In this conversational interview, educator Michael Strong asks six‑year‑old Alana about the shoe store her father runs. Alana explains that her dad works for a company that sells shoes, most of which are made of leather in Brazil. She speculates that the leather likely comes from cattle and that the finished shoes travel to the United States by ship or truck before reaching their local store in the Hillcrest neighborhood. Alana describes how customers find the store—through signs and window displays that feature zippered shoes—and notes that the store is part of a larger workers’ store rather than a single‑person shop. When asked about pricing, she says customers usually pay for shoes, suggesting the money might be used for donations or to make more profit, though she is unsure where the revenue goes or whether her dad receives a share. The interview also briefly includes Alana’s brother Logan, who joins briefly before the children head to a nearby park. Throughout, Michael uses Socratic questioning to draw out Alana’s understanding of basic business concepts such as manufacturing, logistics, marketing, and revenue, while maintaining a friendly, child‑appropriate tone.
Chapters
How are you today?
I'm well, how are you?
Good.
I understand that that shoe store is a business that your dad is involved in, is that correct?
Yes, he is.
That explains why you're at the shoe store.
A lot.
So what— when we say that your dad is involved in a business, what does that mean?
It means he's like working with like a company, to me.
And what does the company do?
It sells shoes for people.
Got it. And do you know where they get the shoes?
Well, they make the shoes in Brazil. That's what I know, but I don't know where, like, they, like, get the leather.
Oh, okay. So this is interesting. So, um, and most of the shoes are leather, or only some shoes are leather?
Like all the shoes in this, like, this store?
Mm-hmm.
Like, for me, like, the regular ones, like, are leather, like some of the red ones.
I see. So the shoes are made in Brazil, and then somehow they get the leather down there. And how do they get from Brazil to the United States, you think?
For me, I think maybe like on a truck or a ship.
Okay, and then how do they— how does a store in Brazil— I'm gonna sneeze. I'm sorry. How does the company in Brazil know to send the shoes to your dad?
Like Like, do you mean like how to, like where to move them?
Yeah, there are millions and millions of people in the United States, and how do they know which person should get the shoes?
Well, for me, maybe they just drop it off, like maybe they know the address or something, so they drive it over here. Well, a lot of people are here.
Do you know how— do you know if your dad picked the company in Brazil or if people your dad worked with picked the company in Brazil that sells the shoes?
I do not know.
Okay. I'm trying to kind of think through how a business works and see if we can figure out, you know, there's somebody manufactures leather. Actually, do you know how leather is made?
I don't think so.
Okay, do you know what leather comes from at all?
Sometimes cattle or something.
Do you know what part of the cattle?
No, I don't.
Okay, so they get the leather, could be from cattle, and then they make it into shoes down in Brazil, and then it comes up to the United States via ships and trucks. And then somehow they know how to take it to this store. Is it your dad's store?
Well, it's basically all, like, all the workers' store, not just one person.
I see. And then how do the customers know that you sell shoes there?
Well, I think because of the signs, or they can see through the windows or something.
I see. Is it in a shopping mall or on a street, or where is it?
It's in Hillcrest. I— like, it's in, like, the middle. Yeah.
But is— I don't know what Hillcrest is. Is Hillcrest a shopping mall, or is it, uh, is it like a village or something?
It's not like a village. It's kind of like, like a neighborhood out there.
I got it. And so there's this neighborhood, and there are signs, and there are, um, you can see through the window. Do they try to make the shoes look interesting in the window?
Maybe, I think so. Okay.
Do you think the shoes look interesting if you were looking for shoes to buy?
I think they would look pretty interesting because of the zipper.
Oh, do you have one to show me?
Sure.
So point out the zipper.
So the zipper is right over here.
I see. And so the zipper makes them into special shoes?
Well, for me, yes, because like it's probably for me the only zip— the shoes that have zippers that I know.
Got it, got it. Are all the shoes kind of like that, or is that just one model and there are lots of different models?
Like for the Friendly Shoes? Yeah, there are a lot of different models.
Okay. Do you know anything else about how the store works?
Um, not that I can see right now. Okay.
Let's maybe, um, is Logan going to join us?
If you want him to, sure.
I thought it might be interesting to have you and I both, you can ask him questions too. You and I can both see what Logan knows, okay? Okay, is he coming?
I'll call him right now if you want me to. Okay, Logan, he's coming.
Sit with your sister. Okay.
All right, buddy, come.
Look, it's a video. Hey Logan, maybe he was rudely interrupted from his iPad. I see. Okay, so it might be tricky. We'll see, buddy. Logan, okay, maybe we try another time.
Maybe.
Okay, um, it sounds like he was having fun with his iPad. Um, so with the store, uh, do you know if, you know, the customers pay money for shoes, right?
Yes.
Do you ever give away shoes for free?
I don't really know about that.
Do you think stores usually give things away for free, or do customers usually pay for things?
For me, customers usually pay for things. Sometimes they could be for free, like—
And why do you think stores have customers pay for things?
Maybe so that they can, like, donate and make more money or like raise money for something.
Okay, and do you know where the money from selling the shoes goes?
I know where it goes, I just forget its name and what it does.
Okay, do you know if your dad gets any money from the selling of the shoes?
No, I might have to ask him.
Okay. Well, what are you gonna do today?
Okay, so after this, after Friendly, um, I'm gonna go to the park, um, next door for— bye-bye— um, from Balboa Park. It's like a part of Balboa Park, I think. And Logan's gonna ride his scooter and I'm gonna ride my bike.
Okay, it sounds like a lot of fun. I'm going to let you guys Take off and have a good day, and thanks for talking about business.
Okay.
Oh, is Logan gonna join us? Oh, Logan, how are you? Say hello. Hello, Logan. Hey, Logan. Hey, thanks for joining. Yeah, we'll get him going. Okay, no problem, no problem. But good for a start. I'll let you guys have a good day. Take care. Thanks, Michael.
