A Great Cause is Behind See Kai Run

Babe Ruth said, “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” Fear is the reason why some people never realize their full potential. Following a dream takes a leap of faith. When Cause Haun first became a mom, she was dismayed in her search for flexible, stylish shoes for her one-year-old son, Kai. At the time, she noticed that children’s footwear started out as soft-soled booties prewalkers and then jumped to stiff, inflexible, thick shoes, with seemingly no middle ground. Cause clearly saw a need for functional and fashionable children’s shoes.

While traveling with her husband Gang Chen in China, Cause spotted urban, flexible children’s’ shoes. These were the type of footwear she had been unsuccessful finding in the States. Cause’s next move started her on a journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur with her own footwear brand. She purchased several pairs of the shoes to bring back with her, and sold them at consignment shops.

The response was incredible; the stores quickly sold out and the owners wanted more. So Cause journeyed back to China and luck was on her side, as she was able to connect with a manufacturer who was willing to work with her on a minimum order of 2,000 pairs of shoes. In November 2004, See Kai Run was born in small steps, with a $10,000 investment and a hope for giant strides to come.

In a few months, the growing business was becoming much more than a hobby for Cause. She needed to make a tough choice, and quit her part-time job as the director of a childcare program. Cause understood she could not continue doing both jobs, because juggling the two did not allow her to give either her best effort.

She soon realized she had made the right decision, when eight out of ten boutiques signed on to sell the shoes. Soon enough, a sales rep from a major children’s line wanted to rep her shoes. Nordstrom then asked to preview See Kai Run’s footwear line. See Kai Run’s footwear reached another milestone when they were awarded the American Podiatric Medical Association’s prestigious seal of approval for meeting stringent standards for foot health and functionality.

See Kai Run is constantly evolving and expanding. In 2008 they introduced Smaller, a line of footwear for the tiniest feet that was made with the quality and style of its bigger counterpart, but with the unstructured softness of a bootie. See Kai Run and Smaller uppers are made from buttery-soft leather with breathable leather lining. Only quality materials are used to ensure the soft, flexible, comfortable shoes that are ideal for children’s feet.

In 2011, See Kai Run grew once again with the introduction of its own line of organic socks. The brand’s latest addition answers the call of parents asking for larger sizes for post-toddler and school-age children. The new Kai collection has the signature styling they are famous for, but with the right amount of sturdiness and durability to keep up with older kids on the go.

See Kai Run Helps Needy Children Through Soles4Soles and Miracle Feet

Since their beginning, See Kai Run has been actively involved in giving back to others. They are committed to helping children on a local, national and global level. See Kai Run gives its customers gratitude for making this giving possible. The company believes that every child deserves a pair of shoes. It is with that belief that they endeavor to help the youngest among us obtain this basic necessity. Their continuing partnership with Soles4Souls has enabled them to help supply tens of thousands of children around the world with needed footwear.

The global efforts of Soles4Souls, the international charity dedicated to providing footwear to disadvantaged people around the world, target orphanages throughout Central and South America, Europe and Africa. In addition, the Soles4Souls team has used the gift of shoes in the relief efforts for the 2004 Asian tsunami, hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and recent Haitian and Chilean earthquakes. Since its founding in 2004, Soles4Souls has distributed over 8 million pairs of shoes to children and adults worldwide.

See Kai Run also contributes proceeds from online t-shirt sales to Miracle Feet, a nonprofit organization created to deliver simple, affordable and effective treatment to children born with clubfoot in developing countries. See Kai Run continues to partner with schools, co-ops and other non-profit organizations serving children to help them in their fundraising efforts.

The First Steps Should Follow a Need

Cause’s journey from a mom on a quest to find comfortable, hip shoes for her toddler son, has taken her full circle. From the early beginnings marketing to local consignment shops, to now working with retailers worldwide, it has been nothing short of incredible considering she never set out to become a shoe designer or fashion line owner. Everything just flowed from the idea she had that there was a need for outdoor flexible-soled shoes for her son. It took courage to follow her passion even though she had no background in footwear or design.

Cause advises other moms with dreams of designing and running their own kid’s fashion line to make sure they are offering something fresh to the marketplace and that it is something they feel passionately about. Without passion behind the idea, it won’t be worth the hard work it will take to make it successful. She also believes that while following a business plan, one should never let anyone tell them it is too hard to do or that they don’t know enough about it. She learned from experience, that you can learn most anything you need to know.

She urges those with a dream to have fun and try their best to have their family’s full support behind them. Cause’s husband Gang was with her every step of the way and working together in this business has led them to make some amazing discoveries about one another. Her business goals for the future are to continue to provide healthy footwear for children that parents are excited to purchase and kids are excited to wear. It is important that See Kai Run shoes will always be a good value and good fun!

For more information, visit www.seekairun.com