CYOP #73 - Building a Team + Increasing Efficiencies with Benjamin Schwartz of Benjamins Shoes
Photo: Alexander Tardiff
Today’s episode is the third installment of the segment dedicated to those making physical products for a living and it brought me to Benjamins Shoes here in Sacramento to chat with Benjamin, himself! I’ve followed his work for a while now and have been really inspired by both his work and his story.
In the interview he talks about how NOT winning a start-up business contest actually lead him to a preferable outcome, which I thought was a great lesson for all of us out there who are worried about rejection or failure or simply having things not work out the way you thought they might.
We also go into the fun story behind the Benjamins brand, how he started with one really, well-thought out and well-designed shoe and expanded from there, why he’s looking to increase efficiencies in an effort to scale his business and why he believes the success of his business comes largely from in surrounding himself with people whose knowledge base differs from his own.
Enjoy!
LISTEN:
FAVORITE QUOTE:
Other resources mentioned:
- Warehouse Artist Lofts
- Calling All Dreamers Contest
- US Mint - Shredded Money
- My interview with Rita from The American Edit
- Rita's podcast, Why Do We Have Things?
- Loro Piana + Fox Brothers + Ralph Lauren Home (material sources)
- Insight Coffee
- Nice Stems Flower Shop
- Ali Setayesh of Kechmara Designs (beautiful rugs + a partner in the flower shop)
