Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek Curry.
Derek, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2006, I had just got back from Iraq and was finish up my finance degree at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. While completing school, I was working at Finish Line in the mall and realized that there was a huge void in the South for a sneaker boutique. I started researching how to start up a business and in August of 2006 opened the first Politics location in Lafayette, LA. It was a huge shock when I opened the doors and people weren’t standing in line to buy things. haha. I then realized that this wasn’t going to be easy and I would have to do everything in my power to get the word out to gain customers. I would work from 10am until 7pm in the store and before and after work, I would be at the university’s, night clubs, or any events handing out flyers and promoting the store. It took about four years to finally break even and to see the future in making a living off of selling shoes. After that point, I started hiring a team and opening up other locations in cities such as New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Austin, and Dallas. Looking back, it seems to have all happened so fast but during that first four years, it felt like an eternity.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not at all. The first year I was opened, I got a rejection letter from Nike and I thought that was the end of me. The end right? The second year I was running out of money and had to move back in with my parents. At that time, all of my friends had good jobs, was getting married, and having kids. I felt like a total loser. Then something good happens and I would be okay for a month until I would start worrying again. Besides that trying to learn everything about running a business was really tough. I was getting letters from the government saying that my taxes were wrong and I had to pay fines and penalties. The list goes on for days. Haha. Really happy now that I stuck it out and learned everything as I went. It makes it all worth it.
Please tell us about Sneaker Politics.
We are a sneaker and clothing boutique that specializes in rare and extremely collectable sneakers. We get shoes that only 32 stores in the world will get. We have even done collaborations with brands on shoes that no one else in the world will ever get. We just did an LSU themed Nike Air Max 720 in Odell Beckham Jr which we were the only store in the world to get we try to do a few of these exclusive projects with the brands a few times a year and build cool release events to launch the project. The success of these projects has put us on a global stage.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have paid attention more in college so that the first few years of doing all my own accounting wouldn’t have been such a nightmare. Other than that, I don’t have many regrets in life. I find that all of the “My life is over” moments helped make me into the person I am now. As long as you learn and grow from them, you are doing fine.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2822 Main Street Dallas, TX 75226
- Website: www.sneakerpolitics.com
- Phone: 469-206-7825
- Email: contact@sneakerpolitics.com
- Instagram: sneakerpolitics
- Facebook: sneakerpolitics
- Twitter: sneakerpolitics
- Yelp: sneakerpolitics
Image Credit:
Demetri Sheffeld; Dustin Guidry
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