This article has been revised and corrected from the original version.

BIANCA VOBECKY

Bianca Vobecky is the founder and president of Vobecky Enterprises, a business dedicated to providing construction and construction-related services. The company has obtained more than 30 federal contracts and multiple local utility contracts, and has worked with many local firms. 

Vobecky secured her company’s first federal contract just three months after obtaining her California contractor’s license in 2009. She serves on the boards of several organizations that promote small and diverse businesses.

Who has inspired you throughout your business journey, and what is the most important thing you’ve learned from them?

I have to say it was my mother. She was an immigrant, a single mother of five who worked two to three jobs at a time to provide a comfortable life for us, but when she had some free time she started side businesses that made her glow with happiness. She encourages us to follow our dreams and to not be afraid; she was the first entrepreneur I knew. I have no doubt that if she had the same opportunity that I had we would be reading about her success today.

What made you decide to go into the industry you’re in now? What have you learned about it?

I worked for three construction management firms, and the satisfaction I got in solving problems using both analytical and critical thinking skills increased my interest in the industry.

Prior to starting Vobecky Enterprises, I worked for Parsons, Jacobs Engineering and Bovis Construction. In each of these positions I grew in my knowledge of construction and business management and acquired much of the experience that informs my business today. I also felt I was called to a higher purpose – where I could make a difference doing what I enjoyed while also serving and employing people in the community. I learned that hard work and not giving up is the key to success.

Has Covid-19 affected how you or your company operates?

We have had to pivot our strategies, policies, and offerings to stay successful in business the past few years. We have had to adapt our approaches to lead teams, marketing and sales remotely. Before the pandemic,  I had to travel for meetings, job walks, and sales calls; now, most of it is done via Teams or Zoom. This is a win-win for us since now we save time and money, and as the president of the company I can accomplish so much more during my day. 

What is the number one piece of advice you’d give to women who want to start or operate their own businesses?

It can be very lonely for entrepreneurs. Especially in their first few years in business, they often feel like they’re on an island, with no one to talk to about their challenges. Friends and family try, but they usually don’t understand why an entrepreneur is pouring themselves into a new business when they can be safe by working for someone else who will give them a regular paycheck. I encourage women who want to follow the path of starting a new business to have support groups. 

What steps do you take to build a positive work culture?

As a corporate citizen, I realize how important it is to give back to the community that has helped me in growing my business. I am a great supporter of organizations that support women and small businesses. My staff and I volunteer for many nonprofit events. I also serve on the boards of several organizations that promote small and diverse business. One of my proudest accomplishments is helping my daughter Monique form the Little Sunshine Foundation (a 501C3 nonprofit organization) when she was 14 years old, an organization that helps underserved youth with academic and sports programs while also empowering them to become leaders in their community.

One of my most cherished honors was being chosen as “the Game Changer” by Wells Fargo Bank; I rode on a stagecoach alongside the bank’s CEO in the 2018 Rose Bowl Parade. This recognition was for my reputation of mentoring and helping many other small businesses and women-owned firms.

What aspects of operating your business do you find the most challenging? 

Finding competent employees has always been a challenge, particularly in the early days, when we couldn’t afford to pay competitive salaries. Now, we’ve prioritized offering employees health benefits and a retirement plan to encourage and retain good talent.

Has being a woman in your industry provided you with a different or unique perspective over the years?

My first challenge was trying to fit into a male-dominated industry. I had to learn that the unique factor that I brought into any situation was that there was only one Vobecky Enterprise and only one Bianca Vobecky. My advice to women in male-dominated industries is to be yourself. One of the most valuable lessons I had to learn was not to try to fit in, but to figure out how I should stand out.

My perspective has also factored into providing business opportunities and paying it forward for other small businesses. I knows that women-owned small business have little room for error, so when another colleague reaches out to me for help I make it my mission to help her succeed.

— Ethan Rhee

KAREN LILJEGREN

Karin Liljegren founded Omgivning in 2009, a venture born from her passion to revitalize urban centers like downtown Los Angeles. The company originally focused on the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles through the adaptive reuse of existing buildings and spaces. It has continued to expand its services to design for a variety of new construction projects across the region and state. Today, Omgivning’s design work has touched over 600 projects, from a large historic landmarks to small, local cafes. Its areas of design include boutique hotels, multifamily housing, workplaces retail, dining and theaters. She also previously worked with Killefer Flammang Architects, now KFA Architecture, where she was director of adaptive reuse projects that converted 12 historic high-rise buildings in downtown L.A. and Hollywood. She launched the hospitality and interior design division at the firm.

Who has inspired you throughout your business journey, and what is the most important thing you’ve learned from them?

My former bosses Barbara Flammang and Wade Killefer at KFA. As they did for me, and as I have taken to my own firm, I believe in helping my staff along their life’s path. At Omgivning, we try to nurture the alignment of skills and passions and to allow our staff the freedom to be who they are and grow into who they are meant to be.

Has Covid-19 had any noticeable change on how you or your company operates?

The biggest office impact has been the realization that everyone has different needs for working environments. We all have collaborative and focused work needs, but the spectrum of how a person thrives in-person versus independently varies greatly depending on personality as well as the home environment. Our company strives to give the greatest flexibility possible for each, with the outcome being a win-win-win for the individual, the project, and the company.

What is the number one piece of advice you’d give to women who want to start or operate their own businesses?

You can do anything you want to do. You have endless potential. Many of us don’t want to ask for help or bother anyone, but starting a business is hard. Forge partnerships, allies, and collaborators. Don’t feel like you have to do it all by yourself.

What have you done this past year to ensure that your business is a leader in its industry?

Omgivning has a specific niche within architecture, which is adaptive reuse; we have been a leader in policy reform that leads to making these types of projects more viable. We give presentations and do speaking events within our industry with the goal of helping what could be our future clients to find ways to make these types of projects feasible and attractive. We share what is coming and help them navigate challenges in this sort of work.

What steps do you take to build community and a positive work culture within your business?

We let people be who they are, and we listen to what they need. Our goal is to help facilitate the alignment of their skills and passions, but this also helps us all to share who we are, which creates a connection and a community.

What aspects of operating your business do you find the most challenging? Conversely, which aspects have been the most rewarding?

It is incredibly rewarding to have the freedom to craft and guide your own business with no one above you telling you how it has to be. In turn, this freedom carries enormous weight, because everything comes back to you and the responsibility for all those around you.

Has being a woman in your industry provided you with a different or unique perspective?

Most of our industry is focused on the bottom line. My perspective is less about being a woman and more about being a specific type of human being that is caring of the people around them, concerned about how our projects impact human behavior and culture and how they create community and help save the earth.

— Ethan Rhee

LYNDA HUEY

Lynda Huey, the president of CompletePT Pool & Land Physical Therapy, is a former athlete and coach whose own injuries led her to use water therapy for fitness and health. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, she pioneered the use of water training with clients including Wilt Chamberlain, Florence Griffith Joyner, Emeka Okafor, Gail Devers and Courtney B. Vance. 

She has written six books on water exercise, including the best-selling aquatic fitness book of all time, “The Complete Waterpower Workout Book,” which she authored with Robert Forster. Huey has written for most of America’s top sports magazines.

Who has inspired you throughout your business journey?

John Koegel helped me learn the physical therapy business. I came from an athletic and coaching background, so I knew nothing about billing health insurance and the hundreds of details about how to do things correctly and ethically in the medical world.

What made you decide to go into the industry you’re in now? What have you learned about it?

I had no intention of starting a physical therapy business. I had my own water fitness and rehab business called Huey’s Athletic Network. We made headlines in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times because of the successful work I had done with Olympic and professional athletes. A physical therapist in Los Angeles read it and asked me to join him to start an aquatic therapy business.

Has Covid-19 changed how you or your company operate?

Absolutely. Most other aquatic therapy clinics in town were inside YMCAs, which were closed during the pandemic. We had our own indoor salt-water pool and people flocked to us in record numbers. We had six physical therapists when lockdown started, and within a year we had 15. We took our therapists out of the pool to make room for the required distance between patients and they loved the spaciousness. The PTs loved being more nimble – able to go upstairs for a land therapy session in the gym, then down to the pool, back and forth as needed.

What is the top piece of advice you’d give to women who want to start or operate their own businesses?

Don’t even think of yourself as a “woman owner.” I never did, maybe because I had trained alongside men my whole athletic career. Do something you love so it won’t feel like work, and you’ll want to do it long after all your friends retire from jobs they were doing.

What have you done this past year to ensure that your business is a leader in its industry?

I have developed strong relationships with over 100 top doctors in Los Angeles – orthopedic surgeons, rheumatologists, pain specialists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, sport medicine, internal medicine and family practice doctors. I started writing personal letters to the doctors I knew when it was no longer possible to go into their offices on marketing visits. Now I’m writing to doctors I’ve never met but would like to know.

What steps do you take to build a positive work culture in your business?

We used to set up booths at 5K and10K races or send our CEO on the Arthritis Foundation’s bicycling events. Nothing like that since the pandemic. Within our own team we have strong bonds that have been built. “Rounds” on the first Tuesday of every month let new PTs ask questions of the more experienced ones about their most complicated cases.

What aspects of operating your business do you find the most challenging? Conversely, which aspects have been the most rewarding?

Making a profit in physical therapy keeps getting harder all the time with payroll going up and insurance reimbursements going down. Seeing so many patients each week and speaking with them is the best part. We are doing over 700 patient visits per week.

Has being a woman in your industry provided you with a different or unique perspective?

Women are highly represented in the physical therapy world, so I don’t think it’s as much a factor as, say, in the corporate world.

Has your career path to achieving success differed because of your gender identity?

When I was in college at San Jose State, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Coaching at the college level seemed the most inviting option for me, but I soon tired of having only 10% of the budget for my women’s track team as my counterpart coaching the men had. When I sprinted for Wilt Chamberlain’s Wonder Women, I met LeRoy Perry, Jr., D.C., who asked me to create some programs for the Olympic athletes coming to town in 1984 in his pool. That was the beginning of my career. Soon I was helping athletes, coaches, and doctors around town and around the world. 

— Ethan Rhee

MERIDITH BAER

Meridith Baer founded her namesake home-staging company in 1998. Since then, it has been on a rapid growth trajectory, staging more than 23,000 homes. From 2020 to 2021, it increased its revenue 12%, and from 2021 to 2022 increased it 20%.

The company has more than 300,000 square feet of warehouse space in three states housings its furniture, artwork and other décor. The company also designs and manufactures its own line.

Who has inspired you throughout your business journey, and what is the most important thing you’ve learned from them?

I’ve truly been inspired the people I’ve worked with from day one, at all levels of my organization. Success is all about showing up, working hard, being consistent, being collaborative – and maybe most importantly, being caring and kind.

What made you decide to go into the industry you’re in now?

When I started, there was no staging industry. After I furnished a property as a favor to a friend who had an empty home on the market, brokers began to call me and ask if I would do the same thing for them … my answer was always yes, and here we are today. I have been overwhelmed at watching this turn into an industry – and also at the number of entrepreneurs who have decided to start their own staging companies as a result.

Has Covid-19 left any noticeable impacts on how you or your company operate?

A number of our team members moved to other states during Covid, and I do miss them. In the meantime, we also learned how to become more flexible, and have continued to work with staff who now reside throughout the country.

What is the number one piece of advice you’d give to women who want to start or operate their own businesses?

If you love what it is you’re going to do, go for it. Loving the work will make it worth the ups and downs. Also, hire people you trust, like and admire, and don’t micromanage them.

What have you done this past year to ensure that your business is a leader in its respective industry?

Worked my tail off seven days a week … just like every other year. We also continue to search the world for wonderful furnishings, and continue to look for and hire talented, collaborative, hard-working people to add to our team.

What steps do you take to build community and positive work culture within your business?

At Meridith Baer Home, employees will often mention that they feel part of a family. From company-provided lunches surrounding upcoming holidays to branded apparel to stories shared in our internal newsletter, we strive to foster an environment in which everyone feels at home. Through our philanthropic initiatives, employees also have the opportunity to give back to the community as we donate furnishings, transform classrooms and makeover homes to local organizations throughout the country.

What aspects of operating your business do you find the most challenging?

The most challenging aspect of my business is the operations side. We are, amongst other things, a logistics company, so we (are) constantly scheduling, caring for our fleet of trucks, caring for inventory, moving in and out of homes, wrapping and unwrapping, managing crews. Then there are all of the legal and insurance issues

Conversely, which aspects have been the most rewarding?

The most rewarding part of my business is seeing the finished product … I just love furnishings and design. But what thrills me are happy homeowners and real estate brokers when homes sell quickly and for over asking.

Has being a woman in your industry provided you with a different or unique perspective over the years?

When I was starting out, I couldn’t get a bank to lend me money. I didn’t know how to talk the talk, and I’m certain my being a woman was a deficit. The good news is that it forced me to grow my business slowly, using profits for the growth. Now, 25 years later, I have very little debt.

What’s next for you and your company?

Opening in more territories. Currently, besides Southern California, we operate in Northern California, Florida and the East Coast (New York and the Hamptons, Connecticut, New Jersey and Miami). We’re doing more and more in Arizona, Nevada, Washington, D.C., and resort areas

— Hannah Madans Welk

NADINE WATT

Nadine Watt is the chief executive of Watt Capital Partners and brings more than 25 years of expertise to day-to-day activities and strategic planning for all commercial investment activities of the company’s 6-million-square-foot portfolio. Throughout her 20-year tenure at Watt Capital’s predecessor Watt Cos., she worked on many parts of the company’s operations, including the development of myriad apartment units and retail centers. In 2011 she led a strategic reorganization of the company, which moved it beyond traditional property management and leasing to a focus on acquisitions, real estate development, and joint-venture opportunities. Watt recently became the president of the University of Southern California Board of Governors and serves as vice chair of both the Lusk Center for Real Estate and the USC Associates Board of Directors.

Who has inspired you throughout your business journey, and what is the most important thing you’ve learned from them?

My grandfather always told me to do my best, and my father always told me to consult the experts. As the third generation with the benefit of the wisdom that came before me, I will try to do both. They never wanted me to feel like someone was taking advantage of me, so I try to be well prepared and educated, while surrounding myself with an amazing team, on which five out of seven of my top executives are women.

What made you decide to go into the industry you’re in now? What have you learned about it?

My grandfather started this company for GI’s returning from World War II; housing and housing communities is in my blood. I take my role in providing housing — not just for the homeless, but also for the “missing middle” — very seriously, and recognize the extreme importance of this demand. I am passionate about the fact that not all Angelinos have access to affordable housing.

Has Covid-19 left any noticeable impacts on how you or your company operate?

One of the major impacts brought on by the pandemic is this new culture of remote work. I find it provides a hindrance to the spiritual and atmospheric feeling, and to so many other experiences, that help to build a team’s unity and spirit.  

What is the number one piece of advice you’d give to women who want to start or operate their own businesses?

I’d say that that it is important for women to support one another and to create awareness of the issues that affect them in commercial real estate or any industry. Be brave. Be bold. But also, be humble. Don’t apologize. Do what you need to do.

What steps do you take to build a positive work culture in your business?

Being a good leader is about change management. When you’re running a business, leading is a lot about talking people through change. Change is difficult, and a big part of my role is helping guide and support my team through these inevitable shifts. Knowing we are all in it together truly creates a sense of unity and trust. Listening is also a large component. If one feels heard, they are more likely to contribute and flourish. 

What aspects of your business do you find the most challenging? And which have been the most rewarding?  

I was the only woman in the room for a long time, which had its pros and cons. Having such a narrow female perspective offers a one-sided slant to the decision-making process. The real estate industry needs to be a reflection of our society, and female perspectives need to be accounted for and adequately represented. In my opinion, one cannot claim to lead an industry that provides for all communities without multiple perspectives.

Has being a woman in your industry provided you with a different or unique perspective over the years?

The generations of men that came before me tended to care mostly about the deals and the details of the financing and operations. As a CEO who happens to be a woman, I care more about the community and the impact of the project and the legacy it will leave.

Has your career path to achieving success differed due to your gender identity?

Because I am the third generation in a family business, a lot of doors were already opened for me. With this advatage, I made it one of my goals to ensure more women are given the same opportunity.  Women are continually underrepresented, and I believe it is part of my responsibility to continue to promote, hire, and mentor more women in business.

— Ethan Rhee

TAMI PARDEE

Tami Pardee is the founder and chief executive of Pardee Properties, based in Venice. In 2022, the brokerage did $656 million in sales. Pardee is routinely one of the top-selling residential real estate brokers in L.A. and focuses on the Westside. 

Pardee also created Life Change Warriors, a foundation that helps people achieve their dreams through coaching and workshops.

Who has inspired you throughout your business journey, and what is the most important thing you’ve learned from them? 

My biggest inspiration has been my dad. He has inspired me in countless ways, but some of his most profound inspirational teachings and sayings have been knowing that you can do anything you set your mind to, viewing life as a game that I love to play, thinking of everything in the positive and knowing that everything in life is there to show and teach you something.

What made you decide to go into the industry you’re in now? What have you learned about it? 

I initially went into the industry because I flipped houses, and when I hired agents (to sell them) I felt it was lacking human connection and there was so much more of a service to be offered. I got my master’s degree in business and learned what a huge financial and emotional decision buying and selling a home is for people. I wanted to ensure they were fully supported, making decisions that would help them make money and ultimately enjoy their homes.

Has Covid-19 left any noticeable impacts on how you or your company operates?

Yes. We learned through the pandemic that connection is so important to people. Homes are a lifeline to how people live, who they are with, and how they connect. As a company, we focused on establishing our relationship with our clients and fully embracing this connection.

What is the number one piece of advice you’d give to women who want to start or operate their own businesses?

It is important to make sure you plan and prepare as much as possible — but it is very important to step forward and go for it when you need to. Often, as women we plan, plan, plan, but we never take that step off the diving board at the high end. You have to take the leap and move forward and keep as steadfast as possible. Though you will inevitably make mistakes, make sure to learn from every single mistake you make.

What have you done this past year to ensure that your business is a leader in its industry?

In this business, you thrive through connection with your clients. With our clients, we focus on always closing the loop and always front-loading so everyone knows what is happening and when, because transparency and communication are so important during the home-selling process.

What steps do you take to build community and a positive work culture within your business?

I strive to have a very positive, loving and supportive work culture — we are truly a work family. We have game nights, barbecues and tiki cruises, and go on work trips together. I love to help do anything that will foster growth and move my work family forward in their lives, and will help pay for coaching or for half of the tuition cost to enroll in the Hoffman Process (a week-long residential personal-growth retreat that helps individuals identify and correct negative behaviors and thoughts).

What aspects of operating your business do you find the most challenging? Conversely, which aspects have been the most rewarding?

Since there are not a lot of barriers to entry in our business, it results in a lot of inexperienced or uneducated agents, which make deals difficult for our clients. You’ll often encounter agents from other brokerages who don’t seem to care as much, which is challenging, since there is a lot of money at stake for our clients. The absolute most rewarding aspect of this business is the connection and the friendships and relationships you gain. 

Has being a woman in your industry provided you with a different or unique perspective over the years?

I think as women, we thrive on connection. We are able to look at how people live and how we can help strategize a plan for you and your family. Home is where your family is; I have six kids in a blended family and have been through a lot in life, so I feel like I can relate to people in a unique way, and helping people is where I thrive.

What’s next for you and your company?

The real estate market is full of a lot of unknowns right now. 

Our company will continue to remain steadfast and strategic for our clients and help them create the home they want in the life they love.

— Hannah Madans Welk