Quick WINs: Laura Biggerstaff WINs by focusing on women’s confidence in the workplace!

By Ian Richardson, Managing Partner, Richardson & Richardson Consulting

Podcast Season 1, Episode 17 Guest: Laura Biggerstaff, CEO, IRONELK

Laura Biggerstaff is the owner of IRON ELK, a family-owned safety products company headquartered in Greer, SC. Iron Elk recognizes that when it comes to safety apparel, one size does not fit all!

Following a successful career in the manufacture of protective apparel, Laura launched her own business in 2016 in the field of safety in the workplace. There was a need in the industry to have safety apparel that fits both men and women. IRON ELK has partnered with manufacturers that have expanded their safety apparel to include sizing for women. IRON ELK is very proud to be a Certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WBENC).

As a huge supporter of women in the trades, Laura offers her time to several groups that support the importance of encouraging young women to take on non-traditional roles. Laura is the co-founder of Women Confidence Builders in the Upstate of South Carolina. Our Mission is to Educate, Mentor, Disciple, and Empower women and girls while encouraging their growth and building confidence.

Our conversation was awesome and engaging, and focused on the topics of market awareness, thought leadership, and giving back to the community. As always, I took notes on the conversations, and I have those notes here for your reference and use as you see fit.

1. Market Awareness: Laura had shared a story around the barriers she’s observed and is actively working towards breaking down on market awareness. Broken down simply, there is a significant lack of awareness throughout the construction industry about the availability of safety apparel that is designed to fit the female body. This focus on market awareness resonates home with me, especially for the technology space, where awareness of a problem such as a cybersecurity risk or productivity gap is usually far from an entrepreneur’s mind.
2. Thought Leadership: Laura has been making the speaker circuit in the construction space, partnering with industry line of business software to raise awareness, and spread knowledge about proper safety apparel and techniques. That focus on combining her strategy of awareness with other leader’s megaphones to increase reach I’m positive will pay dividends. The takeaway I’ve taken is to focus on those strategic partnerships and alliances where your time and knowledge can be valuable and deliver a win/win/win outcome.
3. Giving Back to the Community: Laura has a significant calling and core belief in giving back to her community. She’s exploring building a partnership with local trade school to outfit new graduates with the core safety kit they’ll need to show up ready to work on a job site, day 1. She’s also building a non-profit organization focused on helping women develop skills and techniques around their confidence in the workplace to create more leaders and entrepreneurs, something desperately needed. That community impact resonates with R&R’s core mission of changing the world through entrepreneurs.

I gain so much value from meeting with fellow entrepreneurs and leaders. Each and every person I speak with brings their own experiences, knowledge, and viewpoints to the table, and without fail, I walk away with a head full of ideas and motivation to do better in my own business. I so greatly appreciate Laura’s willingness to come onto W.I.N. and share her story.

If you’re interested in joining me on an episode of W.I.N., it would be my privilege to host you. You can book your spot by visiting https://randr.consulting/connect and selecting the Podcast Booking option from the services menu. You can find previous episodes of W.I.N. on our website and subscribe to it on whatever your platform of choice is.

Always Forward,

Ian