I have always wanted to sit in the “big chair” and have my shoes shined by a true professional. Every time I dash through the airport headed for a connecting flight, I would catch a glimpse of this bye-gone era. I witnessed people taking care of their things, rather than just simply throwing them away and replacing them with more new stuff.

“They say you can tell a lot about a person from their shoes.” I believe that this expression has less to do with how much you spend on your shoes, but more to do with your attention to detail and the care and pride that you take in your personal appearance.

Back to the chair. Rarely have I see women in the “big chair,” having their shoes shined. Instead I see women at the shoe store, buying more shoes. Why is this?

Glut of casual footwear

In speaking with Johnnie, the shoe shine professional at the Atlanta airport, the reason we see so few shoe shine stations or shoe repair shops any more is because of “tennies.”  That is, the trend toward casual footwear (I’ve been seeing a lot of UGG boots in public. What’s up with that?) and athletic shoes (i.e., tennies). Johnnie and I brainstormed along with another waiting customer, a male pilot about 60 years old, who by the way shines his shoes every Sunday. We discussed ideas on how to make shoe shine relevant and desirable to women and today’s modern traveler.

Johnnie said that about 25% of his clientele are women, who come mostly in winter to have their boots polished (yes, I was wearing boots). He talked about the idea of combining the manicure and massage with shoe shine services. He longed to have his own shop. I suggested that he offer to clear/polish women’s handbags and briefcases as well. Theses accessories get filthy and scuffed too.

Whether or not these “marketing ideas” have legs or will ever see the light of day is not the point. The conversation with Johnnie was energizing and his service to me was invaluable. I walked out of his shoe shine station taller and more self-assured, feeling like I had the world at my feet.

Time check

Until I got to my departure gate and learned that I had missed my flight by 3 minutes. They had been paging me for some time, while I was engrossed in the discussion with Johnnie and the pilot next door. When the Delta agent asked me for my last name so she could re-book my flight, I told her my last name was “Idiot. I-D-I-O-T.” She laughed and told me not to beat myself up. She kindly waived the $50 re-booking fee and got me on the next flight leaving in two hours. Her forgiving, personable and helpful demeanor and actions were refreshing in the new era of air travel hell. (you know what I’m talking about:  “3 ounces or less, take off your belt, shoes and jacket, would you like to buy a meal, oh that bag is going to cost you“)

My plight continues…

I was feeling lucky and thought that I could get away without having to tell anyone (including my husband) about my bumbling time mistake. But then the next plane had mechanical problems and was delayed. I missed my connecting flight home and had to sit in the Raleigh Durham airport for 4 hours.

Still I was fortunate that there was a later flight that I could get on to take me home rather than having to spend the night in a strange city. But it meant that rather than being home at 4pm on Sunday as planned, I would land at 9pm. So much for family time.

The gift of time

I now had four hours extra time with not much else to do but to think about myself, my brand, my business and my future. I engrossed myself in a hot new business book given to me by my client Todd called “Why Now is the Time to CRUSH IT: cash in on your passion” by Gary Vaynerchuk. This powerful, sassy short book is a like a much-needed kick upside the head on the power of personal branding and using social media to grow your business. I highly recommend it.

I spent some time editing my blog, updating my videos on YouTube, sending out motivating greeting cards in the mail to family and friends (and a risk taking card sent to a top prospect – nothing ventured, nothing gained!). I read an inspiring blog post from marketing guru Seth Godin on Dale Carnegie which I re-posted on my www.MotivatedLeader.com web site. I overhead some conversations, watched people interact with each other and talked to strangers to practice my networking skills.

But most of all, I reflected on how very lucky I am. Despite being stuck in an airport all day, I have shiny boots and an even shinier outlook on my future.

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