If there’s one thing people love, it’s shoes. The sneaker business is a billion-dollar industry. Of course, adult entrepreneurs make up the majority of business owners in this sector.
But more and more children are becoming enthusiastic about what the buying and selling of shoes have to offer and for good reason.
Before we offer safe selling tips, let’s explore what collecting and reselling sneakers can teach children about entrepreneurship.
Buying and Selling Sneakers Teaches Kids About Entrepreneurship
A Junior Achievement USA survey revealed that “3 in 5 American teens (60%) would be more interested in starting their own business than having a traditional job.”
Of course, entrepreneurship has risks, but your children can learn a lot through it, especially if they’re considering the sneaker-buying and selling business.
For example, buying and selling shoes provides an excellent financial education. It can teach your child how to use budgeting apps that inspire healthy spending, saving, and investing habits. In addition, they can learn how to separate business and personal finances.
Starting a sneaker business teaches your child the importance of mindset as well. It takes dedication to persist through the ups and downs of business ownership, a quality vital to your child’s success in life generally. Kids can grasp commitment through this business.
Buying and selling sneakers can inspire creativity, innovation, and passion too. All in all, sneaker culture has a lot to offer a child. If your kid is interested in collecting and reselling sneakers, there are some general best practices to adopt.
Safe Selling Practices to Get You Started
When your child immerses themself in sneaker culture and decides to try their hand at buying and selling shoes, you must be fully involved in the journey.
Start with these safe selling practices to ensure your child gets off on the right foot.
Educate Yourself
Educating yourself is one of the most critical steps to take as your child embraces sneaker culture. You don’t have to become a sneakerhead. However, you do need to be educated in what it takes to buy and sell sneakers efficiently.
Dig into the market and where the big money is. Analyze the mindset of successful resellers and dive into their tips for beginners. And take a closer look at finances and the behind-the-scenes responsibilities.
Educate yourself so you can be a more reliable resource and source of support in your child’s quest to buy and sell shoes successfully.
Consider the Risks
As lucrative as buying and selling sneakers can be, it’s also risky. For example, shoe values often fluctuate, so choosing the right times to sell can be challenging.
In addition, there are a lot of scammers in the sneaker culture waiting to get their hands on a naive kid’s money. Discuss scams and other business risks with your child before diving into buying and selling sneakers.
You and your child can analyze and manage business risks associated with buying and reselling sneakers by doing the following:
- Ask yourselves, “What issues could result from buying and selling sneakers?”
- Analyze what you’re spending on shoes, which shoes are making the most money, and which aren’t.
- Study any reviews or complaints you’ve received from customers if you already made some sales.
- Brainstorm ways to avoid common risks and document what you’ll do if specific scenarios play out.
It’s also beneficial to have your child work with someone more knowledgeable about the industry, that way, you can ensure they’ve done their due diligence on as many risks as possible.
When you assist your child in weighing the risks, they won’t take on too much from the start.
Don’t Take On Too Much Initially
Your child will probably want to buy anything and everything they can because they’re so enthusiastic about making a name for themself in the buying and reselling culture. However, they shouldn’t take on too much initially.
Let’s say your child buys a few expensive pairs of sneakers that don’t end up selling as they thought. It could disrupt your kid’s finances and deflate their excitement as soon as they begin. So, start with something manageable, even if it’s one pair of sneakers.
Help your child set a budget for their first purchase. Ensure you review the potential profit for each pair of shoes your child is considering. And when you go to make a purchase, do it from a reputable source.
Buy From Reputable Sources & Sell On Legit Platforms
You can buy shoes from almost anywhere and anyone. As fruitful as having many avenues for buying and selling is, it can also be dangerous. From scams to scary people, bad experiences in this industry are out there.
So, only buying from reputable sources and selling on legit platforms and to real people is critical. Sit down with your child and research reputable shoe sellers. Reach out to them and build authentic relationships with the ones you connect with.
Once your child has sneakers to sell, be sure they’re doing it on a legit platform for shoe resellers. Also, whether you sell in person or online, be sure you’ve done enough to ensure the people you sell to are safe to engage with.
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Sneaker culture has established itself as one of the most lucrative worldwide. As more and more children become interested in the world of buying and selling shoes, they can learn a lot about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.
If your child is interested in collecting, buying, and reselling sneakers, follow the safe selling practices above.
