The Shoe Shine Guys

COVER STORY

THE SHOE SHINE GUYS

JANET EARLY WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED, BACK IN 2010, WHEN HER husband, John, came home and told her he was done with his 25-year career in the financialservices industry. He had just put in his notice. “Sitting at a meeting one day in my corporate job, it was like a light went off. I just knew I was done,” says John. Even more concerning, he didn’t have a new career plan in place. “I asked him what he thought he’d do next and he said ‘I don’t know, maybe I’ll shine shoes,’” says Janet. “So I said to him, ‘as long as you are praying about it, and you think that is the direction in which we should go, then we will be fine.’”

Shoe-shining is not exactly what most people think of when they think of lucrative careers, but John had been contemplating a model that could make it a very profitable business. “I’d actually been thinking about starting a shoe-shine business for a really long time. Quite a few years earlier, my younger brother had gone around shining shoes in offices to make a few extra bucks. I kept thinking about how I could take it to the next level,” says John.

Take it to the next level, he did. Just four months after giving his corporate notice, John launched The Shoe Shine Guys, a mobile franchise that brings shoe-shining, shoe-repair and leather restoration services to corporate offices. “I bought a truck, found some customers, and started shining shoes,” he says.

Talk about convenience: Corporate employees work in their offices while John’s crew comes in, collects and shines shoes, then delivers them back the same day. John’s corporate sales and marketing background helped him grow the business right out of the gate, and he quickly landed major accounts like Merrill Lynch and Ford Motor Company.

“It wasn’t a hard sell. It’s a win-win for these companies. Human-resource staffs love it. We are adding value to their benefits package, and it costs them nothing,” says John. “We provide convenience for their employees.”

The Shoe Shine Guys set a regular day to come to a job site. “We walk right into the office, collect shoes, and shine them out in the van. It’s the ultimate in convenience. People hand us shoes right off their feet. They don’t even need to leave their desks. In other offices, a closet or basket is set up in the lobby. They know we are coming. We send an email reminder the day before. On a typical day, we might shine about 40 to 50 pairs of shoes,” John says.

Another revenue stream is shoe repair and restoration. “This is a very profitable part of the business. We get our franchisees set up with vendors and outsource this service. While we are on-site shining shoes, our customers will bring in shoes and purses that need to be fixed. We collect them, repair them, and bring them back within two weeks. Most of our customers are extremely busy professionals. It’s one less errand for them. They are grateful for the service,” John says. “We also do corporate events and even weddings. In those cases, we charge a flat fee and set up a booth. People love it. It’s kind of a novelty.”

Now offering franchise opportunities, John wants to award territories to a particular type of professional. “Our ideal franchisee is a real people-person, who wants to be an owner- operator and very involved in the business. They have to like people. We’re all about customer service and building relationships.” Training is two weeks and includes one week in Michigan and another on site at the franchisee’s location. “We come out and teach how to set up the business and build a customer base.”

John was so happy with his career changes, he started writing a daily blog about it. A publisher took notice of his writing and asked him to create a book. “I never did anything like that before, but I decided to go for it. Writing it all down was very cathartic,” he says. The book, 10 Bits of Wisdom From The Shoe Shine Guy: A Transformed Life, (https://www.amazon.com/Bits-Wisdom-Shoe-Shine-Guy/dp/1943092370) describes how the financial-services industry prepared him for business. John talks about his transformation and the impact it had on his life and the lives of those around him—especially his wife and kids.

Community service has alway been important to the Early family, and they use the business as a vehicle to help others. “We collect used shoes and donate them to charities worldwide. It’s an easy way to make a difference,” says John.

As for John, he has no regrets about leaving his corporate job. “It was the best thing I ever did. At some point you realize that there is more to life than climbing the corporate ladder,” says John. “You have to enjoy what you’re doing and be able to spend quality time with family. This business allows you to do that.”

For more information, visit http://theshoeshineguys.com/how-it-works

By Jill Abrahamsen