A Shoe-In For Success

"A shoe is not only a design, but it's a part of your body language, the way you walk. The way you're going to move is quite dictated by your shoes" Christian Louboutin

He would have to say that, wouldn't he, after making a fortune from designing outrageously expensive footwear? But, he has a point. Well-made quality shoes can be the difference between stepping out in style and stepping 'ouch' in discomfort.

Best Foot Forward

This week's feature start-up on Kickstart Your Business was Equipage, an Irish company who believe it's not only important for the shoe to maketh the man, but for the man (or woman), with a little help from the experts, to maketh the shoe!

Founded by Julien Berwick, a shoe designer, maker and trainer, and Marie Brennan, an arts development expert, Equipage, alongside its atelier-based offer Shoeniverstity, are in the business of producing handmade dynamic footwear for a world market.

The Right Shelf

Although the Equipage approach is rooted in the traditional atelier model (where customers learn to make their own shoes and, potentially launch their own range of footwear, under the watchful eyes of Julien and Marie), this model is longer one that's familiar to today's mainstream customers.

With that in mind, Gerard suggested that the Equipage team needs to make it very clear on which 'shelf' their offer sits. Is it the one marked 'Fun Day Out' or 'Expert Craftwork'? Whilst these two offers can work alongside one another, the Shoeniversity site is currently sending mixed rather than complementary messages.

Over To You

What can Marie and Julien do in order to make their offer even more engaging? Listen back to Equipage on Kickstart Your Business and let us know what you suggest?

We'd love to hear from you.

Kickstart Your Business is broadcast live on The Right Hook on Newstalk106 in Ireland every Thursday at 6.15pm and is available on Playback immediately afterwards.