Wendy Blissett, Senior Vice President, HREC Investment Advisors, interviewed by Lan Elliott

Wendy shares her incredible journey, rising to senior roles in hospitality brokerage. She explains how she’s overcoming her fear of public speaking, and why champions are critical to career success.  She discusses how she built her extensive network and the tip she received from a champion for staying positive when things get hard.

Transcript

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Lan Elliott 0:00

Hello and welcome to It's Personal Stories, a hospitality podcast. My name is Lan Elliott on behalf of It's Personal Stories. And today's guest advisor is Wendy Blissett, Senior Vice President of HREC Investment Advisors. And Wendy, I'm so pleased to have you on today. Welcome to the show.

Wendy Blissett 0:21

Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. It's definitely a pleasure to be here.

Lan Elliott 0:26

Very happy to have you on. I've heard a little bit of your story. It's fascinating. So I'd love to hear some of the inflection points in your career and if you think there were any particular factors that contributed to your success.

Wendy Blissett 0:45

Oh my gosh, where do I start? For me, I think inflection points probably the biggest one for me was just simply starting in this industry. I Didn't plan to be a broker. I didn't know anything about hospitality industry. It just fell. Into me, in terms of I was needing a job and interviewed at a hotel brokerage firm early on and I I've been here ever since. It definitely is being in the industry is one of the things, just that first contact with understanding what real estate hospitality was about. I think the, there's several inflection factors, I think that I can think of right off the top. I think the second one was actually becoming a broker. When I joined the industry, I wasn't a broker. Obviously, I started at the bottom and worked my way up. But becoming a broker was definitely a big deal for me. And probably the third one was probably doing my first deal all by myself. Always had great people surrounding me that, helped me get to where I was going. But being able to land that first deal by yourself is pretty exciting. So those would probably be the biggest ones for me.

Lan Elliott 1:53

And I know you said you didn't go to school to be a broker, so it was a bit by accident that you became a broker, but there were a few champions that you had that really advocated for you along the way. I wanted to talk about that, but for our viewers who may be, aren't familiar with the difference between a mentor and a champion. I think mentors are well understood. They give you advice, but champions are those people who push you to take on new challenges, support you and are the ones that speak up for you in the rooms that you're not in that give people opportunities. Those things happen behind closed doors. So having champions in your corner can be really. important. And I know you've had a few champions in your journey, and you mentioned a few inflection points, but I think there are some important ones that were part of that.

Wendy Blissett 2:48

Absolutely. Oh my gosh I have been so blessed to have as many champions as I have had. When I started out in the industry, obviously not planning to be in this industry at all. Worked at a hotel brokerage firm for about five and a half years. And during that time met Keith Thompson, Al Calhoun and Mark Fair. We all worked at the same brokerage firm. And then I left for a brief stint for about two years, got out of the industry, ended up coming back into the industry because they called me back when they started Thompson Calhoun Fair. In 2005 and from that point forward they were my biggest advocates. They pushed me. They taught me things. They pretty much pushed me into everything, teaching me all aspects of the business. Also had Leslie Ng. I met him early on in, in the business. And he pretty much just championed me, from afar, just encouraging me to do things and So it's been really good. I've had really good people pretty much pushing me. And I wouldn't be where I am today without, definitely without Keith, Al, and Mark. They really taught me everything I know. So I'm going to give them all the praise and the shout out which is great. But It was great. I, again, I didn't know anything when I started this business. And I think, one of the things we'll probably get into in a little bit is how I got into the business and where I was going first. And we'll share a little bit more about that. But it definitely is so important to have champions in your corner, because even when you don't believe in yourself, they believe in you. And I think that's the biggest part. They saw my abilities in this industry before I saw them in myself.

Lan Elliott 4:19

Is there a good way to go about finding champions? How does one cultivate champions?

Wendy Blissett 4:26

Oh my gosh, I wish I had the answer for that. I think I just was in a position where I was surrounded by these men that wanted that, that wanted to mentor somebody and that, that saw the potential in me I think if you don't have that, if it's not organic, it was organic for me because of, we worked in the same office for five and a half years, they saw my talents, I worked underneath them, so they saw what I was capable of, but if you, If it's not organic, I think I think you have to ask for it. I think you have to advocate for yourself. Not everybody may not have a champion. Or, or may not have that opportunity. Where somebody is coming to you. And pushing you to do something you then have to turn around and find somebody that you think you might want to have as a mentor or a champion and you have to go and ask them. I think that's the, you definitely have to be an advocate for yourself. If somebody's not already advocating for you.

Lan Elliott 5:23

Thank you. Let's talk a little bit about overcoming self doubt because often we can be our own. biggest critics and that noise in our heads makes us doubt ourselves. Have you ever hesitated in pursuing something because of self doubt? And if so, how did you overcome that? What do you have for others who are struggling?

Wendy Blissett 5:46

Let's start with the self doubt. I think my biggest fear is public speaking. This is, not normal for me. And I think over the years I've done a few things to put myself out there in that regard. But I don't know that I've got the answer in terms of how I've overcome that. I don't think I've done enough of it in order to really get over that for me. But I think the answer is simply you just got to get out there and do it, whatever that fear is, that is overtaking you for that, whatever, whatever that may be for somebody for me, it's public speaking I think you have to, I think you just have to do it more, I think you have to be willing to jump right in and take that time to do it. Do it so that then you're it gets a little bit easier the more you do it I am not i'm not a public speaker I think i've always wanted to be up on this stage and You know give my opinions from a brokerage standpoint and those type of things but at the same time. I mean I it is it that's my that's where i'm You know, the least comfortable, so I'm still working on that. So

Lan Elliott 6:54

I love that. I do think you do in a sense, public speaking all the time in your job, right? You're always pitching to clients to say, let me sell your hotel pitching to owners as to why a hotel you're marketing is a great deal. So in a sense, you are public speaking all the time, but I think there is that perception of being on stage that it is so much more scary. And I think you're right. When you do things that are challenging at the beginning, you do it over and over, it gets easier. And I think sometimes we just gotta tell ourselves To move forward. I think that's been one of your hallmarks that your champions have seen is your willingness to jump in and just try stuff even when it's new for you.

Wendy Blissett 7:41

Absolutely. I think I remember working with Keith Allen Mark and real interesting time when, right when I joined back with them in 2005 or not 2005 in 2001. I came back to work for them as a broker's assistant. And that was in August and in September, 9, 11 happened. And, obviously the whole world shut down and we ended up they ended up, having to let some people go which was obviously unfortunate, but they kept me and I was the last one in they kept me and, and one other person. I had to learn how to do everything. At that point in time, I took on many roles but they were always there helping me. I didn't know how to run a financial analysis, but they taught me how to run a financial analysis. I had to jump right in and do it. And so again, it goes back to the importance of having those people that believe in you, because obviously they believed in me enough to keep me when I was the last one in. I knew my abilities and my talents, even when I may not have had that confidence myself. It was just a huge blessing that they saw in me, my potential, even when I didn't. And I think that's one of the important things that people need to see is even when you don't believe in yourself, there's always going to be somebody out there that sees. What you're capable of even when you may not be able to see it and you just have to be able to See that person and allow that person to come in and be that champion for you

Lan Elliott 9:13

It has led you to do things that maybe you didn't think you were ever going to do You thought that was for somebody else right by them believing in you, but also in you going Okay, I'm going to give it a shot if you believe I can do it. I'm gonna Get on that stage, or I'm going to take on that new project or role that I've never done before. But I think it's a testament to what we can all accomplish when people believe in us. It's really incredible.

Wendy Blissett 9:43

Absolutely.

Lan Elliott 9:44

Flipping the script to the other side when you need to advocate for yourself. And there's a common general Generalization that women and some folks in underrepresented groups don't always do a good job of advocating for themselves. And that can be a barrier to creating new opportunities and getting a chance to do different things. Could you share a story about a time when you successfully advocated for yourself? How did you approach it? What steps do you, did you take and what advice do you have for others who are trying to do something like that?

Wendy Blissett 10:23

I keep going back to the very beginning of my career because it was so pivotal for me, but the biggest story that I had is out of college I've always loved fashion always thought I was going to be in the fashion industry, worked my way in the fashion industry during college. Just absolutely loved it thought I was going to be a shoe buyer for neiman marcus I mean I just made that up when I was 15 or whatever but ran with that and always thought I would get to that point. And out of college. Obviously, I was not going to be a shoe buyer for neiman marcus. I ended up just responding to an ad for a Executive assistant position in a hotel brokerage firm and went in sat down. I'll never forget. It was at the JW Marriott and Buckhead here in Atlanta. And I sat down with the CFO and the president of the company, and I just had to sell myself. Cause I didn't even know what hotel brokerage was much less what I would be doing or anything along those lines. And it was funny cause one of them wanted to hire me, but the other one didn't. And thankfully the one that wanted to hire me went out and I've been in the business ever since. But it's just I had, it was a mindset for me. I had to sit down at that moment and say, okay, I have no clue what the job really entails. I didn't know how to write a letter on, type out a letter, an executive letter, any of those type of things. I had to just sell myself on what I was capable of learning and that I would be able to do the things that they needed me to do, even though they clearly knew that I didn't have a clue what I was talking about or what I was doing. But sorry, excuse me, but I was able to sell myself and my ability to learn. And that was the biggest thing. So I advocated for myself that day. I sat down and I said, I don't know anything about this industry, but I know enough about myself and my ability to be able to learn whatever you're willing to teach me. And that was, that's probably the biggest the biggest one for me, because that changed the trajectory of my whole career. Again, thinking I was going to be in fashion and then ended up here. And if I wouldn't have had that meeting and I wouldn't have taken that step to go in there and try something that I didn't have a clue what I was doing, then I wouldn't, I wouldn't be here today in this industry. We're not going to say how many years later, but it's but yeah it's all about taking that. Taking that leap of faith in yourself and being able to sit down and advocate in terms of having steps to do it. I didn't really have any steps. I just went in there and knew I had to sell myself. I had to believe in myself and I had to sell myself on my abilities and what I was capable of learning. If somebody was willing to teach me,

Lan Elliott 12:57

if you were to do it again what would you do? Would you prepare in advance? What advice would you give for people who are getting ready to advocate for themselves?

Wendy Blissett 13:08

I think preparation obviously is always going to be helpful. I think preparing learning a little bit about the industry. If I would have been smarter back then, I probably would have, probably Googled what, what is hotel brokerage? Learned a little bit about the industry before I walked in the door blind, not knowing anything. So I definitely think preparation is key. I think the more you can learn about what you're about to go into, the, the better you are and probably the more confidence then you will have in yourself as well as your ability to be able to talk about it. So definitely, I think preparing and, again, I think the biggest thing is the mindset that you have. And then obviously preparing helps tremendously. So if I could have gone back, I probably would have done those things.

Lan Elliott 13:55

Yes, and back then we didn't have linked in, but now that right tool, if you're preparing for a job interview to, to, and also

Wendy Blissett 14:03

the ability to, and also the ability to be able to, if you know somebody in that industry, pick up the phone and don't be afraid to call that person and. And ask them, Hey what can you tell me about this industry? What do you know? Are there people that you can connect me with that are doing the same position, that I'm applying for? And so be able to reach out, if you have connections or and try to find those ways where you can gain more information and insight. That's

Lan Elliott 14:29

really good advice. I wanted to talk a little bit about self care because brokerage involves. a lot of travel. How do you manage self care in the midst of everything that you need to juggle? And are there things that you do to ensure that you show up with your best self?

Wendy Blissett 14:56

I think I've learned over the years I think I know myself pretty well and being able to understand, physically and mentally when you need to back off of something or when you need to step away from something. I'm one of those people that just fly by the seat of my pants. I'm always going. I feel like I'm a very social, so I'm always craving that social interaction with other people. So I'm not one that needs to really decompress or have that alone time. But what I do need to do is sometimes I just need to step away. If there's maybe a difficult day or maybe a difficult deal that I'm having, I need to be able to walk outside and take a, take a break and go for a walk with the dogs or maybe it's when I need to go to the gym. Self care for me is being around my friends. I, that's I get filled to the tank being with my people, so to speak. My family going to the gym, you'll have to play tennis. But I have learned the ability of knowing when I need to just step away. And, take that break, whatever that is, or whatever I have time for in that moment. And so that's been really helpful for me. And when we're out and we're traveling and at conferences, I know when I need to stay in the room, maybe, and just take a break from something or go down to the gym or go out for a walk or. So even when you're traveling, you can find ways and times to do those things when you need that mental and that physical break from whatever it is that you're doing.

Lan Elliott 16:30

The things that I always notice from you is that you're very positive in general, and I'm curious Because brokerage can be hard. It can be a long road, especially the last few years. It's been difficult. How do you stay motivated? How do you stay so positive? Is it just comes natural, naturally to you? Or is it just part of how you approach things?

Wendy Blissett 16:56

I think for the most part, I'm a positive person. I remember back in my earlier years in the brokerage world, I remember it was funny because it was Al Calhoun of all people that said this to me. He's when something happens when the deal's about to blow up or when something's going on, I just keep on walking and just keep on moving. And that kind of always resonated with me I didn't allow whatever that was to stop me or I just tried to see the good in the situation Tried to pull the good out of it because there's always good even in bad situations There's always good and so being able to see or hold on to that little bit glimmer of whatever that good is Keeps you motivated to move on I think that's just always worked for me. Brokerage is hard and deals fall apart and things go sideways. And I think just being able to see the good and wherever you are in that process allows you to go. Go forward and keep making the next step. So for me, it comes naturally, but it's also just trying to find that good, that little piece of good in the situation, even though it doesn't look like there's any, so

Lan Elliott 18:05

that intentionality of trying to find the positive and find a good as such an important skill, cause it does help you to. Be more persistent and more resilient to be able to find the good, even if you're in a bad situation and your deal's falling apart, to be able to be intent to find either a way forward or some positive thing out of that. That's really wonderful. That's a skill I could have used a lot earlier. Let's shift gears a bit and talk about developing a network because. That can be a bit daunting for a lot of people. I think a lot of people, when they think of developing a network, the first idea they think of is walking into that industry cocktail party, which can be very intimidating. But hospitality is really the kind of industry where people stay in it for a long time and you develop friendships through the years. And although we haven't known each other a long time, we have a lot of friends. Friends in common, and that's the industry. It's usually one, maybe two degrees of separation. I'm curious how you've built your network in a way that's authentic to you.

Wendy Blissett 19:24

I think this industry is amazing. It, and I'll do a sidestep for a second, but my husband asked me a couple of weeks ago, he was like, if you had, and I don't know where he even came up with this. It was like, if you had 20 million in the bank, what would you do tomorrow? And I said, I would still sell hotels. I would still work in the hospitality industry. And, he's not surprised by that, but I would it's the people. And, early on, I developed good friendships With obviously, the people that were championing me, but also my co workers and then the network that you get when you go into these conferences and stuff. And I remember going in to my very first conference. And I had met. She had worked with us in the, at when I, she did a brief stand at JLL as a broker for a couple of years and I was there and got the opportunity to meet with her and we became friends from that point forward. And she left and went back to West want, and I remember going to that first conference and she was the only woman that I knew. And, I. Didn't have the confidence at that time to just walk up to a group of people and say, Hey, I'm Wendy Blissett and I sell hotels. I just, I wasn't that person back then. And so she was amazing for me because she allowed me to shadow her in these first conferences. And I just literally followed her and was at her right hand side and she introduced me to people and so that network began really because of her and she introduced me to so many people and allowed me to grow from that perspective. And then at that point, I had my network and then kept growing it. And then over the years, my clients that I sold hotels to the buyers became, friends. Because we've been doing business together for so many years and I've, I know their families it is just amazing that this industry. It's just all about the people. And I think if you just find that person that helps you and Durain was that for me, Durain helped me get over that, insecurity that I had, but now I've got this huge network. So if you don't feel comfortable walking into a group of people, on your own. And there are some people that do. And I think that's amazing. I wasn't that. But if you don't, then find that person that will introduce you and allow you to build on their network. Because there's always people out there, like all these people that I've mentioned before, that are wanting to champion somebody and they're wanting to mentor somebody. And you could be that person and you just have to ask if they're not, again, if you're not, if it doesn't come organically, then. With relationships, then you need to ask and because there's always people willing to help and introduce you to people and that's how you build your network. You've got to get out there and you've got to just, you've got to shake the hands of people. You don't know. And you've got to find that person that will introduce you to somebody that you don't know. And then it just keeps building after that. And, now, as a result, I can say some of my closest friends there because I'm in this industry and it is just a great network.

Lan Elliott 22:31

It is a wonderful industry for getting it really is. I think I didn't appreciate how unique that aspect is because people tend to find hospitality and stay for decades for their entire career. It's not as if you have people that come in and then they go to a different industry afterwards. There are not. A lot of that in our industry, I think, and because people stay, you have the ability to see them again and again in different eras of their life as people go from different jobs. And it's wonderful to see people who are ahead of you, who progress those people who gave you the chance, who let you be the fly on the wall and took you around. But also the people that you mentor, maybe the. person who was your analyst when they first came out of school, you get to see them thriving in the industry. And it's wonderful that we can keep these friendships for a really long time.

Wendy Blissett 23:31

It is. It truly is.

Lan Elliott 23:34

Wendy, we are coming up towards the end. So I wanted to ask you two last questions. The first one is one of our favorites here on the podcast is what advice would you give to your younger self? And I think you and I talked about the fact that this advice changes over time. I actually think it doesn't just change. over years. It might change on weeks or your mood, but I do think self reflection is such an important aspect of growth. I'm curious what you would say to your 22 year old self.

Wendy Blissett 24:11

Oh goodness. I think it goes back to your confidence and you have to believe in yourself. I think for me, I had champions, people that came along that believed in me. More than I believed in myself. And I think if I would have had that confidence in myself very early on I could have probably gotten to where I was a lot faster. But going back to your question of, 22, I wasn't even in this industry yet. But I think being able. To see opportunities that you may not explore. That would be what I would tell myself. I was I think, tunnel focused about being in the fashion industry. That I didn't explore any other opportunities and obviously hotel brokerage came along and I didn't even know what hotel brokerage was. So if you explore and you maybe. Get out of that, comfort zone of where you think all of your talents and your abilities lie and be able to look at maybe some opportunities to explore different career paths that maybe you wouldn't have even thought about that can open a door. For somebody like it did for me. I didn't, again, I didn't explore. I wish I would have at that point in time, but I was just fortunate enough to answer an ad and ended up being in this industry as a result of it. And it's been the greatest thing. Exploring, I think is what I would tell myself, be able to just explore those. It's, maybe something that you've never even heard of do some research, explore and find and find different avenues that maybe you wouldn't think that you would be good at because you might end up actually being really good at it.

Lan Elliott 25:52

And I think it is the shoe buyers loss that you found this industry. I'm glad you found hospitality instead.

Wendy Blissett 26:02

Yes I think the shoe industry still benefits from me. So just financially, though, so that's good. So

Lan Elliott 26:12

I have to admit, I also love shoes. So I totally get it.

Wendy Blissett 26:16

Yeah.

Lan Elliott 26:17

One last question. So Wendy, you've shared wonderful stories from your career and the learnings you had along the way. Do you have one final nugget of advice you can offer to our audience who are looking to advance their careers?

Wendy Blissett 26:34

I think find that person, find that champion. That has been the greatest blessing for me in this industry. And then in my career, fine, that champion, that mentor, that person that's going to push you, encourage you, teach you to to do something that you haven't done before, or maybe get you to that next level where you want to go, find your champion. And if it doesn't come naturally, ask for it. Go ask for someone to be that champion for you. There's always people that are wanting to champion other people, that are wanting to see other people succeed. And especially in this industry I think it's just such a great industry. You always have people looking to encourage you, promote you. I started out, as an analyst, as an executive assistant, worked my way up as an analyst and all the way through. But it was because I had those champions. And so I think people are your biggest advocate and they can help promote you and help you gain the confidence that you need to get you where you want to go.

Lan Elliott 27:42

I love that. This is an incredibly generous. industry. And if you're not finding that where you are, it might be an opportunity to look around you. And maybe they might be in another part of your company or maybe they might be in a different company. But I love that advice and wonderful advice. Thank you so much, Wendy. Really appreciate it. Thank

Wendy Blissett 28:04

you. This is fun. Thank you. Really enjoyed it. Thanks so much

Lan Elliott 28:09

for our audience. If you've enjoyed this conversation with Wendy, I hope you'll go to our website. It's personal stories. where you can learn about more industry leaders and their career journeys. Thank you.