Learn things. Every day things change, technology advances, new techniques are developed…you have to be a sponge and continue to learn. That’s the only way to grow and not be complacent.
Jason Flores is the co-founder of Laceez, Inc. We make no-tie shoelaces for men, women and kids. No-tie shoelaces turn shoes to slip-ons. The Laceez brand is all about simplicity and quality.
Where did the idea for Laceez come from?
It started when my wife Sarah came up with an idea to help our daughter on the Autism spectrum have an easier time tying shoes. It started as a thought ‘wouldn’t that be a cool product?’ Then she began looking into a prototype. After a while, I was into the idea, but not 100% behind it. When she made a pair for me on my shoes is when I instantly knew we had something here. I decided to get behind the concept and we launched our business later that year.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
A typical day is making lunches and breakfast for our 3 kids, while Sarah gets them up, helps them with the clothes and gets their hair done (3 girls :/). Then its off to school and off to work. Every day is somewhat different. We have orders that need to go out each day for online sales, and we have weekly orders that need to ship to Nordstrom. In between all this is working on the growth of our online business with online marketing, and spending time on sales so we can get Laceez into more retail chains.
How do you bring ideas to life?
The ideas are always coming, but executing all of them is another story. When you have a limited budget and not a huge staff, we have to be extremely resourceful and smart about things, and also move very fast.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The trend that excites me is the trend of simplicity.Some see it as a problem; with things becoming too easy for people. But I see it as the inevitable future of our world. Freeing up time on tedious tasks only gives more time for people to spend on things that matter more.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Speed. Many say multi-tasking is dangerous, but I have no choice. The good thing is that I feel I’m pretty good at moving quick while still being efficient. That’s really the important part, making sure you’re efficient. You can be fast all day long but without accuracy, what’s the point?
What advice would you give your younger self?
That’s a good question. I’d probably tell my younger self to pick something to be very good at and focus on it 100%. I’d also tell him to read more and make as many friends as possible…and always be positive.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Learn things. Every day things change, technology advances, new techniques are developed…you have to be a sponge and continue to learn. That’s the only way to grow and not be complacent.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
It’s a combination of things mentioned already, such as staying focus, moving fast and always learning. You also gotta be tough…things are twice as hard when you beat yourself up and complain. Think it for a second and move on. The other thing that helps that I hear from other entrepreneurs also is you need a bit of luck…I’ve found this to be true. Not sure if it’s a deal breaker, but is sure as heck helps when you have all those elements in place and a little luck to top it off.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Not everything works. Could be small, could be big, but the fact is there’s no way to know unless you try. #1 thing is to learn from the mistakes. Mistakes mean nothing when you’re learning from them and keep going.
When I was 19 (2001) I started a hip hop magazine. I loved the music. I got global distribution within 3 years. We had premium content, photo shoots with Snoop, Ice Cube, 50, Game… all the stars. I had a great sales team pulling in ads from Toyota, Interscope, Universal, Hennessy, Pepsi, etc. But in the end, I didn’t see the curve ahead, which was the digital era. It was all print. Up until 2007 (the year I shut it down), people loved print, I did too. The growth of the internet, birth of social media, followed by the widespread adoption of mobile changed the world, and print publishing was not one of the names on the list of growing industries to get into. Today, I literally think the opposite way of how I did back then. I’m all about seeing the curve now, looking for it. Most of my time spent reading news is about technology because its the most interesting thing to me.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Something in the digital or online space. Software of some kind would be a good place to start, but you’ll need some help. Its important to always be friendly to people and build relationships. You never know when one day down the line that person may come back and you’re going to be grateful you made your best impression years back. And if you didn’t, you’ll be kicking yourself.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Best $100 I recently spent was probably on my new Google Pixel phone. 8 years as an iPhone user and I made the switch because I saw Google with a little more advancement…and their new software + hardware got my attention. (Unfortunately it was a tad more than $100).
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Well the best answer again is probably my Google phone. Google is very fast and intuitive now in almost all their apps. Google Analytics is a great tool to keep track of you site’s traffic and see whats going on there. I use it all day for Laceez and it helps a lot.
What is your favorite quote?
“Fast is fine, accuracy is everything” – Wyatt Earp (first one that came to mind). It’s a great quote that’s common sense. I use it as a reminder at times when I might be going too fast in something.
Connect:
www.laceez.com
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Laceez on Twitter : @mylaceez
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Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.