Celebrating Ray White ’ s women business owners
BY CASSANDRA GLOVER
Here at Ray White , we ’ re privileged to have so many powerhouse women behind some of our top performing businesses . Get to know some of our amazing women business owners .
Ruby Rozental
Ray White Commercial Western Sydney
How did you start your career in real estate ? Prior to joining the Ray White network I was a property / M & A lawyer for around 17 years . I worked both in-house and at large and small law firms . I started my own small firm after my first child was born , wanting some autonomy around my working hours and freedom from the stress of billable hours . The opportunity to join Ray White arose just after our second child was born , as Pete was growing restless in his role with a big corporation and I was wondering how to resurrect my client list after another stint of maternity leave . Our ‘ recipe ’ was almost a sure thing - he had a great reputation as a commercial agent in Western Sydney and strong client relationships , and I had the operational and legal skills to manage the business side . We haven ’ t looked back .
As a woman business owner in the commercial sector , what do you think is the importance of mentorship for other women in the industry ? You just have to love women ! And what ’ s not to love ? I think mentorship happens naturally when you have women in leadership positions . It ’ s a sad reality that ‘ women leaders ’ are still outliers in our society . And even sadder that people usually hire / champion people that are like them . So if women aren ’ t in leadership positions , how will they hire the next generation of female leaders ? That ’ s a hard one . It ’ s going to take quite a few brave men to champion the active promotion of women into leadership positions , and a few outstanding women to stand up and demand them , before we can actually set the stage for decent mentorship .
On a personal level , I ’ m just raw , honest and direct with the women I work with . I guess they know me as a business owner , as a mum , as a human and as a pretty smart and tough lady , but I also show them that I get stuff wrong , that I can laugh at myself and that I can apologise .
Cindy Cash
Ray White North Richmond
How did you start your career in real estate ? At my daughter ’ s fifth birthday party , I had one of the dads approach me to work for him part time as receptionist . I was only working as a fitness instructor at that time so the idea of going back to an office job 1-2 days a week really appealed to me . I ’ d never considered a job in real estate before but I ’ ve always had a genuine interest in property . This job shortly evolved into working for the principal of the business in the capacity of her EA and marketing / sales admin / support . 13 years later I had the opportunity to move into sales at the new North Richmond office . 24
You ’ re a Chairman ’ s Elite agent and a principal , how do you balance your time between work and your personal life ? I ’ m very good at balancing my personal and professional life . I have an amazing husband who supports me in every way , my children all support and encourage me and my mum is incredibly proud and supportive . I think my age helps in some way as I ’ ve learnt how to prevent myself from feeling overwhelmed . I ’ m good at staying calm and focused and I compartmentalise my day . This helps me to put 100 per cent attention into what I ’ m doing at that moment and as soon as I ’ ve finished one task I can then focus on the next .
My morning starts with ‘ me ’ time which is a walk with my dogs , a workout three mornings a week and a cup of tea in bed . I ’ m usually at the office or my first appointment by 9-9.30am . I have an extremely experienced and professional team who work with me and they all have set roles which they take ownership of . My family time is when I get home in the evenings which is usually between 7-8pm at night . I ’ d normally relax with a glass of wine and watch a movie , or spend some time just talking and having dinner together .