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Rising Star Award
The Rising Star is a woman entrepreneur who has established a critical milestone in her business and has displayed high potential for enduring entrepreneurial success

Carmen Rad
President
CR&A Custom, Inc.

About 15 years ago, Carmen Rad took the first step – albeit a hard one – on the road to entrepreneurial success. Frustrated by not getting compensated fairly for the collection she developed for her employer, a garment industry distributor, and feeling she’d never have the opportunity to work as more than an assistant to the men who stayed in the field for years, she struck out on her own.

Then still in her 20s, Rad started CR&A Custom, Inc. out of her home with just two employees, using her background in fashion design and marketing to produce custom clothing, embroidery work and promotional items. With no outside funding, and no equity to secure a loan, she turned over income received to make more purchases and meet payroll.

Pride in Survival and Growth

“I was pregnant when I started my business and it was a challenge, but somehow with the support of everyone around me I was able to grow the business and manage my personal life,” Rad noted.

And grow the business she did. Today CR&A Custom operates out of a new 25,000-square-foot facility in downtown Los Angeles, with 29 full-time employees and annual revenues of about $2.5 million. Now specializing in large-format digital printing, the firm works with major corporations across the United States, as well as in Puerto Rico and Dubai. Showcasing its market leadership as an eco-friendly firm, CR&A Custom recently manufactured its first environmentally friendly biodegradable banners, using inks and equipment to create a fully “green” printing process.

Rad humbly noted, “I have been blessed with wonderful clients who give me time after time the opportunity to bid and the chance to grow. I am most proud of just being able to be in business today and continue to survive these difficult and changing times.”

For the firm’s accomplishments, in 2007 the U.S. Department of Commerce named CR&A Custom “Manufacturer of the Year.” The company also earned the “Latina Business of the Year” honor from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, as well as the “International Interior Design Association Award” for a wallpaper mural.

While her business grows, Rad also gives back to the community, donating banners and embroidery work to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood, the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Puerto Rico and several other organizations.

Rad achieved such impressive results at CR&A Custom while making a major transition in her business focus in 2002. After 9/11, she found clients cutting back on orders for her company’s products, and also felt the squeeze from items produced less expensively in China. But, she also heard from many clients that they had difficulty getting high-quality banners produced on time.

So, Rad decided to migrate from textile printing for apparel to digital printing. It meant downtime for orders and production for almost a year, plus investment in expensive equipment. But she made it work, remaining flexible and maintaining strategic options. She also accomplished the change without letting any of her employees go, instead retraining them in the new trades needed for CR&A Custom’s revamped business.

“When you find great people, you want to keep them, you want to train them, you want to help them get to another level,” she said. “It’s about having a great team of people. That’s what keeps a company alive.”

Passion for What You Do

Rad takes great pride in seeing her employees succeed, but for her, it’s not about the money. “If you just work for the money you will be unhappy,” she said. “You have to have a passion for whatever you do.”

For other women entrepreneurs passionate about what they do, Rad recommends they tap into the opportunities provided by organizations like NAWBO-LA, which offers access to decision-makers they might otherwise not have the opportunity to meet, as well as to other women entrepreneurs facing similar issues and challenges.

As she’s built her firm, Rad has learned important lessons. Recalling a time when she didn’t get a job and complained about it, her mom told her to stop putting her energy into that one client, and to instead go out and find new ones. “Positive energy throughout the day makes such a difference,” she said.

Rad also advised, “Don’t try to be perfect. If you can’t make dinner or the bed, don’t worry about it. Order in and enjoy yourself.

“Also find support,” she added. “Don’t try to do everything yourself. Find experts in the field of accounting or taxes, and be the creative person in the company. That’s who the entrepreneur really is.”

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