In the spotlight series, we bring in one Remotish team member at a time for a quick chat about marketing, career, HubSpot, and life. Today we are introducing the newest addition to our team: Benjamin Rubin.

Ben is our Sr Business Development strategist, so he handles all things related to the growth of our company and clients.

You can read or listen to the interview below:

Work Life

Chiara

Hello and welcome back to the Employee Spotlight. My name is Chiara. I am one of our project managers over at Remotish. And today we are talking to our newest employee, Benjamin Rubin. Ben is our Senior Business Development Consultant. Did I get that right?

Ben

I think strategist is at the end, but that'll work.

Chiara

Got it! That actually goes right into the first question, what is your role at Remotish? What do you do?

Ben

So I am the Senior Business Development Strategist. And I am focused on really building successful relationships through that strategic vision that we can share together with any partner or vendor that wants to work with us to develop their HubSpot.

Chiara

Wonderful, and what does an average workday with that look like?

Ben

Oh, an average day...those can vary. But usually I like my morning consisting of a workout or a run. And then I like getting into some networking activities. I like to read the news and stay up to date. Listening to podcasts. And then I really kind of get my brain into the strategic thinking and finding those creative ways to build growth for Remotish and our clients.

Chiara

Wonderful. And I know you don't spend as much time in the tools as, say, our implementation specialists does, but what is your favorite thing about HubSpot?

Ben

So I think I have two. And I would say it's based on the usability of the platform. And once you're onboarded to HubSpot, it's so efficient for teams to use it. And so they can use that and I think it's really efficient and easy to work through the UI of it. And the second I really have to give HubSpot huge props to the Academy that they built. With so much information that's shared there (from marketing, to sales and to leadership courses) that you can take inside of it. That's a really powerful element to HubSpot.

Chiara

I agree. They are a people-friendly company, with a people-friendly UI, and people friendly tools, for sure. Next question, what is the best thing about remote life?

Ben

Oh, so I've been in the remote life work for over five years now. And I really have to say it comes down to the flexibility that it can bring into your life. It's definitely something that can be dangerous, as you can easily find yourself working too much. You can, you know, plop down at the desk and do a few more hours. And then all of a sudden, it's late into the evening and you put 10 hours in a workday. So once you find the balance, it really opens up a world of opportunity to find successful ways to work and live.

Chiara

Yeah, I love it. What blogs, podcasts, groups, etc. would you recommend our readers/visitors follow?

Ben

So I'm not a huge podcaster but I do listen to them. And right now I'm listening to one I really like; it's the Seven Minute Leadership. So I like putting that on the headphones when I go for a run or a walk. The other thing I really like to enjoy is reading and right now I'm really big into Simon Sinek. His Start With Why. And that concept is so powerful. In connecting with a why -- why you are who you are or why the business does this -- It creates really deep connections and relationships. So I really enjoy Simon Sinek.

Chiara

Yeah, I can see that resonating with you, Simon Sinek is all about like the human touch. And I think you bring that to your work. Alright, and now on to life life. What do you do when you are not HubSpotting for client?

Life Life

Ben

So I would say right now, my life, you know, everybody's life kind of has these waves that you go through and right now I'm really into a fitness journey. My girlfriend and I built a full gym in our garage. So, same kind of thing as like having a home office right where you have a home gym that's fully built out. We find ourselves in there a lot, working out and doing physical activity.

Another thing that I really enjoy, though, coming from a technical background: I love the DIY projects and tinkering with technology. I recently built a preamp for an audio system all by myself. So I really enjoyed tinkering with technology. And the other thing is we built out a custom truck camper. So we really enjoy being able to hop in the truck and travel with our pup Diego.

Chiara

Fun! Did you build a rack for your home gym?

Ben

We don't have a full squat rack yet. That's next in line, we have like a bench bar, and you can raise it up so that we can get underneath the bar barbell for squatting, though.

Chiara

Oh, that's nice. Yeah, as long as you have a barbell and some plates, you're pretty much set.

Ben

Yeah, exactly.

Chiara

What is your mission in life? The big questions.

Ben

The big questions, right? This one, I think can go in so many different directions. But there's one thing that I've found myself to hold consistent and close to myself is really making my parents proud. They raised me with such a strong work ethic that I find myself consistently working every day to make sure that I use that and making my parents proud.

Chiara

What is your motto or personal mantra?

Ben

I'm a big kind of change agent person. So I like the concept of “get comfortable being uncomfortable.” It's really about us all coming together and progressing forward in those positive directions. And it can be uncomfortable, but we can do that together. So I like the thought of us coming together, getting ourselves into those uncomfortable positions that progress change in a positive direction.

Chiara

Yeah, no growth in the comfort zone. No comfort in the growth zone. I hear you. What are your secret superpowers?

Ben

Oh, gosh. I'm not Batman. But I think that this is a weird one: I've come to really embrace this analogy of humans are like batteries, where you have to recharge and you can get drained, but it's all about making sure that you charge each other up. And so one of the things that I've always found myself being for a lot of my friends in the groups that I'm a part of, is being that everlasting charger that never really runs out of juice. So it's a weird superpower, but I think that it exists in me, where I love connecting and raising people up. So you know, I can withstand that more charging without draining myself with that high energy. If that’s a super power.

Chiara

It totally is -- are you a gamer?

Ben

Lowkey.

Chiara

Okay, I know a lot of people on our team, but you sound like Nicole -- who is also a cleric. They’re the class that play supports and exactly that: They kind of like raise the collective vibe. Last question. Where do you live? And why do you love living there?

Ben

So I'm currently living in Austin, Texas, with my girlfriend and our pup Diego. I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I definitely still have a strong connection there. That's where my roots are. But Austin really connects with me on a deeper level, and music and food and entertainment. And gosh, it was 84 degrees. So it's hard not to mention weather. So I really connect to those elements a little bit more here in Austin,

Chiara

Have you had the opportunity to go to -- what is it called? SXSW?

Ben

So I haven't yet because it was canceled last year. But I'm really excited for what they're doing. If you saw, I shared just the other day that there's a company that took them on to do it virtual. So all of South by Southwest this year will be virtual, which is really cool to be able to share such a unique experience. It'll be different, but it's still such a unique stage for that sharing of creativity and artistry and amazing things that come from the world.

Chiara

Totally, yeah, I'm gonna look into that. That is it for questions! Ben, thank you so much for joining us on the Employee Spotlight. And I hope you have a wonderful weekend. It is a Friday when we're recording this.

Ben

Thank you. You do the same.