Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Beech.
Hi Amanda, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I worked for 15 years as administrative manager with my brother at the helm of our family business. When my kids got to a certain age, I decided I needed a change of scenery and spent the next 6 years working in the accounting industry. At the end of the pandemic, I got a call one day from my brother. He had come upon an interesting opportunity that he thought would be a good fit for me. My brother had just met this guy and after learning what his business was, my brother asked Dennis if he could knit a white sock with a red heel and toe. Dennis said “Sure, but if you buy my company, you can knit your own sock.” Railroad Sock was for sale, and he was dreaming of buying it. We spent 18 minutes on the phone that day talking about the possibilities. I told him I knew nothing about socks other than I wore them. His response was “How hard can it be? It’s just putting socks in a box.” I hung up with Charles and immediately called my boss to resign my job. I was beyond excited for the opportunity and the possibilities. After four years, I can tell you, it is substantially more difficult than just putting socks in a box.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but it hasn’t been completely rocky. The prior owner was planning to work with me for one year to help me learn the business, but unfortunately he had some unforeseen health issues that caused him to retire 8 months early. I had to learn most of it on my own! Low inventory equals less turns, which results in less revenue, so I re-worked the way we carried inventory in order to increase delivery times. Two months into ownership, Railroad Sock lost their third largest customer due to slow turn-around times they had experienced in the past. While I tried everything to salvage the relationship, the damage was done before I even came along. Inventory started moving, orders were finally being shipped timely, and things were looking good. Time for the next hurdle. Product media – pictures, catalogs. I hired a photographer. The pictures were great. The packaging wasn’t – it was outdated and inconsistent. There was no brand image. We quickly begin to focus on the branding. We updated the look to almost everything. Creating new catalogs, designing new sock styles, updating colors. We increased our social media presence and paid more attention to e-commerce. The hard drive that programmed all of our UPC numbers crashed, losing 25 years’ worth of data, then there was a warehouse fire in Alabama. Our biggest buy group – a conglomerate of big box farm and ranch stores – started their own brand, encouraging their members to buy hosiery and footwear apparel from themselves, which made Railroad Sock lose market share. In the midst of rebranding, and expanding the outdoor sock line, we had to begin looking for new avenues for sales. It was such a roller coaster because we had multiple irons in the fire. We persevered and handled every obstacle that came our way. It is still rocky occasionally, but not like it used to be. Three weeks ago, we had a tractor trailer lose a roof and on Tuesday, our email server crashed and is just now up and running. There will always be challenges to owning a business; you have to find one that you love so much, that while the problems might feel big, they really aren’t. Persevering through each obstacle, makes the next one a little easier to resolve.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Railroad Sock is the oldest privately held sock company in the United States. In 2026, we will be celebrating our 125th anniversary! We have over 135 different sock styles, fitments and colors for almost every member of the family. We carry t-shirts, hats and toenail clippers too. Our socks are 100% made in America and have a lifetime guarantee. We make purpose driven socks that cover work, sport, therapeutic and outdoor adventures at a price point everyone can afford. Our cotton socks use open-ended cotton yarn because it makes for stronger and more durable socks. We make socks using cotton, wool, lamb’s wool, merino wool, as well as a few that are synthetic with acrylic and spun polyester. We carry value, premium and super premium socks. We sell globally and have a wide range of stores across the US that carry our brand. Railroad Sock is well-loved in Japan, even appearing in a couple of fashion publications. – which I think is pretty exciting. You can find our entire product collection online at therailroadsock.com.
I don’t know what currently sets me apart from others, but what I hope others see is the passion I have for what I do. I want to provide excellent customer service. If someone calls me, comes in or messages me on social media, I am 100% invested in providing them with exactly what they want. What style, what shoe size, what application, what yarn type. Let’s talk! And if I didn’t have it, let’s knit it. I have done that many times for people who were having a hard time finding what they needed.
I would like Railroad Sock to be known for being a great community neighbor. We recently became a member of the Grain Valley Chamber of Commerce to become more involved in GV. I think Railroad Sock is Grain Valley’s best kept secret, but that’s just me! We have created some cool school spirit socks for a couple of local school fundraising projects, my favorite being Harrisonville Elementary School. Their monetary goal was $250.00 to pay off the negative lunch account balance. You can’t even imagine the joy I felt when I got to present them with a $1211 check.
I would like Railroad Sock to be known for our environmental awareness. Since owning Railroad Sock, I have become dedicated to reducing textile waste. How do you keep 11,300 tons of socks out of the landfill? The One Sock program. I don’t know how to take my idea global just yet, but my friends will tell you that I will happily take your bag of single pair socks that have lost their mate (or the ones with the holes). Everyone always thinks the ‘lost sole’ is going to show up, so you save the mate. Here’s the deal, they never do. That bag is just going to keep getting fuller until it gets thrown away. Don’t do it. Give it to Railroad Sock’s One Sock Program – you’ll get free socks out of the deal.
In September, Railroad Sock launched a new product line called Health Trak + Rx. Powered with Clothing 2.0 technology. This new line of products delivers doses of medication and wellness-boosting active ingredients through socks. With our legacy of quality craftsmanship and their innovation, we have a therapeutic compression sock infused with consistent doses of pain relief active ingredients. Designed for athletes, travelers, individuals managing foot or leg discomfort or a general enhancement to their daily comfort, these socks provide targeted benefits simply by wearing them. They are laundry-safe, reusable and engineered for all day wear. The initial collection contains menthol for targeted pain relief, think neuropathy, but will be available in 4 other active ingredients in 2026 (Clotrimazole for athlete’s foot, Salicylic acid for foot warts, Arnica for skin health and Vitamin E for moisturizing.)
I have had a lot of fun along the way. In May, we developed our “All Aboard” newsletter to give our users a quick and fun 5 minute read about who we are, what we offer, a spotlight of a vendor partner, Railroad Sock giving back, asking the sock queen and always ending with a sock joke.
We have had the honor and privilege to donate socks to firefighters in California, the homeless in Kansas City and Bethesda, MD. Railroad Sock partnered with KSHB 41 in 2022 to donate a pair of socks for every pair of tennis shoes they raised.
Most recently, we donated socks to the Pink Ribbon Effect, a non-profit organization that hands out Mammo Totes to woman who are starting their breast cancer journey. Strength for the soul & comfort for the sole.
I am proud of all that my team and I have accomplished in 4 years. To look back at pictures of where Railroad Sock was on 04/01/2021 when we bought it, to where it is today, is no joke!
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
So many people deserve credit. My brother for starters. Not only was he in the right place at the right time, but his entrepreneurial spirit also gave him a random, crazy idea that we got to run with.
My Daddy. Always my Daddy.
My long-term partner. He sacrificed sleep, he sacrificed time. Many late-night conversations. He even restored a rideable train for me to have.
My daughter. She had to put up with all the crazy too. It was her idea to knit socks for her high school dance team as a gift that ultimately led to us creating socks for 7 local schools; with hopefully more to join.
Everyone on the team at Railroad Sock deserves high praise. I certainly couldn’t live my dream everyday if it weren’t for them. Kyle oversees the warehouse ensuring accurate and timely deliveries. Mary oversees e-commerce and customer and freight logistics. She is the voice of Railroad Sock when you call us. Brenda does all things administrative and has been with the company since 1985. Harold, a master on a fork truck, is the best at packaging and has been since 1986. To have Brenda and Harold, with all that knowledge of customers, products and history in the beginning was priceless. I must be doing something right if they still want to be here 4 years later! Matt is my media/marketing guru. He is the guy that takes the idea from my brain and brings it to life with his artistic skill. Angelo keeps track of inventory, EDI ordering, trade show specials, trends in the marketplace, and does all the necessary research for my crazy ideas. He also helps to keep me grounded.
In the beginning, so many of my friends would come hang out with me at the warehouse and pull orders. It’s quite satisfying to fill a shopping cart and not go through a check-out line.
The instructor at Hosiery 101/102. Even though I took the class over a year after the purchase, the knowledge he provided was so beneficial when it came time for me to start creating socks in our product line.
Railroad Sock has some of the best customers. From Port Angeles, WA to Darby, PA, I have met some of the best people. Especially those that have been supporting our brand a long time. Their comments and compliments just fuel the desire I have to keep doing what I am doing.
Anyone I have sent a free pair of socks to so that I could get their honest opinion. Even though Railroad Sock has been around a long time, I hadn’t. I was learning as I went and I didn’t have any real research and development budget. The feedback I received was not only invaluable in the addition to our sock line, but these same people are the first ones to tell others about us.
The Railroad Sock vendors. They were so patient with me as I was learning the ropes. Learning about plastic bags, yarns, stickers, various printing projects and tagging guns, box types and sizes…the number of things I learn everyday surprises me.
I know I am forgetting someone. Hopefully they know who they are and forgive me.
Pricing:
- $6.99 value pack socks
- $7.99-$12.99 therapeuctic, copper, single pair
- $16.00-$18.00 – bag program
- $19.99 – $24.99 – Premium Socks
- All our pricing can be found on our website.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.therailroadsock.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_railroadsock
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/railroadsock
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/railroad-sock
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@railroadsock
