With prices going crazy all over the globe, people are looking for ways to repair and polish their unique and special attire to continue using them at all times. Also, you will find people complaining about the quality of today’s fashion pieces as compared to the ones they bought a decade ago. This is where you enter entrepreneurs. This is where you find value propositions that you can add to a business. By offering a convenient and reliable shoe service, you will be able to find your niche. Of course, we are here to help you do that. This one is to help you understand how to start a shoe business. Also, we have a google slides template to help you with your pitch too!
Download the Shoe Business Pitch Deck (in Google Slides)
SoleMate is our Real-Content Template (RCT) invention for your shoe business. Albusi has developed and designed an RCT to access an appealing investor deck. It’s a merge between an actual pitch deck and a template.
You can easily access the shoe business investor deck through the link below.
However, as I always say, to master a great template, you need also to form an understanding of how to run the business. That’s why I encourage you to continue scrolling down.
How to Start A Shoe Business
Educate Yourself
The key to succeeding in any business is understanding the basic need-to-know to run it efficiently. Of course, you can hire pros who know all the technicalities better than you. However, you make things a lot easier for yourself and your business partners (if you plan to have any) when you educate yourself about the industry you are getting yourself into.
Learning about the industry will help you set your mind on what you want to focus on in your business. Shoe designing? Shoe repairing and polishing (as in the pitch deck we designed for you)? Mixing different trends?
There are both online and offline courses that can help you learn as much as you want to in the shoe industry. All you need to do is check the course reviews before you invest your time in any learning opportunity.
Niche, USP, Production Materials
I always love to start with the learning part, as I believe this helps a lot when following the coming steps in any business. When you get to learn about the industry, you will be able to decide what you want to do differently in your business. What service or product do you plan to focus on and invite others to try out? Of course, you do your research on what’s already out there in the shoe market. With the knowledge you gained, you will be able to come up with these two:
- Your target and what they want to buy
- Your Unique Selling Point (UPS), value proposition, or differentiated product that you will offer to your target
Together with that, you will also need to screen the market for suppliers and decide who will provide you with your production materials. A good practice to do here is to visit your potential suppliers or invite them over for a drink. They will be your best source to understand the critical need to know about what’s there in the market, the best sellers, and top-demand supplies in the shoe market to offer the best quality out there.
Branding and Marketing
When you have your differentiated product/service in the shoe business, you will be able to decide on the identity and language that you will use to market it.
Your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services and differentiates your offering from your competitors. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be, and who people perceive you to be. Entrepreneur Encyclopedia
In our pitch deck template, the shoe business focused on offering a convenient method of pick-up and delivery for customers to get their shoes polished and restored hassle-free.
So, you need to think about what branding identity and marketing strategies you will use for your shoe business.
Aiming to Have A Permanent Shoe Business?
If your answer is yes, then you need to keep your head in the game.
You must keep learning and watching out for new trends, materials, and tools related to the shoe industry if you plan to stay in business.
Check your history for orders and learn the trends in your operations. Always ask for feedback from your customers to know what they love the most about your services or products.
Additionally, always research ways to expand and grow your business. So, you can start with repairing and polishing (the same idea we pitched in the template) and then create your own collection and shoe production line. This, of course, is after you study the profitability and applicability of the idea. Also, you can expand your services to include handbags and bags, for example. Another idea is that you can add a whole line of products and services made out of genuine leather specifically. I recall that a marketing agency that I hired in one of my projects recommended always adding genuine leather to your collection as it is always profitable to do so.
However, what I don’t very much recommend you do is move away to varied production lines that do not usually match the shoe industry. This, as I have seen from experience when done without thorough market studies, can make your potential customers question what your area of specialty is and what you are good at.
That was our guide on how to start a shoe business – Final thoughts
Having said that, you now have your cheat sheet to start a shoe business. Also, you have a great template to pitch your idea to others. Learning about the industry, finding your niche, researching the market, developing your own USP, and marketing for your brand will get you started in the business.
Finally, we have shared some guidelines to help you start your business. However, if you’re out of time and want a consultant to help you plan and complete this, contact one of our freelancers. I highly recommend it.
Meet The Author Of This Article
I’m Jenny Ayman, a project manager in the development field with specific knowledge and experience in capacity building and entrepreneurship programs. I aspire to transfer the hands-on experience I gain in my professional career through writing.
Also, if you need help planning your business, I recommend checking out some of our freelancer’s business plans or pitch decks!
