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.
