Step-by-step with Little Penguin Shoes – Shoes with “Sole”
By Christopher Miller
MILL HALL – A “cobbler,” as a job, is someone who mends shoes. Carleigh Johnson is at the forefront of the shoe and footwear spectrum: she designs them.
“I struggled to find cute, affordable shoes for my son when he was born so I decided to run with this idea after talking through it with my husband,” said Carleigh Johnson, owner of Little Penguin Shoes. I have an MBA from Bloomsburg and I have always had an interest in entrepreneurial activity.”
Little Penguin Shoes is the idea and brainchild of Carleigh and her solemate Jeremy Johnson of Mill Hall. “When I was pregnant, my husband and I bought a onesie prior to knowing the sex of our child, and it had a cute litte penguin on it so we nicknamed our son “little penguin” and we just ran with it as a business name…it’s our spirit animal now,” Carleigh explained.
Little Penguin Shoes has a sole (get it?) focus on fun shoes, creative designs, creative colors and a personality.
“My shoes make kids smile and parents happy,” Carleigh said. “I hear it all the time that they are very comfortable, functional, and that they look good.”
All of the designs for shoes are custom-made. “We have an in-house designer and we come up with all of our own prints,” Carleigh explained. “The whole family helps come up with design ideas because we want to appeal to everyone.”
Little Penguin Shoes tends to release 2 new shoes every week online. “I try to always have a boy and girl option, or unisex prints…I can always find cute girls stuff but not so much cute boys stuff,” Carleigh said. “Size-wise, I carry size 6 months to a kid size 3 (8-9 years old), occasionally newborn to 6 months, and also on occasion adult sizes.”
Like many small businesses, Carleigh and Jeremy struggle the most with reaching new clients. “I struggle to get more brand recognition and reach new clients, so many people do not know much about me and the business,” Carleigh explained. “I love the ability I have to work online and at my own pace and leisure, it works very well – I have shipped to all 50 states and internationally even throughout the pandemic with more people shopping online now than ever.”
A limited selection of Little Penguin shoes are carried locally by the children’s boutique Darling and Dapper in downtown Lock Haven. Though they do not physically carry everything, Carleigh takes care to ship anything customers cannot find in-person.
“I haven’t had many problems with the supply chain issues; I work with a great family-run manufacturing business overseas, and of course I had to pay extra in shipping and associated costs, but I plan at least 6 months ahead with my designs,” Carleigh explained.
In Carleigh’s business-mind it may already be Summer, but she is always looking into the future and trying to forecast continued growth.
“I am looking at ideas to expand my brand and it has only helped that my husband was fortunate enough to be able to recently leave his full-time job to come work with me full-time,” Carleigh said.
So what is the secret to the business’ success? “Recognizing a need and having that determination to do better than everyone else while keeping customer service my number 1 priority,” Carleigh explained. “I make sure my customers are happy while I sell a great product at an affordable price at the same time.”
“I love to hear the stories from my customers…they reach out to me telling me that their child was very shy and timid, but when they wear their shoes they are bright and fun, and that the shoes help to build confidence,” said Carleigh. “I also like to sell special shoes that help raise awareness, such as a special line for Childhood Heart Disease.”
Little Penguin Shoes
https://www.littlepenguinshoes.com/
LittlePenguinShoes@gmail.com
570-660-1962
Facebook: @littlepenguinshoes
Facebook VIP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/146268299659695
Instagram: littlepenguinshoes
