I just watched a video feed from the Q Conference about Blake Mycoskie at Toms Shoes. He had an idea and ran with it with all of his heart. While on a trip to Argentina, Blake saw the huge need for kids to have a simple, yet vital provision: shoes. He dreamed up a company that would give one pair of shoes away for every pair of shoes he sold.
In the past year, Tom’s Shoes has completely exploded. Each pair of shoes comes with a story. When people wear these shoes, they are compelled to share the story that another pair of shoes went to Argentina. The message of service and servanthood is spreading like wildfire. His shoes are now featured in Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom’s, Vogue and GQ. Tom’s was also the center of this AT&T commercial.
I love the way he closed out his talk at the Q Conference. He said that he wants people to be “conscious consumers”. The idea here is to actually think about what we are buying. If there are two choices and one product helps other people, pick the product that helps people.
So many new ideas as entrepreneurs are starting to let their faith infiltrate their passion for creating new companies. There are more ideas out there. There are more businesses and ideas that will in turn change the destiny of people around the world.
What’s your idea?
