Math homework? Check. Vocabulary quiz? Done. Make $200? On it. Pulling out his laptop, sophomore Ryder Williams opens eBay and scrolls through the seemingly endless catalog of footwear. 

Like many high school students, Williams works part-time to earn an income while balancing school and sports. Unlike many high school students, Williams works from his phone, adapting a business he began in fifth grade.   

“I started with reselling sports cards. I enjoyed sports cards; every time I wanted [them], I wouldn’t have enough money to buy more, so I would start selling [old ones] to get more cards. I started getting into [the] shoe [reselling business] from one of my friends, and I figured out that there’s more money to be made in shoes than sports cards,” Williams said. 

Williams finds potential buyers and sellers in both his personal life, but also utilizes the internet, primarily eBay. eBay allows him to connect with over 18 million active sellers on the platform.  

“I [spend] usually three to four hours just sitting on eBay seeing what deals I [can] get. People will message me about shoes. I’ll give [sellers] a [price, and] if they don’t like it, then they won’t sell to me. I always have someone that will buy the shoe from me, so it’s not [a concern] for me to get rid of the shoe,” Williams said. 

While primarily self-taught, Williams recognizes the importance of taking the required Personal Finance course. Williams completed the course during the fall semester in his sophomore year and was taught by business teacher Andy Croley. 

“This course is designed to cover several major topics: financial planning, budgeting, banking, credit, taxes, insurance and investing. Every topic pertains to real-life situations,” Croley said. 

Williams’ success has allowed him to form a relationship with established local businesses. This collaboration has allowed him to gain a mentor while simultaneously expanding his selling platform to include an in-person selling experience at the store Opulence. 

“I talk to the owner of Opulence, so I’m close with him. [It’s] nice that I have someone that will always buy [shoes] from me. I send him a message, he’ll give me a number and we will negotiate from there. The negotiation process is simple. I have a price I want to sell for, and whoever I’m negotiating with has a price they want to buy it for, or the other way around. But we talk out our numbers and I figure out what I can [afford] to make [a profit],” Williams said. 

Not only has Williams’ entrepreneurship allowed him to meet and form relationships with adult mentors, Williams prides himself in forming positive relationships with sellers.

“[Once] you sell a shoe to me, that [builds] a connection. [A seller is] able to come back and sell shoes to me. I’m not the person who wants [maximum] profit from one shoe, so I give the people I sell to the best price I can. If I can sell a [pair of] shoe[s] now and make $50 profit instead of waiting a week and selling [them] for $70 profit, I’d do the $50. This helps me have less [physical] inventory and makes it quicker for me to get money. I’m [still] making money but the people who buy from me get a better price,” Williams said.