How to Start a Business Making Purses and Shoes
It is the dream of many to own a business selling original shoe and purse designs. The fashion industry is one that earns billions of dollars annually, and there are never enough brands on the market--there is always room for fashion entrepreneurs of all types to introduce their concepts to consumers and have a lucrative business. While it seems like a glamorous venture to start, there is quite a bit of planning required to own a business making your own purses and shoes.
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Instructions
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Determine what type of purses and shoes you want to make. For your purses, you can make leather handbags, cloth bags, novelty purses that look like various objects, or purses made of recycled materials. You can make a few types of shoes, including leather shoes, boots, high heels, slippers, or moccasins.
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Decide how you'll make the shoes and purses. Your main options are to design and construct them yourself, design them and then outsource manufacturing to a factory, or use a print on demand company such as Zazzle. If you choose the former, your shoe and purse styles will be limited, but you can create as many graphic designs on them as you can come up with. Also, this is the least expensive option as you won't have to carry any inventory or manufacture the products.
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Figure out where you'll sell your shoes and purses. Options include online, in a physical store, a mall kiosk or inline store, artisan craft show booth, or wholesale to established retail outlets. If you decide to sell your products wholesale, ensure you'll be able to keep up with production, as wholesale orders can be upwards of $1,000 each for shoes and purses.
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Take a shoe making course such as those offered by Prescott & MacKay, ShoeSchool, Simple Shoemaking, International Shoemaking Design, or The Shoe College. You can also read a guide to shoe making, such as Mary Wales Loomis' "Make Your Own Shoes". The types of shoes you can learn to make from these sources include leather, boots, heels, flats, and sandals.
You can take purse making courses from many of the above-mentioned companies, especially if you're interested in making leather purses. Alternatively, there are a variety of internet-based purse making tutorials, some of which are free.
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Purchase wholesale materials to make your shoe and purses, as opposed to buying supplies from a craft or hobby store and paying retail--this will save you a substantial amount of money. When you take your shoe and purse making courses, you will be given recommendations for wholesale suppliers you can use.
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Get a DBA (assumed name certificate) and tax identification number from your state--you will need this so you can collect taxes from orders sent within your state.
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Secure a selling venue by either renting a storefront, paying for a artisan craft show booth, or buying a domain and e-commerce solution such as Core Commerce or Big Commerce. You may also need to photograph each shoe and purse style you offer, especially if you are selling online.
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Advertise your shoe and purse business by distributing press releases, participating in blog giveaways, starting a promotional blog for your business, and listing your business in online and print artisan directories.
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