Concluding Case : Shoes With Soul: Two Friends Realize a Dream
CHAPTER 7 : ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CONCLUDING CASE:
SHOES WITH SOUL
Two Friends Realize a Dream
Renee Albertelli and Richard Rodriguez shared a dream ever since they met in college,to start their own business.both took business and marketing courses and began their careers in established businesses so they could gain experience about what it takes to turn an idea into a business reality.but as they advanced in their careers,the firms they worked for didn’t offer the types of challenges they wanted to pursue.they decided they wanted to work for themselves,and they saw an opportunity.
for her job in marketing at a telecomunications firm, albertelli had traveled to several regions of the world with developing economies,including africa,asia,and south america.she became increasingly increasingly aware that women in these regions wanted and needed to find new ways to earn a living to support and educate their families . rodriguez on the other hand spent his time working in the financial offices of a major U.S clothing firm that had its own stores nationwide.
During her travels, albertelli met a group of women who were highly skilled at crafting handmade sandals. they prepared the leather by hand, designed their own shoe patterns, and assembled each pair of sandals with simple tools. Albertelli thought the finished products were beautiful. she was also impressed by the women's desire to operate their own businesses. she thought they would make a great team, if enough sandals could be produced for sale even in small numbers in the united state.
Albertelli contacted Rodriguez when she returned from her trip, and two friends met to create a business plan. Both believed in the product and the cause they could build a business based on the desire and craftsmanship of small groups of artisans who wanted to band together to form their own businesses and the market for handcrafted goods in the united state.they new if they could succeed with one group of women and their products,many more would follow.many more would follow. they banked on the assumption that U.S consumers would fall in love with the idea as well and buy the products.
Albertelli and rodriguez took a huge risk-they decided to cash in their retirement savings to fund the creation of the first batch of sandals.they devised a plan for acquiring more financial backing so they could transport and advertise the product.they developed a marketing plan based not only on the beauty of the sandals but also on the lives of the women who created them,so that consumers would feel a connection with the makers.they named their company shoes with soul.the two entrepreneurs didn’t need to worry initially about locating a manufacturing facility because the shoes would continue to be made in the village where they originated.
Albertelli and Rodriguez worked closely with the woman who had started the shoemaking project in her village.when they had enough prototypes,they began to make the rounds to existing stores.they also considered renting kiosks at certain malls and investigated setting up a booth at specific sporting and cultural events.although they understood the importance of a website,they decided not to sell the sandals directly online until they had a more complete line of products to offer consumers.
At first,interest in the shoes was limited to small boutiques entrepreneus themselves until a local tv news show heard about the business and decided to do a story albertelli,Rodriguez and the women.
QUESTION:
1. 1. Describe the personality characteristics that renee albertelli and Richard Rodriguez have that should help them navigate the difficulties of starting a business
Ø I think difficulties in starting business it is reasonable with Renee and Richard characteristics such as hard worker and they good in seeing an opportunity they will doing fine in the future.
2. 2. Rodriguez and albertelli decided to focus their marketing efforts on the artisans who made the shoes.do you think this is a wise decisions?why or why not?
Ø I think the less wise, because to achieve maximum sales we should not only focus on the marketing course, we also have to think about innovation and quality of our products, so that customers do not get bored with our products.
3. 3. What management challenges might cause shoes with soul to stumble?
Ø challenges in its business are they willing to take the risk of using all their retirement money to be used as business capital and its businesses thrive if their efforts will be successful and if not, they will go out of business.
4. 4. Describe several steps that Rodriguez and albertelli could take to avoid these stumbling blocks and guide their new business to success.
Ø First, They have to maximize their goods production resources.
Ø Second, Improve business network. How to reproduce the organization's network., one by one network needs to be built and developed.
Ø Third, Build a culture of learning. Training and training is a concept to learn how fast or how short.
Ø Fourth, Look for the star, The star here is not just the person or people become actors. but the products and services that you offer to customers or buyers.
