Meet Looped Laces!
Founded by two sneakerheads and fashion enthusiasts who have a keen eye for high-quality and unique style. They share a love for shoes and have always appreciated the excitement that comes with unboxing a limited edition pair or wearing a fresh new set to school. Their story is one of many among sneakerheads, but they found a way to put a personal twist on their collection, and in this article, they share tips on how to do the same.
As a way for Purpose CPA to show support for small local businesses, Looped Laces was selected as the winner of our Purpose Coaching Grant recently. With that, we wanted to interview Looped Laces!
Tell us a little bit about your business
Looped Laces started as a passion project between two sneakerheads who love collecting, wearing, and styling shoes. As the co-founders, we noticed that while many sneakers, including our own, were sought after, creatively designed and really popular, the laces in them lacked the same calibre of quality and construction. To make matters worse, Canadians had very few sources to get replacement laces, let alone high qualities ones within Canada.
We spent over 6 months working with many different manufacturers, reviewing countless samples and perfecting our shoelaces so that we could have the best quality and most appealing colour selection. The ultimate goal was for sneaker lovers like ourselves to feel good swapping their laces, whether to change up the look of their shoe or just replace their old worn ones.
We especially kept Canadians in mind by providing free shipping across Canada so there’s no need for customers to pay for fluctuating exchange rates and cross-border duties.
To what do you attribute your success?
The sneaker industry is growing every year, however the shoelace industry within it is still very niche but people who care about their shoes and laces are very passionate. Much of our success comes from the support of our returning customers and our excited retail partners who share our love and vision of being able to provide premium laces to everyone around us.
We’re also very fortunate to be in the age of technology, social media and online retail. Looped Laces was built from the ground up without any external investors, giant marketing budget, or extra resources but we have learned to navigate the e-commerce world with a lot of DIY, determination, and passion.
What would it be if you had one piece of advice for someone just starting in a similar position as you were in when you started?
Prepare, execute, and pivot. The inception of Looped Laces started with a “what if we…” conversation which turned into over half a year of planning and preparation. This means a ton of research, not being afraid to ask questions, and keeping our vision in mind about what we wanted to produce. And then just going for it! Finally, be ready to pivot every day because having a business and building a brand means that you will inevitably come across some tough hurdles and it’s up to you to either jump over them, run around them or find a new direction.
Tell us about any programs or resources that you are aware of and whether or not they will be helpful to you to overcome challenges.
We use Shopify for our online store and couldn’t be happier with the platform and the resources available directly through them (virtual seminars, FAQ articles, chat support). They make it extremely user-friendly for someone who is just starting and have a lot with a lot of “plug and play” options.
For our bookkeeping, we use Wave Accounting which has a completely free option for those who just need basic data entry to track expenses and revenues. Having a firm like Purpose CPA to consult with has been incredibly valuable, for help with accounting fundamentals but also business strategy planning.
Lastly, we also network with a lot of other small business owners to exchange ideas, mistakes, and triumphs. Being connected to other likeminded entrepreneurs is an incredible resource because we get share and learn from each other.
