Mavericks Laces co-founder Luke Schoknecht shares exactly how to turn an idea in to a business. Graphic designer by day, Luke and his business brand consultant partner decided they needed a product of their own which would allow them to walk their talk (excuse the pun!) … so Mavericks Laces was born.

As Luke says: “We all loved shoes and were spending far too much money on good kicks so we wanted to do something about that. We thought shoelaces were a cheap entry product but we wanted to do something different – so coloured shoelaces was born. We got some samples made and started wearing them. Then three things happened:

1. We couldn’t believe how many comments people made about them and asked where they could get some, they loved the colours
2. The coloured laces made our shoes look different every time we wore a different colour – they transformed our shoes – no more money on new shoes
3. We felt like renegades, when we walked out the front door in the morning wearing our coloured laces we felt like a lone wolf and totally individual

This is a wonderful story of entrepreneurism, about having a crack when those around you think you’re crazy and about how to turn the seed of an idea in to a successful business.

Plus I share 10 business learnings from a recent speakers retreat I attended. It was absolutely amazing.

Let’s get stuck right into episode 219 of Australia’s #1 marketing show. Go!

Episode Timeline

• 0:28  Summary of what we’ll cover in this episode
• 2:24  A quick whinge about the size of confectionary these days
• 4:57  5 (of 10) business insights I learnt at a recent speakers retreat I attended
• 13:40  Mavericks Laces founder Luke Schoknecht introduction
• 16:30  Luke shares his favourite pumps
• 17:55  Colour anxiety is real!
• 18:30  Mavericks Laces website is incredibly helpful
• 20:05  Luke’s made something out of nothing – it’s all about an emotional connection
• 20:50  Soft porn for marketers
• 22:50  Where the idea for Mavericks Laces came from
• 26:00  When people don’t like your idea
• 26:56  Elevating a functional object in to a desirable fashion accessory
• 28:00  Coming up with a pricing strategy
• 30:40  The power of offering one product
• 35:15   Mavericks Laces marketing expenditure
• 36:45  How Mavericks laces got in to Country Road
• 38:19 What to do when people copy your business idea
• 41:29  Examples of going that extra one percent
• 47:54  Top 5 learnings from my chat with Luke
• 49:55  5 more business insights I learnt at a recent speakers retreat I attended
• 53:58  Motivational marketing quote of the week – from Henry Ford!

Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode

• Netregistry: Get your online marketing sorted!
• Mavericks Laces – The official website
• Hit up Luke Schoknecht on Twitter and tell him you heard him on The Small Business Big Marketing Show
• Join the The Small Business Big Marketing Forum now
• Crank My Marketing

Tweetables

My Top 5 Learnings

This week’s top 5 learnings from my chat with Mavericks Laces Luke Schoknecht:

1. Continue to build emotion in to all your marketing touch points.
2. Stop worrying about your competitors. Turn that energy in to telling your story in an even better way.
3. There is no business in the world that can’t be interesting. Listen up accountants!
4. Have a helpful website – one that solves problems for your customers.
5. Put social media buttons in the footer of your website.

Over to you!

Let me know YOUR #1 takeaway from this episode by leaving a comment below.
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