#40Forward, Day 14: Turning Fish into Funds
At the age of eight, Galveston, Texas' Maddie Robinson got the idea to combine her hand-drawn sea characters with her favorite type of shoe – flip flops – to create FishFlops. “I shared my idea with many of my friends and family and they all smiled and thought I had something special,” recalls Mattie on her website.
Creating designs to be drawn on the shoes, Mattie turned to her father to be her first business partner. They attended a trade show together in 2011 – and their product samples were popular. Thirty stores committed to selling FishFlops products, and the company was on its way. Their first products were delivered in May 2011 – just in time for beach season! Within two years, Madison's FishFlops reached $1 million in sales, selling 60,000 pair of shoes in 2012. Madison concentrates on product development and social media, while her father handles the day-to-day operations of the growing company. In 2013, FishFlops expanded to hats and t-shirts to match each design, as well as children's books and a video game/app. Madison recently signed agreements for Nordstrom's to sell her Fishflops for Kids, and Macy's has asked her to create a product line for women. Along the way, Mattie has learned basic business skills such as how to host a trade show booth, make a sales pitch, explain her pricing – which involves understanding costs, revenue and profit. Mattie also applies her skills and product to give back to her community. She offered free Fish Flops to a charity that supports children of fallen soldiers; donated 10,000 pairs of Fish Flops to a community shoe drive that supports the Texas Parks & Wildlife's K-12 State Fish Art Contest, and she convinced celebrities at the Teen Choice Awards to sign 300 pairs of her shoes for Texas Children's Hospital patients. Although these charity activities have led to major product orders and positive publicity, Mattie's desire to give back was the reason she did them. She also learned how important social media is in today's business world. One of her tweets was picked up by a celebrity's teenaged child – and spread like wildfire. That attention really helped to launch her business's popularity. For more on Mattie Robinson and FishFlops, go to: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/profit-minded/15-old-entrepreneur-got-her-product-nordstrom-233738356.html 
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At the age of eight, Galveston, Texas' Maddie Robinson got the idea to combine her hand-drawn sea characters with her favorite type of shoe – flip flops – to create FishFlops. “I shared my idea with many of my friends and family and they all smiled and thought I had something special,” recalls Mattie on her website.
Creating designs to be drawn on the shoes, Mattie turned to her father to be her first business partner. They attended a trade show together in 2011 – and their product samples were popular. Thirty stores committed to selling FishFlops products, and the company was on its way. Their first products were delivered in May 2011 – just in time for beach season! Within two years, Madison's FishFlops reached $1 million in sales, selling 60,000 pair of shoes in 2012. Madison concentrates on product development and social media, while her father handles the day-to-day operations of the growing company. In 2013, FishFlops expanded to hats and t-shirts to match each design, as well as children's books and a video game/app. Madison recently signed agreements for Nordstrom's to sell her Fishflops for Kids, and Macy's has asked her to create a product line for women. Along the way, Mattie has learned basic business skills such as how to host a trade show booth, make a sales pitch, explain her pricing – which involves understanding costs, revenue and profit. Mattie also applies her skills and product to give back to her community. She offered free Fish Flops to a charity that supports children of fallen soldiers; donated 10,000 pairs of Fish Flops to a community shoe drive that supports the Texas Parks & Wildlife's K-12 State Fish Art Contest, and she convinced celebrities at the Teen Choice Awards to sign 300 pairs of her shoes for Texas Children's Hospital patients. Although these charity activities have led to major product orders and positive publicity, Mattie's desire to give back was the reason she did them. She also learned how important social media is in today's business world. One of her tweets was picked up by a celebrity's teenaged child – and spread like wildfire. That attention really helped to launch her business's popularity. For more on Mattie Robinson and FishFlops, go to: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/profit-minded/15-old-entrepreneur-got-her-product-nordstrom-233738356.html
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