21-year-old John from Long Island is a man gifted with the unusual talent of making socks. He can't be seen fully dressed without a pair of weird looking socks to match, but his older siblings didn't always find that funny.
John feels that they have no constitutional right to query his fashion style, as long as he is comfortable wearing those beautiful and colorful socks that allow him to express himself.
John has always nursed the idea of becoming an entrepreneur after his graduation from High school, and he desired to be a business partner with his father, Mark Cronin. He loved weird looking socks so much that the name inspired his company name to be called 'John's Eccentric Socks' and the business has so far grossed more than $1 million profit.
What many may find surprising is that John has Down syndrome, yet he had plans for his life. When his final days in school drew near, he started pondering on the next step in his life and how his future would be. His utmost desire was to set up a business in partnership with his father although he hadn't made up his mind on what fashion the venture would take. A store for recreational purposes was the first idea on his mind even though the commodities he would be selling there were not clear. After that, a big van loaded with food sounded appealing as well.
However, John identified a major obstacle in his way if he wants to go into food sector. Neither he nor Mark knows how to cook, but they have a flare for eating. So an idea struck him, and he made up his mind to transform his passion for socks into a money-making venture since he'd always desired to go into the fun-filled and innovative profession.
Father and son, John and Mark Cronin set the ball rolling by November in 2016 and gave the name 'John Eccentric Socks' to their company, followed by a customized logo and a standard website. John said that he cooked up an attractive sentence to promote the venture, and it's “Socks here, socks there and socks everywhere!”
Finally, 'John Eccentric Socks' was opened for operations on the 9th of December, 2016. He was shocked to receive massive turnout of buyers, and their first installment of the stock was consumed in a blink of an eye that he had to rush down to other stores within the community to purchase more socks sold for Christmas to refill their storeroom and keep the store busy during the holidays.
The system of marketing adopted by John’s Eccentric Socks is known in the retail world as 'pick-and-pack,' which means that the Cronins serve as sales intermediaries who store and distribute other companies' socks to their customers. John particularly loves what is called 'sock-wrangling,' which requires selecting the socks from the new stocks and re-wrapping them for marketing purposes.
In reality, no other marketing strategy would have been as profitable as this for John and his dad who had successfully packaged more than 43,000 consignments to various destinations, and this was achieved in just about one year, raking in an estimated profit of $1.6 million.
Mark Cronin was grateful for this giant stride accomplishment but didn't forget to mention John as being a major instrument in the success. He described his son as a shining example.
In addition to John's exemplary performance, Mark also noted that John's Eccentric Socks is doing very well because it was built on four core principles. Part of them is motivation and hope which are basic values offered by the company.
Mark revealed that the second principle is the unbreakable love and close-knitted relationship between him and his son, John. The company stood out from the rest because they also employ people with special needs, Mark said. People living with disabilities are being welcomed here, and the Cronins give them the opportunity also to exhibit their talents because all they needed to work wonders is to get the right platform.
The third principle is giving back to the society. John is into the sport and is a member of the Special Olympics team. So his company bestows 5% of its revenues to the special sports in the Olympics. At the moment, John is undergoing rigorous training in preparation for the snowshoeing competition. John's Eccentric Socks also produce specially made socks for more charitable and philanthropic gestures, like the autism association and Down syndrome Home owned by the Williams. The company made this possible by donating $3 out of the price from each specially designed socks to organizations within and outside their community.
Away from their philanthropic practices, the Cronins disclosed that they design about 1,600 varieties of socks. Mark added that there is a lovely sock for everyone because the socks have memorable imprints such as historical figures like Abraham Lincoln, a creative Clockwork pattern in Orange color, psychological drawings like the horoscope symbols, drinks and sports symbols.
The fourth principle of John's Eccentric Socks is the personal involvement of the CEOs in every stage of their operations.
John included an emotional part of him in every pack of socks, an appreciative note directly from him. Customers patronizing them always love this gesture and it also tightens the friendship between John and his father.
John is learning very fast, and his deep involvement has greatly developed him mentally.