“You can’t lose everything when what you care about are the people and the memories you have.”
– Blake Mycoskie
This episode of the podcast features Blake Mycoskie (@blakemycoskie).
Blake is the Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS, and the person behind the One for One® business model, which helps a person in need with every product purchased.
This simple idea has grown into a global movement: TOMS Shoes has provided more than 60 million pairs of shoes to children since 2006, TOMS Eyewear has restored sight to more than 400,000 people since 2011, and TOMS Roasting Company has helped provide over 335,000 weeks of safe water since launching in 2014. In 2015, TOMS Bag Collection was founded with the mission to help provide training for skilled birth attendants and distribute birth kits containing items that help women safely deliver babies. As of 2016, TOMS has supported safe birth services for more than 25,000 mothers.
In this episode we cover:
- Early entrepreneurial ventures
- The power of journaling
- How “the stool analogy” changed Blake’s life
- Lessons from Ben Franklin
- And much, much more…
This episode comes from my new television show Fear(less), where I interview world-class performers on stage about how they’ve overcome doubt, conquered fear, and made their toughest decisions. You can watch the entire first episode with illusionist David Blaine for free at att.net/fearless. (To watch all episodes, please visit DIRECTV NOW).
We recorded three hours of material and only one hour was used for the TV show. This podcast episode is almost entirely new content that didn’t appear on TV.
Enjoy!
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another podcast with a guest from Fearless? — Listen to this episode with David Blaine where we discuss illusion, taking risks, and the art of positive mindset (stream below or right-click here to download):
This episode is brought to you by Inktel. Ever since I wrote The 4-Hour Workweek, I’ve been frequently asked about how I choose to delegate tasks. At the root of many of my decisions is a simple question: “How can I invest money to improve my quality of life?” Or, “how can I spend moderate money to save significant time?”
Inktel is one of those investments. It is a turnkey solution for all of your customer care needs. Its team answers more than one million customer service requests each year. It can also interact with your customers across all platforms, including email, phone, social media, text, and chat.
Inktel removes the logistics and headache of customer communication, allowing you to grow your business by focusing on your strengths. And as a listener of this podcast, you can get up to $10,000 off your start-up fees and costs waived by visiting inktel.com/tim. That’s inktel.com/tim.
This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.
I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run…
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
- Connect with Blake Mycoskie:
- Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
- King of Clubs: Grow Rich in More Than Money by Robert H.Dedman
- Wit and Wisdom from Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin
- Moral Letters to Lucilius XVIII: On Festivals and Fasting
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
- Blake and Paige on The Amazing Race 2
- How to Live Like a Rock Star (or Tango Star) in Buenos Aires…
- How I Did It: The Toms Story by Blake Mycoskie, Entrepreneur
- Co-Founder Alejo Nitti Talks About the Beginnings of TOMS
- The Lowly Alpargata Steps Forward by Jennifer Irwin, The New York Times
- How I Built It: Reef’s Fernando Aguerre with Colleen DeBaise, WSJ
Show Notes
- Who here owns shoes? [04:42]
- How did Blake’s mom and dad differ in parenting styles? [05:59]
- What was Blake’s first entrepreneurial experience? [08:39]
- The importance of journaling. [15:35]
- What Blake learned from a local eccentric businessman and philanthropist. [19:20]
- How Ben Franklin has influenced the way TOMS does business. [21:50]
- How Blake’s dad reacted when he told him he was dropping out of college to pursue his own business. [24:45]
- An aspiring entrepreneur’s recipe for disaster. [27:33]
- The TOMS origin story — how it came about when Blake was trying to take a vacation from business. [31:04]
- How the women in Blake’s life proved to him that TOMS was a viable business model. [41:31]
- TOMS went from a goal of breaking even to turning high profits. [45:19]
- When deciding on a company name, why did Blake settle on TOMS? [46:47]
- On growing organically vs. raising venture capital. [50:12]
- The first time Blake encountered a wildly enthusiastic stranger wearing TOMS in the wild. [51:33]
- Advice for aspiring manufacturers? [1:00:48]
- On not getting stuck in the rut of a costly lifestyle over building real relationships. [1:03:21]