WALK A MILE IN HIS SHOES

Whenever I walk through my front door, the first thing I do is kick off my shoes.  How many of us can’t wait to get our shoes off because they feel constricting or uncomfortable? What if the next time you left your front door you had no shoes on?  What if not having shoes restricted your ability to attend school or exposed you to uncomfortable, unhygienic conditions? 

“No matter how convenient it is for us to reach out to people remotely, sometimes the most important task is to show up in person.”  –Blake Mycoskie

Have I ever told you how much of a huge fan I am of this guy?  Do you know who he is? Recognize his name? Maybe you know him if I say the name TOMS – as in shoes.

You may have seen many people wearing these comfortable, colorful – even strappy – shoes.  I, myself, am not one of those people who owns hundreds of pairs of shoes, but if I could afford to, I would purchase one pair of shoes TOMS shoes in every shape and color.  Not because I would ever have enough occasions to wear them all, but because TOMS shoes operates with a One for One^TM operating system.  To quote TOMS, “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need.”

This is where my entrepreneurial crush flourishes because:
a) Blake witnessed a problem and founded a company to change the world for the better
b) His generous business model shows that it’s not necessarily the company who makes the most money that wins
c) People are paying attention and companies are revamping their philanthropic sides or even blatantly ripping him off. (Seriously Skechers, if you were sincerely concerned, you could have done a TOMS distribution deal or special edition rather than mimic the shoes, the name and logo and trying to pull it off as your unique discovery! Boo Bobs, I really don’t like copycats!)

They don’t just do shoes either!  If you buy their shades this summer, you’ll help underserved communities get the prescription glasses or eye surgeries they need.

Oh, NOW he looks familiar, wasn’t he on Amazing Race?!