Sha'Carri Richardson hosts a Depop masterclass

As one of the world’s fastest women, Sha'Carri Richardson knows a thing or two about hard work and determination. After making her Olympics debut in Paris this year, the American track star took home the silver medal, all while catching the world’s attention as one of the most stylish athletes in the stadium – her intricate nail art becoming almost as famous as her. 

Her love of fashion, paired with her drive and entrepreneurial mindframe (she just launched her own hair care business Flow GoHair, specialising in wigs), makes her the ideal host for Depop and Cash App’s latest campaign: ‘Your POV, Your Power’. 

“As long as you continue to push yourself, you’re going to get somewhere, but you have to stay committed,” says the Olympian, during a three-part series of mini masterclass videos. In the 60-second episodes, Richardson speaks with successful Depop sellers Jess Xu, Chris Romero and Cash K about their top tips and tricks for growing a business on the global community marketplace, providing a wealth of inspiration for any aspiring side-hustlers. Or full-time hustlers for that matter.  

“I use Depop to pay my rent!” says Cash K, a fulltime student and content creator. The trio of Depop professionals share pearls of wisdom, encouraging new sellers to “know where to put your money” – essentially, knowing what your customers want and spending money to make money, as put by Chris Romero. 

Jess Xu stresses the importance of curation: “Be purposeful with your curation, be intentional,” she says, explaining that not everything you don’t want has to go on Depop. Yes, you might be trying to shift clothes post-clearout, but if you want a loyal customer base, you have to really consider the items you’re putting up for sale. You don’t want your page to become a jumble sale, instead, imagine you’re curating your own floor at Dover Street Market. 

For many (myself included), the hardest part is the postage. Or rather, making time for it. As the pros tell Richardson, schedule a time that is dedicated to dropping off packages, or even schedule a USPS pick-up, so you know a driver is coming to collect your package at a certain time that day – the last thing you want is to open the door panicked and empty-handed. 

And how could we forget, as put by Xu, “the photo needs to eat!” Photograph your clothes in good lighting, only upload fit-pics worthy of your own personal feeds, consider your backgrounds and what else you can see in the image. Xu even gets her nails done when snapping shoes. To put it simply, your own personal style and the presentation of your feed can be make or break for your business – your taste matters, so don’t be afraid to express yourself. 

What’s more, Cash App and Depop are also giving sellers the chance to win up to $100 to grow their shops when they use Cash App’s direct deposit feature to deposit their earnings into Cash App, from now until December 31. Up to 3000 sellers will have the chance to win, so run, don’t walk!