Maintaining a Business at a Young Age

Maintaining a business is difficult, but it is easier when it’s your passion.

Daniel Lopez is a sneaker reseller based in the Bay Area. He was a high school student when he started his page during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic hindered his ability to look for a job, but he had extra free time from not being in school physically.

He took to his passion for sneakers to make money. Lopez researched what shoes typically make money based on their availability and condition.

After being inspired by sneaker influencers he followed on social media, he began his journey as a reseller.

Within just one year, Lopez’s resell Instagram gained nearly 1000 followers.

“I didn’t know where it was going to go. I didn’t think of anything just try and keep buying and selling,” Lopez said. “I remember starting off, I was only at 70 followers for a good month or so. But after that it just spiked up like right now, I am well over 900 followers, about to hit 1000 followers. Probably today I will hit 1000.”

His cousin, Jesse Aguirre, looks to him as a business partner. Aguirre also started a sneaker reselling business roughly the same time as Lopez.

“I kind of took him under my wing a little bit in the sneaker game,” Aguirre said. “He wanted to learn a little bit of not only shoes but how to sell and how to pretty much put himself out there to create a nice page. He’s kind of like my business partner at this point.”

Aguirre still can’t wrap his head around the age of his business partner.

“Honestly, it’s so crazy for me to think he is still in high school because you kind of have to have a grown mindset in order to do this, to begin with, but in that perspective, it’s so nice to be able to do that. Like a side job but not having to clock in or take up an immense amount of hours from your day working a regular job,” Aguirre said.

Whether you are just a fan of the sneaker culture or are looking to build a business for a passion. Lopez says if you are interested in doing something similar, you should “take this route and try it.”