Frank Botto
President, Eiseman Co. LLC (d.b.a. Florence Eiseman)
1966 S. Fourth St., Suite 100, Milwaukee
www.florenceeiseman.com
Industry: Designer children’s clothing
Employees: 23
Family: One daughter and one granddaughter
What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?
“Launch our e-commerce website.”
What’s new at your company?
“The launch of the website and the resulting opportunities to expand our design brand and design offering.”
Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?
“We plan to continue to grow and invest in our website and presence. As we grow our web business, this will require us to further invest within operations and seek more great, talented staff for our organization.”
What will be your company’s main challenges in the next year?
“With any growth initiative comes a new set of challenges. We see this as our greatest challenge, as well as our greatest opportunity. The team at Florence Eiseman is poised for the growth and ready to embrace the challenges.”
What’s the hottest trend in your industry?
“In retail, the hottest trend to us is the growing shift from brick-and-mortar retail to web-based e-commerce retail. Our classic children’s styles remain timeless and ignore fashion trends. To this day, we still follow Florence Eiseman’s foundation statement that ‘Our designs allow children to look like children, and not miniature adults.’”
Do you have a business mantra?
“Show up, listen, and develop daily goals that meet and align with the company’s objectives.”
From a business standpoint, who do you look up to?
“Harold Stanley Marcus, president and chairman of Neiman Marcus; three levels of product quality, ‘Good, better, and best quality product only.’”
What was the best advice you ever received?
“Be accountable for your decisions and actions.”
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you in your career?
“On a road trip in Wyoming, I stopped late at night at a hotel in Green River, Wyo. The hotel was fully booked, but the receptionist said she found me a room and proceeded to pass me the room key. As I turned the key to the hotel room, I heard two very distinctive clicks. No sooner than I realized the clicks were from a pistol hammer, a voice came from the dark room and said, ‘Take one step and I’ll blow your brains out.’ That was the first night I ever slept in my car. I guess the hotel really was fully booked!”
What do you like to do in your free time?
“I love to travel, sail my boat on Lake Michigan, snow ski, and walk.”
