OLLY Shoes began as a result of my own challenging shopping experiences with my family. As a working mother of three kids that ranged in age from newborn to seven, I found it extremely difficult to find shoes that fit my kids properly.
I simply had an “ah-ha” moment as a result of frustrating shopping experiences and I identified a need in the children’s retail market: a retailer that provided properly-fitting, quality children’s footwear. I wanted to build the best one-stop kids shoes store.
My light-bulb moment was perfectly timed -- and timing is everything -- as I had just had my third child, sold my business and was eager to start something new. I researched the children’s footwear industry, the competition and the market needs, as well as developed the proprietary computer-based fitting methods called OLLYFIT® technology. All moms can appreciate the difficulty of tracking the size changes of growing feet. Our unique system allows parents to track their child’s growth and provides the ability to purchase with “fit confidence.” My goal was to develop a system that removed the guesswork from the fitting process and make footwear shopping with the kids easy and fun for parents.
OLLY Shoes opened its doors in Toronto in 2001 and caters to children aged newborn to 12 years for athletic, casual, dress, party, specialty and seasonal footwear, as well as exclusive kids’ accessories, gifts and babycare products. To gain the attention of parents -- specifically mothers, our primary customer -- OLLY has attractive, clean and fun retail shops that highlight the best brands, the unique fitting process and our commitment to customer service.
I believe it is critical to have well-trained, knowledgeable staff, given they are the ones fielding questions. Our people in the OLLY stores have to be the heart of the company. We offer special interest group information and updates online and via email, in addition to a membership rewards program offering discounts to customers.
Of course, I’ve encountered MANY bumps along the way—starting and running a growing business has presented numerous challenges. My family has also grown to include four children. However, I’m happy to share tips that helped me along the way:
Never put your work ahead of your children or family. Balance is extremely difficult but critical.
Work with people who share your vision and principles and create an environment where people work towards that vision.
Understand your customer’s needs and wants. Customer insight is vital in order to provide a product or service that’s relevant and will be successful.
Know when to say no. You’ll exhaust yourself, which benefits no-one.
Prior to OLLY, I owned a dayplanner/calendar company, so I firmly believe that being a successful mompreneur requires organization and acute attention to your business and family schedule, whether a Blackberry or traditional calendar. Being a mompreneur means double-duty in terms of family, work deadlines and commitments. We’re all human, so keeping track of what is often an ever evolving schedule daily is the only way you will succeed at both!
It’s been a tremendous amount of work being a mompreneur, but I’m really proud of my family, my business and of my company’s contribution to making mommyhood easier.
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