Reboot

About the Author

Jodie Fox is a multifaceted entrepreneur with a background in law, international business, and marketing. She is best known as the co-founder and creative force behind the global sensation Shoes of Prey, a custom shoe company that allowed customers to design their own shoes. Fox’s journey is one of passion, innovation, and resilience. Her expertise in navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship, particularly in the fashion industry, makes her a compelling voice on the subjects of business creation, leadership, and mental health in the entrepreneurial world.

Fox's story is not just about success; it's also about embracing failure as a crucial part of the entrepreneurial journey. She is candid about the highs and lows she experienced while building Shoes of Prey, a company that gained global recognition but eventually succumbed to the difficulties of scaling a niche business. Fox’s transparency about her struggles, including dealing with imposter syndrome and burnout, adds depth to her insights, making her advice both practical and empathetic.

Main Idea

Reboot: At the heart of Jodie Fox’s story is the idea that entrepreneurship is as much about learning from failure as it is about achieving success. In her book, she explores the creation, growth, and eventual closure of Shoes of Prey, offering valuable lessons on how to navigate the complex world of business. Fox emphasizes the importance of passion, the necessity of making difficult decisions, and the need for a supportive company culture. She also delves deeply into the mental health challenges that entrepreneurs face, providing strategies to cope with stress, imposter syndrome, and burnout.

Through her experiences, Fox demonstrates that while the entrepreneurial journey can be fraught with challenges, it also offers unparalleled opportunities for personal and professional growth. Her insights serve as a guide for anyone looking to start a business, offering both inspiration and practical advice.

Table of Contents

• Lesson #1: Getting Your Business Started
• Lesson #2: Navigating Cultural Differences in an International Business
• Lesson #3: Making Big Decisions
• Lesson #4: Creating a Strong Company Culture
• Lesson #5: Dealing With Mental Health Struggles as a Business Owner

Lesson #1: Getting Your Business Started

Follow Your Passion

Jodie Fox’s journey into entrepreneurship began with a simple but profound lesson: the importance of following your passion. Fox realized early in her career that passion drives innovation and perseverance. She advises aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue ideas that genuinely excite them because this enthusiasm will fuel their commitment to solving problems and overcoming obstacles. As Fox explains, "If you’re genuinely interested in what you do, you’ll work harder and spend more time finding innovative solutions to problems that arise."

However, Fox also acknowledges that passion alone is not enough. While it’s important to be passionate about your work, it’s equally crucial to ensure that this passion aligns with a viable business opportunity. Fox used her love for fashion and her dissatisfaction with the lack of customizable shoes to create Shoes of Prey. This combination of personal interest and market need was key to the initial success of her business.

"One of the first lessons Fox learned as a young professional was the importance of following your passion." —Jodie Fox

Fox's advice is not just to find a passion, but to carefully evaluate how that passion can be transformed into a sustainable business. This requires research, planning, and a willingness to adapt your ideas to meet market demands.

Turn Your Idea Into a Business

Once you have identified a passion that can be developed into a business, the next step is to turn that idea into reality. Fox and her co-founders at Shoes of Prey were driven by a shared vision: to create a platform where women could design their own shoes. The concept was inspired by a personal experience Fox had in Hong Kong, where she designed custom shoes that caught the attention of other women. Recognizing a market opportunity, they decided to replicate this experience online.