Success Story: Pennsylvania
• Shippensburg University SBDC
• SBDC Counselor: Cheryl Young
• Client: Amped Apparel – SBDC client since 2013
“Try and go about it in the correct way. Consult with the SBDC. It’s easy to not want to spend as much money and time, but by taking the proper steps first, you’re establishing a brand that can grow.” – Adam Sitz, Owner, Amped Apparel
Impact of working with the Shippensburg University SBDC: Adam Sitz attended Shippensburg University to pursue a college education. While at Shippensburg, he continued to develop the Amped Apparel business that he started as a teen and that is celebrating its 6-year anniversary this year. Today, Amped Apparel is an action sport and lifestyle clothing brand. Amped also sponsors multiple athletes in various action sports. Amped Apparel’s products include t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, girls’ tanks, beanies, accessories, socks, bags, and eyewear.
Adam has overcome many business start-up challenges at this point in his business development. There were many things Adam was not knowledgeable about, such as legal issues and where to access capital. There were many different types of insurance he had to purchase that were costly but necessary due to the nature of the events his business was traveling to. While at Shippensburg, Adam heard about the Shippensburg University Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and after working with them he commented: “My SBDC consultant was a great mentor. She is very knowledgeable and knows business very well.” With his consultant’s guidance and the SBDC’s resources, Adam developed his business plan into a professional, data-based business plan that investors would invest in.
One product that has exceeded expectations is Amped Apparel eyewear. It has done so well that it became its own product line. A two-year project, Amped Optics was released on February 27, 2014, and it has its own website as well — ampedoptics.com. This line has its own identity with many different styles and designs.
Read the whole story, and learn more about the Shippensburg University SBDC, the Pennsylvania SBDC and Amped Apparel.