Holiday Gifting 2021 - "The Sock Queen" Lisa Riggs Shares Journey as a Female Founder & Tips for Corporate Gifts
“I want to make the world a better place. Now I work to do this one sock at a time and honestly I've been amazed at how much good we can do in the world utilizing custom socks.” Today’s woman dreamer, Lisa Riggs is the founder of Spirit Socks USA, and brings an expertise in fundraising, HR, and management. An inspiring female founder story based in California, Lisa shares her journey, from overcoming being laughed out of the room when she first pitched the idea to her key successes, working with hundreds of companies around the globe through her custom sock business. In the spirit of the holiday season, Lisa shares her top tips and ideas for corporate & employee gifting. Cozy up with some comfy socks and enjoy Lisa’s story.
1) You are the founder of Spirit Sox USA, a popular custom sock company. Tell us what inspired the idea, and your journey as an entrepreneur?
Honestly, I was so tired of the same boring, overrated fundraisers. I was on our Education Foundation Board, running the After School Sports Program, which is 90% parent funded, and trying to think of a way to motivate parents to donate each season their child played sports. I had the idea to make socks that matched their uniforms and use them as a donation incentive, but surprisingly, I couldn't find anyone to make the socks. I finally did, (he was 6-weeks late and went out of business a month later), but in the meantime I sold 200 pairs of socks in days and mada a $17 profit margin per pair, without anyone knowing! And I had to immediately reorder 200 more. Donations increased by 140% and I thought, maybe I have an idea. So I did the cliche sit at the kitchen table with my husband, got his full support, and built the company from the ground up.
Spirit Sox USA started as mainly a fundraising company using socks, but I quickly saw that we can customize a sock for anything and expanded far and beyond the fundraising realm.
My journey as an entrepreneur has been bumpy. I'm a perfectionist, which has it's pros and cons as a business owner. The most important thing I've learned is to accept failure. Oh sure, I have a pity party some nights after failure type days, but that very next morning I wake up, dust myself off, and go right back at it. Learning and growing from failure has been a key part of my success.
2) In a Linkedin post, you mentioned that when you pitched your custom sock idea to one of the school administrators, and they actually laughed at you. Fast forward to Spirit Socks success now. Many female founders have been through similar experiences. What did you learn in that moment, and what is your advice to other women entrepreneurs?
The saddest part of that story is that he was the 1st person outside of my family that I had the guts to share my idea with. And then, as you said, he laughed in my face. I dropped my shoulders, walked out of the office and questioned what in the world I was doing.
What I learned is that he's a jerk! Ha ha - kidding but not really! What I really learned was to trust myself and my passion for what I am doing. So many of my customers have chosen to work with me because of me. They get caught up in my enthusiasm. And I know, who gets excited about designing socks, but I actually do and I pass that along to my customer, and then they get excited and we build a successful experience together.
My advice to other women entrepreneurs is to be authentic, follow your passion, and don't let the naysayers bring you down. Not everyone will support you or like your ideas but what's most important is that you believe in yourself and your ideas. And then go for it.
3) Spirit Socks has become popular in the world of corporate gifting and in employee appreciation. This has been a particular challenge for companies this past year. What are your top tips to companies in driving company culture and showing appreciation to employees, especially in the hybrid/work from home environment?
When Covid took away meeting in person or going to the office or school it changed everything and made it that much harder for companies to create a positive and supportive company culture. The good news is my top tip is free. It's also pretty obvious, but something can get lost in our busy day to day. Utilizing my HR background, I strongly recommend making sure your employees know they are valued and not taken for granted. Often this can be a compliment on a job well done or recognizing when they worked overtime to hit the project deadline. When employees feel valued and appreciated, they work harder and are more likely to remain loyal and stay with the company.
Too many of us often make the mistake only to talk to employees when there's something wrong. Make an effort to recognize them when they've done something right.
Of course companies can also show their employees how valued they are with events, zoom or in person, time off, or swag or gifts. Everyone loves to sport company swag!
4) As the platform for women dreamers, what is your next big dream?
My next big dream is the same dream I've had for most of my life. I want to make the world a better place. Now I work to do this one sock at a time and honestly I've been amazed at how much good we can do in the world utilizing custom socks. We've worked with global non-profits to raise money for their life-changing causes, we've worked to lift up disadvantaged groups using custom socks, and we've donated thousands of pairs of socks to the homeless throughout this country. I believe every small step makes a difference and am working every day to continue to make that difference
Thank you Lisa for sharing your story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
Learn more - https://www.spiritsoxusa.com/
Bio: Lisa Riggs, known as the Sock Queen, is the founder of Spirit Sox USA, a company focused on making a difference in the world with each pair of its customized socks. By collaborating with her customers to design unique socks and incorporating their branding, Lisa has found a niche that allows her to use her background in fundraising, HR, and management. As a mom of two college-aged children, Lisa has been involved in fundraisers for a variety of their activities and sports. After creating a sock fundraiser for her daughter’s school, Lisa realized this success could be replicated in other businesses and Spirit Sox USA was born. To date, Lisa has helped hundreds of businesses with branded socks that can be sold, provided as a corporate gift, or offered as a customer giveaway. Lisa, a lifelong resident of California, has been married for 25 years and has two college-age children. With two dogs, a 29-year-old box turtle, and an active lifestyle, Lisa and her family enjoy spending time at the beach, going hiking, and playing sports.
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