Today we’d like to introduce you to Khalil Lawal.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
On Instagram, I use the handle @k.lawal (my first initial followed by a period and my last name). Initially, this was only an identifier. However, as I progressed through college and evolved as a person K.Lawal became more than a seven-character identifier.
While in high school, I played golf. Although we were provided uniforms, we were required to wear collared shirts while practicing on any course. Given the fact that most golf shirts are quite expensive, I began looking for cheaper alternatives. My mom and best friend Sean (who I played golf with) suggested that we purchase polo shirts from thrift/consignment stores like Goodwill. We were able to find quality clothing for prices as low as $0.25. While searching for golf polos, Sean and I began to notice clothing that we would wear at times other than when we were playing golf. We began purchasing any type of clothing that we liked regardless of whether it could be used to play golf or not. This trend followed me to college. I was able to create a shopping lifestyle that was not only economically sound but fashionable as well.
With shirts as low as $0.25 and pants as low as $1.99, one could accumulate a large inventory of clothing. After slowing watching my closet grow fuller I knew I had to make a decision about where to place the overflow of clothes. I decided to start donating some of the clothes back to the thrift stores that I purchased them from. I wore the remaining clothes and began to receive a plethora of compliments about some of the outfits that I threw together. A lot of people told me that they would purchase the clothes that I wore. This inspired me to start posting the clothes that I purchased on social media and e-commerce sites like Instagram, eBay, Mercari, and Depop. I created a highlight/alias as an extension to my Instagram called K.Thrift. Its purpose is to showcase the newest consignment clothing discovered and purchased by K.Lawal. These items are exhibited on my Instagram page with creativity, animation, and synchronized music.
Has it been a smooth road?
This journey has been quite the roller coaster. Despite the high volume of people that claimed they would purchase clothing from me, I did not make a sale until two months after posting my first item. This was very discouraging. Although I was selling from a surplus of items, I began to seek additional profit. This was very detrimental to my passion for thrift shopping. After monetizing my passion, I began to lose interest.
I talked to a few friends about how I was feeling and the general consensus of advice was to shop as though I was not buying to resell the clothing. With this perspective, I was able to regain my focus and shop for thrift clothes without the pressure of making sales. To my surprise, after solely focusing on buying the clothes that I thought were cool, I made the most sales.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the K.Lawal/K.Thrift story. Tell us more about the business.
My company K.Thrift is only one branch of my brand, K.Lawal. While I specialize in buying and reselling thrift clothing I am also well known for the dedication and concentrated effort that I put in creating the videos that showcase the outfits that I have produced. I was inspired by my close friend Brian Efianayi after watching a snapchat story of him filming his outfit. I inquired about how he created these videos and made one of my own. I liked the product (videos) but I was not in love with it. I knew there was a way to make the video more than a video, rather a creative aesthetic. I began showcasing my entire outfits with music and GIFs that match one another and the outfit. For example, Future (the rapper) has a song called “Please Tell Me”. One of the lyrics in the song is as follows, “Please tell me I can buy Chanel for you.” In one of my synchronized showcases, I used this song to showcase a Chanel t-shirt that I found at Goodwill. These creative touches have not only elevated K.Thrift but K.Lawal as a whole.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
To answer this question as honestly as possible, I am not completely sure. The most beautiful part about K.Lawal is that there is no limit to where I can take my brand. I have involved myself and networked with a multitude of different people in many different fields. Another branch of K.Lawal is, K.Fundraiser and GoFund.K. These are two projects that are related to sales as opposed to e-commerce, and video editing.
I am the fundraising chair/finance chair for the Kennesaw Society of Black Engineers. One of my tasks while in this position was to raise money for our national conference. After consulting with my fellow executive board members we decided that I would orchestrate and lead a chocolate fundraising effort. As a chapter, we sold $2,500.00+ worth of chocolate in two weeks. I sold $660.00 worth of chocolate on the individual level. A summary of my individual fundraising efforts can be found on my Instagram under the “K.Fundrasier” highlight.
During the 2018 holiday season, I noticed that a large amount of people were obtaining Apple Watches. I conducted research to gain a better understanding of why this trend was occurring. The results showed that a lot of people were receiving Apple Watches as gifts for the holiday season. Many surveyors mentioned that the watch was convenient but that they would not purchase one with their own money. With an understanding that my family would not buy me an Apple Watch as a gift, I engineered a solution! I created a GoFundMe to collect funds for the Apple Watch. With persistence, dedication, and perseverance, I was able to obtain a series three Apple Watch. A summary of this endeavor can be found on my Instagram account under the “GoFund.K” highlight.
Link to the GoFundMe: https://www.
Contact Info:
- Website: depop.com/klawal9
- Phone: 4045743285
- Email: klawal999@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k.lawal/
- Other: https://www.ebay.com/usr/lawa-khali
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