Brandon Cheng shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Brandon, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
One of my biggest fears has been not living up to my God-given potential. I’ve always been an ambitious person — one to dream big and give it my all. At the age of 20, I was blessed to open my first storefront for my buy, sell, trade sneaker and streetwear boutique. My business, Soleinspires, started in the trunk of my car. I didn’t go to college, almost failed out of high school, and faced over 20 location rejections leading up to being blessed to open this location.
After we opened our first location, just like anyone who had just accomplished a lifelong goal, I enjoyed my accomplishment. I rode the high for a few months, but the constant question to myself was: What’s next? Is this all you’re going to accomplish? I knew I wasn’t done — but I didn’t know where to start, which began to put a sense of fear in me that no one saw. I found myself in a rut for a few months, and during October I realized God was calling me to pick up His call. I decided to stop running from God and chose to start my walk with Christ — no more half in, half out. Fully committing to fighting the good fight.
During that fall and winter, it felt like God had put a pause on my life to help remind me of what really mattered — and that was Him. I started diving more into my faith, turning away from old habits, learning His promises, and I felt like I was figuring it out. But once springtime came around, God moved me from that season of isolation into a season of opportunity. It was time to face my fear of self-doubt — but this time, I had my value system aligned the way it needed to be.
At one point in time, you have to go through the storm. You can duck and dodge it as much as you want, but if you truly want to accomplish something great, you can’t run from the challenge. Fear is something the enemy uses to keep us stuck — and the higher the calling you have, the more he’ll come attacking. But nothing can come in the way of God’s plan for you except you. We’ve all been blessed with gifts, and it’s our job to steward them the best we can while we’re here.
To circle back to the initial question: I haven’t been called to necessarily one thing, but I know in this season God has called me to be the best me I can be — the best leader, entrepreneur, son, friend, and most importantly, the best servant of the Lord I can be.
Remember — “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” — James 2:17
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Brandon Cheng. I’m a 22-year-old entrepreneur, and I’m the owner of Soleinspires — a high-end buy, sell, and trade sneaker & streetwear boutique specializing in limited, trending, and collectible pieces. Soleinspires isn’t just your average sneaker store — we take pride in the experience we provide our community. I believe anyone can sell a shoe, but not everyone can give an experience — and that’s where we come in. We strive to provide everyone a personalized and memorable shopping experience.
Personally, when I’m shopping, I tend to not spend my money anywhere I feel uncomfortable. It’s never been about the price range for me, but more so about the value I’m being provided. Businesses and brands are built off values, and one of our core values is connecting and caring for everyone who walks through our doors, follows our socials, etc. Being able to connect and relate to our community helps us make the shopping experience more intimate — our goal is to give you an experience to remember, hence why we say we provide a “personalized and memorable” shopping experience.
Soleinspires started in the trunk of a car. It’s fueled by passion, dedication, and purpose. We’re constantly trying to improve as a team, as a business, and as people. We have a rule for our team: if you ever leave, you have to leave a better person than you came. So in order to accomplish that goal, everyone within our team has to commit to the process — not only the business’s growth, but personal development. How you do anything is how you do everything. So if you’re lazy in your personal life, you’ll most likely be lazy in here — and vice versa. Our goal is to become the best sneaker store in the world. Although we may be far from it, and that may sound crazy to some — I believe with God, everything is possible.
Every day, our management and I remind our team of the long-term goal. If it’s to become the best sneaker store in the world — we have to ask ourselves: Is our work ethic aligning with our goals? Are we giving our all when we’re in there? And if not — we have to focus up and get back on track.
Soleinspires will be a household name. It’s bigger than me, and it’s bigger than my team. We are building something people will remember for years to come — so if you haven’t had the opportunity to check out what we’re scaling, come see it for yourself. We’re open 7 days a week, and our Instagram @soleinspires is always active. My team and I are hoping to see you soon!
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My mom has always believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself — she’s always spoken life into me, prayed for me, and made sacrifices I didn’t even know about until now. And now that I’m older, there are probably a lot more I still don’t know about.
Looking back at my childhood, it wasn’t the easiest. I moved to a bunch of different schools, was dealing with a lot of mental health issues, and didn’t have a male role model in my life until my older teens and young adult years. But I strongly remember my mom always speaking life into me — especially when I was doubtful in myself and had a negative outlook on life.
Fast forward to today — I’m now 22 years old. I’m a successful business owner and entrepreneur. I’m a leader to those around me, and I’m walking with Christ every day. A majority of the blessings I’m experiencing today — I remember my mom speaking them into existence years ago. I told her when I was a kid that I was going to be my own boss — now I am. I remember having so much hate in my heart, and my mom said, “One day, you’ll be giving back to those that hurt you” — now I am. And I remember my mom constantly praying for me, and one of the biggest blessings I have is being able to go to Sunday service with her now, knowing I’m not the same person I was years ago.
Even when I was broken, fell short, etc. — my mom always saw the best in me. And for that, I will always love and appreciate her. She is my why — my reason for waking up every day, because I know as long as I continue to keep God at the center of everything I do, one day I’ll be retiring her, and all the things we used to dream of will become a reality.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Almost every day I want to give up — but I know I can’t. Struggle is a part of the process, and it’s on us to make the right choices during hardship. If you can change your mind, you can change your life — I truly believe everything is perspective. When life hits the fan, when business hits the fan, you have the choice to victimize your life or see it as an opportunity from the Lord to grow.
James 1:2–4 (NIV):”Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
I believe we learn the Word to live the Word. Life doesn’t happen to us — it happens for us. We have to go through the storm in order to grow, and if we can’t endure pain, we won’t ever accomplish anything great.
To whoever is reading this — if you haven’t yet, take control of your life. The choices we make today determine our future. So next time you have the thought of quitting, remember: pain needs to happen in order for us to grow. God can’t bless us if we aren’t the people to take care of the blessing. So get comfortable being uncomfortable, shift your perspective, and keep fighting — because you can’t lose if you never quit.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
If you’ve ever spent time with me or seen me in public, I’m one of the most unserious people you’ll ever meet. I love being me — crazy, loud, ADHD, goofy, and sometimes I switch over to the motivated/inspiring Brandon. But the majority of the time, I’m a character.
My barber once told me the best thing to do is to stay a kid — and it’s 100% true. We take on so much unnecessary pressure from peers and society to have it all figured out, and we tend to forget we won’t ever fully have it figured out.
I like this question because I feel as if we worry too much about what other people think of us. We feel like we need to be a different person in public than we are behind closed doors — but we need to stop living for other people. Be you. Embrace your flaws, your weirdness, etc., because that’s what makes you, you.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
Tomorrow isn’t promised — we’re on borrowed time. During COVID, I had the realization that, God forbid, if I passed away during the pandemic, I would’ve died a clown. I was never serious, I was going through the motions of life, I didn’t have a purpose — and that’s not how I wanted people to remember me. Not that I care what people think of me, but I want to be someone who leaves an impact and makes a difference.
Make life worth living — chase those dreams, meet new people, take risks. Life’s too short to play it safe. Your purpose is what makes life worth living for. Every day I wake up and know I have to get up, because if I don’t, I won’t achieve what I set out to do. But it’s not necessarily about the outcome — it’s more about the journey. God puts us through an adventure when we’re walking with Him and chasing our purpose. There’s always that constant question, “Will it work out?” — but that’s the fun part.
Looking back at growing my business, one of the best times I had was selling shoes out of the trunk of my car. I was broke and confused, but it made me appreciate the small wins so much more because I know how hard I had to work to get them. I try and remind myself to work as if I’m working for the Lord — because no amount of money, women, or fame will ever fulfill you like God will.
I don’t know when my time to go will come, but for the time I’m here, I’m going to keep living through my purpose and enjoying the process — because you don’t want to wake up 50 years from now with a bunch of regret.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.soleinspires.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goliveb/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/soleinspires/?hl=en Soleinspires Business Profile
Image Credits
@madmaxxvisuals – Instagram
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
