We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ruby Somera. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ruby below.

Ruby, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

It was January of 2017 when my world was literally turned upside down. A week after my family and I had moved into our new house I was laid off of my job. The job that I had been at for 14 years. The job that was supposed to pay for my new mortgage. The job that I was no longer happy at and was ready to leave.

This is what catapulted me into taking the biggest, most daring risk of my life – starting my own business.

When I think back to the full account of what led up to this epic moment in my life, it’s obvious: I asked and the Universe delivered exactly what I needed at exactly the perfect time. I had never been more scared or more ready. And that is how the Universe works.

For a total of 16 years I worked my way up the corporate ladder in the cut-throat Fashion Industry. As a designer, I had a pretty sweet gig – traveling to incredible locations to shop, seek out inspiration and buy art. And for a long time it fed my creative heart…until it didn’t anymore.

After I had my baby in 2015 all my priorities changed. I no longer had it in me to work late hours and weekends, travel, or accommodate the stress that was building up in my body from the challenges of working in an unsupportive and increasingly toxic corporate environment. It was clear that I no longer belonged there. I wanted something different. I wanted to be home with my baby. I felt trapped and it was making me feel so unhappy.

I remember getting in my car every day and thinking to myself, “There’s gotta be more to life than this. What is my plan B? What else is there?”

Meanwhile, I also happened to be working on a website for myself and the photography business I was dreaming up. I took an interest in photography years before I had a baby and had hoped to one day make money from it. But when we bought our house I just couldn’t imagine how I could ever make enough to support our new mortgage. Luckily, that didn’t stop me from working on the website when I had time.

I felt stuck and miserable.

Then a week after we moved into our house I got the call. I knew in my bones that I was going to get laid off. I was scared, but at the same time overcome with relief.

I went in, got my stuff and said goodbye to a life that I no longer aligned with.

I remember calling my nanny (who was also my 20 year old niece) and telling her I got laid off, but don’t be scared, I said, Everything is going to be ok. And I’ll never forget what she said to me, “I’m not scared auntie. You’ve never been one to pass up an opportunity like this.”

I will never, ever forget those words and how impactful and important they were to me at that moment in my life. Because it was true. I wasn’t one to pass up an opportunity that was given to me.

And this was an opportunity. It was the opportunity that I had been praying for.

In that moment I made the decision – I don’t know how, but I am not going back to corporate life. I’m not going to look for a job or write a resume.

I’m going to finish that website and take the opportunity to start my own business. Win or lose, I’m taking the risk. I’m going for it.

I had no doubt in my head or my heart that the Universe prepared me for this exact moment and lined everything up for me to take the leap of faith into the unknown.

And that’s what I did. I will never look back – except with gratitude.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been a creative type all my life, always drawing and painting, always day dreaming, always playing and listening to music, always seeking out inspiration. In school I excelled in art and never really cared about any of my other classes. Art is my thing, it’s my passion, it is what fuels me and makes me come alive.

When I was in 5th grade, on our last day of school, my teacher at the time asked us to write a letter to ourselves finishing one sentence, “When I grow up, I want to be a…” I forgot all about it until I graduated from high school and received that very letter I wrote to myself in the mail and it read: “When I grow up I want to be a Fashion Designer.”

Throughout my young life, I continued to hear that I should become a doctor or a nurse. That “There was no money in art.” and that “I would end up being a starving artist.” Despite the nay sayers, I pursued a career as a Fashion Designer anyway.

After a short stint working my first job out of design school, I ended up landing a great opportunity working for the major lifestyle brand – Tommy Bahama where I worked for 14 years. During my tenure, I designed and managed multi-million dollar product categories and initiated new and innovative areas of growth for the brand.

As a designer, part of my job was to sell ‘Big Ideas’ every season. First to our leadership team and then to our sales team. My job was to convince them that my ideas would bring in new acquisition and revenue before I was even allowed to move forward with designing and sampling product (no pressure!). And much of the time, the only way I could do that was through market and trend research, fabric swatches, original samples and inspiring imagery (also known as mood boards).

My job was to take them on a journey, to believe in and feel something that would excite them enough to say yes to the idea before they even had anything tangible to hold in their hands.

Working for a lifestyle brand gave me the foundation of what it means to stay ‘on brand’ and why it matters. What it means to sell something from an emotional point of view. I had to have a deep understanding of the company’s target audience, acquisition and opportunity. Through intentional messaging, through visuals, through storytelling I learned what it takes to build a thriving brand that customers loved, felt emotionally connected to, and wanted to be a part of. I saw how customers were excited to be part of the Tommy Bahama lifestyle because of what the brand represented, how it aligned with what they aspired for in their own lives.

So, when I got laid off from my job, I went to a lot of networking events. I met a lot of entrepreneurs who needed photography for their brands. But what I also found was that most of them also really struggled with how to build their brands in a way that really resonated with their vision, values and mission. They were confused and overwhelmed and had no idea how to do it. With my foundation in branding, I started consulting them and thus Ruby Somera Design Studio was born.

I am the owner of a holistic boutique brand and design studio for healers, thought leaders and creative entrepreneurs. My mission is to help women entrepreneurs get their work in front of the right people so they can use their gifts to positively impact the world.

Through this ripple effect, I know that I am doing something meaningful with my life, something that is making a positive impact and changing lives.

I believe in hard work, but I am also dead against the hustle culture. I tried it and it doesn’t work. Nobody has ever won the award for being the most tired or burnt out. It’s not healthy for anyone. Success and freedom can be achieved through paying close attention to your energy and listening to your body when something doesn’t feel right anymore.

It’s important for me to support women in finding strategic and healthy ways to use their business as way to have more freedom in flexibility in their lives. Because if you’re not enjoying it, it’s not success.

When we work together, I consider all parts of your life. Who you are, what your vision is, how you work – what you ultimately want out of life. I help you create your ideal brand, one that will support every single part of your life!

As a boutique consultancy, I outsource almost nothing. Everything starts with your vision, mission and values. From there I design your brand image, colors, mood, voice, messaging…everything. I take the photos, write the copy, and build the foundation for your purposeful business.

My gift is to see the potential in others, sometimes even before they can see it within themselves. I know how to turn your dreams into a reality.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Very early in my business I had to unlearn that I’m not meant to work with everyone, that I don’t have to say yes to clients that don’t align with me and my values, that there is no amount of money in the world that is worth sacrificing your time, energy or happiness for.

When people (including myself) start a business there is a sense of desperation to “make money”. Starting a business is risky and you are putting a lot on the line. It feels like you have to take any money coming your way just so you can pay the bills. And maybe, to some extent it’s true. That you have to work with anyone at first to really get a feel for who’s right and who’s wrong for you and your business. Yea, there is definitely some value in that.

For me, early on, I took on some clients who were energy vampires – folks who didn’t value me, my time, or my gifts. They would text me at all times of the day and on weekends, they would penny pinch and negotiate for ‘deals’, they would question me and the way I ran my business. It was awful and there was clearly no trust. I was constantly feeling stress, worry and doubt. I doubted myself and my intuition. Those are not my people. The money was never worth feeling the way I felt with them. It stripped me of my worthiness and my integrity. I cringe when I think back on those clients and how I allowed them to treat me.

What I learned is that I have to have clear boundaries in every part of my business. I created contracts that protect me (and the client) from overstepping those boundaries. I don’t answer text messages during non-working hours. I am selective about emails that I respond to during non working hours. I don’t negotiate on my pricing (although, I will honor specific situations with payment plans and timelines).

I also got very specific with the messaging on my website on who I am and who I help. I want to deflect anyone that is not aligned with my core business values.

This is what I help my clients do as well when we begin working together. We define who their ideal clients are and are not. Many clients come to me and undervalue themselves. I’m not about to teach my clients to gouge money or manipulate anyone, but I am a firm believer in keeping your standards high – with your pricing and the people you choose to work with. Your offer is never just about the service you provide – you give so much more than that. Your time, energy and gifts are your IP and truly, truly valuable. Protect them.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am very passionate about the critical need in the world for our individual and collective holistic healing. As someone who is deeply immersed in my own personal development and healing journey, I recognize how important it is to take care of our mental, physical, and spiritual health. It has been so transformative in helping me learn how to manage my own anxiety and stress in day to day life – I want others to experience it, too.

Here’s what I am seeing – people are hurting and suffering and the world is getting so much harder to navigate. It’s so noisy, we can hardly hear our own intuition and inner guidance.

The truth is, each of us has some kind of trauma that we have experienced in our lifetime and that trauma lives in our bodies. It dictates how we respond to life. And without some kind of self awareness and healing of these darker parts of ourselves we will continue to suffer.

I want it to be different. I want to see change. I want to see people living happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives.

This is why I do what I do, helping holistic healers: therapists, counselors coaches, energy/ light workers – agents of transformation. I want to help them get their good work out into the world. People need their help, but unless they make themselves known, nobody will know how to find them.

They need to be out there, sharing their gifts, helping others. This is the ripple effect of positive impact. This is what I am here to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rubysomera.com
• Instagram: @rubysomeradesignstudio

Image Credits
Image of me – Ruby Somera by Joysha Fajardo