Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Opalski.
Hi Erika, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
A little background, I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and moved to California at 5 years old, dad joined the military when I was in high school so I had the opportunity to travel and live in many places including Japan, Spain, and New York. This started my love for culture and travel. I attended the University of Maryland before studying Fashion Design at FIDM in Los Angeles. After graduating I went on to design costumes for film, TV, and commercials. I then proceeded to land an amazing position with the Walt Disney Company where I created the fabrics for all the character costumes around the world. Later I moved on and grew my career with several companies including TravisMathew, and O’Neill prior to venturing out on my own as an entrepreneur.
I came up with the idea for my company FourFour co because of my mom. She is a social worker for Orange County Mental Health and works with the homeless population getting them housing and back on their feet. In my personal life, I would clean out my closet and bring her all my old clothes so she could donate them to her clients. One day she said, “It’s great you bring me all your clothes, but they are in need of bags because they don’t have any way to carry the clothes.” That was my lightbulb moment when I realized, I can fix this problem, and I know how. I knew starting my own company had to be authentic to who I was, and I wanted to give back wherever and whenever I could because my true passion in life was to be helpful. One of the hardest parts of this whole process was coming up with a name and how to give back. I liked the idea of a statistic, something that made people ask, what or why. I found that 4.4 children on a daily basis enter the foster care system in the U.S. and usually end up carrying their belongings from place to place in trash bags. I knew at that moment I needed to support and empower our youth, so 4.4 percent of all proceeds go towards our Give.One.Back. mission for each sale made FourFour Co donates 4.4% back to organizations that help empower and give back to kids in foster care.
I couldn’t have made it this far without my co-founder/partner who also happens to be one of my closest friends, Laura Sloneker. During the whole process of me solidifying my ideas with FourFour co, Laura was by my side to bounce ideas and laugh through the craziness. We met every week for yoga, followed by nachos to talk about the week. Through our Thursday girl nights, FourFour co was born. She manages all the social and overall branding of the company and I do the sales and product development. Together we make a great team and between the two of us we have 20 years of experience in the fashion industry.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ll say the best thing about being an entrepreneur is the ability to be authentic to yourself from the start. So many times, I’ve worked for a company and put my heart and soul into something but missed the “why”. Starting my own company lets me ground myself because we built “why” into our business model. Giving back, having a mission to be sustainable, and making products with purpose are the things that drive us every day even when it’s tough.
The most challenging aspects of starting a business are the things that catch you off guard. For us, it was something as simple as, how to send money to your overseas vendors, and how to set up a label printer for shipping. When you’re an entrepreneur and funding everything yourself, wearing many hats is inevitable. I’m so thankful for the era of internet resources. The thing we don’t talk about enough as entrepreneurs is the lull in a startup. We received so much support and immediate success that when things started to slow down after our first Christmas it was an uncomfortable feeling. Learning to pivot and keep going has given me the most personal growth and education in business.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve dressed celebrities, shaken hands with CEOs, and laughed with athletes. I have had a long career in design and product development. I’ve worked for some great companies designing all kinds of product categories including kids, menswear, accessories, and fabric development. With each new company, I’ve excelled and climbed up the ranks. Outside of the office I love carpentry and making creating anything with my hands.
What set’s me apart from others to me feels simple, I’m the jane of all trades and master of none. The thing I love about my work is the constant puzzle pieces that need to fit together and learning to pivot when things don’t go according to plan. I feel like anything can be accomplished in time as long as I keep persistent. At one of my first jobs, I had a boss who said to me when I didn’t know how to tackle one big project, in particular, she said “how do you eat an elephant, one bite at a time”. What I’ve learned over my professional career is to keep going and the projects will get done. Persistence is what I’m most proud of, the ability to keep going even when it’s tough.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My biggest advice is to be kind to everyone and always do your best work because you never know who you might end up working for one day, or who might be there when you need advice. One of the biggest things that have worked well for me is talking to everyone and getting to know who people really are, from the cleaning lady up to the CEO, you can learn something from everyone. The fashion industry really is a small world so build bridges, not walls.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fourfourco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fourfourco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fourfourco/
Image Credits
FourFourco
