What, a sixteen year old with his own clothing company? Impossible, you say, but not for me. I founded and currently operate a grassroots clothing company, Concussed Threadz. Concussed is based in the Midwest and focuses on action sports such as snowboarding, wakeboarding and skateboarding. I love these sports and have been involved with them as long as I can remember thus my motivation to create my own company. With the help of my younger brother we design, produce, promote and sell all of our products. Our advertisement is strictly word of mouth and through the sponsorship of riders and events. I also have been responsible for the organization and promotion of local events, demos and clinics. I am very proud of how the company has grown from our first run of twenty t-shirts to our current production line as well as the addition of the group of riders I have on my team.

Concussed is all about making products for riders, from riders. In addition to our slogan, we strive to bring the best possible product to the table while maintaining low prices, along with creative and innovative design. Our goal was to grow and promote Concussed, while aiding in the growth of the local action sports industry and communicating awareness of its growth. Day to day operations consist of many things including; customer support through e-mail, management of our website, e-sales, talking with the riders and getting their feedback on products, artwork and design, the production and printing of products, planning and promoting events, communication with dealers, sales and distribution of products. I basically run the whole operation with the help of my family and friends.

After weeks of brainstorming and with positive encouragement from my friends, Concussed was born. We wanted to support something that was not so corporate or main stream, and we wanted to wear something of our own. Initially, I went to the Chamber of Commerce to pick up a packet of information about starting a small business. After sorting through the paperwork, I found the information that applied to me. I applied for a tax identification number through which I collect and file sales tax returns as well as receive sales tax exemptions. I obtained a business license and filed my business name at the county courthouse. Next I began to open accounts with wholesale clothing distributors and placed orders for blank shirts. My business partner, at the time, and I, then worked on some designs and our image on the computer. After we had some designs we liked, we budgeted what it would cost to put out our first line of shirts. From there, I wrote out a business plan, which I now revise every year. Finally it was time to market our name and at that time I was just finishing our website. I made business cards and had stickers made with our new designs. From then on it was all word of mouth. We posted flyers and handed out stickers everywhere, even some places my parents did not appreciate--specifically my mom's car windows. We also tried to have a presence at every snowboarding or wakeboarding event within decent distance, to talk to people, get them out to our website and to get everyone excited about what we were all about.

We started out with a very small budget. I borrowed money from a couple of my friends, put money in myself, and we all agreed on a contract for re-payment once Concussed's capital account had been built to a workable amount. At first, we were sacrificing some quality for better costs. My then business partner made our first line for us a bit under the table at the print shop where he worked. I did not like how this felt and is the one part of all my operations that I truly regret, but I admit I was bitten by the money bug and learned a valuable lesson from it. Then, we moved into the garage of a local Motocross shop owner and used his makeshift printing equipment. At this point, we were operating at practically zero labor costs thanks to the shop owner. After we put out our second full line of products using the second hand equipment in the garage, I came to learn the extra costs were worth the quality. I was not pleased with the way the shirts looked. I also was in conflict with my business partner after I learned he was trying to make a quick buck. He was actually making money off me behind my back, so I cut all ties with him and repaid his loan. At the time, it was a very tough decision, because he had all the production and design knowledge. To this day, it was one of the better decisions I have made, and I learned a great deal about myself and the importance of my character and reputation. It was also a very valuable lesson about trust and loyalty.

At this point I discovered that my younger brother was not simply a pest that I had to drive everywhere but actually a very talented artist. He stepped up to the challenge and now produces the best artwork we have ever had. I now had to find a new place to contract our print jobs or find a way to purchase my own equipment. With college costs looming, I decided to find a local print shop. Over the last two years I have established and maintained a strong relationship with the shop where we now print all of our jobs. The owner and her co-workers, all women, have a similar story. They found something they enjoyed doing, filled a need and fit it around their busy schedules. The owner of the shop taught my brother and I how to run the equipment and now allows us to come in and use their equipment free of charge in return for our labor and assistance on some of their other jobs. After working to cultivate this business relationship with the "ladies of OVS", I have again realized the value of honesty, trust and kindness, as well as, not being afraid to work hard to achieve your goals. My current business arrangement is much more satisfying and financially beneficial than having a partner printing under the table or producing lower quality merchandise on sub-par equipment.

After about six months in business, we decided to attend our first promotional event. We decided to attend an Open House at Paoli Peaks, a ski resort about two hours away. We set up our first booth during their event and did not sell one thing. The total experience was a fourteen-hour day with weeks of preparation and to not sell anything was a little disheartening. I kept my head up though, and I now have riders from Paoli on the Concussed team and a pretty solid customer base out of Paoli, just from meeting us last year and staying in contact with one another. Last winter, we helped sponsor a snowboard contest series that ran throughout the Midwest, and my team riders helped with judging and organization at our local competition. This summer, I organized and put on a wakeboard clinic for local riders. I solicited local businesses for donations of food and gas money and our local lake community agreed to host the event. There were about thirty kids from three different states that registered and participated in the event that was designed to handle only about twenty kids. I pulled riders from my team to take care of the instruction and others helped take care of the boats, registration, catering and clean-up. Concussed has also been one of the sponsors of Midwest Militia for two years, a Midwest wakeboarding group that puts on events throughout the season. The company had the chance to road trip to Illinois for their annual Boot Camp wakeboard event this year. The positive response we received there from the hundreds attending was amazing. Here I am, an eighteen year old kid, with adults approaching me and my riders, telling us how pumped they are on our new line or offering us rides behind their boats. I had no idea how many people knew about us just from a few guys spreading the word and the products we had given away in previous years. Our booth this time was a huge success, and we sold out of most of the products we had on hand. Sales have continued to grow at each event we set up at and through online ordering from our website.

While I have been forced to compete with larger corporate companies, Concussed has managed to garner a supportive customer base from the local community and throughout the Midwest. I have had to overcome criticism, financial limitations and other problems that arise from owning a small business. Many people would question us on what made us different from other larger companies and claimed we were just kids out to make a quick buck. As time has told, Concussed was not a trend, and we were not out simply to make money. Concussed is one of the most affordable companies in the industry. The Midwest is beginning to recognize our name more and more and we feel accepted by a larger base of athletes and groups. I have had many trial and error situations which have taught valuable lessons in response to these challenges. I have cut an unscrupulous business partner, trusted the wrong people, learned how to determine which groups and events are worth supporting and what to do when you run out of money. It has truly been a great learning experience from the start and luckily my parents have been supportive and let me learn from my mistakes instead of stepping in and trying to fix them for me.

This company, an achievement which I can not really call a job, has been a very rewarding experience for me. I look forward to using my college experience to not only enhance my business knowledge but also to apply what I learn to expand my fledgling company to my life's work. I am doing what I love, and I deal with athletes in the sports I love. Without the support from my family, friends and customers I would not have made it this far. I have grown immensely through this business and have learned a great deal from working with adults ten to twenty years older than myself. I have gathered invaluable knowledge and experience from dealing with these generous adults and the business world. My character and self awareness has been greatly affected throughout the process of gaining respect from other companies and customers. I've learned how important it is to keep calling people back and to stay in contact and follow up with the right people. With my limited budget, Concussed has been nothing short of a dream come true for me. I plan to use these experiences and my college education to expand this company. I value the many experiences and opportunities given to me through owning a small clothing business in the industry I love, and I believe they will give me a solid base from which to build with my continued business education.