Hammersmith Support is a proud member of Lead Up for Women and we are excited to introduce you to the founder, Colleen Biggs. In the organization’s own words, Lead Up for Women “… is an elite community of female entrepreneurs that are driven by their passions, support, and promote with a purpose to fuel female voices with power.” This dynamic group accomplishes its mission with events hosted by members, monthly networking “Lunch-n-Learns,” bi-monthly magazines with articles written by members, the Speak Up to Lead Up podcast, and many more impressive and exciting events.
Hammersmith Support loves to support women and women-owned businesses, which is why we are a proud member of Lead Up for Women! Our founder, Heather Locke, will be sponsoring an upcoming Lunch-n-Learn, The One Thing: Success Lists vs. To-Do Lists, on Thursday, May 6th. We hope you’ll join us for this exciting event and we know you’ll enjoy learning more about Lead Up for Women’s Colleen Biggs, too.
Tell us a little about you.
Technically, I’m a corporate drop-out! After serving in Corporate America for over 25 years, I took the leap of faith to Entrepreneurship. I knew for many years that I wanted to find my way and inspire others in building businesses outside of corporate, and after coaching and consulting for over 18 years and launching over 300 businesses, I knew I needed to blaze some trails, especially for women.
Why did you start Lead Up for Women?
Lead Up for Women was born out of the need that all female entrepreneurs have – the need to be seen and heard. It’s so difficult to expand your influence in the current oversaturated social media marketing culture, so I decided to work on the promotion side of the business for women. Lead Up for Women spotlights all females on many different platforms. We host a podcast and provide podcast interviews to our members, as well as publish a bi-monthly magazine that produces articles written by our members. This not only provides credibility but also exposure for each woman to expand her influence and attract more customers. I absolutely believe that each one of us has a superpower that only we can possess. We are here on this earth to provide that unique skill to those that become our customers and need us. I provide the pathway for female entrepreneurs to feel empowered along that journey, to accelerate their business success.
Talk to us about your “why” and how that motivated you to start your business.
Females are strong advocates for many! We fight for others, serve, nurture and control the majority of the global economy, yet, females still tend to step aside or take the back seat when it comes to their families, communities, careers, and starting their own businesses. Getting funding alone is a feat for a female small business owner, much more difficult than their counterpart, the male. I’m drawn to work with females and always have been. After coaching hundreds of CEOs in the past several years, I was able to assist them in uncovering their superpowers. You see, we all have what it takes for us to lead without permission, and soar in anything we decide to take on as females. However, sometimes, we need a tribe of other like-minded women to be there along the journey to support each other, lift each other and provide a safe and nurturing community so we all win! Corporate was riddled with competition and judgment, which I don’t miss! I know that we can change the blueprint of the position of a female in business forever if we all band together and rise!
What is unique about your style and product offering?
Most other organized Women’s Organizations exist to bring women together for collaboration and networking purposes. I think this is phenomenal, and so needed. Lead Up for Women provides this and much, much more! Women Entrepreneurs need spotlights to step into to expand their influence and attract more clients. I take the “hustle” out of the “hunt” and show women how to accelerate their businesses through attracting clients, via authenticity, showing up everywhere, all the time! I’m as transparent as it gets. Do I work hard? Sure, but it’s the hard that pays off exponentially! I teach women in Lead Up how to leverage their time for money, value their time, protect their boundaries and focus on the successes in our businesses, not the time suckers that we all think are needed to “produce results.” I walk the walk and talk the talk, every time. It’s all about priority!
What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?
Be you, because everybody else is taken. That might seem like a simple phrase, but most aren’t authentic. When you drop the armor and show up as you, every time, everywhere, people really get to know you and others want to do business with people they know, like, and trust! Get to know people, really know them. Show them you care and like them back. Build trust by making the first move to trust them! It’s a simple formula in business that most overlook time and time again. And lastly, don’t be afraid to trust yourself and take the leap of faith to grow to the next level for yourself and your business. Trust me when I say, you are your own safety net!