Ken and Margo at the Atlanta show this year

What I loved about Ken’s email immediately is his excitement and his honesty! I encourage you to visit the Twig website and read the about page as well. What a great story and it is nice to see people getting out there and following their dreams! It isn’t always easy, but if you love what you do and you pursue with conviction the rewards are nothing short of amazing! I am learning this myself on a day to day basis and I am really enjoying these emails!

Hi Julia – I found your site after reading a letter from a competitor…the good news was that it lead me to your site…I commend you on finding an instrument of communication for those of us in the footwear industry.

I read about the companies that started out of the trunk of a car.   Add Twig to the list.  However, substitute “closet” with “trunk”.   After 18 years in the business, and most recently working as the President of Jumping Jacks, I was replaced by the owner’s son on the last working day of the year in December 2006.   I was quite taken by surprise, but ended up interviewing with a large company one week later.   The interview was going well…when I asked the person I would be reporting to after she told me I would need to be in China for 3 months/year…”Do you go into China too”?   Her response “Oh no…I stay in Hong Kong…my people go into China”…The hair on the back of my neck stood up.   In the cab back to the airport, I called my Wife and told her to put a bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge.   Obviously, she thought I was offered the job…I decided then to explore the idea of starting my own kids shoe company.   To my Wife’s credit…I was given 5 weeks to write a business plan.   We reviewed it…showed it to some knowledgeable people in the industry…and started Twig Footwear (www.twigfootwear.com)

It is fair to say that my first 2 years in business have been tough…I often drink before noon, and have aged considerably.   However, I would not change this experience at all.

We have 85 customers, and have a business plan that revolves around the retailers making money. My Wife and I sold our home…moved to a rental…are eating a lot of ramen noodles..and have had to re-teach our children about priorities.   If you want to hear more…I would be happy to tell you….

Please feel free to email at your convenience…I will visit your site often!

Ken Proctor

KProct@aol.com