Shoe repair

About the business

Stitching shoes, fitting soles and polishing is one of the lowest-capital trades on this site. A wooden box, needle and thread, glue, a rasp and polish - people have run households on that for decades. No shop is needed: you can sit at a junction, in a bazaar, even on a launch. But the income is small and uncertain, and there is no point hiding it. Bindu Rishi, who has sat at Zindabazar in Sylhet for twenty-five years, said in 2022 that he charges Tk 30 for a polish, takes Tk 400 to Tk 500 on an average day, occasionally a thousand, and spends Tk 120 to Tk 150 a day on food and other costs. Babul Hossain, who has worked the Barishal-Dhaka launches for four decades, said in 2026 that some days bring Tk 700 and on others Tk 200 to Tk 300 does not even come in. Bindu Rishi said one thing that explains the trade's future: people who care about their shoes now buy good polish and do it themselves rather than pay for it. So those who survive do not live on polishing - they stitch, replace soles, and take in bags and belts as well.

Unit economics

What you need to start

• A wooden box, heavy needles and thread, leather glue, a rasp, a hammer, a knife, brushes and polish. Babul Hossain's entire workplace is a small box, which doubles as his pillow at night.Equipment
• Soles, heels, leather offcuts, zips, laces and polish in several colours. Little stock is needed, since what is required is available in the nearby market.Starting stock
• Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality. Most who sit on the footpath with a box never take one, but it is needed once you take a shop space: form Tk 10, book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000, issued in 3-5 working days.Licence
• Stitching leather, setting a sole and changing a heel. Bindu Rishi has run a household on these skills for twenty-five years and Babul Hossain for four decades.Skill
• No fixed shop is needed. A junction, the front of a shopping centre, a bus stand or a launch deck - anywhere people move.Workspace

How the work is done

1. 1Learn the work. Stitching, fitting a sole and replacing a heel are learned skills, and there is more money in them than in polishing.
2. 2Choose the spot: a junction, outside a shopping centre, an office area, a bus stand or a launch terminal - wherever people walk past and think about their shoes.
3. 3Move with the day as Bindu Rishi does: he sits at the junction in the morning, shifts in front of the shopping centre at midday, and stays till eight or nine at night.
4. 4Get the kit together: a wooden box, heavy needles and thread, leather glue, a rasp, a hammer, a knife, polish and brushes.
5. 5Do not lean on polishing. Bindu Rishi says it himself: people who care about their shoes now buy good polish and do it at home - so stitching and soling are the real mainstay.
6. 6Take in bags, belts, sandals and school-bag zips as well. The same tools do the job and the customer base widens.
7. 7Sit in the same place every day. In this trade people know the spot and the face; move and the old customers cannot find you.
8. 8Write down the day's takings and costs. Bindu Rishi spends Tk 120-150 a day on food and other costs; without that record you cannot tell which day actually paid.
9. 9When there is no work, try a different route. On days without earnings Babul Hossain takes the morning launch from Barishal towards Bhola and returns on the Dhaka launch in the evening.

Sources

• সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ

  Collected: 16 Sept 2026

  Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ

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