‘Never let them see you cry,’ words of comfort from a father witnessing his daughter survive in an industry that didn’t respect her and flat out didn’t want her there. Although still not perfect, today’s trailblazing women have a better chance of success than those who paved the way during the early 70s, especially in Natalie’s chosen industry – construction. When she entered college, she was one of only 20 women in the Engineering program. Upon graduation, she stood alone. There would be no fanfare greeting Natalie on her first job, however. Instead, she faced tough talk, port-o-johns, and grueling hours. She preserved, however, and gained the respect of her peers on the job and built up enough clout to start a construction company of her own in 1990. With 45 employees in peak season and a calendar full of projects, something was missing. To the shock of many, she chose to close the business after five years. When asked why, candidly she replied, ‘I got tired of making payroll on Friday and bailing my guys out of jail on Monday.’ Many more factors contributed to her closing the business, but timing was the biggest – until now.
Natalie has resided in Nashville for ten years and she’s on a mission. With 30 years of experience under her belt, she knows the construction industry from all aspects, from hard hat to the boardroom – she’s done it and seen the industry flourish. Yet, there is one area that, in Natalie’s opinion, has yet to bloom. Operational inefficiency can be a thorn in any project and Natalie has the solutions needed to weed out the waste. She formed Lady Builder in 2011. A consulting service, Lady Builder offers strategic sourcing, supply chain management, and diversity program development. With five employees operating as either an analyst or a consultant, Lady Builder covers all the bases – construction, manufacturing, logistics, banking, retail – and it’s still growing. When asked how she made it this far in such an unforgiving industry she simply stated, ‘You develop a crust, if you will, a hard exterior that makes you more assertive and capable.’ It’s this crust that helped give her the courage to create Lady Builder and the confidence to know she will succeed at it.
There is no hard shell around Natalie’s heart, however. She is one of the founding members of the non-profit Dress for Success which provides professional clothing for disadvantaged women who successfully obtain job interviews. If the woman, or “Client” as Natalie refers to them gets the job for which she interviewed, Dress for Success will provide one week’s worth of clothing specific to that job. Now that’s lady building!
Yes, Lady Builder is still in its infancy stage, but its gaining momentum. When asked what advice she had to give to new business owners, she had words of caution. ‘Of course you’re passionate and think you have all the skills, but it’s a right a passage. Don’t rush it. Plan. Educate yourself. I went back to school at age 47 to obtain my MBA in Finance because as much experience and education as I already had, I felt inadequate in some settings – and I didn’t like that feeling. It took me 3 years to complete my Master’s …but I did it. It has strengthened my knowledge and prepared me even more to deal with difficult business decisions.’
Closing thought from Natalie’s husband: “You’ve got to respond like a man would respond.” Well, that’s debatable!
Interviewed & written by Jacqueline Hayes, MBA, Marketing Consultant/Blogger @ Crayons & Marketers