LINDA GHAFFARI

FelCor Lodging, the company that acquired the Bristol Hotels and Resorts (Harvey Hotel )Assets, proved to be my stepping stone to entrepreneurship. I spent five rewarding years first a VP of Asset Management and then before the hotel industry had websites to sell their own inventory I acquired a keen interest in learning how to losen the hotel third party sites had on our industry.  At 30% commission, I knew there had to be a way that we could do that for ourselves at a much lower acquisition cost.  Our CEO, Tom Corcoran believed in me and my vision, so he quickly supported me and helped my launch a Digital Marketing company inside FelCor that propelled me into the Hospitality Digital Marketing world as an Advocate, Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Industry Leader. Those years at FelCor took the raw talent and passion of a hotelier and turned me into a Marketing Powerhouse, ready for anything.  We created OwnerOptimizer, a Digital Division within FelCor, where I served as President.  To this day I am thankful to Tom Corcoran for allowing me to follow my passion and run OwnerOptimizer as if it was my own company.  I am also thankful 

 

The reason I started a Consulting Firm was because Co-Workers from my past who decided to open up businesses knew that if they had a problem, they could call Linda "Fixer" Ghaffari.  I quickly got a reputation as a problem solver and that snowballed as a full time venture.  

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This was at a time I thought I was ready to retire.  I took the DART rail on my 40th Birthday and decided I needed to take my talent for identifying problems and finding solutions and offer it as a service to small businesses who did not have the resources to hire some big consulting firm.

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I pressed on the help minority and women owned business exclusively and now am highly involved in the world of Diversity and Inclusion!   Since then I have helped over 150 small companies get Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) or Women Business Enterprise (WBE) Certifications, lead the Small Business Enterprise Growth Hub for the City of Dallas, worked for Toyota Financial to help their qualified uncertified vendors through the certification process, worked for the SBA during COVID helping Small Businesses acquire PPE and EIDL Loans and Grants,  then after COVID consulted for a Cleaning company at DFW Airport to successfully execute on a large contract and make them more efficient and secure additional business.  I used my experience as a problem solver and relationship builder guide me through the process and that company now is poised for a successful future.  I continue to help women become entrepreneurs and achieve their life's dream of being financially independent.  I have discovered the equation to work/life balance and want to share that with the women who want the same.

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Just when I thought I had stepping into about every industry possible I stepped into Pet Grooming and fell in love! I learned the operation and pet industry with a passion I had not experienced since the hotel business.  I think because it is so similar except you are dealing with dogs and not people.  Dogs don't have a voice of their own and depend on humans to interpret their needs and assist them.  I soon made connections with canines and their parents alike and have built relationships and friendships that have been fulfilling and motivated me to do more with animals.

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Who knows what my next passion project will be.  It seems that the more people and industries I get introduced to the more I realize how much I love what I do and can't see myself doing anything else!