Shoe repair as a business. How to open a shoe repair shop

When there are crisis phenomena in the country, many find themselves unable to buy new shoes for themselves and turn to workshops. The services of professional shoemakers are in demand both in large and small cities. This type of business is quite stable and is able to bring money to the owner all year round. This direction is also relevant because, according to statistics, every tenth shoe pair requires repair in the first year of wearing. The footwear industry is large and the demand for repairs will only increase. This business plan for a shoe repair shop will help you organize such a business yourself, get a quick payback and minimize investments.

Project Summary

The main goal of the project is to organize a workshop that will provide shoe repair services to the population. Success will depend on the efficiency and quality of the work. We set ourselves the following tasks for the future:

  • Expand the list of services (repair of other items made of leather and leatherette).
  • Achieve payback and increase the workshop over time (hire employees and reduce the amount of work done independently).

To begin with, we will choose the format in which the institution will work. There can be three of them: economy, medium and premium. The first does not require large investments: this is one master (usually the owner himself), and the work takes place in a small kiosk. The medium format is a few craftsmen, professional equipment and a wide range of services. The premium option is focused on servicing expensive branded shoes (yes, the rich sometimes repair them too). It is suitable for opening in areas of the city where wealthy people live.

This shoe repair shop business plan with calculations focuses on the medium format. The entrepreneur himself is a qualified craftsman with extensive experience in such work.

Decor

The first cost is the registration of an individual enterprise. Produced independently, payment goes only to the state duty.

You also need to select OKVED codes, which will tell the tax authority what exactly the company will do. In the case of a shoe shop, 95.23 must be entered.

In addition, you will have to purchase and issue a modern-style cash register.

The premises require permits from the fire service and Rospotrebnadzor. Everything will take about 20 thousand rubles.

Premises for rent

Basement and basement floors are ideal for a shoe workshop. Such rooms are inexpensive, and the noise produced during work will not disturb the neighbors. 30 sq. is enough. m, on which all the equipment will be located and 2-3 shoemakers will be able to work. It is also worth providing a separate room for the receiver. This employee will meet customers and offer services.

The rent of the premises will cost about 10 thousand rubles per month. The place to choose is a walk-through, where there is a large flow of people. The central part of the city and its busiest streets with a large number of pedestrians are ideal. Some workshops are located in large shopping centers, which is also a great option. Shopping malls typically charge lower rents for their sites compared to stand-alone city buildings.

The property may require a small investment in cosmetic repairs. It will cost about 20 thousand rubles.

Purchase of equipment

In order to repair shoes quickly and well, an entrepreneur must take care of purchasing the necessary equipment and special shoemaking tools. This is perhaps the main expense item that is necessary to open your own business. The minimum set of equipment is as follows:

Name price, rub.
Glue hotplate 1 000
Professional boot paw 2 000
winepress 2 000
Drill 1 000
Processing machine 30 000
sewing machine 5 000
Air compressor 15 000
Burner 2 000
Small shoemaker's tools 5 000

In total, it turns out that the equipment will require investments of 63 thousand rubles. It is best to buy tools and appliances new, then they will last longer without repair and maintenance.

Recruitment

If for an economy workshop located in a kiosk, only one person is needed, which is usually the entrepreneur himself, then for a medium format, at least 3 employees will already be required. These are shoemakers who will be engaged in repair and restoration, and an inspector.

It must be remembered that there are not so many professional and trained shoe repair specialists. They are taught only in some educational institutions. The bulk of the craftsmen are self-taught.

To find a master, you should attract him with a decent salary. You can also hire an apprentice for a lower salary, who will perform simple work and gain experience.

Consider the wage fund of each specialist of the institution:

Profession name Monthly rate
shoe repairman 25 000
Journeyman 15 000
Acceptance Master 12 000

Every month, 55,000 rubles will have to be allocated for salaries.

Advertising and marketing

The main thing in this business is the right choice of a place with a large number of potential customers. No less important is word of mouth. People from neighboring districts will also go to a qualified repairman.

Perhaps you should experiment with maintaining publics on the social networks VKontakte and Instagram, but the effectiveness is not guaranteed.

More expensive methods of offline promotion and the Internet will be ineffective.

Sample price list

The shoe shop always offers a fairly large list of services. And the larger the workshop, the longer this list. We are considering an example that is suitable for a medium-sized establishment.

Required investment

Starting injections

The cost of entering this business is low. In the table below, we will clearly demonstrate what costs will be needed to enter this business.

To enter into this activity, you need to have an amount of 113.8 thousand rubles. The amount is small, so even a novice entrepreneur will be able to find it to do this business.

Monthly payments

Monthly payments include:

Thus, we need 85 thousand rubles per month.

Income

If about 20 people visit the workshop every day, and the average check is 200 rubles, then with 24 working days you can have about 100 thousand rubles a month. It is obvious that the yield is insufficient. Therefore, the best option would be for the employer to combine one of the functions: either the main master, or the master-receiver.

In this case, you can count on an income of about 30-35 thousand rubles per month and a profitability of 35%.

Eventually

The shoe business experiences both ups and downs of seasonal demand, although in general there will be customers all year round. A slight decline is usually observed in the summer season. If materials are bought abroad, then the influence of currency fluctuations still affects here, which must be taken into account. It is reasonable for a businessman to open such an institution only if he is at least a little versed in the shoe business. Because shoe repair has many small but important nuances, and if they are not taken into account, then things will not work. Despite the low profitability, the profits of the workshops are stable.

During the economic crisis, people are not able to often buy new shoes, so they resort to the services of repair shops. The services of shoemakers are now in demand, and the services of good craftsmen are especially in great demand. Therefore, the creation of a shoe repair business is a promising direction, in demand, which will bring payback in about 2-3 years.

  • First steps when opening a shoe shop
  • What documents will be needed?
  • Choosing a place for a shoe repair shop
  • What else to pay attention to?
  • How much money do you need to start a shoe repair business?
  • Setting up the workshop room
  • Choosing equipment and consumables
  • We create and promote the site
  • Shoe workshop running costs
  • Marketing and Advertising
  • How much can you earn from shoe repair?
  • What OKVED must be indicated for a shoe repair shop
  • Which taxation system to choose for a shoe repair shop
  • Do I need permission to open
  • business technology

First steps when opening a shoe shop

So, we open the workshop "Horseshoe". To conquer the market, we will offer our clients: express repair, stretching, dry cleaning, restoration and painting of shoes. To improve customer service, we will offer zoning of the premises: one for the workshop itself, the second for receiving and issuing shoes. The next feature will be the issuance of shoes in branded packages and with a guarantee, for example, for 2 weeks. The employee issuing and accepting shoes will work in a corporate suit and gloves of the appropriate color. This will increase the reputation of the workshop and will attract additional visitors.

What documents will be needed?

First, register as an individual entrepreneur. Next, we register with the tax office, the pension fund and other authorities. It is also necessary to obtain permission from the SES, the fire inspectorate and Rospotrebnadzor.

Opening your own shoe shop promises good profits for entrepreneurs. There is a constant demand for this type of service, which means that the income will be constant, and the payback period will be short.

However, in order for your small business not to go bust, you need to know how to advertise a shoe repair shop, and for this, in turn, you need to choose only the most effective methods of promotion and abandon obviously losing methods.

This article is designed to help entrepreneurs determine which advertising methods are great for promoting a shoe shop, and which ones are more likely to hit the budget than bring serious benefits.

Point decoration

Facade

The design of the facade of a shoe repair shop, of course, is less important than the appearance of the beauty salon. However, this does not mean that this issue should not be given attention. Your premises should look neat and be clearly visible from the street, because passers-by often turn to the workshop that they notice on the way to their home, work and places where they shop.

Signboard

Order a bright and noticeable sign. It is she who is the most important tool for outdoor advertising for a shoe workshop. As a rule, the phrase “shoe repair” or the “speaking” name of the enterprise, for example, “Heel”, is written on it in large letters. The presence of a logo, for example, an image of a shoe or a boot, will not be superfluous, because it will also be a kind of marker that will not let passers-by confuse your workshop with a grocery store or a hairdresser. As a rule, the owners of such enterprises prefer not to spend money on exquisite, elaborate luminous signs - a standard bright design made of durable materials will suffice.


LED scoreboard

If you do not want to miss potential customers passing by your point in the evening, order an LED display. The simplest, one-color option will be enough, because your task is precisely to inform passers-by. Such advertising media cost less than a full-fledged LED sign, which means that such an option is more preferable. The service life of such boards is very long - as a rule, they are able to operate around the clock for 10 years.


Outdoor advertising

Banners

Bright advertising banners, placed on the facade of your premises or near it, will also attract the attention of visitors. Such posters are a kind of guarantee that a passer-by will definitely notice your point. Moreover, such banners can contain basic information about services (usually in the form of a list).

This is an undoubted advantage of posters, because each potential client will know exactly what services he can count on in this workshop.


pillars

Pavement signs are one of the most effective outdoor advertising tools. By placing them in front of your workshop, you, again, provide the point with additional attention to passers-by.

Such designs should be bright, and the text on them should be as "readable" as possible. Try not to use boring long phrases, focus on a concise and useful list of services for the consumer. Remember, a passer-by will not stop to take a closer look at your advertising medium.

All the necessary information on the pillar should be read in just a few seconds.


Pointers

Shoe repair signs are a necessary promotional tool, especially if your location is not on the first line of houses. As a rule, they are placed on the walls of houses near the enterprise itself.


Printable advertisement

Leaflets

Flyers are an inexpensive yet effective form of advertising. Order a batch from a printing house and distribute it to the mailboxes of nearby houses. Remember, they don't always have to be as visually appealing as beauty salon flyers. Therefore, you don't have to spend money on glossy printing and sophisticated design. The only exception will be, perhaps, only "elite" workshops and points where expensive shoes are sewn.


business cards

Business cards are a real "must have" for shoe shops. Be sure to order a batch from a printing house or advertising agency, after making sure that this media contains all the necessary information about your point, namely the address, phone number, a short list of services, and also the opening hours. Distribute business cards to each client - they will serve as a material reminder of your workshop.


Internet advertising

banner advertising

Advertising banners on the resources of the city will be useful for a shoe repair shop, especially in the initial stages of the business. Giving it to all possible sites does not make sense - try to choose a few of the most popular pages that are visited by residents of your particular city.

Groups in social networks

Having accounts on social networks, namely on Vkontakte and Facebook, is a rather controversial decision, because users are unlikely to be interested in communities of this format. However, this service is free, and you can get creative by posting interesting news and information about your services in a casual, engaging way. However, remember that such advertising is still relevant for more exclusive workshops than for ordinary “around the corner” format points.

Announcement Sites

Despite the fact that a person who wants to repair shoes is unlikely to look for a workshop on such resources, there is still a chance that a user will accidentally stumble upon your advertisement and remember it at the right time. Moreover, posting ads on such resources is free, which means that this opportunity is definitely worth using.

If you decide to create a website on your own, be sure to read our articles:

Here we have laid out our experience and opinions on the use of various tools that you will simply need in your work. This will allow you to reduce the time to select the necessary resources to create it and get profit from the site as quickly as possible.

Other

word of mouth

Remember, the best advertisement for businesses like shoe repair shops is value for money. First of all, you need to make sure that your masters do really high-quality work, which will make customers come back to you again and again.

Discounts and promotions

Despite the fact that such workshops rarely have a loyalty program, many aspiring entrepreneurs prefer to provide customers with special bonuses. So, for example, you can offer a good discount if a visitor brings a friend. Such a measure is especially justified if you want to create a permanent customer base as quickly as possible.

Electronic directories

Registration on resources such as 2Gis and 2Geo will be a great help for business. However, remember that it is better to place your data in such directories for free, bypassing paid advertising. As a rule, it simply turns out to be ineffective.

What Ads Don't Work for Shoe Repair Shops

  1. Official site. Promotion via the Internet will not benefit the vast majority of shoe repair shops. The only exception will be, perhaps, the only places where shoes are sewn and repaired at high prices or workshops that not only repair shoes, but also pick up and deliver them after repair. But if you open a point of standard format, you simply do not need a site.
  2. Advertising on radio and television. Despite the fact that there is a massive demand for the services provided in such workshops, such points, as a rule, are not advertised in the media. This is explained simply - such advertising simply does not pay off. Yes, and people often prefer to rent shoes to workshops that are nearby.
  3. Advertising in magazines and newspapers. Such advertising also does not make sense for most workshops. However, if your services are expensive, and your company is positioned not just as a repair studio, but as a workshop where they work with really high-quality and very expensive shoes, such advertising can contribute to business development. However, in this case, you should not just give an advertising module, but write an article, for example, about shoe care, subtly and unobtrusively informing about your enterprise.

Shoe repair is a profitable business, because small and large repairs to any pair are required much more often than replacement. Given this, a person organizing a shoe repair business can be sure that in any area and any locality there will always be a demand for his services.

How, what and for whom to repair?

First of all, it should be noted that representatives of all social classes need to repair various pairs of shoes. Accordingly, the master will not be left without work, but he still needs to think in advance about what the main target audience will be. Depending on it, the status of the workshop itself is selected, which can be:

  • economy class - occupies a small kiosk with an area of ​​​​8-12 square meters. m and provides standard services without the use of bulky special equipment
  • middle class - covers an area of ​​30-50 square meters. m and offers an expanded range of services at a higher price: to open a shoe repair shop of this type, you need to acquire special equipment that allows you to work faster and better
  • VIP class - located in a fairly large room (from 50 sq. M), equipped with a full set of professional equipment and takes on the repair of elite shoes: given that such a workshop can only work with a very small number of customers, the prices for its services are usually quite high

In any situation, the shoe repair business requires its organizer to have a number of critical skills. In particular, you should study the basics of shoe making, including such works as:

  • repair and replacement of heels of all types
  • selection and replacement of insoles
  • replacement and repair of arch supports and heels
  • all types of sole repair and its complete replacement
  • selection of locks and zippers, repair of broken fittings
  • shoe stock
  • painting different types of shoes

The main stages of opening a workshop Possessing the necessary skills is not enough to open a shoe repair shop. For its full functioning, it is also necessary:

  1. Register an individual entrepreneur by selecting OKVED codes 52.71 (Repair of shoes and other leather products) or 52.74 (repair of household or personal items that are not included in other groups)
  2. Register with the Pension Fund
  3. Purchase and register a cash register
  4. Obtain a work permit at a health station, Rospotrebnadzor and fire inspection
  5. Choose a room in accordance with the class of the workshop: a room of any size must comply with all the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor and the fire inspection, as well as sanitary standards (and, of course, the room itself should be located in places with maximum traffic - in markets, near railway stations, in the center of residential areas etc.)

After going through these stages, you can think about purchasing tools and equipment. The business will be a win-win, but the initial investment will be quite large, and they will not pay off immediately. How to open shoe repair? It is worth considering the following amounts:

  • from 2 to 50 thousand rubles - monthly rent of a plot of land for a workshop (the minimum price is supposed to pay for a plot for installing a kiosk of 8-10 sq. m, the maximum - for paying for a VIP area)
  • from 30 thousand rubles - monthly rent of a ready-made premises (minimum price, you will have to pay 100-120 thousand rubles for a VIP building)
  • from 5 thousand rubles - for the purchase of components for work (pieces of leather, heel rubber, various soles and outsoles, arch supports, special threads and much more)

You need to allocate a separate amount for equipment - up to 10 thousand rubles at least. For an "economical" workshop, you definitely need:

  • grindstone - 3 thousand rubles
  • electric drill - 1.5-2 thousand rubles
  • electric stove (necessary for heating the glue) - about 1 thousand rubles
  • shoe paw - 1 thousand rubles
  • wire cutters and pliers - 500 rubles
  • hammer and a set of nails - 500 rubles
  • shoe needles - 500 rubles per set
  • shoe gun - 250 rubles
  • shoe rasp - 250 rubles
  • abrasive skins - 10 rubles apiece

For those who are wondering how to open a VIP-class shoe repair, there is a price - at least 67.5 thousand rubles:

  1. 40 thousand - the minimum cost of a processing machine
  2. 20 thousand rubles - the price of the compressor
  3. 5 thousand - the cost of a sewing machine
  4. 2.5 thousand rubles will have to be paid for the burner

In addition, large workshops need additional staff, so it is worthwhile to provide certain amounts for remuneration for his work - from 10 thousand rubles for each master. Such a business can pay off in 2-3 months (if a VIP-class enterprise is chosen) or in six months or a year (if an “economical” workshop is chosen). In the first case, the workshop will be able to bring 3-4 thousand rubles daily (the master will serve up to 20 people, each of whom will leave an average of 200 rubles at the box office). A middle-class enterprise will bring 15-20 thousand in one day (serving 30-40 customers daily with a minimum check of 500 rubles). VIP-business will generate income at the level of 30-40 thousand (serving 20-30 customers with an average order price of 1.5-2 thousand rubles). In any situation, such work will never be unprofitable, and if the company works efficiently, the number of its customers will only grow.