REEDLEY – In high school, Miguel Cepeda built a small empire selling chips. Shortly after, he began flipping sneakers. At age 22, Cepeda is now running his own business out of Reedley’s downtown.
On Feb. 18, city dignitaries, community members and proud family members gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony of Neutral Supply, a custom apparel shop that offers embroidery, screen printing and vinyl. Expecting only a handful of people to show up, Cepeda was delightfully surprised to see the community of Reedley show out in spades.
“If you ask my family, I was saying ‘There’s probably gonna be a couple people,’ so I am 100% grateful for all of you guys being here,” Cepeda said to attendees. “By the grace of God is this business standing.”
The ribbon cutting saw attendance from Mayor Matthew Tuttle, who presented a certificate of recognition, as well as city council members Christopher Arriaga, Mary Fast and Scott Friesen. Many other city staff came to show their support as well, and Tuttle told Cepeda that the city has his back and is available to offer guidance when needed.
“Businesses take on the culture and feel of the business owner, and I can kind of feel that energy, so continue to bring that,” Tuttle said to Cepeda.
The store sports a modern, yet welcoming design, and the front of the store features a lounge area with two TVs. Cepeda told attendees that it’s meant for local youth who may need a space to stay.
Having worked with children in the past, he said that he came across a surprising number of kids who had domestic troubles, and would wander around town just to not be home.
“Now that I’m older, and by the grace of God who’s given me a platform to do things, I built a store so that those kids can have somewhere to stay rather than be out on the streets,” Cepeda said during the ceremony.
Looking at Neutral Supply’s offered services, turnaround times are said to be less than one week, with larger orders taking no more than two weeks on the higher end. Customers also have the option of single-item orders which can be done the same day, rather than having a required minimum quantity like some similar businesses do.
Another goal of Neutral Supply is to keep prices competitively low with regard to the actual clothing items themselves, but the example products displayed throughout the store are there to let customers see and feel the level of quality for themselves.
An entrepreneur in the making
In an interview with the Mid Valley Times, Cepeda shared his history of entrepreneurship, and thanked the people who have uplifted him throughout his journey.
Cepeda has lived in Reedley for all of his life, attending school at Silas Bartsch and Reedley High School. Growing up, his family invested a lot of time and money for him to play travel soccer, so as kids around him were sporting name brands like Nike or Jordan, he didn’t feel comfortable asking his family for pricier, trendy items.
It was this drive for independence, and the goal of repaying his family’s generosity, that sparked his business-oriented mindset.
“To me, it was just like, I can sit here and mope about it, ask when it doesn’t feel right to me or I can go out and do something about it,” Cepeda said.
Cepeda found opportunity in the fact that none of the school vending machines worked at the time, so he bought a box of chip bags and tried his hand at selling snacks. He immediately doubled his profit on that first box, and decided to expand to also sell cookies and fruit snacks.
Cepeda quickly noticed that he would sell out fairly early in the mornings, so he eventually began paying others to sell for him throughout the day.
“I feel like growing up, I’ve always been — I don’t want to say ‘a problem solver’ — but to me it was like, if I’m done before 10 a.m. and I know I can make more money, what can I do about it?” Cepeda said.
Cepeda’s next venture started when he bought a pair of Jordans in the wrong size, and sought to break even on them. Being a self-proclaimed “low-baller” himself, he priced the shoes above retail to hopefully make back what he spent after negotiating.
To his surprise, he sold the shoes at his asking price and discovered the potential of shoe reselling.
After selling shoes for some time, Cepeda was making some solid money and wanted to find a new avenue to invest in. This led him to look into embroidery, and after buying his first machine and making a batch of 30 sweaters, Cepeda said he sold out within an hour.
From then on, Cepeda worked to buy more equipment to fulfill more orders, which eventually allowed him to open the new brick and mortar store. Reflecting on his journey, he cites his family as his main support system, and attributes his success to them.
Having lost his mother at a very young age, Cepeda shared that he was raised by his aunt, Margaret Cepeda, and his grandparents, Javier and Santa Cruz Gonzalez. To this day, Cepeda refers to Santa Cruz as his mother, and thanked her for her ongoing support both during the ceremony, and in his interview with the Mid Valley Times.
“Without her, this is nothing,” Cepeda said. “I wouldn’t wake up in the morning, I wouldn’t complete all the orders I have and honestly I’d argue she does more than me. I would say this is more her business than mine.”
Many of Cepeda’s family members attended the ribbon cutting ceremony, and the pride they felt for his newest milestone was evident throughout the morning.
