Giving feels good, but it's also good for the bottom line. Charity is a viable growth strategy for a lot of companies. Our customers get excited to be a part of what we're doing. If you ask anyone wearing Toms how they first heard about us, most won't mention an advertisement; they'll say a friend told them our story.
You know, you hear people talk about soul mates? That one person that you see, and that's it for you? Well, TOMS is the business equivalent of a soul mate for me.
With TOMS, I found a way to create sustainable giving and consistently help those who are in need.
Walk away from anyone who is unduly focused on vacation and compensation. It's a sign of potential trouble. No matter how talented you are, if you don't really want to work at TOMS, you'll never work out here.
People often ask me what I consider my goal to be at TOMS. The truth is that it's changed over the years. When we first began, the goal was to create a for-profit company to help the children that I met in a small village in Argentina.
Authors are sometimes like tomcats: They distrust all the other toms but they are kind to kittens.
I can't imagine what it's like to go through life without shoes to protect your feet, and yet millions of kids do it. That's why TOMS is such an incredible company - it gives shoes to children who need them!
For live you need a microphone for the snare and the high hat, the kick drum, a nice stereo overhead and one for the toms - you can get away with using four mikes.
When I accept an invitation for a public speaking engagement, my purpose is to share the TOMS story and our giving mission. In no way do I believe this means I endorse every single aspect of that organization. That may be naive, and you may disagree, but it is my sincere belief.
The future of TOMS is really creating a whole new business model of this one-for-one giving and expanding the TOMS model from shoes into other products as well.