Ral West

So I did that to begin with. Then the business that my husband started was a spinoff of that. He was in real estate and he decided that he wanted to make these free trips to Hawaii like I was doing because some of my clients were in Hawaii. And she said, okay, I'm going to represent Alaskans who own condos in Hawaii and I will market the condos for them.

So I did that to begin with. Then the business that my husband started was a spinoff of that. He was in real estate and he decided that he wanted to make these free trips to Hawaii like I was doing because some of my clients were in Hawaii. And she said, okay, I'm going to represent Alaskans who own condos in Hawaii and I will market the condos for them.

Then I added to that with, okay, but you need to also add the rental cars and the air and make a whole package out of it because that was my experience in tourism. So you need a whole vacation package. So together we built that company and it was basically a merger of his expertise with my expertise and we ran with it. Along the way, we started investing in some real estate on the side.

Then I added to that with, okay, but you need to also add the rental cars and the air and make a whole package out of it because that was my experience in tourism. So you need a whole vacation package. So together we built that company and it was basically a merger of his expertise with my expertise and we ran with it. Along the way, we started investing in some real estate on the side.

And later on, when the time came to sell the business, that opportunity arose because we knew that Alaska Airlines was planning to enter the Hawaii market. And we knew that their pockets were deeper than ours. And it just made sense for them to buy our company rather than for us to duke it out in the marketplace. And we both lose a lot of money.

And later on, when the time came to sell the business, that opportunity arose because we knew that Alaska Airlines was planning to enter the Hawaii market. And we knew that their pockets were deeper than ours. And it just made sense for them to buy our company rather than for us to duke it out in the marketplace. And we both lose a lot of money.

So we convinced them that buying our business was a lot cheaper than winning the market from us. So the pivot that came next was again a spinoff because my family's business that I had not been involved in personally for several years was involved in small cruise ships in Alaska. And we had a different idea as to how to present cruises to people visiting Alaska.

So we convinced them that buying our business was a lot cheaper than winning the market from us. So the pivot that came next was again a spinoff because my family's business that I had not been involved in personally for several years was involved in small cruise ships in Alaska. And we had a different idea as to how to present cruises to people visiting Alaska.

Instead of just going from port to port, we felt that they would have a better experience of Alaska by leaving from a port and going out into the wilderness. Getting onto a skiff and playing with the whales, going kayaking, going ashore and taking hikes in the forest or even walking on a glacier.

Instead of just going from port to port, we felt that they would have a better experience of Alaska by leaving from a port and going out into the wilderness. Getting onto a skiff and playing with the whales, going kayaking, going ashore and taking hikes in the forest or even walking on a glacier.

And these things were things that we were enjoying on our own boat in Alaska, because by that time, my husband's a boataholic, so we had to have boats up here. And so we found a couple of cruise ships that were bank owned. They had been owned by a company that went bankrupt. And so the bank held them and they were sitting at a dock rotting. So again, it was an opportunity.

And these things were things that we were enjoying on our own boat in Alaska, because by that time, my husband's a boataholic, so we had to have boats up here. And so we found a couple of cruise ships that were bank owned. They had been owned by a company that went bankrupt. And so the bank held them and they were sitting at a dock rotting. So again, it was an opportunity.

And we seized that opportunity and bought those ships out of rather low price point and fixed them up and refurbished. found somebody to operate them for us. And then later there was another company that went bankrupt and we bought some more cruise ships.

And we seized that opportunity and bought those ships out of rather low price point and fixed them up and refurbished. found somebody to operate them for us. And then later there was another company that went bankrupt and we bought some more cruise ships.

So we ended up having five small cruise ships under a hundred passengers each that were operating in Alaska and providing the kind of adventure and wilderness experience that we felt that people would really enjoy in Alaska. So that lasted for about 10 years. And we were selling the vessels one by one to the company that operated them. But COVID happened then.

So we ended up having five small cruise ships under a hundred passengers each that were operating in Alaska and providing the kind of adventure and wilderness experience that we felt that people would really enjoy in Alaska. So that lasted for about 10 years. And we were selling the vessels one by one to the company that operated them. But COVID happened then.

We had one ship left and it got tied up to a dock because no cruise ships were operating anywhere in the world. So that was a pretty obvious sign to us that it was time to pivot away from cruise ships. So we sold that last ship. And then we spent a fair amount of time studying the landscape of world economy. Where were the opportunities? Where was the world going next? What would be the outcome?

We had one ship left and it got tied up to a dock because no cruise ships were operating anywhere in the world. So that was a pretty obvious sign to us that it was time to pivot away from cruise ships. So we sold that last ship. And then we spent a fair amount of time studying the landscape of world economy. Where were the opportunities? Where was the world going next? What would be the outcome?

After COVID, we would listen to podcasts and we would read. We would attend workshops. That's when we decided that the future seemed possible. to be going in the direction of real estate, and particularly multifamily real estate, because buying an individual home was becoming more and more cost prohibitive, which meant that people were going to be renting.

After COVID, we would listen to podcasts and we would read. We would attend workshops. That's when we decided that the future seemed possible. to be going in the direction of real estate, and particularly multifamily real estate, because buying an individual home was becoming more and more cost prohibitive, which meant that people were going to be renting.