Jodie Fox is the co-founder of a multi million dollar global enterprise Shoes of Prey a website where we can custom design our own shoes.

She’s a lawyer-turned advertiser-turned entrepreneur.

(World. Oyster.)

But you’re about to discover she’s also a person who occasionally has doubts, dark times and failures.

Read: she’s normal.

I’m honoured Jodie trusted this blog (and you readers) enough to talk openly.

Meet Ms Fox…

Martine Harte: So Jodie how did you meet your business partners?

Jodie Fox: We went all went to law school in Brisbane, Mike Knapp did law and I.T Michael Fox did law and commerce and I did international business. I was actually at a different uni to the two boys but we all met one another and ended up being quite good friends.

Michael Fox and I were married, but we’re not anymore. It was a mutual decision and it’s lucky because we still work very closely! It still has its challenges, I certainly wouldn’t paint a picture that it was easy.. but I do feel like I’m working with my best friend and that’s pretty cool.

I’m an emotional soul and that presents its challenges. Even today has been quite a tough day but I can still come home and have that optimism.

I’m so curious about that aspect of people’s nature, the ability to pick yourself up, is that part of genetic inheritance or is it self-taught?

Jodie Fox: It’s so interesting, I think a lot of it does come from my family. My mum is of Sicilian back ground and we have a very tight-knit family with extraordinary support. I went home for my 30th birthday which I hate to say is nearly two years ago now.

I did that really daggy thing of stopping my whole family and saying, “Do you know what you guys? I love you!”

I love them because I have to make some really hard decisions every day; I have to say things that really require strength and so does everybody else. I’m not under any illusion that my challenges are any more difficult than anybody else’s but the reason that I can pull through those days is –even when I’m boiling with frustration – at the end of the day I know I have people in my life who love and support me as much as I love and support them.

That fundamental truth gets me through the blackest of moments, I’ve dealt with anxiety and even depression as well. Even in those really black moments, it’s knowing they are there. That has really helped me to have an optimistic outlook on everything.

So I think my optimism comes from that beautiful family and friends support.

This blog has been a gift in that I am meeting so many amazing women who are honest and open and talk about their tough times? We all have them, nobody is immune.

Jodie Fox: Yeah and that’s really scary because everyone gets to the point of having a dark moment and feels they’ve failed when actually you are just having a normal hiccup like everyone else.

Part of the human experience.

JF: It is and it doesn’t mean that it’s nice; it doesn’t mean you have to enjoy it but being able to put it into perspective and being able to normalise it means we can help people to continue on. WIth hope and strength and optimism, fundamental optimism is so important.

What has been your biggest lesson?

Jodie Fox: Probably my biggest lesson stems from this one thing that I think about quite a lot and that is just do everything before you’re ready. With doing everything before your ready, it’s petrifying, you learn as you go and you are really opening yourself up to failure.

I do find these things challenging but I’m also really proud to say it isn’t stopping me from rationalising my anxiety and taking the step forward and that’s the key thing.

Emotions shouldn’t be discarded. I think it needs to be faced, it needs to be confronted and you need to figure out what the message is from that you need to take away. It has taken me a really long time to learn that and I guess if anyone is having that experience I don’t want to brush it under the rug and talk about the positive things because I guess this is where the real things happen.

You will cry, you will think, “my god why am I even doing this?” Everybody has those moments.

Can you name the secret of the company’s success? 

Jodie Fox: From a logical side it’s because we’re doing something that’s never been done before and I think that we’ve hit on something that solved a problem for a lot of women out there who never had the opportunity to wear what makes them feel good.

We came from a place of passion and we still do; passion is not something we can build into a marketing plan.

HOOK UP WITH: Jodie Fox Shoes of Prey

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