One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Toni Hall always had a hard time finding shoes. At 5 feet 6 inches and wearing size 12 footwear, the Washington, D.C., native would often have to go out of her way to find shoes that fit. “I know that this is a struggle for me, and probably for many other women out there,” Hall recalls thinking. “So, I just had this idea that if I had a shop that catered exclusively to us it would be a relief from the normal retail atmosphere.”

However, she didn’t have the money for what she really wanted–to open a retail location at a shopping mall. So Hall, now 28, rented out the front office of an interior design studio in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in April 2010. While the 400-square-foot space may have been affordable, it was a warehouse/office space within an industrial complex that attracted little foot traffic. Customers had no way of finding the store because Hall had virtually no money available for

marketing. “It was a good start because even though that wasn’t the ideal space for us because no one knew where we were, we were able to make a lot of connections just by having the idea in place,” says Hall.

Among those connections was the WNBA. “They had a Media Day photo shoot and we were invited to provide all the shoes for the shoot, so that gave us a foot in the door, no pun intended,” says Hall. “We were able to get in and show off our shoes with these athletic women who are part of our target market.” That exposure caught the attention of the landlord for Lakeforest Mall, which is about 10 minutes away from the office/warehouse complex. Turns out, the landlord’s wife wears a size 10.

That landlord put her in touch with a leasing agent, who in turn recommended that she partner with another tenant to offset some of the rent. She approached one tenant

that seemed to be a good fit–a bra store for women who are generously endowed. “He had a huge space in the mall and he wasn’t using it all. In exchange for me using his store, I wouldn’t have to pay him [rent] but I would just have to act as a bra fitter when I was there at the store.” Things were starting to hum. Until the bra store went out of business, leaving Size 12 without a home.

Hall was frustrated. “I didn’t know what to do. I was just going to give up,” but instead she reached out to Natalie Prather, her best friend since both attended Magruder High School in Rockville. Hall hoped two heads could solve the problem. They contacted the leasing agent again and worked out a deal: Size 12 would operate out of an 800-square-foot unit under a temporary lease for a modest $1,000 per month.

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Perhaps the turning point for

the fledgling venture occurred in April 2011 when Prather and Hall decided to compete in the 100 Urban Entrepreneurs’ 60-Second Business Pitch at Howard University. The duo entered the competition only a week before the event. “Toni and I were up at 4 o’clock in the morning practicing our pitch,” recalls Prather. The two presented more of a skit than a pitch, in which they painted a picture of reactions they hear from women who visit the store.

That skit won over the audience and judges, and the duo won the competition–and the $10,000 and business coaching that come along with it. “We really don’t like it when people pitch in pairs, but these two people were so in sync that you could tell that they really had a partnership that worked,” recalls Magnus Greaves, CEO of TheCASHFLOW, who was a judge for the contest. “Also, they embodied their product. They’re tall women that needed these larger shoes, and they were just great ambassadors for their business and their brand.”

Perhaps just as important, winning the competition landed them valuable exposure: The duo has been featured on CNN, Black America Web, MSNBC, Fox, and NBC. Within a few months, the store generated $27,000 and is expected to finish the year at around $100,000. “We ran out of shoes because the demand got so high,” says the 27-year-old Prather. “So, right now, Toni and I are finding creative ways to keep people knowing about the store and to keep inventory in here.”

The duo hopes to grow the business to the point of having a physical presence in every major city, and are seeking out partnerships with the WNBA, celebrities looking to start a shoe line, as well as designers. Despite past setbacks, Prather is optimistic. “Well, you know, we’re entrepreneurs and we have that go-getter mindset in general, so we were able to adjust and make it happen and just kind of go with it.”