Today we’d like to introduce you to TJ Cibulish.
Hi TJ, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
For me, it all started when I was younger. I played basketball my whole life, and that’s where the love of shoes came from. I always wanted to have the shoes of my favorite players. It made me feel like I can play like them on the court.
As I got older, I started collecting shoes and it just grew into something that I saw I can make a little money with by buying a few extra pairs and selling to my friends who couldn’t go wait in line for them. I mostly did that just to build up my own personal collection. I always had a passion for selling things though.
I used to sell my old toys on eBay or even go to garage sales or goodwill to try and find stuff I can flip. What took it to the next level for me is when I got hired at my past job, I would help businesses build their websites and do online marketing. I always thought that having my own business would be impossible before that. I thought I would have to be rich or come from a rich family. But after talking to tons of small business owners every day at work I thought to myself, wow these are just regular people like me. If they can do it so can I.
So, a few weeks later I was walking into work, and on my way in from the parking lot, I saw the owner of the company. We walked in together and we had a simple conversation. That was the moment that really hit me. I thought to myself, two people are walking into the same building, for the same number of hours and one of us is a millionaire and one just gets paid weekly to be there. So, from that moment on I started planning my business and I put in my 2-week notice. It was really out of the blue for me, I just told myself, this is it, no going back. I’m going to make it no matter what it takes.
I put everything in jeopardy, but my wife gave me 110% support and believed in me to make it happen. So, to start the store, I gave up my prized possessions, my whole shoe collection, that took me years to find and build up. After that, I just slowly kept building up the store little by little every day. That’s what grew it into what it is today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say it has been a hard road, with a lot of struggles. When people see a successful business, they don’t understand the hard work that it takes to get to that point. For the first 2 years, I didn’t have any employees. I had to be at the store 7 days a week for 10-12 hours a day. That takes a toll on yourself and your relationships.
But for me, the work isn’t a problem. I love putting in the hard work and seeing the business keep growing. Also, as a small business, it was very difficult to go through the whole Covid-19 thing. The mall that we are in closed down for 3-4 months. But I went back to my roots and to generate extra income I sold some of my personal collection again on eBay.
I also took that time off to build my own app for the store, so it would be more convenient for our customers to shop and look up the inventory we have for sale.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Leveled Up we specialize in selling some of the rarest sought-after shoes.
We mostly deal with brands like Jordan, Yeezy, Nike, & Adidas. We offer buyouts on shoes where if you need some extra cash, we can buy them off you & we do trades as well, where you can bring in a pair of shoes you don’t wear as much and trade them in for a different pair. We also offer consignments where other sellers can bring in their shoes and we can sell them for them.
I would say the thing that sets apart is the atmosphere of the shop. Whether you are really into shoes or not, it is a fun and friendly place to be in. You can come in and talk about shoes or just stop in to check out all the rare and exclusive pairs that we get in.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I wouldn’t say anything in particular. I just always try to focus on myself by listening to or reading motivational things.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.leveledupstore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leveledupstore/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Leveled-Up-Store-242231246506671
- Other: apps.apple.com/us/app/leveled-up/id1512234483
