Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

I bought this book thinking it would help educate me on how to build a brand.  What I learned from the book, however, was much more relevant than even that.  In fact, the similarities between myself and Knight and our two companies were shockingly similar.

Specifically, Shoe Dog deals with the early years of Nike (before that name even existed, when the company was called Blue Ribbon) when it struggled to find its way.  Much like GoneReading, Nike spent its first several years re-selling brands manufactured by other companies.  Demand was solid, but there were great limitations in how far that model could take them.  I found a direct correlation to GoneReading's situation with our book-shaped dishware line.

Nike didn't find great success until they started to develop their own line of shoes.  Dealing with factories in Asia wasn't easy at first, and the early shoes were of poor quality.  But owning their brand made all of the difference in the company's success.  Again, this is strikingly similar to our own trajectory and plan.

Nike also struggled for many years with financing its growth.  Having great demand for your products is wonderful, but financing that growth can be risky.  Nike almost went bankrupt more than once because of constant borrowing to buy more inventory.  Nike's borrowing became so risky that at one point its lead bank cancelled its accounts and reported them to the FBI, alleging fraud.  Wow, I can't imagine taking that kind of risk.

Even though GoneReading doesn't borrow money from outside institutions or people, I completely relate to the risk associated with buying large orders from manufacturers and the need to move that inventory in order to buy ever larger quantities of inventory.  Outsiders don't understand how much capital it takes to fund rapid growth.

I also related to Knight's love of foreign culture.  He traveled around the world in his twenties, visiting many of the same places Eileen and have visited.  He loves books, history and the classics.  I also connected with our shared love of ancient Greek history; his company is, after all, named after the Greek goddess of victory.

It was a poignant book that focused on the human story of the building of this incredible company.  So glad that I took it on.