Meet Liza Parr

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Liza Parr a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Liza, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

Jimmy Buffett said, “Life is more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.” I heard that quote in an episode of White Collar, sue me. But it’s true, regardless of the source.

I can’t talk about accomplishments or habits without recognizing the privilege I have, being able to rely heavily on trial and error. Perhaps it’s the ADHD in me that loves throwing things and seeing what sticks, but it’s also the exhaustion of keeping up with life.

After getting a degree in mechanical engineering and deciding it wasn’t for me, I taught high school math, waited tables, barely made it through a coding boot camp, tried my hand at web design, became a virtual assistant and then grew into an online business manager. Sprinkling in a few years of Muay Thai and a lasting love of reading bring me to present day: I’ve found myself working for someone I pitched myself to via email and it’s a dream. Recently I became a certified travel agent, too.

In my humble opinion, I don’t have one purpose. I think I change and grow too much to stay on one track for life. For the foreseeable future, I’m finding purpose in balancing my career and taking care of my body and I’m being conscious about reading more. I’m not searching for the what I’m supposed to be doing, I’ll follow Mr. Buffett’s lead and be surprised.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I recently became certified as a Travel Agent as an extension of my larger role as an Operations Assistant. As an Ops Asst., I work with Megan Christopher, founder of Ladies Who Lit, to manage the day-to-day operations and keep things aligned with the business’s long-term goals. Ladies Who Lit, if you’re not familiar, hosts Reading Retreats across Europe, the UK, and even the Caribbean. Megan has huge plans that I get to be part of and it’s a dream role. I do all kinds of things like creating memes to building a (sick) Google Sheet to writing proposals for upcoming projects.

Because the Reading Retreats are held internationally, it piqued my interest to become certified as a Travel Agent, similar to Megan. Now I handle bookings for Ladies Who Lit-adjacent clients and my own, while working with the coolest women.

Find my website for anything travel-related at www.lizaparr.com and check out LWL at www.ladieswholit.co.uk to see what it’s all about…oh, and follow us on Instagram @ladieswholit_ too!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

One of the more important skills that I’m still developing is to start messy, perfect later. It’s okay if something isn’t stunning, or even good, at the beginning. What’s important is that you just get started. My best advice to this approach? Count to three…but start on 2!

Secondly, and perhaps controversially, AI is not your enemy. In fact, refusing to utilize ChatGPT to your advantage will cost you time. There are certainly limits, don’t get me wrong, but not taking advantage of a seemingly limitless database of knowledge sounds borderline criminal! I like to use it when I’m creating a Google Sheet and don’t feel like Googling the formula I need or I’ll have it spitball ideas back and forth. 95% of the time I don’t like precisely what AI produces, but it sparks new ideas that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

My last bit of advice would be to never assume what someone thinks. People are surprising! When it comes to small businesses on social media, it’s a landscape that’s tough to navigate. TLDR: Apply for the job, pitch yourself, reach out to that colleague. Don’t let the fear of someone else’s opinion stop you from doing what comes naturally.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

At Ladies Who Lit, we want to deliver top-tier Reading Retreat experiences to every guest. We would love to collaborate with partners in the reading and/or self-care industries. Ladies Who Lit Reading Retreats are ultimately getaways for women to build community and feel rejuvenated…we’re all about furthering that message through our partnerships! If this sounds like you, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email at [email protected]

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lizaparr.com
• Instagram: @virtuallyliza
• Other: Also check out www.ladieswholit.co.uk and @ladieswholit_ on Instagram!