A high school student in Ankeny has built his own six-figure retail business before graduation.
London Schuchart, a senior at Ankeny High School, owns and operates 4th Lane Running out of his home. The company is focused on selling athletic gear, whether retail items at a discount, products that are released online in small qualities or hard-to-find gear issued directly to athletes that otherwise would sit in a closet at the end of a season.
“I’ve always wanted to run a business,” said Schuchart, who got his start in elementary school by selling a neighborhood newspaper to his friends.
The idea for 4th Lane came to Schuchart during his sophomore year, when he was benched with an injury during the cross-country season and had some running gear that was the wrong size.
He couldn’t return it and didn’t want to resell it with an online service that would take a fee. So he decided to do it himself, and he soon heard from others who wanted to sell their stuff through him.
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Born on Instagram, the business now has its own site, and Schuchart has built contacts with professional athletes. He has customers from countries around the world.
In 2019, Schuchart won $500 in a local “Shark Tank”-style contest that helped jumpstart his business and cover some of the costs. That year, he said, he made about $3,000 in sales. The next year, sales grew to about $46,000. Last year, they hit about $146,000.
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Schuchart doesn’t do much advertising and instead builds customers through word-of-mouth, posting products for sale at set times and working the Instagram algorithm.
The business is mostly a solo operation, with its inventory stored in Schuchart’s basement, but he’ll sometimes pay others to help out when he needs an extra pair of hands. He’s off to Central College in Pella after he graduates and will probably have to rent space since there won’t be enough in his dorm room.
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Going forward, Schuchart would like to build a permanent location for his business and maybe even get a formal contact with Nike. He said his parents are on board with his plan and are proud of his success.
“Just go for it,” Schuchart said as advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. “You don’t have to wait for all the right opportunities to be set in place. If it’s a good idea, it’ll grow itself, and it’ll become what it’s meant to be.”
Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.
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