Over the years, the shoe market has experienced a lot of shifts in preferences as more and more customers are striving to preserve environmental sustainability. Consumers have become conscious and willing to change their consumption habits in a bid to reduce their impact on the environment. Therefore, I am thinking of establishing a vegan and eco-friendly toddler and baby shoe store for a niche of conscious mothers that are ready to embrace a greener alternative. Besides having a physical store, my business will also have an online presence. The shoes will be of unique tribal-inspired designs from composed of African prints. Though other companies are dealing with toddler and baby shoes, I have come to realize that there is a huge gap in addressing the interests of people who are in love with African tribal-inspired designs. With more and more people interested in identifying with the African culture, I believe that it is the right move to fulfill the needs of consumer needs in this niche market. The materials for making the shoes will primarily compose of natural, plant-based, and recycled sources. Majorly, the investment will use materials like cork, natural rubber, and recycled nylon. Customers will have the opportunity to order shoes online and enjoy the luxury of door to door delivery. I will give customers an offer whereby their shipping costs for products ordered will be cheap, depending on the items they place in the shopping cart. The business name will be “Toddler and Baby African Prints Vegan Shoes.”
Some several companies and organizations have ventured into the business of producing vegan footwear for toddlers and babies. Gaining a market entry will be a struggle at first become some of the competitors have an established market presence and have substantial financial capabilities. Some of the key competitors in the vegan toddler and baby footwear include Bobux, Clamfeet Organic Vegan Baby Shoes, Clarks, Baby Nanya, and Geox. Bobux is viewed as the best brand for children’s shoes in the footwear market. One of the strengths that have made Bobux more successful in the market compared to its rivals its innovative shoe designs. The company produces stylish vegan footwear for toddlers and babies, thus proving that it is possible for children’s shoes can be stylish, trendy, and beautiful. The other strength of Bobux is the durability of their shoes. Research shows that most customers that have used the products of the company are a happy lot because they obtain value for their money. Besides the shoes being of high quality, they last longer and easy to wash. A more prolonged presence in the market has made Bobux Shoe Company to skillfully master the art of making eccentric and exotic stylistic children shoes. Most mothers also love shoes because of their super soft material that is capable of absorbing odor. As a result, a child's feet are balanced with comfort and remain dry and fresh, thereby enabling babies to happily play all day long ( Cranage et al., 2017) .
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Despite doing well and having a huge customer base, Bobux has weaknesses that are derailing its profitability and competitive image in the market. First, their products are highly-priced. The cost of its footwear is higher than most of its competitors, thus making it difficult for most potential customers to afford their products. The higher prices also make the shoe products of the company to be out of reach to most customers in the emerging market ( Baik, Lee, & Lee, 2015) . Limited investment in research and development has also led the company to incur a high cost of manufacturing. The high cost of production has been a major concern for the company because it damages its bottom line. The company is also slow in responding to customer suggestions and complaints. Most customers are complaining that most of the company shoes are sizing out, especially for kids aged two years and above. Bobux has also been unable to ensure that customers can readily access soft soles. The few soft soles available are in XXL and are also too darn inflexible ( Baik, Lee, & Lee, 2015) .
Toddler and Baby African Prints Vegan Shoes’ mission statement will help ensure that customers familiarize themselves with the goals, philosophies, markets, and competitive advantage of the business. Mission Statement: "To offer comfortable and designer vegan footwear to toddlers and babies at a revolutionary price while taking baby steps towards inspiring environmentally conscious business."
My business will be in the form of a sole proprietorship type of business. I will have the exclusively owning rights and manage it the way I deem fit. A sole proprietorship type of business is advantageous because it requires minimum formalities to establish and ensure that operations are running as expected. The tax implications of a sole proprietorship are also relaxed. The business itself is not taxed separately. That is, as a sole proprietor, the profits generated by the business fall under the personal tax return. The only mandatory requirement of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is to report all the income and generated by the business into my income tax return ( Elvin, 2015) . I will also have to pay self-employment taxes at a rate of 15.3%, which forms part of the contributions towards Social Security and Medicare Systems ( Elvin, 2015) . A sole proprietorship has unlimited liability for the debts and losses of the business. Therefore I will have the burden to personally offset any outstanding losses and debts if the business assets are insufficient to settle the obligations. The managerial ability of the business is also limited because one person solely makes all crucial decisions. An individual can't possess managerial capabilities in all areas of management, such as purchasing, supplies, and marketing. A sole proprietor is, therefore, short-handed in terms of managerial ability. However, the cost of the formation of a sole proprietorship form of business is cheap compared to other business forms like partnerships, companies, and cooperative societies. The government formalities needed to register the business are also minimum and less expensive.
References
Baik, Y. S., Lee, S. H., & Lee, C. (2015). Entrepreneurial firms’ choice of ownership forms. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 11 (3), 453-471.
Cranage, S., Bowles, K. A., Perraton, L., & Williams, C. (2017). Impact of shoe hardness of children's walking and running.
Elvin, E. (2015). Good faith, or a good fake? The role of good faith in the performance of commercial contracts (Doctoral dissertation, Bachelor’s thesis, University of Otago, South Island, New Zealand0).
