Nicole Jones loved shoes. It was only natural that she go into the shoe business. Her company, Pillars of Slippers, included a brick-and-mortar retail store, a website and, her favorite, home shoe parties (picture a more-fun, fancier, hipper Tupperware party). For a home party, Nicole would roll up in her pink SUV, roll out her pink carpet and dance her way into the living rooms, giving the guests champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. Center stage were the shoes: comfortable, affordable, fabulous, ultra-fashionable shoes.
Nicole wanted to change her business model. The retail store had turned into a money pit. She wanted to go into wholesaling the shoes and franchising her business. For $100,000, she would provide a pink SUV and the wrapping, a pink laptop, and an inventory of shoes, bags and accessories—everything a woman would need for a successful Pillars of Slippers business.
That’s where she lost the sharks. Her business was not successful enough that anyone would or should give her $100,000 for a franchise.
Nicole was a hit with viewers. Her website had 12,000 hits after her episode aired, her sales increased and she acquired new clients. She closed the retail store, traded the flashy SUV for a more practical car (as Robert suggested), and continued to sell her shoes for several years. Her website is gone now, and her Facebook page was last updated in 2016. Last we heard, Nicole is a successful motivational speaker and author, hosting monthly seminars on the empowerment of women. She started a non-profit, PUMPS (Providing U Motivation to Pursue Success) to bolster the self-esteem of teenage girls. She still keeps an eye out for a business that needs her flamboyant approach.
Pillars of Slippers is no longer in business.
