Pivoting with Purpose: How Carmen Rad Found Success in Large Format Printing

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios. It’s time for Women in Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here with Renita Manley. Another episode of Women in Motion. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor. WBEC-West. Without them, we wouldn’t be sharing these important stories. Renita, it’s going to be a good show, huh?

Renita Manley: Yeah, absolutely. It’s going to be a great show. I’m excited to have Carmen on. Talked with her earlier. She is a phenomenal WBE, so I’m excited to hear about her journey.

Lee Kantor: All right, so let’s introduce Carmen Rad. She’s the president of CR&A Custom, Inc.. Welcome, Carmen.

Carmen Rad: Well. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: So before we get too far into things, tell us about CR&A Custom, Inc.. How are you serving folks?

Carmen Rad: So we’re a large format digital printing company based in Los Angeles. We’ve been in business for 32 years. We work on some of the largest activations here in California and some across the United States. Uh, we do what’s called large format printing. So when you see those really large graphics that wrap buildings, especially at the crypto center in downtown LA. All of the work that you see there is printed and installed by, uh, minority women owned company.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How’d you get involved in this line of work?

Carmen Rad: I didn’t start in large format printing. I have a degree in fashion marketing and design. And throughout the years, I kind of like it kind of just evolved into this industry. I was in the printing of sublimation fabrics. It’s a form of printing onto polyester materials, and that industry has really taken a major shift, and it’s much more sophisticated than when I started. But in 19 in the early 1990s, the United States made a treaty with China in which they were allowed to manufacture as much material and as much product as they can produce. And so the quota system was eliminated, and we saw that that was going to impact the garment industry, because I started in the garment industry and I used to manufacture clothing products for movie studios. And when we saw that, we decided to shift into large format printing so we can continue to work with the existing studios that we had, um, and tried to just, you know, nobody’s going to go overseas for a banner and they’re not going to go overseas for these type of, um, of activations. Um, and so we, we, we thought that it would be a good industry to shift into, um, that we can then, you know, cater to here in, in Los Angeles.

Lee Kantor: And then so you were able to make that pivot and then and so you learned about it and get the did you need different equipment or did you already have the equipment you needed to do it?

Carmen Rad: No, we didn’t have any equipment. Um, uh, we were at a convention in Las Vegas, and we’re was about to just invest in some really big, um, sublimation equipment at the time. And it was an industry that I really didn’t like because there was a lot of waste at that time. And there was another booth, and this gentleman, um, started to talk to us about large format printing. And my husband, I had a conversation and I said, yes, this sounds amazing. And so we decided to buy a 16 foot printer right then and there.

Lee Kantor: And that shows you the importance of going to those kind of shows, huh? You never know who you’re going to meet.

Carmen Rad: You never know who you’re going to meet or what you’re going to see or what you’re going to learn. And it was definitely a much cleaner industry. It was, uh, you know, they were already, uh, using environmentally friendly inks, and those things were important. You know, when you work in the printing industry, you’re around a lot of fumes and a lot of things that could be hazardous to your health. And we decided very early to invest in green technology.

Lee Kantor: And then so that was kind of when you were, um, trying to figure out kind of how you were going to go about doing this. That was an important consideration, as you wanted to be kind of as green as you could at each step of the way.

Carmen Rad: Correct. In fact, we were awarded Green Firm of the year by the City of Los Angeles about I don’t know, I forgot the year, maybe 2004.

Lee Kantor: Oh, so you’ve been you were you were doing it before. It was cool.

Carmen Rad: I didn’t even know the word green. I just knew that, you know, I’m. I’m exposing myself to these elements, and so are my employees.

Lee Kantor: Right. So you were just doing it because you wanted to be a good steward of your work or your workers, so that’s great. Now, um, did it catch on right away? Were you able to get traction right away, or was it, uh, kind of some bumps in the road when you, um, started getting into this?

Carmen Rad: There are many, many bumps, um, to work in large format printing. First of all, you have to, uh, assure that the facility, um, has a way of moving around. You know, manufacturing has a they all have different flow systems, and definitely in large format printing, you have to have these considerations starting from your floors, starting from electricity. There’s lots of little there’s lots of things before even the equipment arrives that are very expensive investments. And so no, I, we had lots of roadmaps, um, obstacles. In fact, in 2008, we bought a building in Los Angeles, and it took DWP 14 months to get us the correct electricity, um, so that we can move the equipment here. And we had two other buildings that we were renting at the time, one on 32nd and one on 17th Street. So that was a major obstacle. Now we were paying for three locations and getting ourselves into a very deep, deep debt.

Lee Kantor: So what was it that turned it around? Like how did you kind of get your sea legs and, and, uh, get the traction you needed to have the escape velocity so that you can be a thriving company that you are today.

Carmen Rad: Well, um, you know, when you attend, like, WebEx events, you also meet lots of other people that are involved. Um, and I had met this lady named Dorothy Randall and Linda Smith, who had a department at the city called Mbok Minority Business Opportunity Councils. And I started to reach out to them and, um, asked for support. And so I started to reach out to different people who then could help me with the city issues that we were having. Um, they would send me an engineer one week and he would say, do this, this and this. And then two weeks later we would have that done, and then another engineer would come in and say, well, you need this, this and this as well, or you needed something else. And because of that process, it was just delaying us. So they were able to come in and have a meeting, um, here at our facility with the engineers and for us to break down what were the things that we needed for this high voltage, uh, equipment we were investing in. Now, some of the equipment we were investing that, you know, they’re they’re they’re $1.2 million investments. And we had the SBA involved. The building was also purchased with the support of the SBA. So I reached out to every single support system that I could find. And I attended lots and lots and lots of events. Um, I always had an outfit in the car because if something was happening in Los Angeles, I would be ready to go. And I was just trying to learn this language, you know, being a woman certified business, um, it is a new language that you have to learn, and you have to invest your time to understand it and understand how it benefits and what you need to be doing to then advocate for yourself.

Lee Kantor: So then would you say that one of kind of the main benefits that you’ve gotten from being a member of Quebec West is the community and that support, um, and helping you make the connections you needed?

Carmen Rad: Oh, yes. Absolutely. Um, I then became friends with different women who were certified. I also joined another organization called Nabo was the National Association of Women Business Owners. And you know, we all could reach out to each other where, you know, most of us are experts in our field or, um, you know, women who have been in business for some years. And so you can get lots of support, get lots of answers. Uh, you could always call, um, any one of these organizations and say, hey, I’m having this problem. Could you direct me to somebody that maybe I should be working with? So yes, getting involved is definitely, um, a benefit. And, you know, you become friends with them as well. So I have long term relationships.

Lee Kantor: Right. And it transcends business. Right. These are like your friends now?

Carmen Rad: Yes.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, in your work, did you have a moment where you were like, hey, I think this is all going to work out? I think we we’ve cracked the code here, And did you have kind of that aha moment where you’re like, okay, I think we’re okay.

Carmen Rad: Oh of course. I mean, I’m in business now 32 years. Um, but I could honestly say that I would say that within the past ten years is when that aha moment finally came in, um, to do what we do. Uh, there’s a tremendous amount of, uh, infrastructure involved, investment, uh, departments that need to be, um, streamlined processes. Uh, there’s a lot of learning, uh, because I didn’t come from this industry, and I’m not someone who went to business school. So there were a lot of hurdles throughout this, um, you know, journey. But I had lots of triumphs as well.

Lee Kantor: Do you can you can you share some of the triumphs that may be the most rewarding moments are the moments you felt proud.

Carmen Rad: Um, I, I was in a meeting nonrelated. It was during Covid, actually. Uh, I was in a meeting at Kaiser Hospital, which is I. Every year I give myself a list of clients that I really like. Focus on that I want to, um, do business with just a list of maybe 4 or 5 clients that I say, this is what I’m going to focus on. And I was at a meeting, um, at this, um, at, at a Kaiser. And it was unrelated to what they were working on, what they were dealing with. It was not Covid related. And I got dragged into a meeting. Basically, the person I was working with said, follow me. And I entered another meeting and I could overhear their conversation. And, you know, well, they were they were talking in front of me about their issues, and I was able to leave that meeting and come back with a solution for them. And it was from prior years experience of putting things together. And I saw a problem and I saw the answer. Um, and we were able to facilitate and meet their needs in a really fast pace. So just really proud that, you know, our company was able to again, pivot again and support an issue that we saw that was, you know, a big issue.

Lee Kantor: And you were looking at it. You were just trying to help them solve a problem. You know, you went into it with kind of that open heart of, I’m trying to help somebody here. You weren’t really.

Carmen Rad: Well, I wasn’t invited. I was just asked to follow them. And I could, you know, I heard their problems. I saw what they were dealing with. And I go, then I said, you know, there may there’s a solution here, but it’s not necessarily the way, you know, when when you’re when you’re nontraditional. Like, I come from a different industry and I can I come from the garment industry. So when I see print, I don’t see it flat. I see it in a different way. And so we were able to give them advice and solve some things very, very quickly.

Lee Kantor: Right. You’re able to connect dots in ways that they can’t because you’re looking at it from a different kind of lens perspective.

Speaker7: Yeah.

Lee Kantor: So now is there, um, any project that you’re working on that you know, that you’re most proud lately? Anything. Anything? Uh.

Carmen Rad: Recently we just did a project in, uh, San Francisco for Nike in, in, uh, uh, on a building in the mission area. And this building is a historic building, so you can’t drill into the building. And, um, it was a very challenging, uh, graphic. It’s a large, large, uh, they’re large graphics. They’re like 130ft long by 60ft wide, and we figured out a way of hanging them using these water tanks. And, um, it was very successful. And, uh, we the building looked just phenomenal. And Nike has invited us again to do it for, uh, in February. So we’re going to repeat that project now.

Lee Kantor: Do you have any advice for the listeners when it comes to, um, how do you kind of nurture that problem solving skill that you have that ability to connect the dots with your team so that everybody kind of is looking for opportunities to solve problems for their clients?

Speaker7: Well.

Carmen Rad: You know, you’ve got to be a really good listener. You’ve got to really listen to the client and pick up those key words, because sometimes the client is Maybe, maybe not truly, truly understanding what the goal is at the end. Or maybe they think this is the goal, but there could be lots of lots of little things that you’re picking up as you’re listening to the client to really what is the best solution? Because you’re the expert in the field, the client is not. And so you just have to really listen and then, you know, continue to educate your client to continue to be transparent with your client so that they could also learn, um, uh, why you’re making these decisions or why you’re making this advice, giving this advice.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, um, about your firm and maybe they need you for a project, what’s the website? What’s the best way to connect?

Carmen Rad: Uh, you can reach out to our info at com. And there, um, you write up your requests. It then gets assigned to a team of project managers. Uh, there could be a graphic artist and then another manager involved. Um, and then we get on a phone call, and, uh, it’s traditional, uh, business practices. There’s a lot more phone conversations than just emails and just trying to hear out what the client really needs.

Lee Kantor: And the website is.

Speaker7: Correct.

Carmen Rad: And you can visit our Instagram as well.

Lee Kantor: Um, well, Carmen, congratulations on all the success. I mean, you’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Speaker7: Thank you.

Carmen Rad: Thank you, thank you for allowing me to speak today.

Lee Kantor: And, Renita, uh, you got some. You got the latest about the conference?

Renita Manley: Yeah, yeah. Just want to encourage everybody to make sure you go to our website. Rebecca WBEC-West hyphen West Comm, and go to our events calendar, and be sure to sign up for our, um, our conference that’s coming up in December from the 16th to the 18th. Carmen, uh, I know you’ve been to some of our events in the past, so I look forward to meeting you there.

Speaker7: Yes, yes.

Carmen Rad: Great event.

Renita Manley: Only if it’s. If possible. Can I ask one more question before we get up out of here?

Lee Kantor: Sure.

Renita Manley: Is that is that cool? Okay, awesome. And then we’ll jump on out of here. Sorry to hold you up. I just know that you have had some tremendous success with your government contracts. So before we go, is there one, um, one great piece of advice you can give to, um, maybe in similar industries as yours to help them with as much success as you have with that, with your certificate in government contracts.

Carmen Rad: Definitely. Um, you know, get yourself certified as Wosb so that you can work on government contracts. That’s a separate certification through, uh, we back west. Uh, I’ve definitely benefited. In fact, we won the Marines contract, uh, three years consecutively. Um, and this is more than $1 million contract, and we just won the Navy one this year. So, um, you know, make the investment. Um, also reach out to other people that are not necessarily in your field, maybe people who are marketing to help you make the best presentations. Um, you could always call the the, uh, the people who are soliciting the bids and ask them to see, to view previous bids, uh, so that you can understand how other people have won and why they’ve won. Um, but most importantly, are you really prepared to take on these contracts? Because once you commit to them, it is a commitment and you’re signing this really fine little print that you’re going to make sure that this happens. Um, you know, respecting all of the regulations and obligations that these contracts, uh, need. Um, and that you formed your team that can handle this. So you must be prepared. Really be prepared if you think you’re almost there. I don’t suggest that you do it. I suggest that maybe you try to even partner with the people that won the bid. Maybe they’re looking for subcontractors for this bid. And then you can come in the following year. Um, you know, find out who won the bid, offer your services to them. Just continue to market yourself.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you went after your early bids, were you going just by yourself or did you hire a consultant or some help? In the early ones.

Carmen Rad: We took on one of the bids. Um, we have our own marketing team here, and it literally took us about a month to fine tune every single letter, because these letters matter and to understand how the bid process works, Um, it’s all about verbiage and language. And you better cross those T’s and dot those eyes and really understand what these sentences mean. So we took a lot of time to, to bid.

Lee Kantor: And you invested a lot of manpower in that as well. This wasn’t something you like, oh let’s throw this in here this weekend and knock it out. This was something that you took seriously and invest a lot of time and resources in.

Speaker7: Correct?

Carmen Rad: We took a lot of time. And, you know, when you invest a month of your time, um, and even if we would have lost, I felt that it was the best investment because the bid was going to come live the following year. And we and we knew that. And so, you know, just learning how to properly bid. And there’s so many programs, there’s so many free programs, uh, that are out there. You can reach out to the SBA, you can Google it online. You can reach out to Webbank, who then could, you know, they have lots of other partners as well that are, you know, are are offering these type of services, um, that that can train you and you can even like go meet with them in person. So I made that investment and I dedicated years of my, of my career, um, learning.

Lee Kantor: And that was before you even attempted.

Speaker7: I attempted, yes.

Lee Kantor: Right. So you did a lot of groundwork before to make sure that when you did try that you were as well prepared as you could be.

Speaker7: Yes.

Carmen Rad: I’m not I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, that’s for sure. But I will find the resources and people who are.

Lee Kantor: Well, good.

Renita Manley: What about money? I know. Sorry about that. What about money? I know, um, a lot of bits. You have to have some resources available. So what do you have to say to babies who might be trying to go after a huge bid but are kind of shaky, or their resources are a bit mysterious?

Carmen Rad: You know, I think it’s important to have really good relationships with your bankers. Um, you know, in the banking relationship, I think that women sometimes, um, don’t don’t, um, interact with their bankers as much as the men do. And so really making the investment to, you know, have the bankers come in and understand your business, have them, you know, share with them when you have a triumph, have them understand what you’re going through and what you’re building, so that when you know and you can share with them, look, I’m working on this, I might I might need a line of credit for this. This is what I’m doing. This is my goals. Like, be a little bit, you know, more, uh, like, transparent with them as well. Like, prepare them for what you’re trying to do.

Lee Kantor: So you’re treating them like partners, like they’re your trusted advisor. That we’re in this together?

Speaker7: Correct? Correct.

Carmen Rad: Not that they’re just giving you a loan, you know, or because you’re the one really in power at this point. You know, if a bank, if you’re working with a good bank, they’re going to want to grow with you. They’re not going to let you go. They’re not going to want to let you go.

Lee Kantor: Good stuff. Carmen, thank you so much again for sharing it. It’s a great story and you should be so proud that it the success that you’ve had in this industry of coming in with, you know, not kind of being from the industry, but looking at it with fresh eyes and then really growing and thriving is just an inspirational story. So thank you so much for sharing.

Speaker7: Thank you.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor for Renita Manley. We will see you all next time on Women in Motion.

Speaker3: Hey, pick me up when I’m down. Oh, me.