Many high school and college students dream of one day owning their own business; maybe a fashion brand, a jewelry brand, etc. But when school, family matters, extracurriculars, and a social life come into play it can be really difficult to imagine starting a big endeavor like a business. His junior year at Adams High School, Gabriel Anderson, my brother and Adams graduate, started the widely recognized shoe reselling brand 574snkrs. Over spring break, I had a conversation with him to hopefully inspire other high school and college students to start up their own businesses. 

Firstly, Gabriel explained the concept of his shoe business.“I buy shoes for a certain price and sell them for more,” he said, laughing, knowing that there are always a lot more questions when that is all he says. The concept of the business seems confusing, but in reality, Gabriel said, “once you understand your business’ niche, a lot of things become clear. I often work with used shoes and I clean them up and take off some flaws that would have subtracted value from them, which then adds that value back on”. Another large aspect of his business includes buying shoes from other resellers or shoe drops. 

“I got the idea to create the business freshman year, and started the business off super small, selling a few pairs here and there with friends. The Covid-19 pandemic gave me all the time in the world to really start reselling though,” said Gabriel. “If Covid hadn’t happened, I definitely wouldn’t have had as much of the free time that I had to start it up. The business probably would have had a much slower start up.” Even though the start of 574snkrs was quite a bit different from the normal start of a business, Gabriel emphasized that his entrepreneurial passion most likely would have caused him to still follow through with everything; “It would have been very different, but I would have gotten around to it because I’ve always had that passion” he exclaimed. 

Gabriel and I talked about the ups and downs of the business. He explained to me all the things he has had to learn through trial and error while starting his business. Although Gabriel‘s business has become very successful, reaching heights he never thought he would reach so fast, each business comes with its own risks which are very important to consider. A few common ones include lost packages, threats of getting scammed, and more. “The one massive issue that I’ve faced, that can be applied to any business, or anything really, is burnout. Sometimes you feel lazy, sometimes you go too hard thinking you’re invincible and can keep making more and more sales, and then eventually you realize it’s too much to handle. As a senior, that was really hard for me,” explained Gabriel. “If I could do things differently, I would give the advice to pace yourself and give yourself breaks. There was a period of time where I was doing 12-16 hour days, and I think all the burnout wasn’t worth it.” Gabriel explained that staying consistent without burning yourself out is the best thing you can do for your business. 

Now Gabriel is attending Villanova University in Philadelphia, and is working in partnership with Dementions at the University Park Mall, consigning inventory for them. The two owners, Dorien and Marky, reached out to Gabriel before their opening weekend, asking if he would help out with the store. Gabriel said that “besides starting the business, the best decision [he] ever made as a business man was working with them, and starting that relationship with Dementions”. Gabriel explained how much he’s learned from working with others through his business, and how inspiring the community he has met is; “Dorien and Marky are awesome and it’s amazing to see how far they’ve come in such a short time!” 

If you’re interested in knowing more about Gabriel’s business, check out his Instagram, @574snkrs.