Self made. It’s a label that comes with a lot of assumptions. but also a lot of respect. In 2018, Forbes listed Kylie Jenner as the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. Without going off into a tangent, many people feel that calling her “self made” isn’t entirely accurate. But for Zac Sheaffer of Zamage Clothing, the self made label is not only entirely appropriate, but very much earned.
Zac always knew he wanted to get into business. He began his intuitive entrepreneurial skills at a young age. At twelve, he was selling candy before class during school. He sold mixed tapes as a teenager, and then he started working at places like McDonald’s until he was fifteen. But Zac didn’t want to just get into any sort of business – he wanted to break into the clothing and fashion sector.
He kept at school while still working, dedicating himself to his education while also still saving up money to work towards his dream. Zac says, “as soon as I graduated high school at twenty years old, I opened up a 500 square-foot spot all of my own. It cost me around $1,000 to rent. I opened with my homemade counter displays, and I would drive to Philadelphia once a week to pick up white T-shirts, which at the time was very popular. We also sold cell phone accessories, and DVDs.” With a strong sense of persistence, Zac wanted his business to team up with New Era Cap Co. He called them every single month, and a year out finally partnered with them.
This brought new opportunities to the store, bringing in more customers and making the store more respected with the brands they were then offering: New Era MLB, NBA, NFL, & NHL Hats. In just two short years, Zac had managed to create such a successful business that he purchased a 5,000 sq. foot space, filling it with new merchandise such as Rocawear, Miskeen, Enyce, Akademiks, Timberland, Converse. Even though this was in 2008, Zac managed to come out of the recession. Zac says that this was perhaps the most difficult time of his career, and at times he wasn’t sure if he would make it. He did nearly lose it all, but by focusing on the needs of his customers and his employees, Zac pushed through and launched the Zamages Clothing online store in 2012. It was also during this time that he really pushed Zamage’s IG presence. He says that these two things significantly changed Zamage – for the better.
Today, Zac continues to stay ahead of the curve. He attends national and international business conventions to know what’s going on in the business world, and he even created a highly successful marketing strategy by advertising on ThisIs50.com with the approval of G-Unit Records. Now, Zac’s Zamage Clothing includes its own manufactured brand – ZCL – which ships worldwide. The online presence stepped up Zamage’s game. skyrocketing its amount of customers so much that Zamage outgrew the brick-and-mortar store in the inner-city of Lancaster, PA, making a warehouse necessary. Zac has collaborated with IG accounts to see Zagame’s own account grow to nearly 400 thousand followers, while Zamage merchandise has been seen on basketball player Mikey Williams, wrestler and musician Lio Rush disc jockey and music producer DJ Envy, and radio presenter and television personality, Charlamagne Tha God.
