{"id":103676,"date":"2024-03-27T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dexxter.be\/klantenverhaal\/the-idea-to-open-my-own-childrens-shoe-store-came-to-me-during-my-first-real-holiday-job\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T16:36:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T15:36:31","slug":"the-idea-to-open-my-own-childrens-shoe-store-came-to-me-during-my-first-real-holiday-job","status":"publish","type":"klantenverhalen","link":"https:\/\/dexxter.be\/en\/customer-story\/the-idea-to-open-my-own-childrens-shoe-store-came-to-me-during-my-first-real-holiday-job\/","title":{"rendered":"The idea to open my own children\u2019s shoe store came to me during my first real holiday job"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cSince August 2022, I\u2019ve been selling stylish, high-quality children\u2019s shoes from brands like Ocra, Naturino, Angulus, and Blundstone, and I prioritize personal service. A lovely extra at LOU is that the kids can have fun here too: a photo booth, stepping stones, a drawing mirror\u2026 it\u2019s all here. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

The idea to open my own children\u2019s shoe store came to me during my first real holiday job at a children\u2019s shoe store. I\u2019ve always really enjoyed helping the kids find their favorite pair of shoes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

When I was selected for the BAAS program in Leuven to receive further personalized guidance, I decided to take the plunge and go all in. The BAAS program is a project of the City of Leuven that supports young people between the ages of 18 and 28 in developing their own (business) ideas.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n

A sole proprietorship with challenges<\/span><\/h2>\n\n

\u201cMy journey has gone pretty much according to plan so far, although there have been a few challenges. For example, you constantly have to figure things out on your own, experiment, and keep trying to launch fun, new initiatives\u2014think of a cool collaboration or a small event.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

LOU as an established brand<\/span><\/h2>\n\n

\u201cMy goal? For LOU to truly become an established brand in Leuven. I hope that when people are looking for children\u2019s shoes, they\u2019ll think of LOU right away. I also want to further professionalize all internal processes and systems, such as the customer management system, sales tracking, and inventory management.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Advice for starting entrepreneurs<\/span><\/h2>\n\n

\u201cMy advice to other starting entrepreneurs: surround yourself with the right people! Whether it\u2019s writing your business plan, your marketing, or your communications\u2026 You can\u2019t do everything on your own. I also recommend not incurring huge expenses right away. For example, I kept my store\u2019s decor fairly simple and didn\u2019t invest in expensive furniture or decorations from the start. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

As for accounting, I tried doing everything myself for a while. I also filed my VAT declarations myself, but that caused me a bit too much stress. Until I discovered Dexxter! I\u2019m very happy with it. A major advantage is that Dexxter is much cheaper than an accountant. I run a sole proprietorship in secondary occupation, so Dexxter is truly perfect for me. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

My final tip is definitely to do market research. I didn\u2019t do enough market research myself, so it wasn\u2019t until after my first season that I really discovered what my customers are looking for.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSince August 2022, I\u2019ve been selling stylish, high-quality children\u2019s shoes from brands like Ocra, Naturino, Angulus, and Blundstone, and I prioritize personal service. A lovely extra at LOU is that the kids can have fun here too: a photo booth, stepping stones, a drawing mirror\u2026 it\u2019s all here. The idea to open my own children\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":102861,"template":"","categorieen":[141],"class_list":["post-103676","klantenverhalen","type-klantenverhalen","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorieen-secondary-occupation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dexxter.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/klantenverhalen\/103676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dexxter.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/klantenverhalen"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dexxter.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/klantenverhalen"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dexxter.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dexxter.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categorieen","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dexxter.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categorieen?post=103676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}