A “shoe-in” for tomorrow

Do you have a business role model?

Disclaimer: Not to be mistaken for “Business Model” (I’ll share a post on this at a later date). Also not the same as a mentor, because you do not need to have met or be acquainted. Meaning, you need not be bothered about what’s going on with the person’s private life or what they had for dinner. Just keep a focus on and study their achievements in business and all would be well in paradise.

I’ve had quite a few influences myself growing up- MKO Abiola, Dehinde Fernandez, Biodun Shobanjo, my Uncle Felix and in the later years, there were Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, but the biggest single influence I’ve had to date is a certain Blake Mycoskie. Won’t be surprised if this is your first time hearing of the name. What you’re probably familiar with is his product, “TOMS” derived from the phrase “Tomorrow’s Shoes” (I’m sure you didn’t know that either).

I got to know about TOMS around 2010, 4 years after it was founded in 2006. The marketing genius behind the “One for One” concept was so fascinating to me, so I started researching even more about the brand and by extension, its American founder. I bought the book START SOMETHING THAT MATTERS and read about how Blake sold his Driver Ed company upon returning from a vacation in Argentina, where having visited a remote location and seeing children going to school without shoes, he got inspired to do something about the millions of kids affected all over the world. He returned to America to design the prototype of the first TOMS shoe inspired by the classic Alpargata style worn in Argentina. Not done, he attached a promise to each shoe — “One for one”, which essentially implies that an indigent child somewhere in the world, gets a pair of shoes for every shoe sold. Take from the rich and give to the poor, sounds familiar? (Lesson — Every problem presents a potential opportunity, work towards finding a business angle).

I was all the more impressed with Blake. I became a fan and got totally immersed in the brand so much that I started placing orders for the shoes directly. I would find a way to get dollars across to a friend of mine in the U.S. who would ship back to me. Those were the days before PayPal so imagine the stress getting money across. The brand also made me socially conscious as I recall taking part in one of it’s social activations tagged “One Day Without Shoes”. (Lesson — Build a compelling Brand Story that would transform regular customers to fans- The trick is to make it simple and believable). Apple is another good reference here.

From here, I started marketing the shoes to everyone else, from colleagues at work to complete strangers. The profit was marginal but I didn’t mind. I had acquired quite the collection at this point, so I didn’t mind gifting out a few occasionally, and even got one for my then girlfriend. This action led to a number of return sales. (Lesson -Adopt occasional complimentary techniques such as gifts, discounts, promos etc to generate a sale). This was my own way of contributing to the cause.

My final action as a fan of the brand was to begin to make moves to secure a franchise deal to sell TOMS shoes in Nigeria and Africa. I eventually gave up this ambition, but not for a lack of reason — I got distracted in a good way, starting my own ventures. I must admit it was a real wild ride for those 18–24 months. Today, the TOMS brand has grown immensely in worth and value, it has leveraged the One for One idea into a business model, branching out into other areas such as eyewear, coffee (would you believe that?), apparels and handbags. (Lesson — Look to diversify once you start experiencing a lift).

Be like Blake, build for tomorrow.

About ME: I am an Emerging Tech, Media and Social Entrepreneur that has overseen the development of several high-growth companies and projects. I possess a strong track record of growing ideas to business, developing impactful market strategies and business models, increasing market share and profitability, spotting talent and building highly productive teams.