Mark & Jon have built a business based on creating customer experiences and spreading happiness. John’s Crazy Socks has 240,000 Facebook followers and over 29,000 five-star reviews.
John and Mark X. Cronin are the father-son team that created John’s Crazy Socks, a social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. They bootstrapped their business into the world’s largest sock store. John is not only a business owner, but he has Down syndrome. Every day, John and Mark show what people with differing abilities can do – more than half their colleagues have a differing ability. And they show their gratitude through their Giving Back program that has raised nearly $500,000 for their charity partners. Most of all, they are spreading happiness one pair of socks at a time.
In today's episode, Christina talks with Mark and Jon Cronin about the impact of their business, and several different things that they do, from donations to hiring practices to how they've structured their business.
Questions
- Going from boot strapped to multimillion, how did you do it?
- What's that impact you're trying to have?
- What's your mission now?
- What do you say are the keys to happiness?
- Why do you wanna hire somebody?
- What goes in every package?
- So what's the name of our store?
- So how many socks do we have?
- How long you been in the Special Olympics?
- What do you say about down syndrome?
Links and Resources
- Website - https://johnscrazysocks.com/
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/JohnsCrazySocks
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnscrazysocks/
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/john-s-crazy-socks/
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For more entrepreneurial insight, subscribe & join our community at etatoday.zone & learn how to build a business that enables your lifestyle instead of taking over your life.
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- Hey, busy business people.
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I am here today
00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:05.730
with a couple of
entrepreneurs taking action
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John and Mark Cronin.
00:00:07.710 --> 00:00:08.790
This dynamic father
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son duo went from a bootstrap startup
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to a multimillion dollar
sock empire in five years.
00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:16.410
And I'm getting scoop
today on how they did it.
00:00:16.410 --> 00:00:17.343
So stay tuned.
00:00:18.488 --> 00:00:21.071
(upbeat music)
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Hey guys.
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Welcome to the show in five years, right?
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Like going from boot
strapped to multimillion.
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I think there was like 88
locations from what I was seeing.
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How?
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- Yeah. Well 88 different countries.
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- 88 different countries.
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There we go.
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- Well, Christina, thank
you for having us on.
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- Thank you so much.
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I really appreciate you.
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- We're really happy to be here.
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- Thank you
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- So happy to have you guys, like
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I'm excited to hear about
the story you don't hear
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about that kind of business growth.
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Very often.
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- We've been very fortunate and yes
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the business grew rapidly,
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but don't let anybody fool
you we've had our failures.
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They've been ups and downs.
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We got the scars to prove it.
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- I have scars.
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- That of course every
entrepreneur will get.
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Right?
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- Right.
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So we'll be glad to kinda
walk you through and tell
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share what motivates us.
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We want to be an open book.
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You've got a great
audience of entrepreneurs.
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That's our tribe.
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Particularly those that
wanna make a difference.
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That want to have an impact.
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That's really what we are trying to do.
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And we relate to folks
that are doing the same.
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- Well, let's talk about that a little bit
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in terms of like having an impact.
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I know there's several
different things that you do
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from like donations to hiring practices
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to how you've structured your business.
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Like, talk about how you're getting
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the warm fuzzies back outta your business.
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- Well, I think every
organization, you gotta know
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what you are about.
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You gotta know what your purpose is.
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What's that impact you're trying to have?
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And for us,
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we sum it up in two words,
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what's our mission now?
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- Spreading happiness dad.
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- Spreading happiness,
and everything we do
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comes down to that.
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And what do you say are
the keys to happiness?
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- It's gratitude and do for others.
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- Gratitude, do for others that guides us.
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But we also have fleshed
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out five pillars that define what we mean
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when we say we're spreading happiness.
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You wanna talk about the pillars?
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Do you want us to do that?
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We can do that.
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- Yeah. Yeah.
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- So what's the first
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- One. First one is spreading and hope.
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Second one is give back.
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The third one is fun
product, you can love.
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Three.
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- Now you're up to fourth
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- Four. I'm sorry.
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- You're getting lost here pal.
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- Four. We have make it personal.
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Five are make it great place to work.
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- So, you know, you talk
about warm and fuzzies
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you know, we have to know what matters.
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What matters for our organization
and what matters for us.
00:03:36.249 --> 00:03:39.870
If you're an entrepreneur out there
00:03:39.870 --> 00:03:42.510
and you're starting an
organization, you know,
00:03:42.510 --> 00:03:45.390
I liken it to the big bang theory
00:03:45.390 --> 00:03:49.800
not the TV show, the actual
scientific theory, right?
00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:54.210
When you start with just a little spec
00:03:54.210 --> 00:03:57.240
and that spec might be the
founder or an, our case
00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:00.660
two people, where it
might be your first team
00:04:00.660 --> 00:04:03.390
and everything might be in
your head at that point.
00:04:03.390 --> 00:04:06.930
But as you expand, you're
gonna add other people.
00:04:06.930 --> 00:04:09.360
You're going to add more stuff.
00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:12.240
You're gonna reach more
people and you have to
00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:17.240
be really clear on what
matters, 'cause if you're not
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then everything's just
gonna tumble off into space.
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So, you know, this has to be
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it has to be what you really believe.
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We get asked a lot, right?
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What the one key?
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What's the one thing I would
start, you know, if I'm,
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you know, what, what should
I do to start a business?
00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:40.993
And, and you know,
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the first thing I would
do is I would kidnap John.
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- Really?
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I would have John as my partner.
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- (laughing)
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- But beyond that it's to believe.
00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:52.560
It's to know what you are about
and really believe in that.
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Not just be words.
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So if we come back, you know,
00:04:57.434 --> 00:05:00.540
our fifth pillar is making
this a great place to work.
00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:02.853
That's really important.
00:05:04.410 --> 00:05:08.250
If we are gonna spread
happiness amongst our customers
00:05:08.250 --> 00:05:11.790
and in our community,
we have to start here.
00:05:11.790 --> 00:05:14.160
Our colleagues have to be happy.
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And there's lots of evidence out there.
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And I could, you know,
share books with you,
00:05:18.270 --> 00:05:21.690
The Happiness Project, that have the data,
00:05:21.690 --> 00:05:25.440
that happy employees are more productive
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and they're greater retention.
00:05:28.260 --> 00:05:30.243
It's gonna be a better place.
00:05:31.170 --> 00:05:33.630
So that's really important to us.
00:05:33.630 --> 00:05:37.710
And we think hard and work
about that and work at it.
00:05:37.710 --> 00:05:41.100
And we've identified five pieces there.
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One offer people a mission
worthy of their commitment
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offer people something
larger than ourselves.
00:05:51.150 --> 00:05:53.070
Something that matters.
00:05:53.070 --> 00:05:55.713
And it can't just be, we wanna make money.
00:05:57.525 --> 00:06:00.873
I mean everybody wants to make
money and that's a byproduct.
00:06:01.710 --> 00:06:04.710
But it's gotta be something
larger than ourselves that
00:06:04.710 --> 00:06:06.213
have an impact in the world.
00:06:07.350 --> 00:06:12.350
Two, make sure everybody
knows how their job
00:06:12.930 --> 00:06:16.530
and what they do connects to that mission.
00:06:16.530 --> 00:06:18.540
There's no make work job.
00:06:18.540 --> 00:06:20.850
There's no cog in the machinery.
00:06:20.850 --> 00:06:23.400
Everybody's job matters.
00:06:23.400 --> 00:06:26.760
Everybody wants to know
that, that I matter.
00:06:26.760 --> 00:06:29.370
And if you're a business person
00:06:29.370 --> 00:06:31.140
why do you wanna hire somebody?
00:06:31.140 --> 00:06:32.340
Why would you pay somebody,
00:06:32.340 --> 00:06:34.596
If their job doesn't matter?
00:06:34.596 --> 00:06:38.190
You don't have extra money laying around.
00:06:38.190 --> 00:06:43.190
And then three, put people
in a position to succeed.
00:06:43.290 --> 00:06:45.390
Don't ask them to do what they can't do.
00:06:45.390 --> 00:06:46.380
Like John here.
00:06:46.380 --> 00:06:47.802
- Right.
00:06:47.802 --> 00:06:50.790
- John does a lot of things,
but he doesn't do our finances.
00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:53.100
Don't ask people to do what they can do
00:06:53.100 --> 00:06:55.170
and give them what they need.
00:06:55.170 --> 00:06:58.440
And we don't have unlimited
resources, but Nazire,
00:06:58.440 --> 00:07:01.560
our graphic artists, when we
hired her, it's like, well
00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:03.360
what type of computer should we get?
00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:04.980
You tell us.
00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:08.490
If Nick, our webmaster
needs a software package,
00:07:08.490 --> 00:07:09.737
well let's get it for him.
00:07:09.737 --> 00:07:12.000
And we can't do everything
00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.120
but put people in a position to succeed
00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:19.383
and then four, recognize what people do.
00:07:20.340 --> 00:07:23.250
Say thank you, right?
00:07:23.250 --> 00:07:28.050
You work hard on your podcast,
Christina, you care about it.
00:07:28.050 --> 00:07:29.280
Doesn't it make you feel good?
00:07:29.280 --> 00:07:30.750
When somebody says, Hey, Christina
00:07:30.750 --> 00:07:32.220
I'm listening the other day.
00:07:32.220 --> 00:07:34.270
That was a really neat interview you did?
00:07:35.833 --> 00:07:36.870
- Yes, it does.
00:07:36.870 --> 00:07:40.440
And then five, stay the
hell out of the way.
00:07:40.440 --> 00:07:43.590
Let people do their
jobs, give them autonomy.
00:07:43.590 --> 00:07:44.790
Don't micromanage.
00:07:44.790 --> 00:07:47.070
That's why you've hired them.
00:07:47.070 --> 00:07:50.490
So, that rolls up to our fifth pillar,
00:07:50.490 --> 00:07:52.500
make it a great place to work.
00:07:52.500 --> 00:07:54.510
And so you ask about warm and fuzzies.
00:07:54.510 --> 00:07:56.640
We know that's essential to our mission
00:07:56.640 --> 00:07:59.220
of spreading happiness,
but that's really important
00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:00.300
to us here.
00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:05.300
We just did a midyear survey
over the end of last week
00:08:05.790 --> 00:08:09.630
through yesterday, asking our colleagues
00:08:09.630 --> 00:08:11.070
are you happy working here?
00:08:11.070 --> 00:08:13.200
Do you feel supported?
00:08:13.200 --> 00:08:15.360
Do you understand your
connection to the mission?
00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:16.500
We ask.
00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:18.360
Tell us, how are we doing?
00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:20.790
And what do we need to do for you?
00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:24.840
And one of the suggestions
was we need margarita Fridays.
00:08:24.840 --> 00:08:27.984
Okay? So maybe we can take
a look at that, right?
00:08:27.984 --> 00:08:28.830
- (laughing)
00:08:28.830 --> 00:08:32.754
- And then the next pillar
up is making it personal.
00:08:32.754 --> 00:08:37.754
So we are always looking to
make a personal connection
00:08:37.890 --> 00:08:40.052
with our customers.
00:08:40.052 --> 00:08:44.700
We're not chasing transactions.
00:08:44.700 --> 00:08:47.430
We're looking for relationships.
00:08:47.430 --> 00:08:49.260
So here's an easy example.
00:08:49.260 --> 00:08:51.240
What goes in every package?
00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:55.140
- Every package gets a thank
you note, I wrote and candy.
00:08:55.140 --> 00:08:59.025
- From day one John has
been doing handwritten
00:08:59.025 --> 00:09:00.922
thank you notes for customers.
00:09:00.922 --> 00:09:04.380
We put a package of
candy in every package.
00:09:04.380 --> 00:09:07.200
On every packing slip
you're gonna see a picture
00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:09.760
and the name of the person
who packed your order
00:09:10.650 --> 00:09:13.830
because we're people, we're
connecting with you, you know.
00:09:13.830 --> 00:09:16.040
Making a personal means if you call here,
00:09:16.040 --> 00:09:19.710
you will never get voice mail.
00:09:19.710 --> 00:09:22.170
You're gonna talk to a person.
00:09:22.170 --> 00:09:23.790
We have no scripts.
00:09:23.790 --> 00:09:26.010
We don't listen in on phone calls.
00:09:26.010 --> 00:09:30.153
You're going to have a
genuine human conversation.
00:09:31.260 --> 00:09:34.860
Everything we do, we look
for that way to connect.
00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:36.300
And I could go on and
00:09:36.300 --> 00:09:39.060
and give you countless
examples of, you know,
00:09:39.060 --> 00:09:41.700
how we use our email to make that happen
00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:44.910
and how we're very careful
in how we use our email.
00:09:44.910 --> 00:09:49.710
And the packaging we do in,
you know, the fact that yes
00:09:49.710 --> 00:09:54.710
we've shipped 380,000 packages
to 88 different countries.
00:09:56.100 --> 00:09:57.930
But if we get an order
00:09:57.930 --> 00:10:01.403
between our office and our
home, what are you doing?
00:10:01.403 --> 00:10:03.655
- I doing a home delivery then.
00:10:03.655 --> 00:10:04.620
- John's doing a home deliveries.
00:10:04.620 --> 00:10:06.033
He's knocking on you a door.
00:10:07.410 --> 00:10:08.520
- That's awesome.
00:10:08.520 --> 00:10:12.810
- And then, fun products you can love.
00:10:12.810 --> 00:10:15.000
And this has kind two pieces to it.
00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.140
First, it talks about what we sell.
00:10:19.140 --> 00:10:20.670
So what's the name of our store?
00:10:20.670 --> 00:10:22.580
- It's johnscrazysocks.com.
00:10:23.670 --> 00:10:25.770
- John's Crazy Socks, right?
00:10:25.770 --> 00:10:28.800
So you know where we're
mainly selling socks.
00:10:28.800 --> 00:10:33.800
Well, everything we sell
has to be fun, has to spread
00:10:35.730 --> 00:10:38.610
happiness. And?
00:10:38.610 --> 00:10:40.590
- I am behind it.
00:10:40.590 --> 00:10:43.830
- John has to give it
his seal of approval.
00:10:43.830 --> 00:10:47.073
If John can't stand up and
sell it, we're not selling it.
00:10:48.040 --> 00:10:50.073
But there's another part to it.
00:10:50.940 --> 00:10:52.615
You will talk about
00:10:52.615 --> 00:10:57.063
we have some very strong social goals.
00:10:58.800 --> 00:11:03.090
But at its heart, we still
have to deliver the goods.
00:11:03.090 --> 00:11:05.610
We have to have great selection.
00:11:05.610 --> 00:11:07.200
So how many socks do we have?
00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:09.979
- We have 4,000 different kinds of socks.
00:11:09.979 --> 00:11:11.679
- 4,000 different different socks.
00:11:12.762 --> 00:11:13.827
- Wow.
00:11:13.827 --> 00:11:15.150
- That's more than any store in the world.
00:11:15.150 --> 00:11:16.620
So you know what that means.
00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:20.463
John here owns the world's
largest sock store, right?
00:11:21.382 --> 00:11:23.490
You gotta have that great selection.
00:11:23.490 --> 00:11:25.353
We gotta have a great website.
00:11:26.430 --> 00:11:29.040
The products have to be great.
00:11:29.040 --> 00:11:32.940
We have over 29,000 five star reviews.
00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:37.940
96% of our reviews are five star reviews.
00:11:38.070 --> 00:11:39.363
People like the product.
00:11:40.290 --> 00:11:42.690
And the service has to be great.
00:11:42.690 --> 00:11:44.253
We do our own fulfillment.
00:11:46.002 --> 00:11:46.835
We do same day shipping.
00:11:46.835 --> 00:11:50.613
An order comes in today,
it's going out today.
00:11:51.870 --> 00:11:54.810
We do better shipping than Amazon.
00:11:54.810 --> 00:11:58.650
And that guy, Jeff Bezos, over in Amazon
00:11:58.650 --> 00:12:00.750
he's not putting a
thank you note and candy
00:12:00.750 --> 00:12:02.250
in those packages.
00:12:02.250 --> 00:12:03.083
- No idea.
00:12:03.083 --> 00:12:06.940
- Right? So you, you gotta,
you know, it's that fun
00:12:08.098 --> 00:12:10.410
products you can love and
really deliver the goods.
00:12:10.410 --> 00:12:13.263
And then two, giving back.
00:12:15.030 --> 00:12:18.720
You heard John say, he
believes the keys to happiness
00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:21.690
are gratitude and doing for others.
00:12:21.690 --> 00:12:24.030
Well, that's built into what we do.
00:12:24.030 --> 00:12:26.010
The more we can do for others.
00:12:26.010 --> 00:12:28.110
The better off we are.
00:12:28.110 --> 00:12:31.443
We don't think it's
enough to just sell stuff.
00:12:32.280 --> 00:12:34.110
You gotta get back.
00:12:34.110 --> 00:12:36.690
So we started from day one,
00:12:36.690 --> 00:12:40.020
we pledged 5% of our earnings to?
00:12:40.020 --> 00:12:42.390
- A Special Olympics.
00:12:42.390 --> 00:12:44.561
- And why the Special Olympics?
00:12:44.561 --> 00:12:45.420
- I'm a Special Olympics athlete.
00:12:45.420 --> 00:12:47.550
- John's a special Olympic athlete.
00:12:47.550 --> 00:12:50.160
How long you been in the Special Olympics?
00:12:50.160 --> 00:12:50.993
- 21 years
00:12:50.993 --> 00:12:53.813
- Started when he was
five years old, 21 years.
00:12:53.813 --> 00:12:55.110
We've seen all of it.
00:12:55.110 --> 00:12:56.613
- Awesome.
00:12:56.613 --> 00:12:57.750
- He's done and grown in that.
00:12:57.750 --> 00:13:00.180
Some of our colleagues are
Special Olympic athletes.
00:13:00.180 --> 00:13:02.250
Some of us have coached in it.
00:13:02.250 --> 00:13:04.950
So we wanted to make sure we gave back.
00:13:04.950 --> 00:13:09.330
But then we've gone on
and we've created products
00:13:09.330 --> 00:13:14.194
that celebrate causes and raise
awareness for those causes
00:13:14.194 --> 00:13:16.530
and raised money for them.
00:13:16.530 --> 00:13:19.629
So what were the first
awareness socks we made
00:13:19.629 --> 00:13:21.930
- Down's syndrome awareness socks.
00:13:21.930 --> 00:13:23.040
- And who designed those?
00:13:23.040 --> 00:13:24.267
- I did.
00:13:24.267 --> 00:13:25.440
- And they raised money
00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.410
for the National Down Syndrome Society
00:13:28.410 --> 00:13:30.648
but we have autism awareness, socks.
00:13:30.648 --> 00:13:33.360
I raised money for the
Autism Society of America
00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.180
And cerebral palsy
awareness socks, raise money
00:13:36.180 --> 00:13:39.960
for United Cerebral Palsy and so on.
00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:41.580
So we have now raised
00:13:41.580 --> 00:13:45.303
over $500,000 for our charity partners.
00:13:46.860 --> 00:13:48.660
It's built into what we do.
00:13:48.660 --> 00:13:51.630
We sponsor an Autism Can Do Scholarship.
00:13:51.630 --> 00:13:54.150
We make donations for auctions
00:13:54.150 --> 00:13:57.570
and charity raffles to
support groups that work
00:13:57.570 --> 00:13:59.420
with people with different abilities.
00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:04.320
You ask about warm and fuzzies.
00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:06.630
John here has now donated
00:14:06.630 --> 00:14:10.110
over a hundred thousand
dollars the Special Olympics.
00:14:10.110 --> 00:14:13.740
More than any Special
Olympic athlete ever has.
00:14:13.740 --> 00:14:16.383
You know how great that
feels to be able to do that?
00:14:17.670 --> 00:14:18.670
- That's amazing.
00:14:19.544 --> 00:14:22.450
- And then our most important pillar is
00:14:23.742 --> 00:14:25.470
- Inspiration and hope.
00:14:25.470 --> 00:14:27.900
- Inspiration and hope.
00:14:27.900 --> 00:14:32.790
We wanna show the world what
people with differing abilities
00:14:32.790 --> 00:14:34.230
can do.
00:14:34.230 --> 00:14:36.887
We start with John, you
have down syndrome, right?
00:14:36.887 --> 00:14:37.951
- I do.
00:14:37.951 --> 00:14:39.784
- What do you say about down syndrome?
00:14:39.784 --> 00:14:41.952
- I have down syndrome down syndrome.
00:14:41.952 --> 00:14:43.860
Down syndrome never held me back.
00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:45.870
- It does not.
00:14:45.870 --> 00:14:48.360
We don't put John in the back.
00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:50.460
We put him right up front.
00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:51.990
You're the face of the business.
00:14:51.990 --> 00:14:53.640
- You do.
00:14:53.640 --> 00:14:55.980
We hire people with different abilities.
00:14:55.980 --> 00:14:59.040
So we've been able to create 34 jobs.
00:14:59.040 --> 00:15:03.060
22 of those are held by people
with different abilities.
00:15:03.060 --> 00:15:04.140
And that's not enough.
00:15:04.140 --> 00:15:05.640
We wanna show the world.
00:15:05.640 --> 00:15:10.620
So we create content all the
time, videos and pictures.
00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:13.290
We hold public events,
we're staging a fashion
00:15:13.290 --> 00:15:17.193
show that will feature models
with differing abilities.
00:15:18.133 --> 00:15:21.570
We host tours and work groups
00:15:21.570 --> 00:15:24.690
from schools and social service agencies.
00:15:24.690 --> 00:15:27.090
With pandemic we move that online.
00:15:27.090 --> 00:15:29.580
So we've had school groups
around the world come in
00:15:29.580 --> 00:15:34.260
and to our facility so
students can see, oh
00:15:34.260 --> 00:15:35.700
there's a future for me.
00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:37.503
There are jobs I can get.
00:15:38.550 --> 00:15:41.820
We do speaking engagements
and podcast appearances.
00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:43.530
That's why we're so grateful, Christina,
00:15:43.530 --> 00:15:45.183
that you have us on your show.
00:15:46.290 --> 00:15:48.540
But we've, we now do corporate events.
00:15:48.540 --> 00:15:52.140
We've spoken at 5,000 people
at a Microsoft conference
00:15:52.140 --> 00:15:57.140
3000 people at an EY conference,
colleges and universities.
00:15:58.770 --> 00:16:00.000
- Yep.
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:05.000
- It's all in an effort to
show what people can do.
00:16:05.040 --> 00:16:06.843
And we do advocacy work.
00:16:08.490 --> 00:16:12.180
We are very fortunate that
because of our business
00:16:12.180 --> 00:16:14.910
we have a platform that
people will listen.
00:16:14.910 --> 00:16:18.420
So we've testified twice
before the US Congress.
00:16:18.420 --> 00:16:21.810
We've spoken at the United
Nations, all standing
00:16:21.810 --> 00:16:24.540
up for the rights of people
with different abilities
00:16:24.540 --> 00:16:29.540
and all that rolls up
to John's Crazy Socks.
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:32.730
Look at the fun we get to have.
00:16:32.730 --> 00:16:34.227
Look what we get to do.
00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:37.500
- That's awesome.
00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:40.522
I mean, I know we're kind of
getting close to our time here.
00:16:40.522 --> 00:16:42.030
So one question I would
really like to ask, like,
00:16:42.030 --> 00:16:45.870
if somebody's listening to you
and they're feeling inspired
00:16:45.870 --> 00:16:48.330
but it seems very intimidating to look
00:16:48.330 --> 00:16:50.520
at hiring people with differing abilities
00:16:50.520 --> 00:16:55.080
or look at starting to like
set up, you know, relationships
00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:57.300
with some of these charities
where they can donate
00:16:57.300 --> 00:16:58.800
and they can give back.
00:16:58.800 --> 00:17:00.630
Do you have any tips or advice
00:17:00.630 --> 00:17:04.110
to get them past that
initial hump of like, Ooh
00:17:04.110 --> 00:17:06.810
seems like it's a big challenge.
00:17:06.810 --> 00:17:08.190
How do I get started?
00:17:08.190 --> 00:17:11.168
- Anytime that I'm faced
with something that seems
00:17:11.168 --> 00:17:15.060
like a big and overwhelming
challenge, I'll stop
00:17:15.060 --> 00:17:18.783
take a breath and break
it down to smaller pieces.
00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:21.570
So, you know, here's one thing
00:17:21.570 --> 00:17:25.830
in general to take some
solace of, the two of us
00:17:25.830 --> 00:17:28.740
which is a couple
knucklehead selling socks.
00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:30.960
If we can do this, anybody can do this.
00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.360
We have no special talent,
no special training
00:17:35.310 --> 00:17:36.543
but I'll you know,
00:17:36.543 --> 00:17:40.140
I'll break that into two
examples of what you've raised.
00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:42.960
One is alright, donating
00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.480
and raising money for charity partners.
00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:48.570
So here's how we did our first one, right?
00:17:48.570 --> 00:17:52.770
John is designing these down
syndrome awareness socks.
00:17:52.770 --> 00:17:56.610
We called up the National
Down Syndrome Society
00:17:56.610 --> 00:17:58.743
and said, hey, we wanna send you money.
00:17:59.910 --> 00:18:01.060
They said, who are you?
00:18:01.971 --> 00:18:02.970
And we spoke for a while.
00:18:02.970 --> 00:18:04.950
And they said, oh, okay.
00:18:04.950 --> 00:18:06.250
That's how it got started.
00:18:07.350 --> 00:18:08.610
It was that simple.
00:18:08.610 --> 00:18:10.863
When it comes to hiring people,
00:18:12.780 --> 00:18:14.460
over the years, you know,
00:18:14.460 --> 00:18:16.980
we run our own pick and
pack warehouse, right?
00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:20.040
So when we're staffing our
warehouse over the years
00:18:20.040 --> 00:18:23.680
we have hired from three labor pools
00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.540
people with different abilities, moms.
00:18:27.540 --> 00:18:30.360
Cause we schedule people
in four hour shifts.
00:18:30.360 --> 00:18:32.670
So moms, we get some dads in there
00:18:32.670 --> 00:18:34.970
'cause they wanna put the kid on the bus
00:18:34.970 --> 00:18:36.780
in the morning and pick the
kid up in the afternoon.
00:18:36.780 --> 00:18:38.280
So they put the kid on the bus
00:18:38.280 --> 00:18:40.623
come work here and then
go pick somebody up.
00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:44.490
And then the third pool are
just laborers that are looking
00:18:44.490 --> 00:18:46.593
for a $15 an hour job.
00:18:47.490 --> 00:18:51.900
By far the best labor
pool we have are people
00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:53.150
with different abilities.
00:18:54.600 --> 00:18:57.990
It's because they're enthusiastic.
00:18:57.990 --> 00:18:59.460
They wanna work.
00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:02.580
They care about what they
work and they pay attention.
00:19:02.580 --> 00:19:03.723
They work hard.
00:19:04.560 --> 00:19:07.710
And all it took for us was to focus
00:19:07.710 --> 00:19:11.959
on what we needed and
on what people could do.
00:19:11.959 --> 00:19:14.493
You know what they can do,
not what they can't do.
00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:20.040
But this is a good business decision.
00:19:20.040 --> 00:19:21.720
I mean it's not charity.
00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:24.510
If you got to know John and me
00:19:24.510 --> 00:19:27.543
you'd find out that John
here is a very nice guy.
00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:30.120
I am not.
00:19:30.120 --> 00:19:34.500
If we're gonna hire
you, you gotta produce.
00:19:34.500 --> 00:19:38.610
In fact, we have a TEDx
talk on that very subject.
00:19:38.610 --> 00:19:41.017
We have a TEDx talk
that hiring people with
00:19:41.017 --> 00:19:44.640
differing abilities is not altruism.
00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:45.963
It's good business.
00:19:47.010 --> 00:19:50.100
So that that's what I
would offer to people is
00:19:50.100 --> 00:19:52.050
it can be done.
00:19:52.050 --> 00:19:55.650
Focus, not on all the reasons
you can't do something
00:19:55.650 --> 00:19:57.780
focus on what you have
to do to get something
00:19:57.780 --> 00:20:02.070
done and break it down
into the smallest chunks.
00:20:02.070 --> 00:20:04.053
You just gotta do one thing at a time.
00:20:05.670 --> 00:20:07.140
- Like that's really great advice.
00:20:07.140 --> 00:20:08.940
Thank you so much for sharing.
00:20:08.940 --> 00:20:10.620
I love how all of it connected.
00:20:10.620 --> 00:20:12.030
So it's like listeners.
00:20:12.030 --> 00:20:14.940
I would love to see rewind and
listen to what happened there
00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:17.700
because there was a lot of
really smart business stuff.
00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:19.770
It's like down from like the core mission
00:20:19.770 --> 00:20:22.290
to the five pillars that
tied to the core mission
00:20:22.290 --> 00:20:25.770
to breaking those pillars
down into executable steps
00:20:25.770 --> 00:20:27.510
and then to being creative
00:20:27.510 --> 00:20:29.954
with how you structure your business to
00:20:29.954 --> 00:20:31.140
make sure you get the warm fuzzies.
00:20:31.140 --> 00:20:34.170
So it was a really powerful
story, but it's also packed
00:20:34.170 --> 00:20:37.680
with like so much business
advice in such a short timeframe.
00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:40.290
And I think it's really
important to make sure you pick
00:20:40.290 --> 00:20:42.390
up on that as you're listening.
00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:43.980
- Well, once you, I mean
00:20:43.980 --> 00:20:46.164
it's why I say it's so
important to believe.
00:20:46.164 --> 00:20:49.110
Cause once you believe
you're just gonna keep
00:20:49.110 --> 00:20:51.720
finding ways to make that manifest.
00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:53.433
So here's an example.
00:20:54.600 --> 00:20:56.400
We wanna make things personal, right?
00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:58.710
We want to take care of people.
00:20:58.710 --> 00:21:02.310
So we sell socks for diabetics.
00:21:02.310 --> 00:21:04.920
And one day one of our
happiness packers comes
00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:07.890
and says, you know, we're sending socks
00:21:07.890 --> 00:21:11.285
out to diabetics and we
are shipping them candy.
00:21:11.285 --> 00:21:13.233
What's wrong with that picture?
00:21:14.670 --> 00:21:15.620
That's all it took.
00:21:17.065 --> 00:21:18.960
So now we have a supply
of sugar free candy.
00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.933
And if you want a diabetic
socks, that's what we send you.
00:21:23.070 --> 00:21:25.710
And that happened because everybody is
00:21:25.710 --> 00:21:28.353
on board and believing
in what we're gonna do.
00:21:29.310 --> 00:21:30.143
- Yep.
00:21:31.078 --> 00:21:31.911
Once you believe it
00:21:31.911 --> 00:21:34.803
then you'll keep figuring
out ways to make that happen.
00:21:35.910 --> 00:21:38.223
It doesn't all have to happen at once.
00:21:40.320 --> 00:21:42.390
- Yep. I think that is really important.
00:21:42.390 --> 00:21:44.340
If somebody wants to
like check you guys out
00:21:44.340 --> 00:21:48.150
and learn more about you, go
get socks, where do they go?
00:21:48.150 --> 00:21:49.660
- Where do they go?
00:21:49.660 --> 00:21:50.547
- Go to johnscrazysocks.com.
00:21:54.961 --> 00:21:57.720
- johnscrazysocks.com.
00:21:57.720 --> 00:22:00.123
And you, there are a lot of things there
00:22:00.123 --> 00:22:02.100
that we can offer you, you know.
00:22:02.100 --> 00:22:05.686
First it is the world's
largest socks store, right?
00:22:05.686 --> 00:22:06.893
- Yeah, dad.
00:22:06.893 --> 00:22:08.280
- And understand when you buy from us
00:22:09.360 --> 00:22:11.760
you help us hire people
with different abilities.
00:22:11.760 --> 00:22:13.470
You help us give back.
00:22:13.470 --> 00:22:16.650
Most of all, you help us spread happiness.
00:22:16.650 --> 00:22:18.840
But there's lots of things we can offer.
00:22:18.840 --> 00:22:22.798
If you want fun, you can
join John every Tuesday.
00:22:22.798 --> 00:22:24.700
When you do every Tuesday
00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:27.690
I host a dance party
every Tuesday, 3:00 PM.
00:22:27.690 --> 00:22:31.260
John hosts, an online dance
party every day at three,
00:22:31.260 --> 00:22:33.150
every Tuesday at 3:00 PM.
00:22:33.150 --> 00:22:35.310
I mean we're spreading happiness, right?
00:22:35.310 --> 00:22:37.920
And you can find that link at the website.
00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:39.900
We now have a podcast.
00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:40.800
What's it called?
00:22:40.800 --> 00:22:42.327
- The Spreading Happiness Podcast.
00:22:42.327 --> 00:22:45.429
- The Spreading Happiness Podcast.
00:22:45.429 --> 00:22:48.240
It's 30 minutes with
the two of us bantering.
00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:49.470
We tell some jokes.
00:22:49.470 --> 00:22:51.630
We share some good stories.
00:22:51.630 --> 00:22:54.282
Give an update on John's love life.
00:22:54.282 --> 00:22:55.115
- I'm very smooth.
00:22:55.115 --> 00:22:57.240
You're very smooth, right?
00:22:57.240 --> 00:22:59.760
It's 30 minutes just
designed to put a smile
00:22:59.760 --> 00:23:01.601
on your face and make it feel good.
00:23:01.601 --> 00:23:02.434
- Yes.
00:23:02.434 --> 00:23:04.470
- And you can find those
links that our website we're
00:23:04.470 --> 00:23:06.720
on every major platform.
00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:10.380
The same way that
Entrepreneurs Taking Action is.
00:23:10.380 --> 00:23:12.060
So you can do that.
00:23:12.060 --> 00:23:16.410
We're on all the major
social media platforms.
00:23:16.410 --> 00:23:21.410
We're particularly active on
Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
00:23:22.830 --> 00:23:23.884
- Right.
00:23:23.884 --> 00:23:25.800
- You like doing those
TikTok dances, don't you?
00:23:25.800 --> 00:23:26.670
- I do that.
00:23:26.670 --> 00:23:29.492
- Right. And we engage with,
00:23:29.492 --> 00:23:30.325
- TikTok's a lot of fun.
00:23:30.325 --> 00:23:31.710
I get addicted to TikTok.
00:23:31.710 --> 00:23:33.690
I spend way too much time on there.
00:23:33.690 --> 00:23:35.307
- Oh yeah, yeah.
00:23:35.307 --> 00:23:37.110
You know, in hospitals you don't have
00:23:37.110 --> 00:23:39.277
to sedate people anymore.
00:23:39.277 --> 00:23:40.785
Just give them a TikTok channel
00:23:40.785 --> 00:23:42.030
and they'll be there all day.
00:23:42.030 --> 00:23:43.072
- Oh yeah.
00:23:43.072 --> 00:23:44.307
I can look at TikTok for hours.
00:23:44.307 --> 00:23:46.890
- We do things for businesses.
00:23:46.890 --> 00:23:49.110
We now, we make custom socks.
00:23:49.110 --> 00:23:52.980
So we've made custom socks
for Google and IBM and
00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:57.980
for people's weddings and bar
mitzvahs and sweet 16 parties
00:23:58.080 --> 00:24:00.720
and businesses that give
them out as thank you
00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:02.490
gifts to customers.
00:24:02.490 --> 00:24:03.660
We have gift packages.
00:24:03.660 --> 00:24:06.003
We have a charity fundraising program.
00:24:07.410 --> 00:24:08.853
So we got a lot going on.
00:24:10.650 --> 00:24:11.700
- That's awesome.
00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:12.660
- And if you get it all,
00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:15.592
- You guys out and
getting some superpowers
00:24:15.592 --> 00:24:17.905
into sell socks soon,
that would be really cool.
00:24:17.905 --> 00:24:19.380
(laughing)
00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:20.400
- Yes.
00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:22.113
- All wearing crazy socks.
00:24:23.648 --> 00:24:27.333
- Just check out johnscrazysocks.com.
00:24:28.890 --> 00:24:31.020
- Awesome. Thank you guys for coming on.
00:24:31.020 --> 00:24:34.020
This has been really
amazing, so many great tips.
00:24:34.020 --> 00:24:36.150
So thank you for being here.
00:24:36.150 --> 00:24:36.983
- Well thank you.
00:24:36.983 --> 00:24:38.640
And we encourage your audience.
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:39.766
Go do it.
00:24:39.766 --> 00:24:43.410
The worst thing that happens
is you fail, but you never
00:24:43.410 --> 00:24:44.520
really fail.
00:24:44.520 --> 00:24:47.610
It's just the lesson you
learn to be smarter and
00:24:47.610 --> 00:24:49.140
stronger the next time
00:24:49.140 --> 00:24:53.777
- I follow your heart, follow
your dreams, work hard.
00:24:53.777 --> 00:24:55.920
That's all you can do
00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:57.033
- Pretty cool buddy.
00:24:58.290 --> 00:24:59.790
- Yep. Awesome.
00:24:59.790 --> 00:25:01.770
All right guys, until next time.
00:25:01.770 --> 00:25:02.603
Bye.
00:25:02.603 --> 00:25:03.436
- Bye.
00:25:05.684 --> 00:25:08.267
(upbeat music)
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