Another year is gone. Every year that passes I feel that I get wiser. The strange thing about it though, is I become further and further from who I used to be. My question is: Is that a good thing? I remember once back in the early days of my shoe company someone asked me ‘Do you ever think you will sell your brand?’ I replied, ‘Never. I will be doing this until I am old and grey.’ I was so naive then. This might come as a shock to you but I now think that there is nothing that I look forward to more than the day that I sell all that I have built. And hopefully leaving a legacy behind.
If you recall my post last year, I went to visit my sisters in the Pacific Northwest (where I am from) and I reconnected with nature. I realized that I was tired of the city life, the hustle and bustle, and the day-to-day of being a shop owner. I won’t lie, being in a retail shop daily really sucks the life out of you. It is great to meet new people, especially the ones who support me. I love that and it keeps me going. However, the daily routine of the shop and the constant rat race of city commuting is not how I envisioned my entrepreneurial dreams.
I don’t know what to make of 2024 but I know that by 2025, I really do not plan to be in the same place that I am now. If I am not moving forward, I have always felt like I am moving backward and for the first time in a long time, I feel stagnant. And stagnant, for me, is backward. My brand is growing, but my life isn’t and that is where I now differ from years back. All I cared about then was growing my brand. Now I want to grow my life, which includes a wife, two kids, sisters, my parents, and more than anything, having peace of mind. But peace of mind in the retail industry has been hard to achieve since 2020.
This has probably sounded very negative like I am not enjoying my life, but on the contrary, I think that for the first time ever, I am finally understanding who I really am, and what I really want and that is what I am now proud of. Don’t get me wrong, I want to stay involved in shoes and the shoe industry, but just in a different way and on my own terms. While being a business owner might make one feel that everything is ‘on my own terms,’ the reality is that it is not. You become a slave to your own business. And that is what I have learned that I want to break free from.
Don’t worry, the blog is not going anywhere and my shoe brand is not going anywhere. In fact, I am launching something new very soon. I just realized in these last years that I am no longer opposed to selling what I have built and if I decide to keep it all, then I will change its structure to suit the lifestyle that I envisioned when I started on this quest.
And while I don’t know what 2024 will bring, I certainly look forward to it and making the most of it!
Thank you as always, for reading, for supporting, and for helping me become who I am just by being there.
Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year, filled with love, happiness, health, and success.
-Justin FitzPatrick aka The Shoe Snob
Yes, some things are more important than work. You will know when the time is right. Glad to hear that you will continue the blog and remain involved in the shoe industry. Tough decision, your brand is one of your babies.