We recently connected with Ruby Fay and have shared our conversation below.

Ruby, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

My entire life has been about taking risks. However I have not really framed them as risks but rather adventures. As a young girl growing up in a small country town in Australia, I was extremely creative, had bold ideas, and was excited by new people and lands. Travel set in at a very early age which led to many career incarnations. From being a model in Tokyo, a singer/song writer in London to running hotels in New York and then finally creating my own business which is now based in Los Angeles.

Had I ever thought of any of these endeavors as risks, I may not have kept moving. The word failure was not in my vocabulary. Just keep going and that’s achievement in itself. Life is an adventure.

Ruby, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I run a bespoke company ‘ Referred By Ruby’ that provides luxury housing in Los Angeles and beyond. I started the company in NY in 2009 more like a travel agency sourcing hotels for entertainment professionals who were on tour or filming. Our clients then started asking if we could find them luxury homes to stay in and eventually offering us their homes to rent to like minded individuals. So like an upscale AirBnB for entertainment. Since then the company now LA based, has morphed into real estate sales so we are a one stop shop.

We have a portfolio of special properties which are not found easily online and match clients for these properties. Sometimes we are described as a housing celebrity swap, due to the nature of both the home owner and the clients being A-list talent. However we cater to everyone who requires a high level of privacy.

What I love the most about this business are the people. We are always meeting interesting wonderful people from all over the world.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One thing I tell my 19 year old son who is studying architecture in college and also acting/modeling. Is to learn 1-3 skills and not be a one trick pony! Be ready to pivot at any moment as life continues to throw curve balls.

In 2008 I was an employee at a glamorous NY boutique hotel running the sales + marketing department. The 2009 recession hit and I was laid off without warning with only one weeks pay as severance. I was a single mother of a 4 year old with a mortgage in Brooklyn and zero savings to tie me over.
The best advice my friend could offer was ‘you have one day to cry’ and after this you must pick yourself up and knock on doors! I insulated myself in a bubble, did not listen to the news, the stories of thousands of people losing their jobs and refused to take on the woh is me victim mentality. I hit the pavement running and went to the hoteliers I knew asking if I was to bring them clients for their hotels would they pay me. They said yes! Then I called my old hotel clients and asked them if I could guarantee cheaper rates would they use me to book their hotels. They said yes! My company ‘Referred By Ruby’ was born and that year I made more money working for myself than working for the hotel. I didn’t give up and I survived. This is one of my proudest moments.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My business was solely been built on word of mouth. I have not marketed very well and my social media skills are abysmal! I am always learning.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.referredbyruby.com http://www.hyfaemusic.com
• Instagram: @referredbyruby.com @heyrubyfay @hyfaemusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltgb85figog

Image Credits
Nogen Beck for the shot of me in white dress.