We are looking for a community manager to add more fuel to our marketing team. You will be working closely with our small team to launch and run our crowdfunding campaign and, implement the content strategy. Love for quick learning would be huge plus, as you shall be doing quite a few new things on weekly basis.

While he is focused dancing, a group of street kids watch him from distance and slowly come closer, sit down quietly and don’t interrupt. When the guy ends his dance, he finds the kids sitting there. He passes them a smile. Children ask him to dance again, but he has to go.

But inside him, he promise that he would come again in the street and dance for himself (and the kids would enjoy too). He irregularly visits the street, sometime once a week, once a month and sometime even after several months.

He’s not coming back to dance because of the children’s amusement but because of himself. He knows he should be doing it regularly.

I am the fruit seller. This blog is the street. Writing is like dancing for me. You’re the kids. Hello kids! I’m in the street again.

Part of that is because I am really busy at Hometown. Part of that is I have been lazy about, and was finding it difficult writing at personal level. Also (believe it or not) part of that is because I no longer like this platform as much. Everytime I or someone landed on my website. It would show you some really silly and unrelated Ads on my page. So I was looking into a new place for my writing.

So my blog is moving to SVBTLE. It is a new kind of magazine platform and they are trying to make it easier for people to share and discover new ideas. Part of that includes helping writers (like me) with copy editing and fast-checking. I think I am gonna use them to improve my writing skills.

Good thing is that my blog address will still be waqasali.me and you can also subcribe via email. So let’s see how it goes and thank you for sticking and riding along.

I joined this program in January this year, and I have started learning and relearning some lessons about Being Humble, Risk Taking and joining Conversation. Read the post on Medium.

Some people replied back using email. Here is one of the conversations:

From: Felix K.
To: Waqas Ali
Subject: Reply to your letter

Dear Waqas Ali,

first of all i would like to say that i am very happy with my new shoes. You and your team did a very, very nice job! Thank you for your letter. It was very surprising to find a letter in the box. This gave the shoes a very personal touch. Even the fact that you take the time to write a letter (by hand) shows that you take care about your customers. I wish more manufactories like yours will combine perfect craftsmanship with current technologies. Keep it going, and thank you and your employees.

With best regards from Lake Constance, Germany

Felix J. Keller

My reply to Felix:

Dear Felix

I am very honoured and humbled to hear from you. And that, such a positive note. Thank you again for taking time to do this for us.

That is right that Hometown combines craftsmanship with technology and storytelling. Stories just like these.

I never knew that Lake Constance is a place in Germany, now I know that and may be sometime I shall come visit you. Your feedback is very valuable and we’ll make Hometown even a better place to buy from.

If it is okay with you, consider sharing a picture (or more) of yours with Hometown shoes. We would put this in our office.

And if we can help in any way, please write me here like a friend!

Best wishes from Lahore, Pakistan

Sincerely, Waqas Ali.

The purpose of sharing this conversation is, so that other can learn from our experience and use something out of it.

For new comers, I’ll come straight to the point.

 

The positions available are mentioned below. Ideally, we are looking for college students or dropouts who can work from home / campus at least for three days a week. The candidates should be able to work quickly, efficiently and without much supervision.This is an unpaid internship, but we believe in freedom of work and ideas. So if you’re about passionate in working a startup / social enterprise in the above mentioned areas, do come. You’ll get valuable skills, experience and networking. Please take 5 min to know about Hometown Story, why we write a handwritten letter, how we started from a small town of Pakistan and made it places like Acumen, and receive testimonials from our customers like these.

1. Leather Shoes / Accessories Designer:

You’ll work with our design team, give feedback on upcoming collection of shoes and leather accessories.

2. Designer

You will shape the future of Hometown. Designer will work with almost everyone in our small team, from craftsmen to founders to customers. We’re not looking for someone who’s design starts and ends in Photoshop. Instead someone who starts from notebook, and willing to do it differently and learn from customers’ feedback.

3. Front End Developer

We’re re-vamping our web strategy. You’ll help us design our platforms for stories and shopping portal by working along our developer.

4. Story Teller

Story telling is an ingredient part of the kind of brand we’re trying to build. As a story teller, you’ll make sure story of our team, customers are part of our all messages. You’ll review the content of our new website, build the content strategy and help the word out.
To apply, send a brief note of interest along with your work sample / résumé at bolo@hometownshoes.com by June 30th.

When 2013 started, I planned to write a worthy for myself and everyone who follows my blog. But look, here we are, 70 solid days has passed and I couldn’t write that GREAT post.

I have realized that just because we haven’t time / energy / skills to execute a perfect shot we miss so many of easier but worth doing tasks. The same has been happening on my blog too. I could have written something.

It is not the case that I was all disconnected from writing, I wrote a story, 100s of emails, tweets, and hand written notes.

I get challenged by writing, almost all the time. But this is among all the good reasons I write for.

The purpose of this post is to say Hello to you, and tell that I’m okay, and I’m here again.

Trying again and again (in writing) is norm for me.

Story of HOMETOWN.

Glad to have such an incredible person in team. Thank you Sidra.