#208 Ral West’s Wild Ride: From the Cockpit to the Boardroom
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Who is Ral West and why is her story unique?
Hi, everyone. Welcome to our show, Chief Change Officer. I'm Vince Chen, your ambitious human host. Our show is a modernist community for change progressives in organizational and human transformation from around the world. Today's guest, Raelle West, is the kind of person you meet and immediately think, wow, she has lived such a full life. Over 40 years as an entrepreneur, her story is full of twists and turns. In her mid-20s, she took a leap and started her first business. That was just the beginning. For 25 years, she and her husband ran a charted air surface between Alaska and Hawaii, flying wide-body jets. Eventually, they soldered to Alaska Airlines, a huge milestone, but not the end of her journey.
She has owned small cruise ships, invested in real estate, and kept building. And now she's helping other women entrepreneurs figure out the same thing she did, how to run a business and have a life with sustainability. Her story is real and packed with lessons for anyone chasing big dreams. Let's dive in. Well, good afternoon. Welcome to our show. Welcome to Chief Change Officer. You and I have the longest time difference, 17 hours. Thank you for coming on board.
Thanks, Vince. And I love the distinction of the time difference.
Time difference reflects distance. So far, among all my guests, you are the most distant one. The very first guest from Alaska I've never visited Alaska. The closest I've been was a transit stop when flying from Asia to Toronto, Canada. But now I finally have the chance to connect with someone from Alaska. I'm so excited to learn more. Let's get started with your story. Walk us through your career journey, your history, the major transitions, and the key moments of evolution. Then we explore different elements in our conversation.
How did Ral West transition from aviation to other industries?
Okay, Vince, in a capsule, 40 years plus, I've been an entrepreneur. And before that, I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. So I think it ran in my blood. So in my mid twenties, I opened my first business and went on to have a serial entrepreneur, if you will, had many different businesses. And the primary business was one that I ran with my husband and we ran the business for 25 years. It was a business that operated charter air service between Alaska and Hawaii with wide body jets. And after 25 years, we were able to exit the business by selling it to Alaska Airlines. And in other career pivots since then, we have owned small cruise ships, we have invested in multifamily real estate syndications, and we are still doing that. So a varied career for, as I say, over 40 years.
And that brings me to today where I have yet another business that I've started where I'm teaching entrepreneurs how to accomplish what I have in that you can run your business and have the life that you want at the same time.
You mentioned you grew up in an entrepreneurial family. Yes. So that vibe, the mindset of building and creating was part of your education from an early age. Then in your 20s, you stepped into the game yourself, starting your own ventures. You've been involved in various businesses since. I'm curious. How do you decide which area to focus on? Is it a lot of strategic calculation, following trends, gut feeling, or just going where the money is? What's your thought process when choosing a business to start or invest in? And what lessons have you learned along the way?
What strategies does Ral West use to choose her business ventures?
To start with, I was raised in a tourism family. So that was my initial business was related to tourism. And I was helping businesses with their marketing and advertising, businesses that were involved in tourism in Alaska. I wasn't born in Alaska. I was born in Seattle, but I moved to Alaska in my 20s. And that's where I decided to launch out onto my own because I saw an opportunity. And I think that's the main criteria here. is that there was an opportunity because there were many small tourism businesses that didn't know how to get their product out to market. And I had the experience doing that in the work that I had already done in tourism. So I thought, hey, I can offer them this service and I can provide them with what they need to get their product to market.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
Who is Ral West and why is her story unique?
0:12–3:39
2
How did Ral West transition from aviation to other industries?
3:39–5:56
3
What strategies does Ral West use to choose her business ventures?
5:56–8:18
4
How has Ral West's entrepreneurial journey been influenced by her background?
8:18–12:48
5
What challenges has Ral West faced as a woman entrepreneur?
12:48–27:23
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Chief Change Officer™: Ensemble
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