How To Start A Shoe Store Business In 15 Easy Steps

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Business is an activity that is done for commercial, industrial, or professional needs. It is an activity to earn your livelihood and to assure your psychological/mental satisfaction. A business may be a small-scale business or a large-scale business.

How to Start a Shoe Store Business? (Jump To Section)

Everybody has to earn money to fulfill their needs. Some people go for their own business, some go for a job in a company and some provide services as a freelancer.

Business means performing economic activities to make a profit. If you want to start a new business you have many options such as hardware or software business, electronics business, digital services, consumer wearables such as clothing and shoe store business, and many more.

The shoe store business is one of the trendy businesses these days. People who are youngsters or of any age select shoes based on their comfort and personal style. Everybody wants to have a cushy pair of shoes. There is a large array of shoes these days. Everybody demands a new variety of shoes. If you want to start a shoe store business then go through this article and know how to start a shoe store business.

The Three Main Types of Business Objectives

Business objectives are classified into three categories:

Economic Objective:

This objective is mainly about earning profit. This objective refers to regular innovation and the use of accessible material. In this everybody is money minded and wants to earn more and more.

Social Objective:

This objective mainly refers to the welfare of society and people. So, to start a shoe business, you should think about social welfare. This objective is about increasing the quality of goods, raising the standard of services and products, and contributing to public facilities. In this objective, they mainly focus on people’s comfort and luxury. People’s comfort is very important these days. People are very busy and need a cushy pair of shoes for their comfort and providing them with what they want will make you feel good and successful.

Human or Individual Objective:

This main objective is the welfare of employees, the social and mental satisfaction of employees, and the growth of human resources. In this, they want to give a comfortable environment to their employees. Employees are the people who promote your brand as they are the one who talks to your customers and convinces them to buy your shoes. Employees are an important part of any company’s success. So you should always think about your staff’s comfort.

How to Start a Shoe Store Business?

While starting a new business a question may arise in your mind: how should you go about it? What points to consider while opening a new business, and which shoe brand and type people will buy? A major factor of any business is risk. Businesses are full of risk but no need to be afraid. We have a few pointers that can help you. You just have to follow these steps and it will help give you a proper direction to start a shoe business.

1. Gather Internal Strength And Willpower:

First of all, to start any business you must have strong willpower and confidence. You should be ready to take risks and then only you can start a successful shoe business. If you want to start a new business you have to be self-confident and responsible enough. You must have enough motivation to make your business successful.

2. Identify a Sizeable Target Segment In The Market:

To start a shoe business and to run a successful business, first of all, you require a mass market that will help you to attract customers. The market plays a vital role in setting up your business. The market provides you with a selling area for your products. The location of your market must be in busy areas where people stop or do their work.

The area should be easily approachable for both customers as well as distributors. The market area should be selected very carefully. If you are going for an offline store then you should at least have a store from 150 – 200 square feet in area.

3. Make a Comprehensive Plan for Your Business:

Planning is necessary before taking on any important task and this is valid for starting a new shoe business as well. you should decide which category of shoes and the type of shoes you want to sell. your plan will lead you to move ahead step-wise. Write a proper business plan for your business first. Before starting a new business, you must keep these few things in mind:

● You must decide whether you want to do an online business or a shoe store. You can do both as well. For starting an online business you must need a website and you need to create traffic on your site.

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● Which company do you want to compete with?

● Name of the business. Your business name must be unique and fancy so that everybody is attracted to your store.

● How many customers are willing to buy your products and which products are loved the most?

● How can you earn a profit?

● How much can you invest?

You must also decide what you want to sell. For example:

● Slippers/flip flops

● Heels

● Formal shoes

● Sports shoes

● Sneakers

● Snow boots

● Studs

● Sandals and many more

4. Name Your Business:

You must select an appropriate name for your shoe store before starting your business. The name of your business highlights your business so it should be very unique and fancy. The name must also be related to shoes. The name creates an identity among competitors and attracts customers and suppliers as well. The name must be simple to say and keep in mind.

5. Arrange The Required Capital:

The next step to start a shoe business is to arrange for the funds for many things such as required stock for your store, then promotion, and paying salary to your employees. You can check your sources and can arrange for a bank loan or ask your friends and family for funds.

6. Complete The Paperwork:

To start a new shoe venture/store you have to complete the paperwork and documentation process which includes getting a permit of selling and purchasing of goods, state tax ID number and license number, etc. you also have to decide that you want to start a one-person company or you want to do partnership with someone.

If you want to become a sole proprietor then you have to complete one type of formality but if you want to go with a partnership then you should get your partnership deed ready so that your profit-sharing ratio can be decided as per your investment ratio. This will help you to reduce any kind of dispute.

7. Open a Business Account at a Bank:

To start a shoe business you must have to keep a record of the transaction for making payments and receipts. You should open a bank account in the name of your business. You can receive the payments in this account online by swiping the card or by some mobile application or by scanning the QR Codes attached to your account. You can check the entries of the payment and sales transactions.

You can also make your major payments or small payments from this account by cheque or online or by card. This account is important to keep track of your business profit. You must also have proper business insurance which is one of the most important factors to protect your business. Business insurance helps you in times of emergency.

8. Find Your Suppliers And Distributors:

Now, you have to find a person or manufacturer who will supply you with goods as per your requirement to start a shoe business. You will have to select a distributor/retailer who will provide you with stock at fair rates so that you can have a healthy margin.

Supply of stock is a very important activity in selling and purchasing shoes. Some wholesalers and dealers easily approach you for their products to sell in your store. Wholesalers are one of the most important players in the shoe business.

9. Build Quality Checks In the System:

Starting a new shoe business is challenging. You will realize it from this point. Maintaining the quality of your stock and keeping a large variety of stock both are demanding tasks these days. Customers are quite active to check the quality and are prone to fashion. They do not compromise on quality.

So you have to select your stock very carefully keeping in mind all the above points. You should keep in mind that you should have enough variety to satisfy your customer and sell your product. Nowadays everybody wants trendy and cushy shoes and you must focus on recent trends.

10. Attract Customers Via Attractive Product Display:

The wide variety of your store should be displayed in such an attractive manner that customers should automatically attract to your store. The display of your stock is the promotion of the store itself. The display shows the variety of your stock. These days people do not have much time to stay in one store, they select their product choice by taking a glance at the display.

So be attentive at the time of arranging the display of your store. Display the shoes which are trendy and loved by all. You must also have all the sizes of every pair of shoes.

11. Plan Your Inventory Management:

You must store your inventory safely. You should save your products from any kind of damage. So while storing you should keep a few points in mind that the storage area should be dust-free. The area should not be prone to insects and rats. The biggest enemy is water so make sure the storage area is dry and not damp at all.

12. Hire Motivated Employees:

Employees are the people who promote your brand as they are the ones who talk to your customers and convince them to buy your shoes. Employees are an important part of any company’s success. To make your business successful you must provide your employees with a comfortable environment and motivate them from time to time with certain incentives during challenging phases.

Employees are the pillars of your business. If you have hardworking employees who work wholeheartedly for your business then you are very lucky that they can prove themselves as an asset to your business.

13. Promote On Social Media:

The promotion of a business is important. Promotion of a product is very necessary these days due to high competition in the market. Advertisement is very beneficial for your business and earning profit. Advertisements can attract customers. Social media can assist you to promote and start a shoe business. With the help of social media, your products can reach a large base of customers.

You can make a website and promote your business. You can increase your sales through this online business method. You can help your customer by providing them with what they see on your site. You need to create traffic to your site if you want more people to visit your site. You can also take the mobile numbers of your customers and promote your new offers to them telephonically.

14. Ensure Proper Accounting Systems:

Tracking of revenue and spending is done by an accountant, generally. Well-maintained profitable accounts help to get investors on board and also help to make critical business decisions. Maintaining accurate accounts and records will help you show a clear picture of the profit and loss of your business. An accountant can prepare a balance sheet for you which will fulfill your legal needs. Also, staying compliant with tax authorities is a necessity for any business, and an accountant will take care of that for you.

15. Run Promotions And Special Offers To Acquire And Retain Customers:

To reach the top, you need new ideas. You need to be innovative and inventive. Offers can be offered to attract customers. You can give small gifts with their first purchase. You can give them cash back on their purchase. You can also provide them with discount coupons for your next shopping trip. You can gift free accessories as per their shopping.

Freebies are loved by the customers and this will increase your sales graph. Offers will increase your revenue and make your name in the market.

Why You Should Consider Starting a Shoe Store Business

Relatively Slow-Moving Market:

In this shoe business, trends don’t change as frequently as in some other industries. This helps to grow your business steadily and you don’t get much stress about keeping up with the market all the time.

Quick to Start:

You can start a shoe business easily in less than 6 months, which is a very small period for a business to start. Other businesses can take 1 to 2 years to start and stabilize. You can easily start this business online in much less than 6 months and with lower capital, but for a store, you need more time and investment.

You Can Hire Others And Be Your Own Boss:

When you work as an employee in someone’s company then you have no choice in selecting your co-workers but when you have your own company you can hire whoever you want. Employees are the people who promote your brand as they are the one who talks to the customers and convinces them to buy your shoes. Employees are an important part of any company’s success.

Challenges of Starting a Shoe Store Business

High competition:

There is high competition when it comes to the shoe business. Many people start a shoe business these days and the competition is increasing day by day. So it is quite difficult to make a name in this business.

Low Margin:

These products don’t have high margins which make the work challenging. Because of the low margin, some people also quit this business.

Demanding Job:

Sometimes it can get overwhelming as you have to deal with a variety of people and some are more demanding than others. Running a shoe business means you have to be available for your customers. Sometimes customers can get over-demanding and don’t buy anything after trying dozens of shoes.

Product Damage:

This happens many times when old stock gets ruined. This can lead to a heavy loss for you. In a large stock, many of the shoes get damaged due to improper stocking and some of them get ruined if stored for a long time.

Not One-Size-Fits-All Business:

You have to go for a wide variety because customers have different tastes (and different shoe sizes). They select the best out of the best. So you have to be particular while selecting the stock for your business. If your selection is not as per the taste and size of the customer, you can lose potential revenue.

How Do Shoe Stores Make Money?

Shoe stores make money by selling different varieties and different categories of shoes for eg. sneakers, sports shoes, formal shoes, casual footwear, kids footwear, ladies footwear, and many more. Shoe stores also give a lot of offers to attract customers and expand the business. They also sell different types of shoe accessories such as polish, shiner, socks, shoe brush, shoe cream, shoe horn, soles, and many more. Some stores also provide shoe cleaning services and free repair services which are very unique. Making the customer buy products, and keep returning to buy more products is the mantra for making profits.

How to Make Your Business More Profitable?

To make your business profitable you have to make your products specialized in a particular category. For e.g., you can specialize in ladies’ footwear.

● To make sales you have to make sure that your services are good.

● Your name also must be unique and memorable, this will help you to attract customers.

● You can also make your website on the internet, this will open another avenue of making sales with negligible overheads.

Do Not Forget To Get a Business Credit Card

A business credit card helps to start and expand a shoe business. It also helps to separate your private and business expenses. Business cards ensure accountability. You can take a huge line of credit for purchasing a stock of shoes. You can also get many rewards by using a business credit card.

Conclusion

Some people start a shoe business but may find it challenging after a time because of low margins, heavy competition, and hard work. Good things take time so you have to stick with the business if you want to be successful. We have mentioned everything that is needed to start a shoe business. You must put all your efforts into your business to succeed. If do everything just right, your hard work will pay off.

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