According to Maria Beane, about 75 to 80 percent of people will have some kind of trouble with their feet during their lifetime.
Such information has helped drive Beane to become an evangelist of orthotic footwear and arch supports.
It also helped Beane and her husband Tod to purchase the New Feet Store at 2926 Westminster Ave. in Seal Beach.
“They had been in business since 1997,” Beane said. “We purchased it in 2007 from the previous owners who started it and two other stores.”
Beane said she and her husband were looking for a business opportunity.
“We were looking for something we could be passionate about,” she said.
She had worked previously in human resources doing benefit planning and training for about 20 years.
Her husband was and still is in the information technology field.
She said that once they educated themselves about the business, they knew it was a challenge they wanted to take on. “We spent about three weeks with the previous owner and read a lot of anatomy so that we understand the facts,” she said.
“We follow the medical code of ethics and recommend to many of our customers that they do some research and then come back and let us know what they think,” she said.
Their business is primarily about 70 percent in the orthotic footwear and arch supports and about 30 percent in providing comfort shoes.
Taking the business a step further
Despite the down economy, Beane said business has been good. In fact, the husband and wife team are taking the business to the next level by offering franchise opportunities for others to join the field.
“We called the store New Feet Store and our franchise corporate name is New Feet Global Franchise Inc.,” she said.
Beane said the key to the retail side of their business is educating their customers on what they need to relieve pain and/or enhance the performance of the entire body.
“It’s been a real learning experience,” she said. “So much of our body counts on the positioning of the feet.” The New Feet Store sells four kinds of arch supports that can be worn in dress shoes, work shoes, athletic shoes, walking shoes, boots and sandals.
Meanwhile, the store’s arch supports carry a lifetime warranty.
Overcoming pain without shots or surgery
Beane said she and her husband derive a lot of satisfaction from knowing they are able to help people.
“We’ve had so many customers overcome their foot, leg and back pain through better arch support,” she said.
“We are able to do it without shots, surgery, or medication. Many people feel the change before they even leave the store,” Beane said.
Beane’s products create better comfort, balance, posture and support.
For many people with severe arch problems, Maria and Tod Beane are able to provide them with a new life.
“It’s a natural relief with no medicine or surgery,” Maria Beane said.
“People come in to the store in pain and after we set them up they say they no longer feel they have to go to a therapist because they have found the solution to their problem,” she said.
According to Beane, the proof of what they have accomplished lies in the many positive testimonials from past customers on their Web site: www.newfeetstore.com.
“We actually see people begin to be more balanced right away,” she said. “There is one woman one time who could hardly walk and did so with a wobble back and forth. We got her in shoes and she could suddenly walk straight. So many people like that have told us it’s changed their life.”
Thanks to such success, Beane said about 40 percent of their business is repeat customers and referrals.
“One of the things we really liked about this business is that the previous owner narrowed it down to the products that really work,” she said.
Beane said she thinks the potential to grow the business is obvious.
“We have a growing demographic of people who need these products and then there is our proximity to Leisure World,” she said.
“That is really making a difference in our marketing approach. It’s a matter of getting the word out to the community,” Maria Beane said.
She said she and her husband would take a somewhat conservative approach to growing the franchise end of their business.
“I think we (would) like to grow slowly, with maybe four new stores in the first year and perhaps nine over the next. Our real satisfaction knows we actually help people. We want to enroll other people who care about making a difference,” Beane said.
For more information about the New Feet Store in Seal Beach, call (562) 594-9005.
