Yoda is awesome and was always my favorite Star  Wars character! For Ken to write an article quoting Yoda is just awesome! In my current business….which I can’t wait to share with all of you what I am up to…our motto is, “Make it happen!” because in order to be successful, you can’t try you HAVE to do and honestly for me the fun part is the challenge of figuring out how to make it happen and then seeing it come together. I would have never thought I would be where I am today and what has lead me here is saying I can do something, not knowing how I can do it and then getting it done… Love it! -Julia

I’ll Try

Yoda is a Jedi Master at motivation.   I can relate to him on a business level because at first appearance, he seems less than formidable.   Yoda does not accept any excuses, and he basically calls it like it is.   I thought about something Yoda said earlier in the week:

“Try?   There is no try.   There is only do or do not do”!

I agree with this 100% but unfortunately, I believe I am in the minority here.

I spent the first two days of this week attending a “gathering” of reps in Dallas.   The “official” Dallas shoe show has been scheduled right in the middle of back to school(end of August) which makes it difficult for kids stores to attend.   A store owner in west Texas came up with the idea of getting as many reps together in one place for two days in hopes that we would all benefit.   The owner pulled this together in under 3 weeks.   She sent out an email and told us she would be doing this.   She did not say she was going to try and pull this together.   She was going to do it, and she did.

At the gathering, I was honestly mesmerized by some of the retailers I spoke with.   In retrospect, I understand the reasoning for the timing of this event, but trust me..retailers were not in good moods.   A lousy spring compounded by clearance in July did little to improve the attitudes, or open the minds of retailers.   However, when I asked retailers what their plans were to ensure a better fall season, not one had a plan.   In fact, many were not willing to change something… anything for next spring either!    I mean, if you keep doing what you have been doing, you are going to keep getting what you have been getting!  Right?   If you don’t like the results, why not change what you have been doing?   Yoda would agree.

There is room for improvement in Twig’s business.   Twig is not going to try and improve.   Twig is going to improve.     We are changing some things around, developing new product that is a bit riskier, and experimenting with new categories.   Some of it may work and some may be a total failure.   In the end, Twig will not stay stagnate because I want a different result.

I have no doubt that if George Lucas had not killed off Yoda, he would be a hot commodity on the motivational speaker circuit and for sure, I would never just “try” and attend one of his seminars.

Ken Proctor

Front Man

Twig Footwear, LLC

Ken@twigfootwear.com

www.twigfootwear.com

501-276-0140