Today we’d like to introduce you to Giavonna Grimes.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Giavonna Grimes, also well known as Gio. I was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Inglewood, California. I’ve maintained a career in law enforcement over the last 20 years; I have a degree in Culinary Arts and recently obtained my bachelor’s from Purdue University in business administration with the emphasis in hospitality management. I am the founder of my non-profit, socks for Sole, established in 2019.
I am a mother to two boys, a daughter and a sister, and a host of other great things.
I have always seen myself as an entrepreneur working for myself; this was always a go for my life. I decided in 2019 to purchase my first franchise and it was the UPS store, guided by a good friend of mine, who is also a franchisee for a few UPS stores. I thought this was the best road for me at this time. Who knows what the future may have? There may be plenty more stores down my path.
With a lot of hard work and support from the UPS network, family, and friends. I’ve learned so much in my short amount of time doing this.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This has been no easy road, going through the process in the middle of Covid-19 left me with numerous challenges, delayed construction, delayed training, delayed bank meetings, city permit meetings. People including myself were catching covid left and right, I started my process of inquiring about the business and officially started the process August 2020 and officially opened the doors October 2022. It was full of blood-giving lol, sweat, tears, doubt, and, at some point, ready to give up. Wishing I could turn around and back out. Did I think I couldn’t do it; no, it was the thought of “Do I wanna do this now” After a heavy investment for the next 10 years, I’ve sucked it up and pushed forward.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The UPS Store?
We are The UPS store. We provide shipping, printing, notary, mailbox services, and Amazon returns. We provide these services to the community to make it easy. We pride ourselves in our customer service, as that is one of our main focuses when our guest come in.
What makes you happy?
When I make others happy, when I’ve made someone’s day, able to help solve a problem, giving back to those that need it. I’ve been blessed in life. Doing this on my own, not many can walk in my shoes. I never wanna feel ungrateful or unreachable.
Contact Info:
- Website: thestore.com/7531
- Instagram: theupstore7531
