Nisha Bell

I attribute my success to spending so much time in the hospitality field and learning, networking, and connecting with different people I've come across - people like Rachel, Nemi, and Aurora. I feel like if I didn't work at all these different places, I wouldn't be able to be where I am now. All those years of growth from 2007 all the way up until 2024 when I took the leap, building on skill sets, meeting different people, and networking, has put me in a great position right now to run Sourcing Advisors. I feel like everything happens for a reason, and learning so much from the different companies I've worked at has been essential. Without Nemi Sawyer, who is my VP and right-hand person, Sourcing Advisors would be nothing because she's full-time and helps me with everything. And Rachel Lyons, our designer - we all work together in this big partnership to get these big projects across the finish line. It wouldn't be anything without the two of them.

The best advice I got was from my aunt when I was going through a lot at the last company I left. It was very stressful, and I told her I didn't know how much longer I could do this. She told me to just put my faith in God and really lean on Him like never before. She told me it'll be okay, that I will be okay, and that He will not leave me. I took the leap after that advice, and here I am now.

I would definitely say you need the skill set. You need to make sure that you dotted your own I's and crossed your own T's, because I've tried to start a business in the past three times, and the third time was the charm. The two times previously that I tried to start the business, I was not ready, and that's why it didn't work out. I did not know what I know now. Sometimes it can look great and you want to start a business, but it's a lot of work. I would tell anyone to study and get your skill level up, meet people, and don't feel like you have to be boxed into one company. Spread your wings and fly, because everyone has their own way of doing things company-wise, and if you don't get seasoned in different categories, you'll just be closed-minded. You don't want to jump around too much where people think you had a lot of different jobs, but you can jump around strategically to get what you need for your goals. I feel like you'll know when you're ready to make that leap. Do a lot of praying - that's what led me to where I am now.

Our biggest challenges are two things. First, a lot of our clients have a budget number in mind, and many times they don't want to spend a lot, so we're always trying to keep the project under budget. Second, a lot of our clients wait until the last minute, so the biggest hurdle is trying to stay on schedule, trying to stay within budget, and making sure we hit that finish line with all the I's dotted and T's crossed. There are a lot of moving pieces before things go into orders and even after things are ordered. Our biggest thing is timelines and budgets, and making sure that we did our due diligence before we place orders, because once the orders are placed, it's hard to go back. Hotels can't sell a room if they don't have a vanity, or if they're missing a TV or a mattress - it could mess up revenue for the project. You want to be able to turn over all the rooms, not just some of them, or you're missing money. We also have to stay up to date on what's happening in the world, like tariffs right now, because that's a big deal with freight and all of that.

My faith comes first, and my family comes second, and work falls right behind that. Those are the things that I need to focus on, so that I can do great in my work life. I feel like a lot of people prioritize work over everything else, and then everything else crumbles, and then work crumbles too. I value the things that usually don't have to do a lot with work - I value my family and I value my faith, because I feel like if I have a balanced home life and my faith is strong, everything else falls in place the way it's supposed to. With my team member Nemi, I told her we will never go through the things that we have went through in our past work experiences. She has things going on personally, I have things going on personally, and I always tell her we'll figure out the work stuff because family stuff comes first. I don't ever want her to feel like, or myself to feel like, our family life is crumbling because work is just too much. It has to be balanced.