Vanessa A. Nettles

I attribute my success to not giving up, even when you hear the chitter-chatter around you and people doubting you. I refuse to let my upbringing or anybody else get in the way of what I want to achieve. Most importantly, my children have been my greatest motivation. Looking at them and wanting to show them that mommy can do this - that mommy is a strong woman who can accomplish anything - that drives me every day. I want to demonstrate to them that they can finish school, get their diploma, get a college degree, and achieve whatever they set their minds to. There are so many opportunities out there, you just have to go get them. My children inspire me to keep pushing forward and proving what's possible.

The best career advice I've ever received is to follow through. I didn't really follow through that much early in my career - I kind of took people's word for things when they said they did something, but I didn't follow through to verify it. When I learned the importance of following through, it made a big difference. Some things can get forgotten, some things can just get left to the side, or simply not done. So following through has become the most important practice for me, and it's made all the difference in my work.

My advice to women entering the hospitality industry is simple: don't be scared. Grab the bull by the horns and go for it. Yes, this is a male-dominated industry, and there are a lot of men who think women are too soft or that we don't have the muscle strength or even the mind capacity to do this type of work. But women, we rock. We can do the daggone thing. Regardless of how male-dominated this industry has been, we're killing the game right now. There are so many women doing great things in hospitality today. So know your worth, be confident, and don't let anyone tell you that you can't succeed in this field.

Right now, one of the biggest challenges I face is getting the right staff. With the younger generation, there are a lot of people who just don't want to work or don't have the work ethic that I grew up with. It's really hard to find good people who will represent your front desk the way you want them to - people who have the professionalism and customer service mindset that's so important in hospitality. Another challenge for me is forecasting for the property. I'm working on getting better at it, but it's my least favorite thing to do. Despite these challenges, I don't really have too many difficulties overall because I genuinely love this industry. The work is fulfilling, and I'm passionate about what I do.

In my work, trust and doing the right thing are the most important values to me. It's really important when you're dealing with people's credit cards, phone numbers, addresses, and personal information - you've got to be able to trust your staff with that sensitive data. And whenever you're second-guessing yourself about a decision, I always remind myself to just do the right thing, because that's always the best way to go. In my personal life, my children are very important to me. Work-life balance is crucial, both for myself and for my staff. I make sure there's a healthy balance between home life and work life, because that's what keeps us all grounded and able to perform at our best.