Shoe repair shop

Local commuters, office workers, people with good quality shoes and boots, and the occasional business or uniform wearer.

A fixed price per repair, from quick heel tips to full resoles. Extra services like key cutting or bag repairs add steady walk-in income.

• Hands-on repair work with leather and rubber
• Using stitching and finishing machines
• Customer service and quoting jobs
• Patience and attention to detail

• Public liability insurance and cover for customers' items left in your care
• Check your lease terms, council signage and fit-out requirements
• Check workplace safety rules for glues, solvents and machine guarding in your state
• Slow early weeks while you build a regular customer base, so plan some cash buffer
• Check rules if you add key cutting or other extras

Startup costs are typically around $15,000 to $60,000, depending on premises fit-out, machines and stock. Monthly revenue is estimated at around $4,000 to $18,000. Expect slow early weeks while you build regular customers, so plan a cash buffer.

Check public liability insurance and cover for customers' items left in your care. Also check your lease terms, council signage and fit-out requirements, workplace safety rules for glues, solvents and machine guarding in your state, and rules for any extras like key cutting.

You need hands-on repair work with leather and rubber, confidence using stitching and finishing machines, customer service, quoting and patience with detail. The estimate is typically at least around 35 hours a week.