We were lucky to catch up with Nicholas Mitchell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Nicholas thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
I’ve thought about this topic on multiple occasions throughout my journey as an entrepreneur. Ownership is a concept that is very important to me and something I hope to past down to future generations of my family. I can definitely say that I’m happier as a business owner than working a regular job. With that being said, I can’t deny the lessons and skills I’ve learned in Corporate America as well. Each have their own list of pros and cons that could be argued are better than the other, but one of the main differences that I’ve found when it comes to entrepreneurs and business owners is the passion they have for what they’re doing. This is not to say that people who work regular jobs aren’t passionate about their positions, but there is certain level of passion you must have to be a business owner. Owning a business is filled with amazing highs and unexpected lows. As the owner you deal with every aspect of the businesses success and failures, not to the mention the trials of living your daily life. This inconsistency comes with with an uncomfortableness that is not meant for everyone and can bleed over into other aspects of your life like finances, relationships, or social life. I’ve experienced the impact of all of these aspects and I admit they’re challenging to deal with mentally. There have been many times that I’ve thought about stopping or taking a break from entrepreneurship, but I honestly love what I do. In those moments where you feel like it’s too much, the foundation you built based off the passion you have for your business brings you back. It brings me joy to know that I’m producing something from the beginning and building my vision of what it can be. From there I take it one step at a time until my vision becomes a reality, but the journey to get there makes me just as happy as what I plan to achieve.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Nicholas Mitchell and I would consider myself a serial entrepreneur. I graduated from Lagrange College in 2015 with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Entrepreneurship. Currently I own and operate three businesses, Fresh Kickz Market, Plumtree Investments, and Lot 44. Fresh Kickz Market is a sneaker trade show event that I started in 2019. We have done 4 events and we have a 5th event that will be held in Seattle, WA on November 20th. Plumtree Investments is my commercial trucking business where I’m an owner operator of an 18-wheel truck that is contracted out to a transportation company. Lot 44 is my car rental business that I run through rental apps like Turo and HyreCar. Since I was a kid I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of owning a business. In Middle School I had a candy business and in High School I had my own t-shirt business. So you can say running my own business one day was what I was made for and that spirit has stuck with me my entire life. My passion for sneakers goes hand in hand with entrepreneurship and that’s where Fresh Kickz Market was born. For years I attended sneaker trade shows like SneakerCon and SneakerExit until one day it dawned on me that I should start my own event. Me and one of my best friends sat down and brainstormed about what we wanted our event to represent in the sneaker community and that vision was the foundation for what we have today. The amount of time and effort that goes into producing an event is very underrated. I think most people believe that it’s an easy process but I can assure you that it takes all you have in you to create a successful event. To put it in perspective, my team and I normally plan 3-5months ahead for an event that may last 4-5 hours. Setup, equipment, vendors, tickets, schedule and more are all aspects that go into planning a successful event. But one of my greatest joys is the time I get to reflect after an event. Knowing that you achieved what you have planned for so long feels like hitting the game winning shot in the championship game. As you can tell being an athlete plays heavily into my mindset as an entrepreneur. My competitiveness is unmatched and I give 100% to see any project I have through. My ambition, resilience, and competitiveness sparked my interest into branching out. I love researching and gaining knowledge on how to create new streams of income and I make sure I surround myself with like minded people as well. From there the opportunities to jump into other industries presented itself. Plumtree Investments and Lot 44 are testaments to that. I noticed a friend that I used to work with’s success in the trucking industry and decided to learn from him to start my own company. Within a year I was able to purchase my own truck, hire a driver, and retain a contract from a transportation company. I recently hit the year mark with that business and I am very proud to continue my journey to making it a success. Lot 44 is the newest of the three and it has had its hurdles, but I am still in the process of building my fleet of rental cars. I have one car that I run through the ride share apps and my goal is to own at least 4 by the end of the year. I have been through a lot of ups and downs with these two businesses. The two biggest hurdles are maintenance and finding reliable drivers. I’ve learned many lessons through running each of them and I think moving into the second year there will most definitely be more success to come. I’m most proud of my resiliency through this journey. Some of the stories I could tell you would make it seem like I have the worst luck in the world, but that’s a part of it. One thing that can’t be option for you is to quit. No matter what comes your way, you have to have determination to keep going. I’m blessed to say that God has given me that mindset for a reason and I’m going utilize it to the best of my ability.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I’ve always told my friends that my motivational speech after I make it is going to be awesome! The reason I say this is because the experiences I’ve had has an entrepreneur would have you think I had the worst luck in the world, I’ve had to remain resilient and determined to push through. Where I’ve found my most resilient moments is in the trucking and car rental businesses. After acquiring my truck and my car I had my mind made up that I would build these businesses so that they are automated and I can scale up in a short period of time. My first lesson was learning that in entrepreneurship nothing is built in a short period of time. Your journey to success takes patience and discipline. After purchasing my first commercial truck I was doing the paperwork to get it on the road and was told that the title would be given to me within a couple weeks. It had to be shipped from IL to ATL. Weeks turned into months and before I knew it I was paying the lease for a truck that could not make any money for me until I received the title which had been lost in the companie’s system. I bought the truck in September 2021. It did not do its first run until January 2022. Yes, this was a major hurdle I had to overcome and I was very frustrated in the process. I was burning through the startup money and I had nothing to show for it. Not only was I paying for this but I also owned a home that I had to pay for as well. In that moment I had to stay resilient and buckle down and manage my money properly to continue operating my business. That’s not where the story ends. Within the year that I’ve had my truck I’ve had 6 drivers. If you know the trucking industry then you know having good driver is key. My relationship with all of my drivers has always been great but external situations have plagued my business to this point. Having that much turnover can wear on you over time, but once again that resiliency is important if you want to realize success. The last thing I would mention is the maintenance. As you can imagine maintenance on these vehicles is not cheap. From flat tires to a new clutch to getting damaged while parked in the trucking lot, trust me I’ve experienced a lot. Not only does it take effort to get it fixed but the more time your truck is getting fixed the more money you miss out on. All of these things add up to key learning experiences that I will take with me as I continue to move forward in this business and other businesses I decide to do. Without my resiliency none of this is possible. I’ve become accustomed to being comfortable in the uncomfortable and that’s where I plan to find my success!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The most important lesson I had to learn is not all debt is bad. Naturally in the black community we are taught that all debt is bad debt. We aren’t taught the importance of leveraging credit. This is one of the most difficult lessons to unlearn because acquiring debt naturally makes you uncomfortable if you haven’t been taught the advantages and how to use it. Money management has been a big area of focus for me. When starting a business, I strongly recommend that you first build a solid foundation. Make sure you take all the necessary steps to make your business legitimate so that you can take advantage of offers that will help you scale your business. That scale most likely won’t come from the sales or the process you have initially. It will come from the consistency you have and what you can show in order to get business credit for your business. This is an area I failed at when starting my business and I had to start from scratch when I finally understood the importance of what it could do for me. This summer I took time to re-evaluate everything I was doing and start to build the correct foundation under it so that I can start to scale.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.freshkickzmarket.store
- Instagram: @freshkickzmarket