12 Tips for Footwear Brand Building
Are you ready to start your own brand-building journey? Do your shoe business dreams seem unattainable? You need a business plan to transform your dreams into reality and successfully launch your shoe brand. So, what is a business plan for a start-up shoe company?
Most business plans start out strong. “I have a GREAT idea for a new shoe!” A great idea is a perfect reason to start your shoe brand. But, you need to have thought through many other planning stages to form a successful business plan. “Who will sell my shoes? Who will buy my shoes? How will I market my shoes? How can I afford this?”
Starting a new shoe brand may feel impossible! Don’t worry, you can handle this step-by-step and we can help you to dive deeper into the details along the way.
12 key points to consider for brand building from How to Start Your Own Shoe Company:
12 criteria for a seamless business plan:
1: YOUR SHOES AND YOUR BRAND
Does the world need another shoe band?
What is special about your shoe brand?
Making your plans, are you making the right shoes?
Footwear brand identity development
What is your target market and how do you target it?
2: CREATING YOUR SHOE COMPANY
When do you need to legally create your company?
What type of company?
Creating and protecting your new brand’s trademarks
Branding and web domains.
3: DESIGNING YOUR PRODUCT LINE
Two kinds of design briefs
Footwear merchandise plans
How to hire a shoe designer
Do you need a patent? Design vs. utility patents
4: PLANNING YOUR SHOE BUSINESS
When and how to launch your shoes into the market: delivery seasons
Financial modeling for your shoe business
Calculating profit margins
5 : MANUFACTURING AND IMPORTING YOUR SHOES
Finding a factory to make your shoes: Footwear agents and trading companies
The shoe development process
Import duty and shipping rates for your shoes
6: START-UP COSTS AND RAISING CAPITAL
Footwear development expenses: the capital calendar
Raising money to build your shoe brand
Letter of credit and wire transfers
New Online Courses
for Brand Builders
7: BRAND PROMOTION AND FOOTWEAR MARKETING
What is marketing? Traditional, guerrilla, and social: Footwear marketing strategies
Print and digital media
Trade shows and alternatives for footwear brand marketing
8: FOOTWEAR SALES AND DISTRIBUTION
The sales chain
The language of footwear sales: Footwear buyers
Sales and distribution models for shoe companies
9: SHOE COMPANY OPERATIONS
Serving consumers: Operational models
E-commerce platforms
Third-party logistics for shoes
10: WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOUR BRAND?
Strategies for growth
Selling your shoes into new markets
Diversify your product offering
Vertical integration?
11: GOING INTERNATIONAL
Defending your trademarks overseas: Distribution models
Finding the right distributor: Purchase terms for distributors
12: WHAT CAN GO WRONG?
Dealing with shoe production delays
Footwear quality issues
Lost trademarks
Damaged equipment