The idea came from the Skill acquisition and empowerment Programme that Nigeria Youth Corps Members have organized. The skill one of us chose was Shoemaking. Then, we realized that in our geographical location, people were into going to stores and malls to buy foreign footwear and we wanted to change that.
We started making footwear from fabrics including old pairs of jeans and clothes to try new things out.
Your products and services
We make Bespoke footwears in all manner of fabrics and specifications our customers want. We try our new designs and materials to see if they make comfortable footwear. We give our customers advice on footwear even if we don’t get patronized.
Your success factors
Patience, Persistence, teamwork, willingness to keep striving, competitiveness.
Your factors differentiating and disruptive compared to the existing
Consistency and continuous creative development.
Your business model
Initially, we were not making any. We just saved up and used our personal savings and agreed they were sunk costs. But with time sales improved and we were able to make a little more than we were investing which is being ploughed back into the business since it’s not enough profit to be shared yet.
A few words about your competitors
It hasn’t been easy because it seems more and more people are getting into the shoemaking industry. But the field is big enough for everyone to play in, you just have to be different and stand out enough to maintain a reasonable portion of the pitch.
Go girl!