The 10 Most Inspiring Business Leaders to Watch in 2022 Dec_Article Archives

MAKING IT HAPPEN: Tia Latrell is Founder, Owner, Floral Artist and Designer of Latrell Flowers, LLC

ENTREPRENEUR SCORES IN THE START-UP GAME: Tia Latrell is a detailed and passionate Floral Artist and Designer that strives for excellence in every piece of her work.

Latrell Flowers provides floral artistry for all occasions, specializing in crafting custom floral arrangements.

Tia Latrell of Latrell Flowers began her business in 2010 in Baltimore Maryland as a sole proprietor.

Latrell Flowers began their operation in their Maryland home basement.

Tia Latrell of Latrell Flowers always knew what her vision was and aspired to obtain and operate from her self-owned storefront location, along with many other goals that she has brought to life.

All of these goals did not manifest without unspeakable hardships.

Latrell Flowers started as a floral artistry company providing custom floral arrangements for all occasions.

After four years of Latrell Flowers operating as a sole proprietor, Latrell Flowers began its operation as an LLC.

Roughly a year into Latrell Flowers becoming a LLC, they expanded their services.

BRANCHING OUT: Latrell Flowers began to customize sports items for all occasions.

Tia Latrell of Latrell Flowers always had a vision of working with sports teams where not only the flowers of Latrell Flowers would be showcased, but Tia Latrell always knew that her creative idea of customized bedazzled balls would give her a fighting chance of being recognized by the NFL, particularly the Baltimore Ravens being that Latrell Flowers is based in Maryland.

Latrell Flowers also had aspirations of working with various NFL Teams which she has also brought to life.

In 2016, Latrell Flowers partnered with the Sports Marketing Company for the Baltimore Ravens Sports Players where the Custom Made Floral Designs and Custom Designed Bedazzled Footballs and Sports Paraphernalia of Latrell Flowers have been displayed and featured with the Baltimore Ravens at various celebrity events.

The Custom Designed Footballs have been featured on the Nest which aired in the year 2016 on ABC2 News with Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver, Steve Smith Sr.

Latrell Flowers worked closely with Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver, Steve Smith Sr. and was honored to work on behalf of various Steve Smith Sr. affairs, and various Baltimore Ravens Events.

Latrell Flowers was most honored to service the Retirement Party of Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver, Steve Smith Sr. with Latrell Flowers Custom Floral Arrangements, and Steve Smith Sr. was presented with a Latrell Flowers Custom Designed Bedazzled Diamond Football.

A TRACK RECORD OF RECOGNITION: The Floral Designs of Latrell Flowers have graced various forums and stages.

Latrell Flowers was honored in being the Floral Artist for the year 2011 for the largest Funeral Home Directory, Funeralhomes.com.

And holds the 2015 Trailblazer Women’s Award for Women in the New Era Making a Difference in Today’s World for Leadership, Commitment, and Inspiration

In the year 2016, the number one Educational and Entrepreneurial Resource Magazine for Minority Young Adults, B.O.S.S. Magazine featured Latrell Flowers in issues 28 and 30.

Latrell Flowers was also the winner of the 2016 Global Influential Businesswoman Awards and is featured in the Acquisition International of England and Wales as the Best Small to Medium Enterprise Businesswoman of Baltimore.

Latrell Flowers was also the 2016 Businesswoman Elite Awards Winner of Maryland from Corporate America Magazine, the Voice of Wall Street. Latrell Flowers was recognized as the 2016 – 2017 Best Woman Owned Florist of Maryland and was awarded for Excellence in Custom Flower Designs.

In the year 2017, Latrell Flowers introduced their New Women and Men’s Apparel, Accessory and House-ware Line. In the year 2017, Latrell Flowers was also recognized Globally by Acquisition International as the Most Outstanding Customized Floral Designs & Arrangements – Maryland.

In the year 2018, Latrell Flowers received a Global Excellence Award being named the Most Trusted for Wedding Floral Designs and Arrangements – Maryland by Acquisition International of the United Kingdom, the voice of modern business.

In the year 2018, Latrell Flowers also made numerous appearances on Radio One Baltimore, where their wide range of services were showcased, and their steady involvement in the community was highlighted.

In the year 2019, Latrell Flowers partnered with the Baltimore Ravens Former Safety ED Reed Foundation and was honored to sponsor the “Ed Reed Placards”, for the Ed Reed Hall of Fame Golf Tournament.

In that same year, Latrell Flowers added many more accomplishments to their Brand. Latrell Flowers became an Ambassador for the Peoples Shark and Star of ABC’s Shark Tank, Founder and Creator of FUBU, “Daymond John.”

Latrell Flowers became an Ambassador for the USA National Best Seller, “Powershift”, by Daymond John with Daniel Paisner.

In the same year of 2019, Latrell Flowers was named and received recognition as one of “Baltimore‘s Best Flower Shops for Flower Delivery”, by Flower Delivery Reviews based in Canada.

Latrell Flowers was then chosen to establish and operate an Amazon Storefront as an Amazon Influencer.

After the success of becoming an Amazon Influencer in 2019, and establishing a full service Amazon Storefront, Latrell Flowers was faced with unfathomable back to back family losses.

Through the Grace of God and faith, Latrell Flowers remained determined and diligent in continuing with the operation of business after the loss of her father in 2016.

After the third family loss we were going into the year 2020, and little did we know that the world would be faced with the unthinkable pandemic.

The world soon shut down in every sense of the word. Throughout that turbulent and trying time, Latrell Flowers continued to remain steadfast in the safe operation of business.

It certainly was not without heartache, pain, strain and an insurmountable amount of stress. It was only through faith that Latrell Flowers continued to persevere throughout the unimaginable pandemic and revamp operations in order to continue business.

Like the saying goes, there can be no success without turbulence leading to triumph.

THE BIG APPLE: In the World changing year of 2020, the efforts, diligence, operation and artistry of Latrell Flowers did not go unnoticed.

In the summer of 2020, Latrell Flowers and partner, Cynthia Hudson-Laney was chosen for a Live Billboard Promotion in New York City’s Times Square.

Latrell Flowers was displayed on four Live Billboards in New York City’s Times Square.

That was the fuel that was needed for Latrell Flowers to continue in the fight in the year 2020.

Tia Latrell’s motto is every detail matters because you never know who is watching.

Not long after the Time Square Billboard Showing of Latrell Flowers in September of 2020, Latrell Flowers was Spotlighted by BBB Greater Maryland.

The article reads:

“Today we would like to shine the spotlight on Tia Latrell, who is a proud African American business owner! She is the founder of Latrell Flowers and strives for excellence in every piece of her work.

In the same month of September 2020, Latrell Flowers, LLC was honored for our sponsorship to be included in the Founders Walkway at the “Ed Reed,” Baltimore Ravens Hall of Fame Inductee St. Rose Public Park located in Ed’s Hometown of St. Rose, LA.

Leadership and the importance of communicating the “Why”

When it comes to leadership, effective communication is a key component.

Leaders are faced with the daily challenge of ensuring that their team members are all “running in the same direction.” If an organization’s employees are not on the “same page” as the leader, things may begin to dive south, rather quickly. So, to help mitigate “miscommunication” in an organization, leaders must not only regularly communicate with their employees, but also communicate and ensure their employees understanding of the “why” when providing a given task.

To provide an example, let’s look at two leadership approaches below. The first leadership approach is missing the “why” and the second approach, providing and ensuring the employee understands the “why.”

In the following examples, place yourself in the employee role and determine which form of communication you’d most appreciate from leadership.

Because I’m a fitness guy, I’ll provide a couple of basic examples that relate to the industry that I’m in.

Below, the leader is playing the role of the personal training studio manager, and the employee, the role of the personal trainer.

Studio Manager # 1:

“Chris, let’s please clean up all of your weights and mats after each of your training sessions. Thank you.”

Studio Manager # 2:

“Chris, let’s please clean up all of your weights and mats after each of your training sessions. This is super key because we want to ensure that you provide your next client, as well as the other team members and clients working alongside you, a clean space to work within. A clean space will allow you and your client to transition more effectively between each exercise, providing a more productive workout. Does that make sense? Thank you so much, Chris!”

Now, looking at the above two approaches. It’s not that approach # 1 is disrespectful, approach # 2 is just a more effective form of communication. Sure, there’s a time and place for quick and direct communication (as we see in example # 1), although in most cases, if the employee is explained the reasoning behind a given task, they’ll be much more willing to perform the given task regularly and effectively vs. completing a task out of fear or without an understanding as to why they’re performing a given task.

Providing the “why” when communicating tasks with employees is a much more effective form of communicating, which will lead to long-term, positive results.

For more on Brad and his Atlanta fitness studio, please visit KoloFit.com

Natalie Tenzer-Silva: Paving the way for Mozambique’s growing tourism industry

Meet Natalie Tenzer-Silva, the powerhouse behind Maputo’s esteemed Dana Tours brand. Over the past two-plus decades, Natalie and her team have played a leading role in revolutionising the Mozambican tourism industry by providing sun-seeking leisure and corporate travellers with custom holiday packages and services. These packages and services are expertly tweaked and tailored to suit each traveller’s individual requirements, requests and budget.

Surviving the pandemic

As is the case for all countries around the globe, Mozambique is currently undergoing a tourism overhaul in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Natalie is determined to embrace and accelerate the necessary changes through Dana Tours. She speaks openly about the massive toll that the pandemic took on her business and the greater tourism industry but explains how she believes positive growth will come from the hardships experienced in the long run.

“Our business came close to collapse but every day through the pandemic I went to the office to prove that I didn’t give up hope. Working with a skeleton staff complement, I wanted to be there each day to support those who came to work,” Natalie says.

“The pandemic showed me how, as a team, we could think outside of the box, and adapt through an almost complete travel blackout period,” she adds.

Going forward, the focus worldwide is very much on re-thinking tourism and Natalie is of the view that travel suppliers should be turning their attention to figuring out how to provide travellers with experiences that locals might take for granted, as well as how to create new adventures within a destination’s unique environment.

Leadership and championing a team

Born in South Africa, Natalie immigrated to Mozambique in the early 1990s. Mingling with the locals, she quickly learned Portuguese and entered the tourism industry in 1994 where she immediately put her natural leadership skills to good use. Natalie managed a large travel agency, called Dana Agency, then founded what was to become Mozambique’s largest inbound tour operator, Dana Tours. She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee.

Since opening Dana Tours in 2002, Natalie has invested 20 years into its transformation, leading her staff along the way to building experiences around the country’s essence and utilising her team’s unrivalled knowledge regarding its very best bits whether in the city, on safari or at the beach.

For Natalie, leadership is about championing a team as a whole, but also putting energy into developing and supporting each individual member of the team.

“Every single team member has their own personal and professional goals in terms of growth and improvement. I’m very serious about creating an environment where people feel safe to express their ideas, where they feel protected and appreciated. It’s important to provide my employees with a sense of job security and to define parameters within which they can work together as a unit,” she explains.

As far as leadership is concerned, Natalie believes that a good leader has trust in their team. A good leader doesn’t simply dictate. Instead, they listen to their team members, encourage them to give their own outlook on the future of the business and gently guide them in the right direction when necessary.

“Each of my employees learns through experience when dealing with clients. I encourage my staff to give me their outlook on how we should handle certain situations, and most times I don’t need to correct anything!”

The post-pandemic travel landscape in Mozambique

In a post-pandemic landscape, there is only one constant, and this is the case regardless of the destination: travel is going to, and already does, look very different compared to how it looked in 2019. Natalie shares some insights:

“Post-COVID, we’ve seen a dramatic up-take in enquiries and a lot more “last-minute” bookings. After a long time spent confined to their homes and having their movement restricted, people are so eager to take those once-in-a-lifetime trips. While much of the interest is for 2023, we’ve seen a significantly higher number of bookings with a 3-week lead time in 2022.”

Natalie is hopeful that the increased interest in a beach or safari holiday in Mozambique will continue its upward trend, highlighting just how friendly and welcoming Mozambicans are when it comes to their international visitors.

“The locals are warm and welcoming, and proud to show travellers their beautiful culture, safari parks and beaches,” she says.

“There are many reasons travellers should be setting their sights on a trip to Mozambique in the near future, especially if a quiet and secluded escape is on the cards. After all, there are no mass tourism establishments, there’s an endless supply of wide, open spaces and countless once-in-a-lifetime experiences on offer.”

Inspired to embrace change

Inspired by her team and her industry’s resilience, Natalie tells of how she and her staff at Dana Tours are ready to embrace the inevitable changes over the course of the next few years.

“Resilience inspires me. The fact that my staff, many with young families, could tighten their belts and ride this through is incredible. They’re the reason I love my job and my role as a leader. Walking into the office and hearing laughter and music and bumping into colleagues in the corridors puts a smile on my face,” comments Natalie.

When asked what advice she would impart to a new leader, Natalie insists that success in a position of leadership revolves around fully investing in one’s team and its growth.

“Guide your team to work as a unit, invest in them and always strive to be honest and transparent in all dealings. You’re all working towards one goal – mutual trust is key,” she concludes.

The future is bright for tourism in Mozambique and there’s no doubt that Dana Tours will be paving the way for its development, keeping the traveller experience at the forefront of every booking and letting the team’s passion for the country and its marvellous beauty shine through in all of its offerings.