Thinking Outside the box: Handcrafted quality shoes

Being different doesn’t mean you have to conform, Mike’ O Owolabi, is an aspiring serial entrepreneur, building a brand by making customized handcrafted mens loafers. Mike’ O, is studying finance at Georgia State, and his creative mind set is what led him towards making his own shoes.   

What types of events have you been doing to get your product out?

Mike’ O :“Just recently I did Culture Shock, which is a big fashion show. We really just started doing the event, because we have to market and go out there are get ourselves known.”

How did your company get started?

Mike’ O :”On my way to Nigeria a year ago, my mom, who is a medical consultant, had a meeting in Italy. She gave me some money, to dress nice for the meeting, and when I got to the event I didn’t feel like I was dressed up. Everyone else there had a look that I wanted, so I asked someone where they got their shoes from. They told me, ‘I didn’t get my shoes from the store, someone actually made these, just for me.’ That was a neat idea, [to] [have] a shoe made just for you, and when I saw that I told my mom, ‘ I feel like this is something people of my age in the United States would want.’”

Once you realized the potential in costume shoes, what was the next step for you?

Mike’ O : “I did reach out and got some contacts in Italy. I went to Nigeria and found some shoe makers that could sew the shoes. The shoes are made in Nigeria and the material are [imported] from Italy.”

What types of shoes do you currently have available for orders?

Mike’ O : “For now we have already made, two style bold black and red [shoe] in stock [with] different sizes. We also have a custom orders, which is when [the] [customer] let’s me know what they want and I get it done. A lot of fraternities have been getting in contact with me. The costume orders take longer, because we’re basically starting from scratch.”

Do you have any friends that help you with the business?

Mike’ O : “After Christmas, I came to the United States, and I told a couple of my friends [that] I’m going to start a shoe company. A couple of them were like, ‘what makes you think anybody is going to buy shoes from you?’ [Some] of them though it was a pretty good idea.”

What are some ways that the shoe can be customized?

Mike’ O : “You can get names and emblems on them. I have some with my initials on them.”

How does your business stand out from competitors?

Mike’ O: “It’s quality product that speaks for itself, and if you have my shoes on it’s always a good conversation starter.. It’s a handmade luxury specially made for you, because it’s not like you can find it somewhere else. Affordable compared to others, competitors might sell their shoes for $400 and the people that they market to are willing to pay that. My target market is college students. It’s rubber bottom instead of wooden bottom, which is good for durability.”

What are some challenges that you’ve encountered?

Mike’ O : “As a person and a business, I’m learning everyday and [that] [includes] learning new ways to improve the business. Coming into this, there wasn’t [a lot] that I knew about. My family back home owns businesses and they don’t communicate to, us the kids, how they go about it. It was basically a whole new learning experience and that’s the fun thing about it.”   

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• Each shoe is made to fit the style of the customer

For more information about Mike’ O visit: http://www.mike-o.com