Meet Sandy Rubinstein: CEO of DXagency
Here at Smart Girls, we love hearing from women who are the captain of their workplace. This interest led us to Sandy Rubinstein, who is the CEO of a digital ad agency named DXagency. Sandy runs a unique operation in her office, because she emphasizes the importance of family. This means encouraging staff members to talk openly about their kids and family life without fear of backlash, and on a personal note, making it a priority to talk with her own children from work throughout the day. This way of working has been hugely beneficial to her team, and we expect that it will influence others to work in a similar fashion!
Curious to learn more about how Sandy runs things, we sent her a few questions.
SG: As the CEO of DXagency, you stress the importance of building relationships with clients and viewing each project as personal to them, something that seems so obvious, yet many people don’t effectively incorporate this idea into their work. How do you run your company with these goals in mind?
Sandy: All of our employees understand the most important thing: we need to care. Care about each other and care about our clients’ success. For the first element, it is my job to set that culture and establish that internal relationship from the employees first day. Naturally the office needs to be a place where everyone feels they are on equal footing and have an equal voice at the table. If you have an idea, we want to hear it and it doesn’t matter what your title says. Our space is set up more like a home where we all take our shoes off at the front door and change into slippers, we have snacks and stocked fridges, we have pot luck lunches, free foodie Fridays with area restaurants catering lunch each week, DXcellence quarterly awards for outstanding performance, and the list goes on. But above that, everyone knows I am here for them personally too. Lots of conversations about apartment hunting, car troubles and where to have it fixed, and what to buy their spouse for their anniversary. My goal is for every employee to know I care about them personally and professionally. Just call me the office Mom.
For the second element, well frankly, that comes easy when you have happy employees. I have never been so proud of the team I work with showcasing such dedication and passion for our clients. They really go that extra mile on every project because they know we have their backs. Finally, I am on every team email so I am up to speed on every account and each project. This always the team to know that at any point I am there to help.
SG: Your job must be enormously demanding, yet you make a point to talk to your kids several times throughout the day. What positive changes have you seen within your family as a result of this practice?
Sandy: My family has always been priority #1. The rest is super important, but when my husband or my kids need me, I will step out of a meeting and take their call. My husband and I have shown them from an early age that business is important and good work ethic is essential, but they are our priority. So I haven’t seen changes per se, but I will tell you that my children view my job and career differently than other kids. They understand it’s value and importance and when they have an off day from school rather than ask to go to an amusement park or to the city or complain about having nothing to do, the first thing they say is “Mom, do you want us to hang at the office with you?” That’s the difference. They know what it means and it’s a priority in their lives as well. So much so they have started their own business. Proud mama I am.
SG: The balance between work/life is something many parents struggle with. What advice do you have for others who are trying to juggle their full-time job with their home life?
Sandy: LAUGH A LOT. Seriously, if not, you will faint! You have to realize that you will never accomplish everything you want to in a day and that is totally ok. Once you put together a list of must haves, would like to haves, someday need to haves and accept it, you will feel you are juggling just fine. As women, we tend to try to handle everything. Everything at home, at work, and in our lives. It’s ok to be great at one on Monday and great at another on Tuesday. That makes us human. Whenever I forget something my kids repeat one of my lines, “Are you saving lives? If not it’s OK!”
SG: When the weekends roll around, how do you unwind and prepare for what’s ahead?
Sandy: It’s difficult. I don’t leave the office Friday without every email dealt with and without the following week prepared for. This way I don’t have to think about what’s to come and there are no Sunday night stresses. Although, it is impossible to disconnect completely, especially with so many moving parts, but we try to have some down time at home and also activities as a family. My husband and kids are the priority so that’s what the weekends are about. I will deal with Monday on Monday. As I grow older I really try to live in that moment, especially as my kids grow I realize how fast the years are going, and I don’t want to miss a minute of it.
Do you work at a company who runs their workplace in a similar style? We’d love to hear about it! Reach out to us on Twitter, or make a comment below.
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Image courtesy of Austin Rotter/5W Public Relations
