The article below will guide you on how to start a shoe business and answer in detail any similar questions, such as ”how to open a shoe store with no money”. So keep on reading, and take notes if necessary. Opening a shoe business is still not completely easy, but at least you will have a guideline so this idea is clearer and no longer just vague thoughts in your mind.
Revenues of the footwear industry in general are predicted to increase to $155 billion by 2028 from $110 billion in 2023. This number should bring optimism and confidence to you, to embark on the path of earning money from footwear. As Christian Louboutin once said, ”A shoe has so much more to offer than just to walk.”
Contents
1. How to start a shoe business from home
1.1. Researching the market
For every business, the first step is to understand what changes or movements are taking place in their market and what successful brands have done, are doing, and will do. Take a look at the footwear market – some popular examples like YSL pumps or Michael Kors platform wedges – then search on marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy, and eBay to see which ones are trending.
Another way is typing on Google query sites some sentences like ”most fashionable shoes right now”. With basic knowledge and understanding of the market, coupled with your own abilities and enthusiasm for what you do, at least you can ensure you have an advantage in the market. Identifying target customers will help your unformed business differentiate itself from the general level of similar businesses on the market.
Think about it, once you have identified your potential customers and their buying behavior and pain points, for example, you can determine how you will market and price your product.
The footwear market allows you to target other businesses as well, instead of only being able to target certain customer files. In short, you can sell shoes in batches, providing bulk printing services instead of just selling a few pairs at a time. This is a characteristic point of the shoe business, and if you can take advantage of it, you will be one step ahead in the market.
1.2. Determining your niche
Most successful and famous footwear brands focus on one or a few certain product lines. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes – pun intended. Would you trust a brand that has so many product lines but does not specialize in a certain product? Normally, customers will feel that the reputation of the brand is not enough to meet their needs. For example, they need high heels. A store specializing in high heels will naturally have many different products for their needs.
Choosing which product to sell among countless shoe business ideas depends not only on your knowledge and preferences. It must be drawn from market research to determine which type of footwear is more in demand, or whether your target customer requires designed or manufactured footwear in large quantities.
As with any other type of business, look to see if any gaps in the market have not been discovered, or any customer needs that are not being satisfied by current brands. Some examples of the types of footwear products you can sell include children’s shoes, running shoes, sneakers, boots, sandals, high heels, slippers, designed footwear, etc.
Some services related to footwear include shoe repair, shoe rental, shoe cleaning service, etc.
1.3. Working on your plan
Your business plan for a shoe store not only serves as a roadmap of how to sell shoes online. It will also act as evidence or something to create trust when presenting your business – when you need to collaborate with designers, manufacturers, or investors, for example. For the sake of your business, create a business plan that is as meticulous, detailed, and reasonable as possible.
A standard business plan should include, but not limited to:
- Your brand outline, from objectives, missions, short-term and long-term goals, the business model that your brand chooses, to products and services that your brand will provide.
- Your brand identity – shoe business name ideas, what the main color tone and brand voice will be, and what the domain name of the online store – if any – will be. You should register a trademark to secure the copyright on the brand name and logo as soon as the brand identity is determined.
- Operation plan of your business.
- Financial plan of your business. Do you need to get a small loan, or raise funding from investors? Do you need to collaborate with local manufacturers to save costs? Regarding calculations, it is best to find financial experts to help you with the most detailed numbers.
1.4. Find the right suppliers
Even if you are contemplating how to start a shoe business from home, you plan to do everything yourself for your business, it is accurate to say that you still have to find suppliers.
If you design your own store’s footwear products, you still need to find a manufacturer for them. If you want to produce them yourself, you still have to source materials like fabric or leather, for example. Even if you open a shoe care and maintenance service, you still need a supplier for shoe care and cleaning products.
Negotiate with suppliers and manufacturers to get the best prices and establish long-term partnerships with them for the benefit of your business in the long run.
1.5. Finding a location for your store
Whether you want to open an online store or a brick-and-mortar store, the decision is drawn from your target customer demographics, your store’s budget, and the specifics of your business.
For a physical store, of course, you need to place it in a place with a high density of footfall, near commercial centers or places where events are often held. If the cost is too high, consider a pop-up store to sell products at fairs, events, or shopping malls for a certain period, before developing a physical store.
Choosing to go digital for online business seems more feasible. How to start an online shoe business without an eCommerce platform or online marketplace? The fact is that you can’t.
Opt for a digital business, at least you won’t have to pay for premises, instead, you’ll pay a subscription and related charges, and most eCommerce platforms have many options for low-cost beginners and startups. eCommerce platforms – Shopify is a prime example – gives you features, themes, and the ability to customize your online store so it fits your brand.
Once you’ve found a space – physical, online, or both – for your business, start organizing and managing your store right away. For your digital store, create an account, customize your store, upload the clearest product images, and give them attractive descriptions, etc.
You can increase the brand recognition and presence of your shoe store, not only after launching your store but starting when you have registered your trademark and copyright and have the necessary licenses to develop your shoe store.
Word-of-mouth marketing, or providing products before opening your store to the earliest registered customers and encouraging them to give feedback about the store. Organize pre-orders and promotions to make your brand presence more visible than ever.
For your eCommerce store, optimize SEO to drive organic traffic and ensure your store’s ranking on popular search results pages.
For fashion items, meeting visual appeal is always a necessary factor. If you don’t have photography ability, hire photographers to take and edit the most realistic and beautiful images possible of the footwear products in your store. If your brand has anything special – eco-friendly or using plant-dye technology, for example, take advantage of it. You can also create a blog to share tips and knowledge about the industry.
1.7. Managing your store
Start managing your business like a day job once you launch your store. Ensure that updates are made in real-time on stock levels, respond promptly to customer inquiries, and fully address any negative feedback issues.
Ensuring to provide customers with the best shopping experience at both physical and online stores. Always monitor the market so you can quickly adjust and make changes to your shoe store.
2. Pros and cons of starting a shoe business from home
2.1. Pros
First of all, considering how to start a shoe company at home helps you save part of the cost in your financial plan – the cost of renting space and repairing and installing your physical store. You enjoy flexible work hours and can achieve a satisfactory work-life balance. By making your home both an office and a store, you will save yourself a lot of travel time and traffic problems when compared with working in an office.
You can also get to your inventory very quickly. Furthermore, with the advent of eCommerce platforms and related tools that enable you to set up your own online store without hiring additional employees or paying marketing fees. And at the same time, you can approach a larger segmented customer base.
2.2. Cons
But make your home the office, store, and even warehouse – there are many obstacles. If your inventory grows too large, you’ll have to find a place to store it anyway and pay expenses.
Even flexible working hours are no guarantee that boundaries between work and life will be clear. It can take a lot of time to manage your store. In the beginning, when you do everything yourself, there’s a huge amount of work to be done.
Without a brick-and-mortar store, you will depend almost entirely on your chosen eCommerce platform or marketplace to market your online store.
3. Shoe business from home examples
3.1. Maguire
Maguire is a footwear store located in Montreal. They make sophisticated European-style leather shoes, which were the kind that Myriam – its founder – imagined designing when she was very young. With a $15,000 work bonus, she paid her first order of products to the manufacturer.
The company launched in 2016 with just one product and a website. Today they are sold in ten countries including chain stores across two cities, as Maguire continues its mission of making luxury friendly and accessible.
3.2. Thesus
Using recycled materials, Thesus is a sustainable footwear brand that produces shoes and boots without leather or cruelty. This environmentally conscious brand is all about making minimal footwear and accessories that are truly progressive – not just socially, but environmentally too. The brand currently offers carbon-neutral shipping and plans to be a Climate Neutral Certified company. Thesus and its partner facilities’ employees all receive a living wage.
4. Conclusion
The shoe business today is no longer an academic and macroscopic question of ”how to start a shoe business”. Questions like this and many others, such as how to start an online shoe business, or how to start your own shoe business. It is possible to work on a limited budget and utilize social media platforms as low-cost marketing tools.
No matter what line you’re hitting for – footwear, clothing, accessories, home decoration, jewelry, services, and so on. Let eComStart be your guidebook. It covers the amount of profit you can make with an online shop; and provides business starting guides for those who want to perform a stand-alone venture or jointly add it on top of their current operations.
eComstart.io is a great place if you want to explore ideas but don’t know which direction, since we offer sweeping views of business opportunities in the world at your doorstep, or even within five steps away from home.
FAQs
