Her Story
About Lia
Lia Mendez immigrated to the United States from Hungary in 2011. She began her US career in logistics before transitioning into marketing roles at recognizable brands, including Michael Kors in the corporate office, Ferrero where she worked on Nutella, Kinder brands, and Ferrero Rocher, Mondelez with Starburst, Swedish Fish, and Oreo, and Newell Brands on the Sharpie brand. After moving from New Jersey to Georgia and becoming a mother, she left the corporate world to prioritize family while continuing her passion for marketing and people. She now serves as assistant director at the school her children attend, managing communication, marketing, and events. In parallel, she launched her first Airbnb and built a brand around it that ranks in the top 1% worldwide. Mendez attributes her success to resilience in the face of challenges, open-mindedness, and finding balance as a mother, and she values family, people, and kindness in both her work and personal life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say that the challenges doesn't define us. The only thing how we respond or act on it is what could and I also learned that every obstacles that has been given to me, the skills, resilience, or opportunities, I wouldn't have discovered otherwise if I'm not facing those obstacles. Success is just to be very open-minded and really just go with it, and find a path what makes us as a person successful. Being a mother added another layer that I just needed to challenge myself and discover other avenues to find the perfect balance for me.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Be open. Just don't be afraid and start even before you feel ready. Growth happens usually outside of our comfort zone, and every challenge is an opportunity to learn. It is very important to believe in ourselves, always stay curious, but work hard. And don't let fear keep us from our dreams and goals. I learned the hard way but now I would just focus on these and keep reminding myself as well.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
As opportunity, I always want to improve myself and push myself to grow and learn. That's one of my biggest ones. I started from logistics and now to hospitality and marketing. I think that's the biggest opportunity to lifelong learning, and always just be open-minded and just to reinvent myself. As a hardship it's more like a personal one. Success in career is not always just one path. I wanted to build my family and focus on my children and leave the corporate world. It really challenged me to redefine what is success. I wanted to pursue meaningful possibilities along with my personal life and career and raising a family, have flexibility, prioritize my children but also continue my passion. That's why I left corporate and focus on more the flexibility end of it.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The very first one is definitely family. And then people. I very much focus on the family and center everything around that and taking those little pieces into the business what I'm doing. They are my greatest motivation and reminder to work hard. Also kindness. It's very very important working with families and preschools or guests or colleagues or anybody. I always lean towards that and I always want to make sure that everybody who I am talking or working with or providing my home as a rental that they deserve to be welcomed, respected, and valued.
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