We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ariel Kochbarski a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ariel, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

Retail and e-commerce are really hard to become profitable quickly. It takes time to make back all your costs that you put into the brand and that you continue to do in operating it. The biggest challenges independent brands face are cash flow and inventory purchases. In retail, we have to create the items before the customer even sees them. The goods are created a minimum of 1.5 to 3 or even 6 months ahead of time. We have to bet big on what we think will sell and then front that cost to get our items produced. Many garment factories have minimums that must be met and without you meeting those, your items cannot be made. It’s really hard, as a small brand, to not only meet minimums but also to qualify for terms, like a Net 30 as an example of an industry standard, where you can pay for your goods 30 days after receiving them. Terms can allow for some sales to happen of these goods so you can have a bit of that revenue already generating in time to pay for the goods to manage your cash flow better. It’s only after a few seasons in business with working relationships with your suppliers and vendors that you can work on terms with you suppliers and customers.

Ariel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into fashion during my college years and onwards. I worked in retail at that time to help pay my bills. I was going for jobs in the art world in NYC but I couldn’t find one. I met a buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue through some mutual friends and got an entry level job in their buying office. That was pretty much the start of it all and I never looked back or regretted that I didn’t go into the art world. I simply love fashion! My fashion career was very corporate for many years on the buying, merchandising, and selling side. Things got shaken up for me during the pandemic in 2020 when I was laid off. I was burnt out and ready for a change. I began styling for clothing campaigns, commercial campaigns, and eventually celebrities and entrepreneurs. I had more time on my hands to support my work-life balance, which facilitated more time to spend in the ocean surfing. I started conceptualizing a surf brand that was more fashionable and would be something I would want to where in and out of the water. That’s when my brand, ARIKO, was born. Fast forward to today, and the brand has been live for a year. We have store partners online and in person and are growing! I still do some styling work but I’m fortunate to get to be more selective about it now. I love styling my own ARIKO campaigns too, of course.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I have always relied on word of mouth. I am more confident in speaking to a new client when it comes from a recommendation of someone in the business vs. from an Instagram or website inquiry. It gives that potential relationship a bit of validity on both sides. Fashion is a very small world and those of us that have been in it for as long as I have, have most likely crossed paths at some point. I tried very hard to always uphold a modicum of professionalism and not burn any bridges, so to speak. This has helped me in every role I have had in the business.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I’m still funding my business, it never really stops when you are running your own brand! I had to look at it as an investment in myself. The same way you might transfer your savings over to a Roth IRA or stocks, what have you, is what helped me to loosen up my grip on the fear of using your own savings to fund my dream. I have a great financial planner who has helped me to leverage my own funds for a line of credit. It’s not easy and I’ve certainly had the thought that it would be so much easier if I had investors! I’m afraid of releasing my control over my vision and of what happens when you take on money from an outside source. I’ve worked for start-ups as well so I have a bit of experience in both the positive and negative sides of outside investment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ariko-la.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arikosurf/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arikosurf/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariel-kochbarski-09a9a515/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVNtZx7oxhXVWtIV5Yj_g8A
• Other: https://ofthemomnt.com/

  https://www.instagram.com/ofthemomnt

Image Credits

All images of my brand, ARIKO, where taken by Josh Gross.