Not every self-described hippie is a successful entrepreneur with Botox and good looks.
But Wanda Lee, founder and CEO of the LITA Group of Companies, is an intriguing blend of all that – and more.
She is the brains in the boardroom on four-inch Louboutins and she is also a devoted mother balancing business endeavors with mastering home-made muffin recipes or feeding her baby organic applesauce.
Lee, unapologetically, believes it’s just fine to want to be successful and look good, too.
“I work very hard and I think I look pretty good for a 47-year-old mother of six but that’s not who I am. That’s not the most important part of me,” says Lee.
“There is value making it OK to be both.”
LITA, which stands for ‘Love is the Answer,’ underscores Lee’s strategy to approaching life and business.
Doing the right thing for the right reasons pays off and not just at the Pearly Gates.
The veteran business development consultant who has founded more than 15 companies and supported the launch, rebrand and expansion of more than 30 others – is steadfast in her conviction that often dismissed endeavors, like happiness in the workplace, are key to success.
The phrase, ‘It’s not personal, it’s business,’ makes her cringe.
And that’s because Lee sees the two as an optimal blend for any venture to thrive.
In six years, the systemic-family-therapist-turned-business-mentor has amassed a diverse portfolio which includes The Calgary Institute of Plastic Surgery, Pharm Drugstore + More, Net Equity Management, LAB11, The Institute of Wellness X Advanced Aesthetics, Sovereign Development Group and Marriage Works.
How does LITA better businesses?
It starts by watching it in motion and conducting an analysis of the organization from top to bottom.
“We look at it with fresh eyes and study how the entire organization works,” Lee says.
“We end up finding substantial cost-savings, whether they are efficiencies or waste of resources. And we make changes for them.”
Lee says the lens must also be focussed on employees – because tapping into what makes them tick translates into increased productivity and commitment to the company mission.
Business in Lee’s world is personal.
“We don’t work with anyone unless we fall in love,” she says.
“There has to be this synergy. We are not just caring if the margins go up and the costs go down. I want to hear about your grandchildren and I want you to know I have two Frenchies. When you align with people, when you really care what they care about, you do the right thing.”
LITA works with companies at every stage.
Would-be entrepreneurs with a dream, established organizations looking to franchise or companies wanting to run their operation better.
“We handle it all,” Lee says. “We view it as a partnership. We get paid if you do.”
LITA works because it recognizes being really good at something is only part of the equation for success.
“If you are a hairdresser, for example, the reality is you can’t be behind the chair and be the accountant and doing marketing and social media,” she explains.
“We align with people who are gifted at what they do and we run their business. We take everything off their plate so they can be laser-focussed on their speciality.”
That leaves companies poised to achieve “traction with their mission, footing in their market and a clear vision for their future” and teams galvanized to get the job done.
“We have to infuse purpose. It’s like this Kool-Aid they drink, Lee says. “It doesn’t matter if you are the janitor or the CEO, if you are happy and making a difference it impacts efficiency.”
Business Barbie? The moniker still stings but Lee’s track-record is a perfect rebuttal.
“I used to find it really offensive. Everyone thought I was successful because of what I looked like but I earned it, which matters, because I have proven them wrong,” she says.
While Lee always aligns with the best of the best and hires the right person for the right job, male or female, it’s not a fluke that her executive team is comprised of women.
“There are a lot of very successful women in business but it is still a man’s world. Women are still outnumbered, underpaid and under recognized,” she says. “Women have to support each other. I feel like it’s my responsibility to even it out a little.”
LITA Group of Companies
Suite 301 3007 14th St SW Calgary, AB T2T 3V6
403-286-4263
Instagram: wandalee.official • thelitagroup • Facebook: litagroupofcompanies
www.thelitagroup.ca
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