25A- What's Next?

Existing Market. 

Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next in terms of products and services for your venture.

I believe the next step of my business will be expansion geographically and service wise. Currently, the idea is only tested in Gainesville, so it would be smart to move out of this demographic and see how it would fair and what would need to be modify for other locations to meet the need of the market in that specific location. Service expansion would encompass providing a comprehensive shoe care service, not just water repellence, but shoe repair, and maintenance services.

Step 2: Interview three customers who are already part of the market you have identified, and ask them what they believe is next for a venture like yours. Describe to them your business, and simply ask "What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?" Next, ask them about your ideas of what customers might want next. 

Andrea (’18): Andrea noted that my business could take old shoes and repurpose them into stylish new shoes or use them to repair usable shoes. This could expand on my sustainable goals. She said that, for example, one can take old Toms and use the different fabrics to create a new pair of shoes that is one of a kind and helps the environment at the same time.

Sabrina (’21): Sabrina said that something she would love to see is stylish waterproof shoes. Something she has noticed is that most shoes she finds attractive aren’t waterproof or are easily broken. She would love to see a pair of shoes that are both water repellent and cute to wear.

Katherine (Gainesville Native): She advised that I can make this business into a more comprehensive life-style brand that focus on things beyond just water repelling shoes, say hosting sustainable eating/cooking sessions to give customers a more exciting experience, allowing them to leave with a story to tell.

Step 3: Based on your own expectations and the feedback you received from customers, set a path for the future. In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.

For the future, I hope to create a life-style brand that prides itself in sustainable shoe shopping, repair, and maintenance. In a world of consumerism, waste, and materialism, this company will champion quality over quantity. This will encompass, creating a brand that, although centered around shoes, will hopefully expand to apparel (that is affordable) and beyond.

Initially, it starts with me finding sustainable and durable products that would appeal to me as well as my customers. If it will ultimately be a life-style brand, it should start forming its personality early.

New Market.

Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target. If you're currently targeting B2B, think about going after a B2C market. If you're currently targeting an affluent part of society, think about targeting a very poor part of society.

Step 2: Once you have identified a radically different market, describe how you think your venture concept might be able to create value for people in that market. You may have to get creative with this -- that's OK -- and perfectly welcome!

Step 3: Interview two people from this new market. Again, describe to each interviewee what your concept is. Then, ask them how they think your business might be help to meet customers like them. What kinds of adaptations to the product/service mix do they think you should make to be successful in this new market? 

Emily (Hotel Sales Director): She would really love a really comfortable business women shoe line. She has found some nice shoes out there, but it’s availability is unpredictable and some business that sell the shoes she likes doesn’t always tailor to her style. She wants a brand she can trust. She feels like she always have to compromise comfort or aesthetics with the shoes she buys. 

Ken (Gainesville Businessman): He hopes to find more environmentally friendly male business shoes. He thinks that some research into how to create biodegradable shoes that will also be durable would be an idea he hope to see be looked into.

Step 4:  Reflect, in two to three paragraphs, on what you learned about this new market. What surprised you the most? Were any of your expectations/assumptions correct? Does this new market, on second thought, appear to be as attractive as your existing market? And so on. 

They heard my spiel about sustainability and really liked the idea. Something that surprised me was that there wasn’t a brand that Emily could relate to despite my belief that there were so many shoe brands out there that she would have found one.

This business side of the market isn’t as appealing, but it is a very interesting lens to see business attire merge with environmentally friendly material. The idea of making that happen would be rather different and unique. I really gravitate towards the irreverence of my initial idea of a minimalistic life-style brand. The concept of selling things as a minimalistic brand seems rather counterintuitive, but the uniqueness and environmental practicality or the idea is something that is having a bigger prevalence in already strong retail companies like Patagonia and H&M who promotes returning old clothes to the company to recycle.