Planning for success

From the time she could hold a crayon she was designing her own outfits, an interest that led to a fashion merchandising degree. Today, she is working her plan and planning her work with an eye on color, style and success.

How did you decide to own a shoe and accessory business?

I got a fashion merchandising degree from (Missouri State University) in Springfield last December and figured I had better use it. As part of my schooling, I had to take a course in establishing a fashion merchandising business and I loved it. They have a very good program. I don’t really care for school but that class had a wonderful teacher and you had to do it all: design a fashion line, find a space for your business and cost out every expense down to the staple in your stapler. We created a business plan and several said mine was the best they had ever seen. I knew I was doing my class plan as the real thing.

Tell us about your planning process.

I graduated in December of last year but I had talked to David Glenn back in 2005 as part of research for my fashion merchandising class. I needed to know building costs and space sizes and he was helpful. I also let him know that I was serious about making this plan real. Still, it was nine months before I talked to him again. I got my tax ID number in January, signed the lease in April and opened on July 30. I’ve already gone to markets in Las Vegas, Chicago and New York. It was like the second I got out of school I started working on this. I knew it was going to happen.

And now it is happening. How are things going?

I have only been open a couple of months and feel like I am already outgrowing the place. Not because of the display area but because of the back room. When you have a lot of shoes, they take up storage space and the back room is small that way. I am on track with my plan though. I put high numbers in for my expenses and a low number for sales projections, knowing it would even out eventually. I have met my plan’s numbers for each week that I have been open.

Where did the name “Sophie” come from?

I really couldn’t think of anything else. I didn’t want it to be shoe-specific since I have so much other merchandise, but I just didn’t have any ideas. In a class I took we had to come up with a complete design concept and follow it through. When it came time to pick a name I looked at what I wanted my designs to express. I wanted them to be sophisticated and yet still fun. So I asked myself “what can I get out of ‘sophisticated’ in terms of a name” and I came up with Sophie. I liked it then and decided to use it now. And, yes, everyone thinks it is my name and that’s fine, but this is the real reason behind the decision.

So what are your goals for this first year of operation?

To just make it work and be successful. That’s what I can hope for. And maybe I will make a little money too. Of course, being so young, I’m not used to making a lot of money so this is OK for now. It’s never been anything I’ve been afraid of doing. I’ve always been pretty confident.

How did you know you would have this kind of business?

I just knew. When I was a little girl I was always drawing and I always liked to dress up and have everything matching. When I was 10 years old, I made a couple of dresses. I had pieces of fabric that I wrapped around and made into a dress. It wasn’t perfectly done, but even then I knew this was what I wanted to do. In school we had to design a product line and mine included five to seven seasons with ten to twelve outfits in it. I love designing. If I could make shoes I would design those.

There are lots of fun shoes in your store. How many in your home closet?

I don’t know. There’s a couple of closets worth at least. Maybe 100 pairs? I just love shoes. There is no independent shoe retailer in this area. There is so much to choose from and I pick things that are different. I try to bring in different colors and materials and offer lines like Hale Bob, Nina, Charles David, and Zink that you can’t find at other stores in the area. People want something different and that’s what I will bring to them.