Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Metta Risdal of Uni Tequila On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male Dominated Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Help each other win. When a restaurant group, hotel or bar takes on Uni Tequila we work as a team to create a win-win situation for everyone. The team knows they have my full support with new ideas for their cocktail menu and special events for example.
In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information technology, are still male-dominated industries. For a woman who is working in a male-dominated environment, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a Male-Dominated Industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life as strong women in a male-dominated industry. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Metta Risdal.
Metta Risdal is the owner & CEO of UNI ORGANIC TEQUILA. Metta launched Uni Tequila to the marketplace in July 2021 in Florida and New York. Uni Blanco was the first product launched followed by Uni Anejo which is currently on en route from Mexico to the U.S.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
I grew up in a small village in Norway where my mom was a landscape worker laying stone and seed for wealthy homeowners. At the young age of six, I accompanied my mom to work each day. By doing that, I learned the true value of hard work. Growing up I enjoyed bike rides with my sisters and after seeing the outcomes of my labor at such a young age when I was 14 years old, I put an ad in the local newspaper advertising trying to get a job as a house cleaner, and worked on the weekends while I was attending school.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
I have been going to Mexico for the past 15 years and fell in love with tequila and the entire process that goes into it. Organic farming is important to me and I felt there was a gap in the market for smooth organic tequila in beautiful bottles.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I was beyond excited and thrilled that Uni Blanco Tequila won double gold in the prestigious Sip Awards earlier this year! Also, if I must say, having celebrities like Jamie Foxx following Uni Tequila on Instagram is pretty cool!!
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
1. Work Hard
e.g: I started the design of the bottle before the pandemic and then ran into many challenges. A large company in Mexico, who were committed to creating the cork stopper, completely backed out at the beginning of Covid. This caused a huge delay in the bottling process with more trips to Mexico to source a new supplier for the cork stopper. The same just happened with the packaging for my 6 bottle cases. The current supplier couldn’t complete the order.
2. Be impeccable with your word and accountable
My clients and customers know they can fully rely on my work ethic and my commitment to staff meetings/trainings at the restaurants and the product tastings at liquor stores. When I make a commitment, I am all in!
3. Charity/ Serve my clients & customers
My commitment to donate my product and my time to charitable causes is key! Uni Tequila has been involved in many different fundraisers for organizations supporting animal shelters to food banks, to education etc.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you help articulate a few of the biggest obstacles or challenges you’ve had to overcome while working in a male-dominated industry?
I used to run a beauty and skincare company which was primarily a female industry. Now I am clearly in a male-dominated industry and from personal experience both have many challenges and obstacles. It’s the nature of being an entrepreneur but if you have a quality product you know people will love all it takes is hard work even if it means harder work than your peers are putting in. Nothing will be easy but, it will always be worth it.
Can you share a few of the things you have done to gain acceptance among your male peers and the general work community? What did your female co-workers do? Can you share some stories or examples?
I am still a “one woman show” compared to larger brands. Of course, there are many men on the production side, in the agave fields of Mexico, and females working in the distillery helping the bottling process. I try not to think of gaining “acceptance”. I put my passion into my work and let my product speak for itself. We all work together so hard to produce this spectacular Tequila. I always embrace teamwork.
What do you think male-oriented organizations can do to enhance their recruiting efforts to attract more women?
I feel by being more open to a female prospective. Maybe we as women need to be more courageous and go after what we really want. Follow your passion!
Ok thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Don’t take anything personally. Master your own emotions.
Sometimes it is hard but so important to stay calm and focus on the business at hand.
2. Be relentless and take responsibility when needed.
Face the challenges and mistakes. Find the best solutions and move on when facing obstacles and difficulties. Don’t dwell too long.
3. Recognize and listen to your co-workers so they feel valued and heard.
Everyone on the team brings something unique to the table. It is important to listen and embrace their contribution.
4. Communicate clearly.
The brand identity of Uni Tequila is of utmost importance to me, so I ensure my audience understand clearly what that message is.
5. Help each other win.
When a restaurant group, hotel or bar takes on Uni Tequila we work as a team to create a win-win situation for everyone. The team knows they have my full support with new ideas for their cocktail menu and special events for example.
If you had a close woman friend who came to you with a choice of entering a field that is male-dominated or female-dominated, what would you advise her? Would you advise a woman friend to start a career in a field or industry that’s traditionally been mostly men? Can you explain what you mean?
Yes, I would advise it, provided that she is equipped to enter the particular field. Meaning, has she done sufficient research into the product and the marketplace. In general, being an entrepreneur in any industry can be really tough; regardless if it is female or male dominated.
Have you seen things change for women working in male-dominated industries, over the past ten years? How do you anticipate that it might improve in the future? Can you please explain what you mean?
Yes, certainly it is moving in the right direction. There is still the need for more female CEO’s but it is encouraging to see more female founded companies receiving funding from VC’s and Angel Investing compared to just a few years ago. I believe this will just get stronger and stronger.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx! She has been a huge inspiration particularly for female entrepreneurs. I like that she thinks outside of the box and don’t take herself too seriously.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Metta Risdal of Uni Tequila On The Five Things… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.