A Sideline in Sneakers
When Wilson Lohrer graduates from 秋葵视频 in May, he鈥檒l have a B.S. degree in Business Management and Leadership — and lots of practical work experience to go along with it.
The experience derives from an ecommerce business started by Lohrer, who hails from the Charlotte, N.C. suburb of Mint Hill, and Jacob Solis, his high school friend. They buy new and used sneakers and resell them at a profit on Instagram and Facebook. Their business, called , claims over 6,300 followers and more than $100k in sales. It began in 2019, just before the COVID 19 pandemic which became a net positive for people launching an ecommerce business.
鈥淓verybody was at home,鈥� Lohrer said. 鈥淭here was really not much you could do other than buy stuff online. We were able to take advantage of that.鈥�
Mint Hill Hype owes its post-pandemic staying power to several factors. One is a low-cost business model: 鈥淲e feel that we can give the customer what they need through an Instagram and Facebook page,鈥� Lohrer said. 鈥淏rick and mortar is so expensive nowadays. If we had a storefront, especially in Charlotte or Mint Hill, the overhead costs of that would really diminish our current profits.鈥�
Another factor working in Mint Hill Hype鈥檚 favor is that Lohrer gladly works business activities into a busy schedule that also includes classes, studying, and on Pfeiffer鈥檚 baseball team.
鈥淚 never really sit down,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 like to be doing stuff. I like my mind to be busy. I like to really compete, whether that be in business or baseball.鈥�
When Lohrer isn鈥檛 on Pfeiffer鈥檚 campus in Misenheimer, N.C., he鈥檚 often at home in Mint Hill, where there鈥檚 a basement full of sneakers he鈥檒l package up and send to customers. Some of these sneakers are used, having been unloaded by customers who want cash immediately for them, rather than trying their luck on sites such as Ebay.
The new shoes in the mix are often 鈥渆xclusive鈥� in the sense that they鈥檙e limited in number and tend to fly off the shelves in stores at malls. For example, 50 people might line up early at a mall on Saturday morning to buy an exclusive Jordan 5 Black Metallic sneaker, which might retail for $210. The store at the mall has only 30 pairs, leaving 20 people willing to pay an additional $50 or more for a pair. If Lohrer can be one of the 30 people who buys a pair at the mall, he鈥檒l turn around and sell it at a profit.
Lohrer sees himself maintaining Mint Hill Hype as a sideline while he pursues work in other areas; he is considering starting a business where he can 鈥渂uy and sell things at a larger scale.鈥�
In the meantime, he鈥檒l do all he can to build on his current success. This will mean embracing a trial-and-error strategy. For example, he and Solis used to favor posting permanent pictures and videos of the sneakers they were trying to sell on their Instagram鈥檚 鈥淧age鈥� or main profile. They found that views and sales dramatically increased when they started posting more content on their Instagram鈥檚 鈥淪tory鈥� board, where a photo or video disappears 24 hours after it鈥檚 posted.
鈥淚nstagram Stories became really popular about a year or two ago,鈥� Lohrer said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to ride that wave.鈥�
Lohrer will also apply what he鈥檚 learning in his Business Management and Leadership classes to what he does at Mint Hill Hype. He said that a class on advertising taught him 鈥渄ifferent ways of advertising correctly.鈥� He鈥檚 currently taking a class on social media marketing, which he鈥檚 also finding quite beneficial, even though he knows 鈥渁 good bit鈥� about it already. (Pfeiffer recently added a Strategic Communication and Social Media major.)
鈥淚 have learned a lot from my shoe business, such as how to run an online store, how to manage inventory, and how to sell things,鈥� he said. 鈥淪till, there鈥檚 always a lot more to learn, and my business degree from Pfeiffer has helped me to do that.鈥�
Dr. Raushan Gross 鈥�09, program director of Pfeiffer’s Business Management and Leadership program, applauded Lohrer鈥檚 efforts.
鈥淲ilson is energetic, curious, and fun; he wants to know how the world works,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is no surprise to me that he owns his own business before graduating from college. Our goal is to help prepare him – and every student – for even bigger success. We want to nurture that entrepreneurial spirit and help students graduate with the skills they need to be leaders in business, whether they choose to own their own or not.鈥�
This article was written for 秋葵视频 by Ken Keuffel.