The following story was written by Leo Amend as part of the Journalism Foundations first semester exam. These are the first profiles these students have written. 

It’s 2020 and everybody is isolating in their homes to avoid a deadly virus. The situation feel hopeless and desolate, but for one Las Vegas ten year old, the Covid-19 pandemic brought to light a new business opportunity.

Over the course of the past four years, freshman Andrew Aviles has been collecting and reselling sneakers with his older cousin.

“I needed money and [my cousin] was already doing it so he was like, ‘We can split the profit and it’ll be a good way for you to learn [how to] do business with people,” Aviles said.

While the Coronavirus hit a lot of businesses hard, the pandemic proved a great place for Aviles’ to start.

“When Covid hit everything spiked up in price and this one shoe came out and it was only 200 because no one really wanted it,” Aviles said. “Everybody was focused on clothes and [I sold shoes] for a lot more [that year], like 500 [dollars] but I let my cousin keep like 400 of it.”

Since then, Aviles has made $2-3k from hisbusiness. For him however, it isn’t just about the money, but rather the act of managing a business itself.

“I started from [some money] then I just keep [growing my earnings] then after like a year I wanna start selling something bigger than sneakers,” Aviles said, “For example airpods or [iPhones].”

He is also dedicated to the people he sells the shoes to – prioritizing the well being of some of his customers over making a large profit.

“In 8th grade I was trying to sell shoes to a sixth grader for $400 but I felt bad because he was little so I sold it to him for $100 and I lost $300 profit,” Aviles said.

The world of sales also comes with its own complications. Aviles conducts all of his sales online through Facebook and Instagram before meeting up with people in person to deliver the shoes.

“[The hardest part is] finding legit people because some people would ask for the price and never reply back,” Aviles said.

Though the world of sales comes with its struggles, it can also be very rewarding when things go right. Aviles’ biggest sale was a pair of Jordan 4 Retro Metallic Purples that he sold for $1,138.

“I bought them when they first came out for $300 and I didn’t really care about them that much so I left them in my closet,” Aviles said. “I noticed that they went up in price so I ended up selling them.”

While money is a huge upside to his business, Aviles has also benefited from being a part of it in a way much more valuable.

“It helped me mentally to find something to be passionate about,” Aviles said. “It makes me feel like I have a purpose.”