Heroes in Business - Richard Moore, President & CEO of The Good Feet Store goodfeet.com

Episode Date: March 7, 2025

Tune in as Richard Moore, President & CEO of The Good Feet Store which has over $200M total revenue, 200 stores globally, and offers franchising opportunities, as he was interviewed by David Cogan, founder of Eliances community.  

Welcome back to alliances heroes where heroes in business align to be part of our super community and find out more about alliances visit Www.alliances.com That's right. And again, welcome back. We're so excited Always something going on on the alliances hero show and make sure you stay tuned for future episodes because we have the ceo Planet fitness coming on. Now make sure you go to alliances.com that's E-L-I-A-N-C-S.com to check out past episodes because as you know it's the only place where entrepreneurs align. All right we're going to

talk about feet. It's your feet and we want to make sure you have goodfeet. With that we have Richard Moore. He is the CEO of the Goodfeet store franchising and locations all over the country. You can reach him at goodfeet.com. So Richard, welcome to the show and let's get right into it is you know you guys have had explosive growth. You're I mean you know well over now 200 stores, revenue going great. Why is it that many people that have like that score of feet or trying to talk to us about what's been going on with the environment? David, first, thanks so much for having me join today. And I want to start out with just letting you know, everybody deserves good feet. So we are here for every single person, whether young or old or somewhere in between. We are confident that our system

of products that include arch supports as well as compression socks and sleeves are perfect for each and every person, no matter their activity level and no matter their age. Tell us what it feels like with some of these things who people who haven't experienced before may not even be so familiar with arches or certainly I wanna talk to is give us a preview of what's going on with compression socks. Definitely.

So our main product is a system of arch supports that realign and support your foot in its proper position so that then your knees, your hip, and your back can be in its proper position whether you are walking, running, whether you are babysitting, no matter what you're doing on the job or at home, those arch supports are really critical to support your gate, support your foundation, number one. And also our compression socks and sleeves add to that by supporting every part of your body that needs that compression. So really, if you're in some pain or if you are very active, no matter your activity level, we have products that support

your active lifestyle. And how long have you been the CEO of this company? Well, we purchased the company in early 2020. Actually, partnered with the previous owner and bought it right then. And we have grown substantially even through COVID. And a reminder, we are brick and mortar. You come to see us. We actually provide you a free fitting and test walk, no obligation. We will walk through the products.

We will let you try them in your shoes, walk around the store here. You will feel the difference before you make a decision whether to purchase or not. And we're just growing really fast trying to bring these family of products to as many people as possible. The secret is our franchisees. The secret is that we are locally owned and operated. The owners of the Goodfeet store live, work, pray in your neighborhoods, in your communities. They are part of the fabric of your community

and they are our critical partners. That is the way I believe to grow a business the best way. Now, how do I know that I may need your product? Right, I mean, you mentioned something in regards to back, I mean, you mentioned something in regards to back, I mean, like if I'm starting to feel back problems and I think it's my back, could it actually be my feet? Like how does one-

Definitely, definitely could. So first and foremost, a lot of folks come to us in some sort of pain or in some sort of inability to do what they wanna do. Now we know that that is a lot of our customers who come to us first and foremost for that. So you may have lower back pain, but that could stem from the way you're walking. It could be from the way you're standing.

I pronate, naturally pronate in, and I have a lot of knee and hip pain and also some lower back pain. I try to stay active. I play flag football. And when I play flag football, I am of no use for the next day or two normally. But when I was introduced to the Goodfeet store and put those arch supports in, did that free fitting and test walk, it changed everything for me. I'm able to properly stand. And so my knees and my hips are in their proper alignment. My lower back is fit and sturdy with my gait,

as well as I'm able to play football. And I wouldn't necessarily say I play any better, but I definitely don't hurt as much after. But again, I wanna say, this is not just for those in pain. These, everyone really needs an arch support to support the way that you live, to support the activities that you want to be a part of and your active lifestyle.

Yeah, what about too is, how about proper posture also too? Does that help with the right arches in place? It does. One of the things that we will provide when you come into our store is a balance test. And what we'll do is we'll have you stand and we'll put some little bit of pressure on your hands

at the front and in the back. And you'll be amazed at how quickly that posture goes and how quickly you lose your balance. But then with the arch supports underneath your feet, you'll see that your balance is much more secure. You are much more stable. The stability lends your ability to have the right posture, to be able to stand appropriately and put the pressure

where it belongs on your feet and not moving it around a little bit might lean in one way or be off a bit. That then leads to misalignment of your feet, your ankles, your knees, your hips, all the way up the chain and it's very important that we get the foundation right. And if you think about it logically, just for a moment, every shoe is made the same way, just length is different. Well our feet are different. God made us very, very different so why should we all be wearing the exact same shoe model?

We shouldn't be. We should have designed perfectly for your foot arch supports and that's what we can provide. And Richard, though, I think that a lot most people just don't know that you that this even exists, that there's another type of thing they fit, you know, let me try on all the different shoes, whichever one fits comfortably. That's the one I'm going to buy. They don't realize that there's another type of thing they fit. Let me try on all the different shoes, whichever one fits comfortably, that's the one I'm gonna buy. They don't realize that there's the modifications that you can do. So let's talk a little bit more about that too,

is someone who may not be familiar, is there a certain type of shoe that they should start off with, then to go to your place? In other words, does your product work better with some shoes than with others? Well, I'll say most importantly, the product works in all of your shoes. We have an ability to even, if you are wearing high heel shoes, we have an ability to put a product in your shoe that is not

visible that can help with your gait, it can help with your pain, it can help you walk in those high heels. So we are very much, hey, you bring your shoes in, we will get you the right product that helps you. And I want to say one other point about it that I think that's very, very important. For someone like me, I didn't know that the Goodfeet store existed. I thought that I either had to buy those things at CVS or Walgreens that just, you know, they don't work work or I had to buy something cheap online, we know they don't work or I had to go to the podiatrist or some other group and get these clunky type products that they didn't work for me. And so I was very fortunate to find the Good

Feet store and to find a product that can measure my arch length and fit me appropriately, not just for the size of my arch, but for the activities that I want to experience in life. And I think that's where we're very different. We're not like those throwaway products that you buy and they may add a little cushion for a few minutes and they might help for a while, but they don't provide the long-term stability needed. And so I think that's the more important piece. But don't, no matter the shoe, we can help you. Does everybody need this? Like is this something, you know, I mean, because again, like you said, the shoes are just, they're manufactured as is for everyone. I mean, like, is there a certain percent of population or studies that you've done that says X amount actually need this? Well, what we found is no matter who comes to us,

and a lot of times folks will come to us and say, hey, I'm bringing my mom. My mom's in some pain and I wanna help her out. And when we're sitting down, we're like, hey, we'll fit you as well. And they're like, well, I don't know if I need it. And we're like, well, let's fit you. Let's have a test walk.

You're here with your mom. It doesn't take any extra time. What we find is that those people are like, wow, I didn't know I needed these. I didn't know I stand differently. I walk differently. And we'll have people come to us and say, hey, I knew my friend at church told me about these

and I don't have pain, but I wanna run a 5k or I want to run a marathon or I'm a grandparent and I want to stay. I just want to run around with my grandkids or with me, my kids. So we find that it benefits most every person that has come to us and we believe it's a strong strong strong product for them. This is excellent. Again, Richard Morey, CEO of The Good Feed, strong, strong product for them. This is excellent. Again, Richard Mori, CEO of The Good Feed, can be reached at goodfeed.com. Now Richard, there's a lot of franchise systems out there. There's a lot of various franchises that are out there.

What are some of the key things that we've got people right now that may have franchises, ones that are looking to start a franchise. But share us some of that secret sauce that has really made you guys so successful with explosive growth. Well, number one is share a passion, share a belief. Our franchisees believe as we do that this product is an amazing product that needs to be in the hands of more and more people across this country and world. So number one, that we share a belief in the product and it's almost as if it's a passion for us. Number two, is a good franchisor and franchisee is one that is in partnership. It is one where you work together collaboratively to build the best system. Not so much that one group

has the right answer and is telling the other group, but that it is a true collaboration. And I think the third piece is understanding that the best franchisee has an ability to put his or her imprint on their independently owned business and so that it's not too dictatorial, right? From the franchisor perspective. So if you're becoming a franchisee and you're looking to be a franchisee, look for those things.

Make sure you believe in the product. Make sure you and your franchisor can work collaboratively together. And make sure that there's some space for you to put your imprint on the business because that is what you are. You're an entrepreneur. You believe in it. You don't want to just get told what to do all the time. You want to be in a system that puts it together. Right. Now, are there different

types of inserts if I'm doing running versus walking versus that type of stuff? Right. So, we have a three-step system primarily that has a strengthener in it, and it will realign your foot in the proper position, and it'll help strengthen your foot. You most likely wouldn't wear that one during running, but you would wear that for a certain amount of time each day. Some folks with significant plantar fasciitis tell us that they really like that product on a sustained basis, but you would need that as a proper alignment fitting. And then the maintainer, a different, a number of family of different products

within our maintainer line would be the one that I'm currently wearing today. I've got my workout shoes on, my running shoes, and I would run in those. I would do my exercise in those and also just run around with my kids in those. And then the third one that we would say is part of the overall system that you would need

is a relaxer. And it would go in your house shoe, your slipper, and it would be something that would be really important for you to keep a bit of support, even as you're walking around the house. Now, within those three, we have a wide range of choices that have very different strengths, very different durabilities, very different thicknesses, very different thinnesses in

terms of a thin line. We have some with leather covering for your dress shoes. We have others that are more perfect for playing golf per se or in types of swing or different types of foot movements. So we have many hundreds of different types. So what we would do, you would come in the store and you would tell us about your life. You would tell us about your activities and from there we will tailor the system to fit you. Now, Richard, we've got time for about one more question. I think this is important too. No question about it. You've got passion. we've got time for about one more question, or I think this is important too.

No question about it, you've got passion. You've got passion for what you do. How do we instill that passion into young adults, young children that are out there to really find what it is and be so energetic and healthy like you? I mean, you look great and just passionate about what you're doing.

It comes out, it comes out. How do we instill that into the young ones? You know, I think it's living out your faith and it's living out who you are. For me personally, it's living out my faith in a way that is genuine and honest, loving and kind. I think a lot of our kids today see the vitriol, they see the hate, they see the judgment,

they see the anger. And what I try to do with my four young kids is show them the love and show them the passion. And I might disagree, David, with you on 20 things, but I'm going to find one thing we agree on and I'm going to focus on that and we're going to build a relationship. And over time, we're going to find that that one thing we agree on is actually many more times greater than the 20. And we might also find that the 20 things that we disagreed on might just wash away over time. Now, mine is a faith-based system, but it's not hard to do that with no matter other people's face or journeys as long as they're open to having that

kind of relationship. Well said. Well, Richard, your company helps people feel better and go farther. That's a hero, Richard Moore. So you know where you're gonna go after this episode? Make sure you go to Goodfeet. That's right, Goodfeet.com. Congratulations on the continuous success and make sure you check out Goodfeet. This has been David Kogan with the Alliance's Hero Show. Richard, I've got to dance with me too. You know, that's part of it.