Meet George Laparra: Owner at SoccerWearhouse.com

We had the good fortune of connecting with George Laparra and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi George, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
Right now I think is probably the best time to answer this question. A lot of small businesses are asking themselves this question. Believe me I have asked myself this question before and I think I do it every so often when times get difficult, especially right now. I think when it comes down to it you just have to believe in yourself and your abilities. I really do think that anyone with enough drive can achieve anything when it comes making your business successful. However I am a firm believer that you have to do your own research and talk to people in your industry. Try not to go into something blindly. A mentor in the same field is always a plus. I learned mostly by doing and making mistakes. If I knew then what I know now I would have done a some things differently. Now I talk to more people in my industry and we help each other out.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Ill try to make this short as possible as it can get pretty long. I was working at a bank at the time we decided to start Soccer Wearhouse. My business partner Diego was working at a Soccer Store at the time (8 years in). He let me know his boss was in dire need of a website. I had some knowledge on that so I did some research and got working. With the website almost done his boss decided to back out. It was heart breaking but at the time but now with a website and no product we had to figure out what to do. We reached out to adidas to see if they would sell direct. They didnt say no. They’re main concern was what was our vision and goal and how we would be different from other stores. We wrote back with our plan and our vision. They agreed as long as we had a brick and mortar store they would sell direct. We then reached out to Nike and they’re concern was the same. They liked our plan and went on board as well. The rest is history and we opened up our first store in victorville back in 2012. Which we had to close due to theft.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well right now with Covid. I would probably tell them to just stay home haha! However without Covid I would probably take them to Pasadena to a restaurant named “El Portal” which is on green street. The owner Able Ramirez is a family friend of ours. I worked for him as a kid and my dad worked for him as well. Always brings my table tequila shots and food is delicious. Very humble family. His son Able has a restaurant right next door called “Yuhaira’s Cafe” which also has a great brunch.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have come across good people that have helped us a long the way to get us to where we are. There’s a few to mention. Daniel and Robert from Team Outfitters. They helped us so much a long the way and helped get Soccer Wearhouse started before we were anything. I have to get them credit because they are good people and never hesitated to give a hand. Another big mentor has been Raul from Azteca Soccer. Although some people see us as competition, I don’t think we ever saw each other that way. He gives me advice and always gives a lending hand when needed. He’s a very good person and does a lot for the El Monte community as well. Last but not least is my moms boss and long time friends John Frank and Diann Frank. When we opened our first store we spent all of our savings and never budgeted for a light up sign. They were kind enough to lend us the money. But the biggest help they have given us all the legal advise. They are not only friends but they are family. I can really say I have never met such good people in my life besides my parents. Of course my parents are probably the biggest supporters of my business. They were there before and after even store grand opening. They have helped clean, paint, build. Even now they still will come help and clean. They never ask for anything in return. I couldn’t have ask for better parents. I am in debt to them for life.

Website: soccerwearhouse.com
Instagram: instagram.com/soccer.wearhouse
Facebook: facebook.com/soccer.wearhouse
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/soccer-wearhouse-anaheim?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SoccerWearhouse
Other: https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20180130/last-straw-soccer-wearhouse-relocating-after-monday-night-burglary cool article above on why we had to close down our victorville location.