Fran shares her journey in hospitality including the launch of TIEWN and BLLA, both now very impactful industry organizations. She talks about the critical importance of public speaking skills, having a positive mindset to accomplish anything you set your mind to, and relying on the right people around you. Fran also discusses overcoming obstacles and taking risks and why you should always bring forward the experiences you've had.
Fran shares her journey in hospitality including the launch of TIEWN and BLLA, both now very impactful industry organizations. She talks about the critical importance of public speaking skills, having a positive mindset to accomplish anything you set your mind to, and relying on the right people around you. Fran also discusses overcoming obstacles and taking risks and why you should always bring forward the experiences you've had.
Good afternoon. I'm Rachel Humphrey on behalf of D E I advisors, and I am very excited to welcome our guest today, the founder and c e o of B l A. Fran Carra. And Fran, welcome.
Fran Kiradjian:Thank you so much, Rachel. Happy to be here.
Rachel Humphrey:Fran, we're gonna spend about 30 minutes today talking about your path to leadership and a lot of the lessons you've learned along the way. One of the things that makes the hospitality industry so incredibly special is that everyone has their own story. Everyone had a different journey to get where they are. Tell us a little bit about your personal journey. I'd
Fran Kiradjian:love to I think my personal journey begins long ago. I had certain family members that had already one had been deceased and one wasn't, but their leadership stuck in my brain forever. My grandfather was a very well known rabbi and truly a leader in this country and even places around the world. So I always knew how famous he was. And so I, I always thought about that, you know how interesting it was. And then his sister-in-law. So my grandmother's aunt, who was five foot tall, was just an honorable person in the city of Cleveland. And she ran associations and organizations and I believe she founded the first old age home in this country. And her plaque sits over everywhere. And so she was just a little bundle of energy and. Not many women of that day. We're talking 1920s here. Yes. I look young, don't I? No. She was just an amazing individual and so I really looked up to her as I was going through school and learning and thinking about what I was going to do with my life as I got, closer to graduating. And then it was pretty close after graduation that. I really got the taste of being in the travel industry. And I really took to travel's amazing. And my family was, they were travelers to begin with from all over the world. I had family in Israel, I had family in Europe, I had family in Australia and it was just, always in our blood to travel. I started there and I quickly moved up the ranks within not too long a period of time and found my way into leadership. But in between there, I went back to school and I took a, an amazing course an accelerated course for a year at USC for women only. Okay. And it was run by women. There were many reasons that they said, they only wanted women in this course. There were about a hundred of us. And it was, they felt that women learn together better. That kind of, after I graduated from usc, I was still working, during that whole year. It was difficult, but I managed to do it. But at the end, my confidence level, like skyrocket. So I knew that, my path was going to be quicker to the top because I think you need that education and that confidence to make it there. So I quickly went and I went from Carlson Travel to creating my own consortia with another company, which is hospitality consortia and which I sold. And then I spent about 13 years there. And then I went to creating B L A in 2009. Prior to that, in 2008, I had created the Travel Industry Executive Women's Network. So it was there that I could also be the leader, of an international organization and help the influence of women in our industry because everybody needed to get that support. So it was there that I started, my journey and it's been a very interesting one along the way, I must say. And it's been well over 35 years,
Rachel Humphrey:That's amazing. And what a story about building confidence through being surrounded by women and taught by women and. Having women in your peer group such an important lesson. You touched a little bit on the founding of B L A and T I E W N. Entrepreneurship for Women is a critically important part of the industry. There are fantastic organizations and companies founded by and led by women. How did you know? That you were, how did you first of all, identify the gap that B L A especially would fill? And you can tell people about the organization for those who don't know, and then how did you actually know you were the person to fill that void?
Fran Kiradjian:Absolutely. Let's not forget, I started founded T I E W and the year before B A. So I was already noticing in our industry that. Difficult for women to make it to the top. So when I decided to launch B L A and it had been in the works for several years I knew that it was gonna be an uphill battle because I had attended many conferences, in hospitality such I don't wanna mention names, all of the big ones. I tried to attend to get some education and so on, but, Pretty noticeable that there weren't a lot of women on the stage. And so I knew that it was, going to be a little bit difficult, but it wasn't a down economy and I actually brought people close to me that supported me. And I think it was, those people. That really lifted me up to have the confidence to launch v L A because I knew that I was gonna get their support. In fact, our first board was made up, of, a good group of both genders and inclusivity as well. And that was back in like 2010. So I think it's, having that support behind you is what lifts you up to continue. Because as an entrepreneur, you're going to have. Hills and valleys all along the ride, and how do you get through the valleys so that you can continue and climb back up again? And I think as quickly as you can recognize that fact, it drives you to be companies that, okay, I'm going through a valley. continue. And so I really felt it was. Place in hospitality, in particular, hospitality and travel, let's say, to bring more women to the fold. And by educating them, having them connect with each other and so on launching v l a allowed me to be able to do that because I could actually pick the people that, were on stage or on the board or participating or members or anything else. I have the control. I really felt very good about that because I've always felt that way that, to be fair to everybody, you've gotta spread around the wealth and the wealth of making them recognizable. So that's the start of my German.
Rachel Humphrey:It's amazing to see as well, because even or in spite of, or because of that tremendous diversity in your speakers, in your attendees, in your content, b l a has thrived. Yes. And so it, it's showing the world that you can be an incredibly inclusive organization and inclusive conference and not have to worry about whether the. Content or the attendance or anything else will suffer along the way. So what an incredible lesson for others to see, but also how incredibly brave, you mentioned in there that you're gonna have highs and lows, every leader getting to the top, and then once you're at the top, has to come overcome obstacles on the way. Yes. What are the personality traits that you have or the strategies that you implement when you're faced with an obstacle that you think helps you get through that hardship?
Fran Kiradjian:I think it's just, your inner strength, I've always had it, I got it from my mother and, from the relatives that I looked up to, and I said, okay, I can do that. If they can do this, I can do it. So you have to be able to accept things the way they are, and if they're not gonna move in your direction, you have to be, you have to just step over it and find another solution. So I think it's really being as studious and creative as you can be, and also reaching out to others who you know are going to support you. And I think when AA came along seven years later, it was even more difficult cuz now we were the mother-daughter duo of boutique and we knew there was going to be some, some obstacles along the way and we're still facing them, it does happen. and that's okay. We just we keep smiling and keep moving forward and, keep bringing people to the table and, giving people opportunities to be able to be heard on our stages or wherever it is. Because you'll find a lot of first time. entrepreneurs, whether they're building a hotel or they're building a cro, a craft coffee company, they'll hear them on our stages quite often where we gave them the first opportunity because I know what it's like. And I want to offer, that to them so that they can start building, their own organization. So we're very open to helping others along the way, and we want to, it feels good, right? To help others. you have to do some good in the world along the way.
Rachel Humphrey:Do you think, when you think about overcoming obstacles, do you think your strategies have changed over the course of your
Fran Kiradjian:career? No, I think I think the obstacles are probably a little bit less, but there's definite, definitely still there. And I guess I could say, we have five divisions and one of the divisions is boutique money group. Out of D L O A and that is finding capital, for projects or finding development partners or operators to assist. And I think there still is a little bit of bias there. It's not as easy. Let's say I am raising capital for one project and it's not as easy for me. And maybe it's my own shortcoming a little bit because maybe I'm a little more guarded, in who I contact. Because I have learned a few lessons along the way, and you obviously wanna be taken seriously. And I've also had some funny experiences too, where, you're not compensated properly. And so I think, that's a lot of women have that trouble. I had it growing up along the way, was trying to prove. why I should have the same salary as someone in the same place in that company, right? And you shouldn't have to do that, but you have to speak up for yourself. And I learned that along the way, you must speak up. You must be heard, and you must be confident when you're bringing something up that you're deserving of that as, as well as anybody else's in your same.
Rachel Humphrey:That's excellent advice. Similar to overcoming obstacles, great leaders have to take risks on a daily basis, on an annual basis. Obviously founding not one, but the five divisions of a company starting a company from scratch. Other things are certainly evidence that you are a risk taker. Same thing there. How do you How do you process taking risks? How do you evaluate the risks when presented? Are you, do you rely a lot on gut instinct? Do you rely on facts and data? How do you really evaluate whether or not to take
Fran Kiradjian:a risk? I definitely don't rely on data and I will say, data, get out of the way because this is gonna happen no matter what. So a lot of it is attitude and drive. I just wanna drive forward when I believe in something wholeheartedly and I have to believe in it. When I created B L A, it was really all about supporting entrepreneurs and smaller businesses rather than huge conglomerates, who have lots of capital available and lots of resources. I have to believe in what I'm doing no matter what it is. So those five divisions, I wholeheartedly believe in, and whatever it takes, I will get there. So if the obstacle comes, that's fine. I take a deep breath or maybe I'll take a day off. go to the beach and say, okay, let's calm down. Let's figure this out. There is a solution, and sometimes I'll call people, that I rely on or that are in my inner circle, whether they're sitting on the board or the tune board, the T U W N board or somebody. You have to have a few people that you can rely on, that you can talk to confidentially about anything. and you just, I think it's all about the power of positive thinking. For me it is. My father taught me that. And it rules my life in a lot of ways. That may might be a detriment to some people, But I truly believe that if you have that inner gut, positive, knowing that you're gonna have those hurdles and just get over them, get over it. Take a deep. and really, continue on your journey, otherwise you're going to get stuck and you're going to give up. Yeah. And looking back, it's been 13 years, that B L A has survived and thrived, and now with five divisions with some growing, even bigger, it's, I've had to go through those obstacles and just make it and take risks. Yes. Oh, absolutely. Take risks such as, funding a program on my own. through, my own personal bank accounts. I've had to do that. And if I didn't believe in what I was doing, I wouldn't have done it right. I would've reached out for help or something else. But if I believe on some, in something, it's going to happen some one way or the other.
Rachel Humphrey:I think it's amazing too in looking at mindset, how important for you at least, mindset has been. We talk a lot about. Negative conversations in our own heads or others who get in our heads of all the reasons you can't do something. Yes. And I love that you're presenting about all the ways that you can and will and really having the right mindset to take that step. One of my absolute favorite topics always on panels when people ask it of me, and I love to ask it in return, is what advice you would give to your younger self. And I think the reason this one really resonates with me is I believe so much in reflection and personal growth, and we never stop learning no matter what stage of our lives we're in. And so I'm curious, as you sit here today, thinking about. What got you into travel and hospitality, the pivoting that you've done where you are today, what would you tell your 22 year old self that you wish you'd known then? couple
Fran Kiradjian:things. I would've stuck in and done more college work for sure, because I was weak in certain areas. And so I went back to school, much later. And I got a lot out of it. I probably would've gone to that, taken that course anyway. And I took it during my days at Carlson and Marilyn Carlson Nelson, who's the ceo, Carl, and Company supported me on, taking that course. So that's one thing I would've done is really make sure that you're educated. It doesn't have to be college, by the way, can be, attending courses. Do you know today you can do anything online. So go to Cornell or eh l out of Switzerland. Take those online courses and really educate yourself more. So it took me longer. So that's one thing that I would tell people. And the other thing I think is to surround yourself with a few people that you can rely on. One of my very best friends is from eighth grade. I know I can go to her. and tell her anything, that's bothering me or trying to find a solution. And she'll talk me through it. Okay, let's sit down, figure this out. You need to have a few of those people on your site. Could be your mother, it could be somebody in a company that you worked for previously. It could be anybody. I belong to a group called Vistage for a while, which is all it's a ceo. So you get together with a group of eight CEOs, for a year or two years or three years, and you sign an NDA and you have eight voices helping you with anything. Anything that you've encountered, during that time. And so I love that. So I would join a group of some kind and, be a part of something so you can get that feedback, but also you can contribute. which really empowers you to go forward. And I think I've always belonged to something, whether it was YWCA's Indian maidens with my older daughter, or, anything else along the way. Those people are going to empower you. So from a very young age, belong to organizations and be a part of something.
Rachel Humphrey:That's such great advice in hospitality. Certainly there are so many exceptional organizations, resources available no matter what aspect of the industry you're in or what you wanna do. So I love that. Especially also so many barrier free. non-membership, no cost. I mean that the resources are just endless. So that's great advice. One of the things you talked about earlier, the importance of B L A is not only to give more women or others an opportunity to speak publicly, where they may not have that even presenting to a board or presenting in front of another organization. How important do you think public speaking is in, in elevating your career, regardless of what aspect of the industry you're in? And what skills do you use to either prepare or to feel more confident or do you feel confident when you're speaking publicly?
Fran Kiradjian:So absolutely, it is absolutely crucial that you public speak. That's the only way you're gonna get yourself, which is your personal brand or getting the brand that you're representing or your company out there is by public speaking. And I tell everyone that I told my children that and I watched them from the time they were. Do public speaking, it's very important. Yes, I'm confident, definitely out there. Not as confident as my two daughters, I would say. They've probably got my grandfather's success, when it comes to that more than I do. But I've always loved it and. I had some fantastic training and I suggest that go out and find that, whatever that is, joining a group where you can speak in front of them, improv, whatever it is. But at Carlson they have the, all the national account managers take public speaking courses in Minneapolis at Carlson headquarters and we were record. And the whole class had to, say, oh, look at her hands are moving around too much. That's when I learned to keep my hands calm. I also was very soft spoken so nobody could hear me. I've taught myself how to project. And so my confidence level really skyrocketed during those years, and it allowed me to speak more and more. I'm not gonna say I'm the best speaker. Like I say, my daughters are phenomenal, both of them. And I'm allowing them, to do more of the speaking. I'm still there and I still do enjoy it because I enjoy sharing with others and, I. Say that you have to do some form of public speaking and get over. Some people say they never get over the fear of it, but I think if you're prepared there's certain things you can do, have a confidence monitor in front of you where you can prepare some notes for yourself. It doesn't mean that you have to think, off the. About everything. Like I'm doing with you here, even though I've got pages of preparation over there, here's what I'm missing. But you know what? It doesn't matter because guess what, at the end of the day, and this is what I learned early on, it's not about what you say, it's how you make the audience feel. So if you can project that onto making them feel fantastic about themselves you're a hit, you're a winner.
Rachel Humphrey:I think one of the important things with that too is to remember that someone selected you to speak or you volunteered to speak at something because you have a value to add. So you might miss some of the notes that you took. But this content is because you have great value in this content. And so speaking from the heart, speaking from what you know, choosing to participate in public, speaking about topics that you are confident in with that practice, you will get more comfortable with that. But I think also, Can remember why you were asked in the first place. Remember what you have of value to add to that. Cause I think we sell ourselves on, did I get all my talking points in? Did I say everything I was supposed to say? If self you
Fran Kiradjian:story before we move on. Yeah. The first time I was ever asked to speak was when I was a corporate travel manager at a company. I was asked to come to New York and. Speak about car rental contracts, negotiating car rental contracts. And so I asked my mother, why don't you come with me? This is my first time speaking, it's about 200 people in the room. This is a little bit scary for me, but I'm gonna do it because I know that subject so well. And so my mother came with me and, I started, Being my first time speaking, I'm like, I'm gonna know everybody in this room before they enter. So I met them at the door. I greeted everybody. I chatted with people. So by the time I got up to the stage I knew those people. I knew them, they were like friends. But when I got off the stage, when I was finished and I started to walk out the room, there was my mother standing behind the door peeking through the hole in the door, where the door opens and closes. She was watching me and cracking up the entire time and I had no idea, and it was just such, a cute way. And I have to say too, just one last thing. We do give people a chance to speak for the first time on our stage, and I won't mention names, but a lot of leaders that never spoke in the past have come and we've given them that, that extra kind of, I wanna say training. We spend a lot of time with them so they're comfortable, right? And so we launched them into, okay, now I'm comfortable. Yeah. So if you're able to, give people an opportunity and you're in charge of an event or a conference or a round table, do it as much as you can, even if they've never spoken before.
Rachel Humphrey:I love that so much. When I used to source a lot of speakers, I would ha, I would call people that I would think would be great, especially women, and they'd say, oh, I think you want somebody else. And I was like, Nope, I want you. And then they would come and then they would love it. They would be great at it and they would start doing more and more speaking. So it feels amazing both to give people the confidence to do it, but then once you do it, you get a little bug for it for a lot of people and it becomes very exciting. And same thing, a lot of those people are now regular conference speakers and I love to see. Where they have come. I know we're gonna run out of time. We always do cuz there's so many things that we wanna cover. One of the things Fran that you and I have in common is we are both girl moms. So I'm not, I'm gonna skip over a little bit about work-life management because I am certain that you have great value to add there. But I really wanna talk about. Aa, your daughter who works and found runs B L A with you. How much does being a girl mom impact your passion and drive for elevating women in the industry, giving women opportunities? Obviously you knew at U S C that being a part of a powerhouse women's team provided a lot of value for you, but how do, how does that now impact your decision making?
Fran Kiradjian:I think it definitely plays a role, there's no doubt about it, because you wanna be a good role model right? To your children for them to aspire to something great. And so you have to lead the way, just I think, like my mother did and, the other relatives that I was talking about before. So I think being a grown mom, you're cognisent of it in a more personal way. But I also wanna say that I think that goes along 50 50 almost with all the women that I've met in the industry around the world, through these organizations that I belong to. I look at them, as people, and I've seen their struggles and I've seen them talk on the stage. About their struggles, whether they owned a car rental company, a travel agency, or they were general manager of a hotel and. I just so resonated with, there's something, I don't know what it is. You can't put your finger on it, but there's something about women helping other women and it's a shame that it doesn't happen more, quite honestly. But definitely being a girl mom, it helps, but I do have three grandsons, I have to think of them as well now. So I'm split between the two. You. Making sure that they're also confident in their own way. So I think I'm, I feel very lucky to be able to.
Rachel Humphrey:That's amazing. Plus your daughters and sons and grandsons of course get to see you founding a company, being on CEO panels, doing public speaking, and I'm sure that's a great motivator and inspiration for them as well. We're gonna do a couple of rapid fire questions, but the hospitality industry has. an incredible network. While it is very large, in some ways it is very small in others. How have you adapted your relationship building and networking to your specific comfort zone? Not everybody is gonna go golf. Not everybody's gonna go to a late night cigar event, but what is your strategy for relationship building and networking that's worked well for.
Fran Kiradjian:I think it's, taking as many opportunities as possible, really being out there. Of course during Covid we didn't have much chance to do that, but I think through the years it's participating, and I love people I'm just one of those kind of people that I'm friendly and, happy to, speak to anybody and I think help them. A lot of my staff in the past have always said to me, why'd you take that call? Why'd you let that person in the door when they didn't have an appointment? Why are you spending time when they're, some people say picking your brain is the worst thing you can ask someone to do. However, I oh, it always makes me feel really good to help others. So when people would come to my door, when I was in an office and they were hotels, Because that was when I had the consortia and the front desk would say, but they don't have an appointment. Why are you letting them in? I'm like, are you kidding me? They have, they took the time to come here and if I have a moment, I'm gonna spend it with them. And I think that created that relationship. That started spread. People started to talk about me and I guess what, I got more invitations. I didn't do it for that. I did. I did it just because I'm that kind of person. I like. To be friendly. So I think, attending events and, making sure that you're out there meeting and greeting people. And just being as personable as you can is gonna help your career. It's gonna help you feel good. And if you can, make other people feel good, it's just gonna raise your own profile.
Rachel Humphrey:I love that it goes back to mindset that you talked about earlier. You were doing these things because they felt good to you, but in exchange it helped elevate your career and your businesses, and that's a great lesson to see. You weren't doing it for the reward, but the reward was inherent in just who you were. Who you were as a person and what you were doing. Cuz it felt like the reward was in here. Yeah. Now and that's amazing. And then it became, part of the success of your businesses, I'm sure. As I said, I knew we'd run out of time. So knowing d e I advisor's mission statement of empowering personal success, there's certainly lots of things we have not had a chance to talk about today, but tell me one final piece of advice you would want people to take away from your life lessons, your industry experience, and the path of your career.
Fran Kiradjian:I think, talking about d e I advisors and the great things you know, that you've begun doing and bringing people together, my advice is if you have had an issue or an experience, it's very hard, but you must bring it forward. And maybe you start slowly with one group or one organization or one purpose, but the more that we brush it under the rug, whatever that problem is, It's going to proliferate and it's not going to go away. Look I launched, two in 2008 and I'm still seeing the same problems, and this is 14 years later. So that's my one rule of advice is be brave, speak about it, get advice for how to speak about it, but you have to deal with it. Otherwise it's going to bother. You and you're not helping anybody.
Rachel Humphrey:that is fantastic. Congratulations to you on your tremendous success, the success of the businesses. Thank you so much for your leadership, but also paying it forward and sharing today your pathways. I know a lot of people will take a lot from it. Really appreciate your time and your
Fran Kiradjian:joining us. Thank you, Rachel. I'm am pleased to have been here and grateful for this opportunity. Thank you so much. Thank
Rachel Humphrey:you so much, Fran.