Meet Emanuel Ruiz of DeadstockLA in San Fernando Valley and Granada Hills

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emanuel Ruiz.

Emanuel, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It’s hard to pinpoint where DeadstockLA started but let me talk about the milestones that lead up to its discovery.

Beginning in High School, I always had a taste of “entrepreneurship” without even knowing the meaning behind the word. Collecting, buying, and selling shoes has always been my first real experience in “entrepreneurship” where I got skills in “sales” and “marketing”.

I put these words in quotes because it never felt like I was doing any hard work or tedious task. Shoes were always my favorite hobby and I never knew I was getting experience in traits that were going to help me in my future.

Fast forward to my final semester in college, I remember having a professor in my Business Gateway course that gave us an assignment of creating a product. The assignment was to contact manufacturers, figure out logistics to get the product into the US, and contacting retailers to see if they would be willing to put my product onto their shelves. This is where I was taught the full selling cycle of creating a product and getting it into a consumers hands.

As a fresh college graduate, instead of securing a job at a corporation, I decided to get my real estate license. When I closed my first few deals, I invest that money into that very same college project, DeadstockLA.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely not! There is a huge difference between a college project and actually doing it in real life.

The struggles come in like this:

1. I have to purchase of a minimum of 5,000-10,000 orders at one time (Lots of $$$).

2. I have to find someone to do a logo.

3. I have to find someone that knows about package design.

4. Launching the product.

5. Product Photography.

6. $$$ for Branding and Launching the product.

I am missing other things but you understand the picture.

There is so much uncertainty and that comes with anything you do. I have been lucky enough to network with classmates in college that have helped me along the way. Everyone that has contributed in DeadstockLA was someone I knew from college (logo, packaging, photos, etc).

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the DeadstockLA story. Tell us more about the business.
DeadstockLA is a line of shoe care/cleaner products that are dedicated to making your shoes look brand new!

We have several products that range from Shoe Cleaner solution, different brushes, deodorant and repellent sprays, wipes, and much more products that are launching.

We specialize in the Sneakerhead niche and it relates back to my High School days where I was scared to wear my shoes because of how expensive they are. You want to be confident that even if you get your $200+ shoes dirty, you have products that will take care of it.

DeadstockLA has grown tremendously over the past year and the greatest moments I have is when I get those reviews such as: “My teenage son swears by Deadstock” “Product is great and have awesome customer service”. Those reviews will never get old because every day we seem to meet new people that tell us how they love our product or how it has made cleaning their kid’s shoes so hassle-free.

What really sets us apart from the competition is our trifecta: price, customer service, and attention to detail.

1. Because of our small team, we are able to operate at a margin that allows us to keep our prices lower than our competition.

2. We have a 100% full refund if you are not satisfied with your item (no questions asks).

3. And we cannot stress enough how much we pay attention to the small details. We go back and forth with our manufacture and test on all types of materials to make sure we provide the best products to our customers.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
It’s always about perspective. The more “bad luck” you have, the more prepared you are when “good luck” comes your way.

Everything is a learning experience and just know that everything happens for a reason. If you are willing to make something happen, it will happen. Sounds really cliche but it’s true.

Pricing:

• DeadStockLA 8oz Shoe Cleaning Kit: $17.89
• DeadStockLA Shoe Cleaning Bundle: $27.89
• DeadstockLA Shoe Cleaner Wipes (30 Packaged Wipes): $15.99

Contact Info:

• Website: shopDeadstockLosAngeles.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @deadstock.losangeles
• Other: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?me=A1JMJ4NILX0BKJ&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER

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