… that’s what everyone says. Cliché on top of cliché. Luckily, Webnode is not a silly cliché.

“It is an absolute dream job here. If you want to do big things and achieve big things, you have to give it your all. A really big piece of yourself. The hours are something that just doesn’t exist for me. But what we’ve achieved at Webnode, what it is, the people here – it’s worth it to me.”

Zuzana and her family

Zuzana, her partner and their 4 children

How do you manage to combine your personal and professional life?

Me and my partner have 4 young children aged between 5 and 8 years old. So understandably, our 2-bedroom apartment is sometimes quite cramped. Sometimes it’s terribly challenging. Covid and perpetual isolation and bans and on top of that, working full time. But we are both Webnoders. We are both responsible for our teams and responsible for running some parts of the business. And we are both people who just won’t quit.

We also have good relationships with their former partners. They help when things get tough. And they also help them when it’s needed.

Zuzka, how do you manage all that?

We’re lucky. Webnode is a supportive company and will help you whenever you need it. We have great teams – my HR girls and Mathew feel like they have been part of my life since birth. They are friends.

We have good bosses. Pepa, our CEO, always says that health, whether your own or your family’s, takes priority. When I’m cooped up at home for 14 days with sick kids, he certainly doesn’t throw thunderbolts at me. But on the other hand, he knows that everything will keep moving, things will get done and that I will never give up. It’s a quid pro quo.

How about that piece of metal you have in your heart?

The desire for children and pregnancy brought health complications that led to two strokes. “It was a difficult time. I put on 50 kilos, which is hell for anyone. You’d rather be buried somewhere or not buried at all, but you can’t. In the end, they found a good reason. So today I have a piece of metal in my heart, and I hope it doesn’t happen again. No doctor can help you with losing those pounds, it’s up to you.

And Zuzka’s lifestyle is up to her.

“Yikes, some of the good souls of development team have nicknamed me – Chief Sports Manager :D”

What is your work-life strategy?

Develop a system that can work for you in the long term. Yes, it’s mostly a chore. But you must think about yourself, otherwise, it’ll come back to bite you.

Wake up in the morning, organize breakfast, kids, nursery, and school, clean the flat and go to work. Every mother knows that, and personally, I can’t leave out the male element. Then I go to work, either by walking or running, I need to exercise every day. On one hand, I don’t want to lie in a hospital, hooked up to drips whilst staring at a white ceiling, listening to monitors beeping and not knowing what’s going to happen next. But I want to be fit for myself, for my children, for my partner, for my family, and for people at work. I also want to clear my head.

Last but not least – my job often requires a lot of creative ideas, novel solutions and so on. Running + headphones + music – it works, and there’s always a solution. Well, here I’m lucky again – I’ve done a few 1to1s with my boss sweating like a pig. And to this day he hasn’t said a word 😊.

“My time is measured in minutes, not hours. And sometimes it goes a bit wrong 😃

Also, make sure to maintain good relationships, even if you sometimes grind your teeth in the process. If we had frog wars with our ex-partners, we could hardly agree to help each other.

What’s your greatest professional achievement as a woman?

Webnode – the culture and the people here. Everything we’ve been able to create and build here. But I don’t think that counts as a woman’s achievement – I am who I am and Webnode doesn’t ask me to be someone else. I often have the energy to spare, crazy ideas and a desire to change the world, and I’m allowed to do that here. Nobody stops me from taking off. On the other hand, sometimes I run out of energy – like when I’m at home with sick children and there’s no end to it. You don’t get much sleep and eventually you get sick of it too. Then you meet these people and suddenly your batteries are fully charged.

Bára – An example of work-life balance

“I had a clear plan for my career – the interview at Webnode was just for fun. And it changed everything.

Webnode was my first full-time job after university. I had a clear multi-year plan to work as an accountant. But just for fun, I applied for a job as a PPC specialist at Webnode. From the first moment, I knew this was where I belonged, this was my blood type. That was 10 years ago, and I haven’t regretted it for a single day.

If there’s one thing I can’t complain about, it’s the lack of opportunities. In just a few years I’ve gone from junior marketer to coach, team leader, head of marketing and marketing consultant for team.blue (the multinational group that Webnode is part of since 2020).

Bára and her son and a nice afternoon walk

Bára and her son on an afternoon walk

What is your greatest success as a professional woman?

My biggest reward is that it is now possible to be successful at work and raise a child at the same time. The world is becoming more flexible and open to mothers. We can set an example for our children.

I started working the very first year after my son was born. A few hours a week on a project basis. Of course, over time the workload increased, but I was able to organize everything around myself and my abilities. I even got an offer at Webnode to set up a private nursery in one of the company’s meeting rooms :-))) And I can’t forget to mention the company nursery, which I’ve been using part-time since my son was two.

What is your main strategy for balancing work and private life?

Co-parenting is my strategy! I have the greatest respect for single mothers who do everything just by themselves.

I’ve always managed to maintain a good work-life balance. Although it’s a struggle sometimes, I have an understanding and supportive environment – both at work and at home. I certainly couldn’t have done it without it. And that’s my advice to anyone who’s struggling with it… try to surround yourself with people who are on the same wave as you.

Nathalia – When she smiles, the Brazilian sun shines

While some would barely move to the other side of their hometown, others would take it halfway around the world – maybe even twice. One of these globetrotters is our own Nathalia – a Brazilian. With an incredibly big heart, a unique temperament, and a constant smile on her face. When she smiles, the Brazilian sun shines on Webnode.

“I never meant to leave Brazil for good.“

Her trip to the Czech Republic wasn’t exactly planned. Nathy, as everyone here calls her, studied law in Brazil. Halfway through her studies, she had the opportunity to take a year off to study in Denmark at a gymnastics school. She’d been a gymnast since childhood and her parents were the coaches. After the year in Denmark, the school selected her for an exchange program in New Zealand, where she stayed another year before arriving in the Czech Republic.

Nathy and her family flying a kite

Nathy and her family flying kites

How does it feel to go to another country?

Going on a trip knowing that you will come back is exciting! But suddenly realizing that your whole life shifted and you are now an immigrant is scary at times!

My first experience in Denmark was tough. All the teaching in Denmark was in English and I only had the basics. But it was a school for coaches, and body language took me a long way! Fortunately, there were 6 other Brazilians with the same opportunity as me and we helped each other. We soon realized that we wouldn’t get very far should we speak only Portuguese between ourselves 😊 so we had the deal to speak only in English among ourselves – the learning went pretty fast after that.

How was the trip to the Czech Republic?

The journey to the Czech Republic started in Denmark. That’s where I met my future husband. At first, we didn’t say much to each other, we used our hands and feet to communicate.

At the end of my one-year study, I was given the opportunity to work as a coach in New Zealand, and my partner went with me. It was quite hard. I had a job, paid accommodation, and food. But my Vojta didn’t. He had to find his own job, and even worked as a butcher for a while. But he still eats meat. 😀

And because Vojta is Czech, after a while he longed to go back home. But I couldn’t go to Europe, I didn’t have a visa. I could only stay here for 3 months on a tourist visa and then I would just have to leave. So Vojta asked me to marry him. We ended up having two weddings – one super quick to handle papers and then the other, the dream wedding in Prague.

How did you come to Webnode?

Back in 2011, I applied for a job in several companies around Brno. Webnode was the first to reply inviting me for an interview (At this time it was not common to find a Brazilian Portuguese native speaker in this city). It was my first job interview in the Czech Republic and my first interview in English. It worked right away! I declined the other 2 or 3 opportunities and I don’t regret it!

I started as a Customer Care agent, but very soon I moved to Marketing. Over the years my role in the marketing team changed a lot, I’ve gone from local social media specialist, to e-mail marketing coordinator, webinar coordinator, PPC specialist and finally Content Coordinator.

Now you have your own family, two beautiful daughters. Don’t you miss Brazil?

Very much! It was very difficult for me at first. It’s hard to describe. Brazilians are different, and families are very close. Not just parents and children but the whole family. It’s different here. Cooler. I often missed the hugs, the warmth.

Soon enough my friends and family were often replaced by my colleagues at Webnode. When I first came here, there were 27 of us. We were always together, always planning parties and trips and stuff like that. It still happens, even though there are almost 150 of us. There just isn’t as much time.

Webnode is 15 years old this year and a lot of people have come through Webnode in that time. Webnode is a great company, and I enjoy being here. But when you’re in a place for so long, you don’t just see a lot of people come in, you also see a lot of people leave. And for me, it was like losing family members. More and more.

I miss Brazilian food too, apart from my family. And the life on the streets. Brazil, where the streets are full of music, fun, pubs and cafes, is just different. But it’s very similar here in the summer. So I’m always waiting for the summer.

Fernanda – Introvert, but forever Mexican

She works as a team leader at Webnode. Her story could fill the pages of a novel. She was born in Mexico and her husband is from Germany. They both work at Webnode. She fulfilled her dream of studying in Europe, but she paid a high price. She misses her language – Spanish – in which she could express her daily worries, joys and feelings. And the people, the family, and the Mexican way of life.

Fernanda on a trip around Europe

Fernanda on her trip around Europe

You come from Mexico, where people are warm, open, and lively. Are you like that?

Honestly, I’m not. I was very extroverted when I was a kid, as you would expect a Mexican to be. But then I had to grow up very quickly. I don’t want to go into details, but my perception at that time was that I had to be a strong support for my family – the daughter they needed.

I’m more of an introvert by nature. I don’t show much emotion.

How did you end up in the Czech Republic?

I wanted to study in Europe. But my family situation didn’t allow it. Economically it would have been difficult. But when things don’t work out, you want to overcome them. So, I looked for a country where I could study. Some European countries are economically challenging for a student from Mexico. And then somewhere I found the Czech Republic and Brno. And that would be good. So, I travelled to Brno without knowing a single word of Czech. But with the determination to study in Europe and make it.

What is it like working at Webnode?

It’s a dream come true. You know, I’ve had a lot of different jobs. And they weren’t exactly dream jobs. Hard work for minimal pay. There was a time when I was really living on $100 a month. But then Webnode came along. It’s multilingual. English is the main language, but I have Spanish colleagues in my team. It’s a great bunch, everyone’s friendly and they sort of replace my Mexican family.

Is there anything you miss a lot and that bothers you?

I miss my home, my family, the colors and the Mexican culture. We’re able to enjoy life every day. Compared to the Czechs, Mexicans have a hard time dealing with existential issues. But we still manage to enjoy life and the beauty of the day.

And I feel sad about the distance between my family in Mexico and my friends. It’s not just getting on a train and going to see my family. I had to learn to live alone. I mean, until I found my husband and some friends.

There are many interesting stories among our clients too. Read our interviews with women who are building their own dream.

Mari Nerome – Studying Dyeing Crafts at the University in Okinawa and a fascination in the complex process of making Kimonos brought Mari to become an artist.

Klára and Míša – Under the brand Not Kidding, they set themselves the goal of fine-tuning children’s rooms with original accessories, which you and your children will love.

Mrs Wehren – the self-managed 70-year-old owner of a B&B in Louwina in Switzerland.

Éva Báldy – The creator of Aranysziget Ékszerkészítő Bt., a jeweller, and the owner of BáldyDesign.