It is not an easy task to start a shoe business. You will need lots of determination and energy. Will you need lots of money? Not necessarily.

Start a shoe business

You can start a shoe company without much money. A successful brand will need a unique feature or market niche to stand out and compete with the big dogs. You will also need a unique name for your brand, a clear brand statement, and a distinctive logo. These key starting points are all accessible to you at no cost. Work on them on your own or solicit the help of a friend with some design skills. If you can nail the brand name, statement, and visual identity correctly you will be well on your way to success. Make sure to invest plenty of time in perfecting them. Your product needs to appeal to a large number of people.

Get The Word Out There

You need to get the word out there and analyze the public response to your shoe brand. The fastest way to do this without any money is thru social media. Facebook, Instagram, or whatever platform your friends and target customers will look at and tell their friends to look at. A Facebook page with great photos and some text which clearly communicates your shoe brands’ unique identity should do the trick. If you publish the photos and pages and the response is low you will need to reevaluate and possibly start over. Don’t rush the idea, proceed with confidence in your brand and you will be able to lock in some seed money to get your footwear product produced.

You will need to raise some seed money to cover the product development, materials, and production costs for your new shoe company. There is no way to acquire product without paying for it. You can expect to pay at least 50% of the total purchase price of the shoes when you place your production order. Should you borrow from your friends, family or a bank? Maybe you should launch a crowd-funding campaign? Crowdfunding is a great way to reach out to customers, gain exposure, refine your sales pitch and secure backing for your new shoe company. Look into Crowdfunder™, Kickstarter™, and Peerbackers™. Learn more about the successes and pitfalls of these online services plus more information on raising capital and start-up costs in Chapter 6 of How To Start Your Own Shoe Company.

The Cost Involved in Selling Your Shoes

There is also a cost involved in selling your shoes. Luckily, you don’t have to spend big to have a decent online selling platform. Instead of hiring a web designer to build a specialized website you can take advantage of a low cost and easy DIY online store platforms such as WordPress, Shopify, or eBay which can process payments through PayPal. Once you have made a few sales and have a growing customer base you can feel proud that your brand has successfully joined the ranks to become a scaleable business!

To learn more about How To Start Your Own Shoe Company and How Shoes Are Made check out our bookstore. Books now available in softcover or PDF Download.