In a small warehouse in Melville, New York — a town located on Long Island — dozens of shelves of neatly organized bins hold colorful socks featuring every playful print imaginable. There are socks featuring avocados; socks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's face; socks that look like Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night" painting; socks with sloths.
"You were asking what are you going to do when you're done with school, and we were looking around at options," Mark adds, addressing John. "John didn't like the options he saw, and in fact the options for people with differing abilities are somewhat limited. So what did you tell me you wanted to do?"With their creative juices flowing, the father-son duo looked at what they could do.
In the beginning, it was just the two of them collaborating on the website. They picked out a few socks together, slowly scaling up an inventory. The Cronins ticked off all the steps typically taken in building a small business, from registering with the state to opening bank accounts. The only marketing they had was a Facebook page featuring low-fi videos of John talking about his socks. The initial investment in the business, Mark says, was just a couple thousand dollars.
"I'd go out, knock on doors and the whole family are waiting for me," John recalls. "I jumped to the door and, their response: They loved it. They even took a picture with me, take a video with me. It's amazing."John's enthusiasm for his budding business — and the emphasis he placed on customer service and providing a quality experience — did not go unnoticed. .
In fact, John's Crazy Socks is also a social enterprise; it employs people of differing abilities, ranging from individuals who have been diagnosed with autism to Down syndrome. Mark points out that while strides have been made in the medical and educational arenas for people with Down syndrome, it's a different case with jobs. In July,
So far, John's Crazy Socks has created 35 jobs, 18 of which are held by people with differing abilities, according to Mark. Many of those positions consist of "sock wranglers," who sort and organize the inventory. "We think we have a competitive advantage because we hire people with differing abilities," Marks says. "On Long Island, and in much of the country, there's now a labor shortage.
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Don't joke around, his dad built it.
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Everybody like that
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Fabulous! Awesome job guys!
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt That is the most heart lightening story I've heard in such a long time!! Amazing young man and amazing job of lifting up his world and so many others, just for his love of socks and love of himself and who he is. I see nothing but an amazing soul!
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Amen , and god bless
jen45515604 JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Hmmmmm
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt There’s a fine line between “built” and exploited.
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt I have a fun sock addiction....😬😬😬I will be checking out his socks for sure....thank you for sharing!!
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Add an address ip addr add 192.168.1.1/24 dev em1 Add address 192.168.1.1 with netmask 24 to device em1
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Very Awesome!!!! Happiness is what the world needs... and Socks are great! Congratulations
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt That’s awesome.
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt John and his Dad are an inspiration.
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt With such colorful products, I suggest the following 'edgy' ad campaign: Life socks,..and then you dye - Here's how this 22-year-old with Down Syndrome built a multimillion-dollar business off his love of socks. JohnsCrazySocks
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt rhscbi Christiansaidh1 thought this might interest you. Inspiring.
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Great news, good for him❤👍you never know what life brings you. Success and wealth is a result of hard work, ambition and faith in the things you are passionate about.
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt very inspiring videos
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt good for him
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Impressive and awesome story!
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Our mission at is to build the social media platform that ends fake news
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt This is amazing for the son, disgraceful and disgusting for the father
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Capitalism ROCKS! Especially so when those with special needs like John, can take advantage of it and then also help others. Thank you for sharing this story. AutismAwareness
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt stop it.
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt I heard about this! 😀
JohnsCrazySocks MakeIt Try underwear?