THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE STARTING YOUR SHOE BUSINESS.

Fashion is something that’ll never end rather, it keeps evolving. One of the best fashion items to start a business with is shoe; as shoes are a fashion necessity, an absolute need as no outfit is complete without shoes. Irrespective of age or gender, everyone needs shoes whether for formal wear, casual wear, jogging, kids wear, fancy shoes or whatever the case may be. There’s no outfit without shoes, and that’s why shoes are a great business to venture into. 

However, before you do, there are several things to consider before starting your shoe business; whether it’s wholesale or retail shoe business, a  physical shoe store, or an online shoe shop, you need to take some things into consideration to ensure you’re ready to venture into the shoe business.

Have a Business Plan

This is a major thing that people overlook as it’s important for any upcoming business to ensure you have everything in order. A business plan contains every necessary and vital information you need to start up your business, and a list of necessary activities that should be followed step-by-step. Your business plan should contain the following:

1. The vision and mission statement of your business.
2. The cost to start up the business.
3. Your target audience.
4. Business name.
5. Business location (if any).
6. Marketing strategy.
7. Total marketing cost.
8. Product description of what you want to sell
9. How to fulfill the demands and orders of your customers.
10. Legal forms (partnership, sole proprietorship, or corporation).
11. Cost of merchandise you‘ll need.

Find your Niche

It is no doubt that everybody needs shoes, but you can’t target everyone as that’s a risky thing in business. It’s advisable to choose a niche product in order to solve a specific market need. Instead of focusing on every shoe in the market for everyone for example, men’s shoes, focus on a specific market like sneakers, leather boots, etc; as this will help get you in front of the right audience.

Select your Target Market 

The next step is to select your target market. The shoe business is a vast industry and you just can’t target everyone; always select your target audience. You can start by choosing a single market class like men’s footwear, children’s footwear, women’s footwear, senior’s footwear, formal footwear, women’s athletes, casual footwear, and so on; and later on, increase your product line. For example, if you opt for men’s fashion as your market class, you may want to consider carrying women’s fashion and children’s fashion shoes as well. This way, you’re bound to increase your customer base exponentially.

Research for Wholesalers.

Now that you’ve decided your target audience and you’ve found your niche, the next thing you’d want to do is search for and contact different shoe wholesalers who are genuine and affordable. Whether you want to own a physical or an online shop, it’s good to establish a business connection with wholesalers in order to get the best deals. In this day and age, it has become super easy to find reliable wholesalers for whatever you need to fit your budget. For instance, if you’re opting for boots, you can easily check out the various wholesale boots available online and select based on your budget because irrespective of your target audience, you’d want to provide them with quality items at an affordable price.

Create Your Brand Identity

This is a tricky part because coming up with a brand name for your shoe business isn’t as easy as it sounds. However, it can be something that resonates with your niche, represents your vision, or even your own name. Once you choose a brand name, you’d want to ensure the social media handles and domain name are available so it’s solely yours because you can’t register your business name if it already exists for someone else’s business. So that’s wasted effort and having to change your brand name in the long run. If you can’t think of a unique brand name that’ll stand out, you can use tools like Shopify’s Business Name Generator or Brand Bucket to help you brainstorm.

Begin Marketing

After choosing your niche and target audience, having a brand name, selecting a wholesaler, registering your business name, and considering price factors like competitor’s price, product cost, and revenue goals, choosing the right marketing strategy for your shoe business is next, so you get the word out. A shoe business needs the right marketing in order to bring in new customers, retain old customers, and spread the word about new products, sales, and offers. And there’s no better place to advertise your business than on social media. Create a social media account (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) and post pictures of your products, offer discounts, interact with your audience, and advertise on other pages. With time, you‘ll see your customer base increasing and, that means more sales! You can also create your own e-commerce website or sell on other popular online stores like Amazon and eBay.