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For a lot of sneakerheads, the dream is to one day open their own sneaker store. Whether it be a consignment store like RIF or Flight Club, or a boutique like Rare Breed Footwear or Packer Shoes, the important things about getting your sneaker store off the ground and successful is all the same. It's the same as many other businesses in fact, except it's sneakers. Which is where your passion comes into making it truly successful.
In order to make sure we covered all the bases for starting a successful sneaker boutique, we reached out to a few owners to informally discuss what challenges they faced along the way, what things they'd do differently and what things came up that were completely unexpected. So after you check out Everything You Need to Know About Opening a Sneaker Boutique be sure to check out Extra Butter, Sole Lab and Primitive because they've got years of success doing exactly what you want to do.
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It's not going to be easy.
First off, don't fool yourself into thinking starting a sneaker boutique is going to be easy. Even with all the money in the world it takes hard work or finding someone to do the hard work for you. Make sure your expectations are reasonable otherwise you'll end up frustrated and out of business.
Find experts in their field.
If you're not a real estate agent, don't pretend to know everything about every location in your city. Just because you can "figure it out" when it comes to renovating your new location, doesn't mean you should. Sometimes having an expert help you with the process may seem like an expensive way to do things but you never know the value of those mistakes until you make them and end up hiring that same expert AFTER you already spent your entire budget on the task at hand. And just because your best friend can run the rat race doesn't mean he should be taking pictures for you.
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Location is everything, almost.
You hear this all the time about business but is it really true? Yes. If your customer rides the subway or bus around the city and there are no stops near your sneaker store, do you really think thay are going to go out of their way to buy a pair of shoes from you? Most sneakerheads are lazy. If they can get the same pair of shoes for the same price from an online store with free shipping, getting to your location is not going to happen. Think about all your options when choosing a location. Walking distance, public transprtation, foot traffic, parking, etc. The easier it is to see or get to, the better the location.
Use all the resources you can.
That old guy at the corner store who overcharges you because you forgot to buy toilet paper at Target, he's probably full of useful advice. After all, he just sold you something for 30 percent more than you should have paid for it. Don't underestimate where you can find resources for your sneaker boutique. Whether it's knowledge, investors, or products to sell, you never know where you might find the keys to success.
Trust your instinct.
Inevitably you're going to be faced with situations that you have to make tough decisions. Whether it's a business partner, a contract or carrying a new product. If you have that funny feeling like it's not a good idea, trust your gut. On the same token, if you feel really good about an opportunity, carpe diem.
Don't get ahead of yourself.
Yeah, you already have plans in your head for collabs with every brand and then some. Be easy, though. That will come if you take care of the basics of business first. Opening any business is just like life, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself.
Remember the Pareto Principle.
The 80/20 rule. 20 percent of the customers create 80 percent of the business (give or take a few percent). And likewise, 20 percent of the customers will cause 80 percent of the problems. Don't be afraid to tell those problem customers to shop somewhere else, politely of course. Otherwise you end up missing out on opportunities because you're trying to make a customer happy that never will be.
Know your competition.
That doesn't mean every reseller or all the people on Twitter claiming to be sneakerheads and hating on your dreams. We're talking real business owners, people that are doing it and not talking about it all day. Nas is opening a sneaker store in Vegas, how do you plan to compete with him if you are opening a store in Sin City?
Network. Network. Network.
Everybody wants to succeed in this world and for the most part, everyone has good nature (even if some people bury it with their own insecurities). Talk to people about your goals until you find people that will support you in achieving them. And when the opportunity comes to you to help someone in the same way, do it. Karma will repay you and the more you expand your network, the more opportunities Karma will have to do so.
Footwear accounts don't just magically happen.
Every brand has to see the value in you selling their product before they will want you to have an account. Just because you "know someone" aka follow someone from a brand on Twitter and one time they replied with an "lol" doesn't mean you are going to get an account. Plus, getting a higher end account is even more challenging. Be prepared to explain why you would be a good store to represent the brand.
Just because you like something doesn't mean your customer will.
You may think you have the ultimate style but the beauty of sneakers is that we all are unique. Just because you like a pair of kicks doesn't mean your customer will. Don't take it personally and remember this when you're ordering shoes to stock your store. You don't want to be stuck with a dozen pair of shoes that will never sell, no matter how much you like them.
Know your customers.
If your store is located next to a college, don't expect to be having students come in and drop 4 digits on designer sneakers. If your store is near the beach, you better have some slides on deck for those forgetful or impromptu beach-goers. If your store is in a cold-weather city, make sure you have some weather-ready choices on the shelves. It sounds like common sense but you can never have too much of that.
Provide a sense of community.
Everyone wants to feel a part of something bigger. It's in our nature. People will want to support you if you are supporting the community. Whether it's the sneaker community or the local community, be a part of it.
Sneakerheads don't pay the rent.
Walk into any sneaker boutique and you may see the trendiest sneakers or a bunch of styles you've already seen on the blogs but that doesn't mean all your customers are sneakerheads. In fact, most customers are not sneakerheads but average people looking to buy a pair of kicks that may make them feel a little better about themselves and walk with a little more swag.
You will have to educate your customers in order to sell to them.
In addition to most customers not being sneakerheads, most won't know sneakers. If you know your products, you can educate your customers on them. There are more great sneakers being made today than there ever has been. Not everybody wants to wear major brands and there are plenty of options for those looking to try something new, you just need to be able to tell them about it.
Ask other shop owners about their experiences.
Chances are if you are thinking about opening a sneaker store, you have talked to another person who has already done it. If you haven't yet, you need to. People enjoy talking to peoeple about things they are passionate about and opening a sneaker store is something you need passion to do. Boutique owners have already gone through a lot of things that you are about to go through. Not that you have to do things the exact same way, you shouldn't. But you should take their experiences and advice into consideration.
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Don't hang on to your inventory.
You are not opening a store to be a collector. You are opening it to sell sneakers. The last thing you want in this day and age is too many sneakers in your stockroom. Brands are producing more shoes than ever and consumers are buying more shoes than ever. That means you have to be selling them and making room for the next order to come in. Even if that means discounting what you have on the shelves.
Use the power of the Internet.
Seems obvious considering you are reading this on the Internet but there is a lot to be learned from what's out there. There are a lot more potential customers online than there ever will be in your store. Plan your business accordingly. We're not just talking about social media and sneakerheads on Twitter. Start with the Small Business Administration and go from there.
Say hello to every customer.
You're not Supreme. I've walked into hundreds of sneaker stores. Some are constantly begging for attention on Twitter, yet when I have walked into their store, nobody said a thing. Customer service is a must.
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When you think you know it all, you really don't.
No matter how long you have been in business, you will always be faced with new challenges. Every single day is a new opportunity to learn something. Treat it like that and you will be successful. Image Via
