Here at The Kerplunk, we had a chance to interview Lindsay Hubbard. She is the ultimate alpha female and makes no apologies for it. Take a look at the interview below with our editor-in-chief, Shazir Mucklai, and Lindsay Hubbard.

What are you best known for? What is your biggest accomplishment?

I would say I’m probably best known for being on a tv show called Summer House on BRAVO: the super real, outspoken (sometimes too much), takes no crap from no one, #girlboss who likes to drink a lot of rosé on the weekends, ha! But my biggest accomplishment – and you don’t get see too much of this side of me on the show – would be owning and operating my own PR agency in New York City, called Hubb House PR. I know it sounds so cliché, especially in a time when most millennials these days just want to be “influencers,” or they want to be their own “boss” just because they don’t want to work for a company or another person … but that’s not the mentality I had when I decided to open up shop (more on this under #2). This August marks five years since I’ve been running my own agency, and to actually survive to the five year mark (especially in NYC) is NOT an easy task – it’s a lot of work, and it’s hard work – so I guess that would be an added layer of accomplishment.

How did you start out?

I majored in Public Relations at the University of Florida (Go Gators). It was a time when PR as an industry was still fairly new to colleges and universities, and I didn’t even have a full understanding of exactly what a publicist did; But it felt like something I might like, so I just went for it, and trusted my instincts. Once I started getting into the core concentration courses, I realized I had been naturally doing PR my whole life, and was actually pretty good at it. I decided to spend the summer of 2007 interning at a mid-sized lifestyle PR firm in NYC, but as typical of most PR firms, it was unpaid, so I supplemented making money as a VIP hostess in the Hamptons at a nightclub called Star Room. When it was time to graduate college in 2008, I sold everything I had and moved to New York three days later with two suitcases and blind trust that everything was going to work out. I got a job right away at a top boutique PR firm in the city – which coincidentally was the first place I interviewed. I got very lucky, because this was 2008, and the stock market just plummeted. Companies weren’t hiring that year, they were laying people off, but I got lucky. Plus, my resume by that point was filled with three different internships worth of experience. I worked really hard that year, but being a Florida girl, my first winter in NYC absolutely crushed me! After one year in the city, I packed my bags and moved to Los Angeles in 2009 where it was obviously a lot warmer.

I got a job pretty immediately at another, similar-sized lifestyle PR firm. The owner and her business partner had just separated two days before I walked in for an interview. At 22 years old, I jumped at the opportunity to help her re-build her agency. I went to every breakfast, lunch, dinner, meeting, phone call, event, and more with my boss. This is where I really honed the skill of being a publicist, how to truly nurture relationships, and represented some of the top lifestyle brands in the US. I really give that lady a lot of credit for helping craft my career, but to say I was dedicated solely to work for those five years would be an understatement. More often than not, I worked until 9:00/10:00PM on Fridays, went in on Saturdays to catch up on more work, didn’t take one vacation, powered through any sickness I might have had (I literally wasn’t allowed to get sick), entertained clients and media around the clock, and even flew across the country on redeyes every. other. week. for an entire year to build up our New York office. Eventually, I got shipped back to New York to run the office in the city. It just made the most sense. My boss was on the west coast, and she needed someone she could trust to be a leader on the east coast. By the summer of 2014, I hit my ceiling. All of the clients I was working on, were clients that I brought in to the agency. And unfortunately PR is very top-heavy, so although I was working as if I was a “partner,” my salary was extraordinarily low. I decided it was time to make some money for myself. And I’ve never been more scared in my life to make that leap, but as they say, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, and here we are.

How do you structure your days?

I don’t know if I can really explain in a brief, definitive, way how I specifically structure my days, but I can tell you I definitely keep myself busy. I love the PR industry because there is never a dull moment, ever. Right now I have five clients, all in different industries – which is fun, but can be overwhelming at times. Add a tv show to the mix, and you’re looking at two full time jobs on the daily. I start each day writing a to-do list with my assistant – I want to be clear that she is not a personal assistant and doesn’t pick up my dry cleaning for me – rather, she is a junior publicist who focuses on pitching our clients to the media right alongside me. Our to-do lists are majority focused on what we need to do for our clients, but I do add an “Other” section in there to keep myself on track for what I need to be doing personally (book flights, get my boyfriend a birthday present, etc.). No day is the same and no client has the same strategy, so depending on what we have going on for which client that week determines what takes priority on different days. Everyone always seems to need PR during the fall and the spring – which is great because it’s not filming season – but we’re always working on new client proposals, or talking with old clients who are ready to engage our services again. With Summer House season three on-air right now, social media is an incredible tool my cast mates and I use to engage with fans daily and promote each week’s new episode. My social media is definitely a reflection of my summer-self, but hopefully my clients know I’m not going to a foam party during a Tuesday afternoon, I’m actually in the office working, and the majority of my content was taken during the weekends last summer, ha!

Where and how do you work best?

I have an office in the NoMad neighborhood of NYC, so most of the time Victoria and I work from there, but if I’m preparing for a trip and need to get organized, we will set up shop at my apartment so I can multi-task work with laundry, packing, etc. I also find that I have more creative energy at my apartment. I have floor-to-ceiling windows so the natural sunlight helps get my creative juices flowing better than being stuck inside of a dimly-lit office. I also take my laptop everywhere with me, so working from the road has never really been an issue for me, and sometimes I’m more productive getting work done while I’m traveling because I feel guilty about physically leaving New York. Weird, I know.

How do you solve [common problems – productivity, scheduling, marketing, networking, reducing overwhelm]?

I LIVE by calendar alerts. If it’s not in my calendar, I will undoubtedly forget what I have to do each day, so I’ve trained myself on immediately adding things to my calendar, especially during busy times. I’ve realized throughout the years that balance is 1,000% necessary in my life. I try to work out a lot, less for it’s physical payoffs, but more to clear my head and think clearly. I try not to go into rabbit holes with work where I’m anti-social for long periods of time because spending time with loved ones – whether it’s best friends, family, or your significant other – is healthy for the soul. Getting out of NYC is also important for me to maintain a semblance of sanity. It’s always good to get out of the hustle and bustle, slow down, and get grounded.

What would you have done differently if you knew then what you know now?

I hate to say it but I don’t think I would have done anything differently as far as where my career has gone, or where my life path has taken me. Regrets are a waste of time- and life is too short to go around regretting things. I believe that if you give positivity to the universe, it brings positivity back to you, but you have to be open to it. If an opportunity slaps you in the face, take it, see where it goes, and if it doesn’t work out, you can always move on to something else. The only reason I’ve gotten as far as I have, is because I’ve opened my arms to opportunity every step of the way. There ARE times, though, when I’m super stressed out with work and ask myself why I couldn’t have just married rich. Life would have been so much easier. But then I remember I just had to be the independent woman, haha!

What’s the best advice you ever received?

I think the best advice I’ve ever gotten was to depend on yourself for your own happiness. Life has twists and turns, people are always disappointing, but there’s always one person who you can count on, and that is yourself. And if you don’t make yourself happy, it’s going to be hard for you to make anyone else happy – and isn’t that what life is about?! Shared moments…

Who are your biggest influences? Who do you admire most? Who or what inspired you to do what you’re doing now?

I feel the most moved by the women who paved the way in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s for the rest of us women today. The RBG’s, Gloria Allred and Gloria Steinem, the ladies who took NASA by the balls, and pushed for equal gender rights. Their stories are so impowering having to endure so much discrimination and prejudice for no reason other than they were women, yet they just kept pushing forward despite all odds at that time. It really puts things into perspective as far as the luxuries we’re given now, and how easy we have it. Those women inspire me the most.