Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina And Brandon Barth
Hi Tina and Brandon, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
For years my husband Brandon and I daydreamed about a business we could start or a way we could create something in our hometown of St. Louis. Both of us had been relatively swallowed up by the day-to-day of working and raising a family but the desire to create and grow something kept our minds and conversations occupied on date nights. We knew whatever we did, we had to first care about it because otherwise it wasn’t worth doing. There was also a heavy draw to something to truly help people and not just be focused on monetary gains of business ownership. Being able to be generous is such a gift and we were sure that whatever we did, we would find a way to be generous to our community. Brandon also serves the community as a doctor in a local Emergency Room so dealing with folks in pain isn’t uncommon for him, outside of his day job he wanted to extend his ability to help people. In 2023 we found Foot Solutions, and we were intrigued. There are a lot of details that go into owning a franchise and even more details that go into making sure we all have comfortable and supportive footwear. Most important to us, Foot Solutions was a way we could truly help people. As athletes our whole lives and parents of young athletes, taking care of your God given body is important. In addition to that, pregnancy was not kind on my feet and I needed to seek podiatry and orthopedic foot wear in order to be comfortable and keep up with all these babies. We are so glad we found a company that is led by some of the kindest and generous hearts! We brought this company to St. Louis to give folks a comprehensive place to address all their foot health needs, affordable custom orthotics, quality foot wear, and even attractive dress or fashionable shoes that fit right in with your lifestyle. Getting people out of pain, and seeing the confidence people have walking in a pair of shoes that provides them reliable support is a gift to us. We hope to have lots of opportunities to serve the community with the gift of comfort! Foot Solutions is also able to be generous to those who serve our area so well, military, doctors, nurses, fire department, police officers are always provided products at a discounted rate and we are growing those networks daily so we can continue to make comfort attainable.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not! “Anything worth doing isn’t easy.” Over a game of pickleball, that I was definitely not winning, our CEO said to me “If you aren’t winning your learning.” We are not winning in the footwear space but we are in fact learning a lot. For a competitive couple, it isn’t easy to lose. We want to beat out the competition and effectively scream from the marketing roof tops that we are the right choice for anyone in foot pain. We want to drive a bus to all the folks playing pickleball, senior homes and walking groups, and haul them to our store so they can see how awesome life can be with a few simple products. However, we are very much still figuring it out! It is hard to get the word out and grow a business. We have so much confidence and hope that the right people will get to know about our business and get the help they need. Helping differentiate our store from the similar concepts will take time, but we know the business is going to help so many people so were buckling up and ready for the lessons.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Foot Solutions is a foot wellness organization that specializes in 3D printed, custom orthotics. At any age, there are common foot problems that can prevent us from living our lives comfortably. Our foot experts are knowledgeable in those areas as well as solutions to get life more comfortable. Instead of waiting weeks/months and paying a fortune, we have foot scanning technology that can create a truly custom, lightweight, orthotic that will be ready in a matter of days. We also provide shoes, socks, over the counter products to take care of all your foot needs. We aim to be a hub of resources for our customers. Wellness in any area is a collaboration of efforts. We are building a network of professionals locally that can help customers from their feet and beyond because we truly care about all the pieces that need to work together to make us healthy. Our most common products are our orthotics and Brooks tennis shoes. We also offer a brand of tennis shoe called Xcelero that is not as easily found, but has tremendous benefits for folks who need more stability in their everyday shoe. We want to tell the community that you could spend thousands of dollars going to specialists and ordering products online that may help, but you could also come to our store and find exactly what you need for an affordable price, even my using HSA money, and have an increase of quality of life today!
What do you like and dislike about the city?
As an STL girl my whole life, I love that our city has so many micro communities. You drive down either 40, 70, or 44 and your every few miles you travel is a whole new community and vibe. I love that whoever you are, there is a place for you in our city. Whether you are creative or athletic, urban or rural you will find a place that suits you in STL. And all those micro communities rally around their STL pride because being from STL can mean so many different things but we all agree it is home.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://footsolutions.com/locations/chesterfield/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chesterfieldfootsolutions
