Rising ICON #11: Laura Best
What name do you prefer to be called?
Laura Best
What are your pronouns?
she/her
Where did you grow up?
Sherborne (a beautiful country town, not a city) in Dorset (equivalent of a state) in the UK.
What city are you currently based in?
Minneapolis, MN
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
Laura Best, CEO and Founder of Passion Collective
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
That, like most people, I have to take a deep breath before I put something new out into the world, especially if it has my face or voice included in it. I believe in what I do, but that hesitation about judgment is often there. I’ve learned the only way to beat it is to keep creating with the intention of “helping first.”
Who do you help?
“Passion Seekers” – people who are craving more of the things they love to do, in their work and life. Typically these are professional people, many of whom are women, who have spent years climbing ladders and checking boxes of success they have set for themselves or others have given to them. They’re serving so many (teams, family, communities), and have forgotten what it means to make themselves happy and fulfilled. Some want to find a new creative outlet, some need a new career challenge or clarity, others want to direct their energies to create change for others. Their common bond is a curiosity about their path ahead, and a growing desire to make it their own.
What are you building now?
In 2024, we’re launching a program for our global community that will help people go deeper into rediscovering and pursuing their passions. I’m impatiently excited about it as I know it will create a ripple effect of people taking the step to do more of the things they love.
What were you building ten years ago today?
Passion Collective was the first women’s community of its kind in the Twin Cities – we’ll celebrate ten years in 2024, so this time 10 years ago, I hadn’t even launched it! Back then, I was leading two teams at a national digital technology consulting firm, and helping them to build their business. It was fast paced, challenging and a phenomenally stressful chapter, given my daughter was only a toddler, and I felt a constant pull to be with her. Despite that, the experience gave me the spark to start Passion Collective, and relationships that I still cherish to this day.
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
Wait a minute … where’s my crystal ball?! I won’t dare to predict, life is too surprising that way. But my hope and my plan is that I will be living a happy and fulfilled life, doing the things I love, and as Brendon Burchard says, “I am living, I am loving and I matter.”
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
Because life is a gift, and spending more of your time doing the things you love helps you live it.
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
One of my mentors was Jim Wolford, CEO of Atomic Data (who we lost in 2023). When the COVID lockdowns began, he told me “there is opportunity in challenge.” He was right.
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
I loved this article for MN Tech Magazine and it shared more of the substance about who we are and how we help businesses and individuals.
https://mntechmag.concordusa.com/view/280983439/24-25/
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
Whatever publication best helps us reach our Passion Seekers!
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
Can I choose two? Michelle Obama (for Passion Collective) and Dan Snow (my favorite history podcaster).
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
My keynote: Supercharge Your Work and Life by Rediscovering What Lights You Up.
What award would mean the most to win?
“Best Mum Ever”, from my daughter.
What makes zero sense to you?
How many organizations – despite their best initial intentions – expect under-represented employees to manage DEI programs with low budgets, without being paid, and in addition to their day jobs, often with little performance credit.
Companies like US Bank and Insperity are leading the way with paid, full time DEI teams that are tasked with developing and implementing strategies and programs. We need more companies to follow their lead if we’re truly going to see change happen in the world of work.
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
“Women’s empowerment”.
What game are you changing?
I want Passion Collective to break through the noise of personal development and the increasingly echo-chamber-like world of “women’s empowerment” to inspire people to create real, practical change in their lives.
Where can we follow you online?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauracbest/
Follow Passion Collective here:
www.passioncollective.co
https://www.instagram.com/passioncollective/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/passion-collective
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Being brave enough to do more of the work that lights them up.
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We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Laura, for sharing your story!
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“...life is a gift, and spending more of your time doing the things you love helps you live it.”
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