We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David Hobart. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.
Hi David, thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
To be successful, I believe it takes a lot of heart, thinking out of the box, and, most importantly, some craziness. What I mean by that is you have to love what you’re doing because when you truly love what you are doing, you’ll do it when things are going great, and you’ll do it when they’re not. Then, you have to train yourself to think out of the box because not every decision you make will be the right one the first time. So you will need to figure out how to fix it the best way you can. A story about Simply Sneakers, when I had to think outside the box, is when I first started; I thought all these sneakers that were dropping were going to make me all this money, and they turned out to drop in price significantly, so I held them for a couple of years to the point where I just couldn’t anymore and now to this day I have slowly started working on each shoe that has been sitting and made them into customs making them 1 of 1’s or 1 of 2’s to bring their value up to make money off of. This way I can move the inventory and put that money into other things rather than waiting who knows how long for them to make me a couple of bucks. Then, what I think makes a person successful is that you have to be a little crazy with anything in life that’s out of the norm because most people don’t get to have careers outside of the norm. So ultimately, they are all going to think you can’t do it, and in most cases, you won’t have anyone believe in you until you show them otherwise, and even then, some still won’t because they will be jealous of what you’ve accomplished. So be your biggest supporter because for a while that’s all you’ll have and if no one thinks you or your ideas are crazy then you aren’t dreaming big enough so dream bigger!
David, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is David Hobart, and I created Simply Sneakers. It may seem like we are just shoes due to the name, but I have created something so much more! I resell high-end sneakers, new and used. What makes us more than other sneaker resellers is that I get to step into my creativity and make custom sneakers, along with doing sneaker photography. I got into this business because, in high school, my life contained school and basketball, so I started reselling a few shoes at a time for gas money. Then Covid hit, and just like everyone else, my life changed forever because, with that time stuck in my home, I created what you see today, where we currently have hundreds of shoes for sale! I think what makes me the most proud of Simply is that I have created something I enjoy doing and made a platform where I can express myself and my abilities. I have big plans to make a difference in our world. I didn’t have one of the easiest upbringings as I was diagnosed with a condition called Hydrocephalus along with dealing with severe anxiety and depression that got to the point where I didn’t want to be here anymore, along with other obstacles I’ve had to deal with in my young life. Now, I want to be that person that I never had in all these areas for the kids and young adults who have come after me. Because it is only right to help people when I don’t have any more of a right to be here as them. Lastly, the one thing I want anyone reading this to know is that Simply Sneakers gives 110% every time on everything I do. I can promise the best quality from every aspect of the business, including the preowned shoes.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was putting money over everything else. That may seem like an odd statement to say as a business owner. But the thing I realized was that as a business, the money will always come one way or another, it may not come in as frequently as you like it to, but it will always come that is the point of a business. The other thing I realized was that the things around your business make you money so instead of thinking “How can I make more money…” change your thinking to things like your customers and your effort towards your products. Make sure you’re giving your customers great products, whether with great quality or great prices, along with a good experience, so they have a reason to return. That’s how you’ll thrive and that’s why I had to unlearn putting money over everything else.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As a business owner, you must be resilient because things don’t always go your way. When I started Simply Sneakers I wasn’t able to get my hands on a lot of high-end sneakers like Jordans so I started with basketball shoes like generic Nikes, Lebrons, etc so when I moved back home to Colorado I bought all the Jordans I could get my hands on and for a while, it was going well but then I went on a long streak where the shoes were selling under what I bought them for. Over the last couple of years, some have gone up in value where I could list them and sell, but a lot still were sitting so instead of waiting more time in 2024 I started customizing them to make them 1 of 1 or 1 of 2 customs to bring them value in other ways. You’re always going to make mistakes and you’re always going to lose money here. There if that’s literal money or money in the value of time like I will be with these customs, but as long as you are winning more than losing, and exhausting your resources when you do make a mistake and make the best of each situation you’ll be fine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.simplysneakers.store/
- Instagram: simplysneakersstore
- Facebook: Simply Sneakers
