Oscar Urrutia spent 15 years working at hotels in the Los Angeles market before starting My Valley Pass, the tourism and visitor’s bureau for the San Fernando Valley. It was while in the hotel industry, however, that Urrutia learned to appreciate his Hispanic culture by seeing how hard the Hispanic employees worked. “Since then, I will always have a strong respect for my culture because they have turned out to be some of my best teachers,” he said.
What inspired you to start your business?
The San Fernando Valley has been my home for over 30 years. It has provided me with so many fond memories and life lessons. As the vice president of the Valley Relics Museum, I noticed that there wasn’t a San Fernando Valley visitor’s bureau or tourism board to represent this massive part of Los Angeles. When we wanted to promote an event, we had to list it for all of Los Angeles and couldn’t just make it stand out for the local Valley community. This is how My Valley Pass came to be, with the Valley Relics Museum preserving our history and My Valley Pass highlighting the present. We are unlike any other visitor’s bureau because we design events to bring people out to explore locations they have never visited.
Do you like being your own boss? Do you ever think about trading it for a steady paycheck?
I worked in the hospitality industry for over 15 years which included hotels such as the Four Seasons, Park Hyatt and the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. A steady paycheck was always great but there was always something missing.
What’s the best aspect of running your own business?
Being able to collaborate with anyone has been the best part of running a business. It provides me the ability to spark new ideas and explore opportunities. I always try to find a win-win scenario for everyone.
And the worst?
How to finance ideas. An idea is only as good as its execution. There have been many moments where I have had to dig into my savings to ensure the event goes off, hoping to make some of that back. I see it as an investment in my ideas and if worse comes to worse, I can always go back to working somewhere.
What’s the biggest challenge your business has faced? And how did you deal with it?
The biggest challenge which became an opportunity has been during the covid pandemic. As part of the tourism and entertainment industry, we took one of the biggest losses since there was no opportunity to conduct business for a long time. Thankfully we had done our annual San Fernando Valley Drive-In Nights for several years prior to the pandemic which turned out to be a saving grace for us. Not only were we able to provide the community with an outlet to safely enjoy a night out, but it also opened up opportunities of helping other organizations produce their shows which kept us busy.
What’s your favorite story about running your business?
Just seeing the reaction to our events, bus tours and collaborations has been so rewarding. We have helped bring the Valley to life by telling its stories and highlighting the people.
Has your Hispanic culture affected
your business?
My parents taught me to respect everyone you come in contact with. That includes the behind-the-scenes people who are mostly overseen. Working in the hotel industry, I would see how hard the Hispanic employees would work. When I would sit and talk with them, I would learn that back in their countries some of them were doctors and lawyers with so much knowledge. Since then, I will always have a strong respect for my culture because they have turned out to be some of my best teachers.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to start their own business?
The best advice is to not be afraid to fail. If your intentions are pure, so will be your outcome. Don’t be afraid to pick yourself up and dust yourself off. You just learned how not do something the next time around.