Interview w/ Sean Kelly of Jersey Champs
Part of Hip Hop is the apparel and fashion and apparel in Hip Hop is a way of life. We were contacted by CEO of Jersey Champs, Sean Kelly about his fly ass company that specializes in jersey’s. Not just basic jersey’s, but jersey’s of all types.
We are all about entrepreneurship here at Hip Hop News Uncensored, so when we got the chance to interview the CEO of this company, we jumped at the opportunity. We hope you enjoy this brief interview with Sean, of Jersey Champs.
They’ve taken social entrepreneurship to new levels. After you read the interview, you’ll understand. But as of date, the company has raised more the $5,000 in the name of XXXTentacion with 100% of the proceeds to be donated to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
What led you into entrepreneurship?
I’ve loved selling my whole life and I’ve always been sort of a computer nerd. It was just meant to be. What really inspired was seeing all my friends that worked 9-5 jobs complain constantly and seem miserable with their lifestyle. I knew that sort of life wasn’t for me and I’ve never worked for someone else before.
Was it always something that you knew you wanted to be, an entrepreneur on your own or did you stumble into it?
Yeah, entrepreneurship is something I have admired ever since I was a kid. My biggest role models are all entrepreneurs. I like leading and feeling in control, rather then being told what to do. My brain operates in 1000 different directions and being my own boss certainly helps me control what I put my focus on.
Tell me about your background, how did you first get started with your business?
I was a freshman in college when I first started and I put up 100 jerseys for preorder on my crappy website. Somehow I sold out within a week and just went full on from there. I sometimes question why my early supporters bought jerseys from me on my sketchy WordPress site, but I sincerely thank them for helping me get the inspiration to get started.
What was your first big break?
When Harambe the Gorilla died, we created a Harambe jersey and it went absolutely viral. Appearing on Google News, Barstool Sports, ESPN and many other major outlets. In terms of the music world, our first big break was when 2 Chainz reached out to us and ordered over 500 jerseys to sell on his website.
Who were some of the mentors or leaders that you’ve met along the way? How would you say they helped your business?
I’ve had my fair share of online mentors that inspired me such as Gary Vaynerchuk, Ezra Firestone, Ryan Deiss, Ben Malol, Abdullah Osama, Steve Tan and many others. As far as in person mentors, Nick Filchy, owner of Banger Buddy provided me valuable insight into growing my business using Instagram.
What are the last 5 books you’ve read?
- Crushing It – Gary Vaynerchuk
- Art of War – Sun Tzu
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
- Four Hour Work Week – Tim Ferriss
- Management Secrets – Warren Buffet
Who is your main target audience and how do you reach them?
According to Google Analytics, our main age range of our customers is ages 18-24. We reach them via social media marketing as millennial simply are on there 24/7. Our Instagram has over one million followers and generates a large amount of our traffic. We also spend thousands of dollars per day on Facebook Ads.
What piece of advice would you recommend to other would be entrepreneurs that are wanting to break into the industry?
Hard work is not enough to make it in the entrepreneurial world. You need a strong team, great work ethic and you need to take risks.
Where can people contact you?
Feel free to DM me on my personal Instagram
There you have it fam. You can check out some of the nice shit they have on their website, Jerseychamps.com.
For more Hip Hop Business and Editorials, check out our website, Hip Hop News Uncensored.
