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 My work really does work around my family – explains franchisee Jayne Miles from Shoes Galore Ringwood.
I’m Jayne from Shoes Galore Ringwood. Selling shoes is one of two part-time jobs that I have as well as looking after my three children aged 9 to 15.
I started working with Lesley-Ann (the master franchisor) in October 2006 as an agent for the Ringwood and Salisbury area prior to Shoes Galore being franchised. I used to earn 20% commission on all sales and I was really happy with that. However, in March 2007 Lesley-Ann offered me the opportunity to buy the franchise for Ringwood to run as one of her pilot schemes. Now my earnings are so much greater than before. I’ve been a franchisee for a little over 12 months and it really does fit beautifully around my family and other commitments!
PROFIT
My best party so far has turned over £830 which means that for 4 hours work I made £415 gross profit. My average home party sales are between £250 and £350 per party. Some parties do better than others. I didn’t do very well at school so for me to earn about £40 an hour for a few hours work in the evening is a great boost for the family finances. As you can imagine, with three children and rising mortgage rates the extra income really does come in handy!
I only work around two evenings a week and occasionally I will do a corporate event on a friday lunchtime from 12 to 2pm. At my last corporate event I took just over £200 for two hours work – so it really was worth doing.
Lesley-Ann doesn’t put me under any pressure at all and any help I need I get! I’ve just recently done a mail-shot to schools in and around my area asking if they would like a shoe fashion show to help with their fundraising activities and in order to increase the number of corporate events that I do. With her wealth of marketing experience Lesley-Ann is always available to discuss any marketing activities and she comes up with some really great ideas, as well as giving the franchisees hints and tips for their businesses.
Our mobile shoe bags hold about 15 styles of shoes in a variety of colours and each tray holds at least 4 to 5 colours of each design. The majority of shoes we stock in our bags are in sizes 4 to 7, which are the most common sizes, but we also carry sizes 2, 3 & 8 separately. I can even supply sizes 1, 9 & 10 if I know in advance that these sizes are required for a particular shoe party or corporate event.
Shoes Galore’s head office have a specialist web site accessible only to franchisees, and which allows us to take a look at all stock held at head office. This is a live web site with live stock up to the minute! The site allows us to purchase shoes whilst at shoe parties and we can dial up using a laptop to check what’s available. If I need a size 7 in orange rather than the 7 in red that I already have in my shoe bags, I can simply check the stock online there and then and if it’s available I order them and deliver the shoes back to the party hostess within a week. This means that I can take the money for the shoes that evening – a huge boost for my party sales as shoes are very much an impulse buy. The website is updated every few minutes so if I’ve taken the last pair of that particular size and colour then none of the other franchisees will be able to order them, and this avoids disappointing my customers. I think this is such a benefit to the franchisees and I know that I have made lots of extra sales as a result.
I’m lucky in that I live about a 15 minute drive from Shoes Galore head office so I can drop in weekly. Other franchisees get a delivery at least once or twice a week and we are all kept up to date with new styles as they arrive. The shoes in my shoe bags change every four to six weeks, so I can be at a party tonight, take a party booking for four weeks time and know I’m going to have at least 4 new styles to offer.
WIDE CHOICE
Lesley-Ann works very hard at designing new collections, keeping a close eye on the latest fashion trends, and she never seems to run out of new ideas which give us a wide choice to offer our customers. Every collection comes in at least 4 colours – all of which are up to the minute. Since purchasing my franchise I keep an eye on what the high street retailers are offering. The other day I noticed that a major retailer was showing a collection in teal. I was delighted because at the moment we have about 6 different designs in teal – how cool is that? Other colours to look out for right now are fuchsia pink and purple and these all are available from Shoes Galore.
 I love what I’m doing - it’s like working in a sweet shop, because women just love the shoes, bags and accessories that I sell as a Shoes Galore franchise! I take my mobile shoe bags to the hostess’s house and before I have finished setting up I am making sales – it’s like a feeding frenzy! I usually spend approximately 20 minutes setting up (the bags are really easy to erect) and generally do a quick introduction if I manage to do so before the frenzy starts! I find the atmosphere relaxing and enjoyable because we don’t do any hard selling – our shoes sell themselves. The whole collection is just full of vibrant colour and unlike the High Street, if you want a purple, pink, yellow, orange, green, teal, caramel, or blue pair of shoes then we can supply them in several different styles……..and yes, we really do sell our shoes from £19 to £79 per pair.
PARTIES
My husband, Chris, works full time and with three children it can get really busy at home. When Chris walks through the door at 6pm I’m preparing to leave for a shoe party. I try not to travel more than 45 minutes from Ringwood to a party but on the odd occasion I have gone as far as Andover or Newbury (about 55 miles away). The shoe party takes about 2 hours so I’m usually packing up by around 9.15 then calculating the hostess rewards while her guests are enjoying a drink and a chat. It doesn’t feel like work at all, because I just enjoy the whole atmosphere, meeting new people and showing off our beautiful shoes. I believe in good old fashioned service and love it when my customers find a pair of shoes that they really want to buy. If all that isn’t enough for you to take in, we also have a great range of fashionable handbags priced from £19 to £49 in the latest styles and colours with matching belts and accessories. My clients will often buy the shoes as well as a matching bag, belt or gloves.
My 9 year old daughter Kellie loves my job almost as much as I do and often checks out the new designs as they come in. The collection caters for everyone from the young teen market to the more mature lady. I often find my customers arriving with both their mothers and their daughters in tow. The lovely thing about this business is that it is not only fun but I’m actually making a substantial second income for my family to help with holidays and extra treats for Christmas and birthdays.
I work hard and I’m happy to put in the effort when the rewards are so great. I am very excited about my shoe company, the service I am offering my customers and the amount of money I am earning. When I tell other women what I do for a living their eyes light up. It doesn’t feel like work, but I’ve said that before haven’t I? You need to have a bubbly personality, be able to talk to people and be well presented but you don’t need a university degree. Lesley-Ann believes in the “keep it simple” approach so she has designed a monthly reporting system that makes light work of the paperwork side of things. I know that my accountant will be impressed when I present him with a neat and tidy folder of accounts at the end of the year. Lesley-Ann runs tax and accounts workshops to explain everything that you need to know to make your business run smoothly and in accordance with Inland Revenue requirements. Lesley-Ann and her staff at Shoes Galore head office are always willing and able to help if you have any questions.
I would recommend this franchise opportunity to anyone wanting to work flexible hours around their family commitments. I have thoroughly enjoyed the past 12 months and am looking forward to an even better year to come.
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