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

Hi Calah, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I personally grew up loving art and creating. Since I was young, I knew for sure that I wanted to find a way to share my art and turn it into something that I could potentially make a living off of. I was 17 years old when I finally came up with the idea of starting a clothing brand! I was in college, broke as a joke, and had no idea where to start. I began reading every book about business and fashion that I could get my hands on and also watched hours and hours of YouTube videos on how to start in the fashion industry. My mindset going into starting my brand was pretty much “screw it!”, I’m going to take a leap of faith and see if I can make this little dream work!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always been very fond of any type of art! You can probably tell by taking on look at me that I’m a collector and lover of all things creative and expressive. From clothing, painting, tattoos, music, and graphic design, I’ve tried to explore and enjoy all types of art that I have encountered in my life! My clothing brand is heavily inspired by punk culture art, graffiti, and vintage comic art. (Some of my favorite styles of art!) I try to make my clothing brand and designs very personal and unique and I also try to incorporate deeper meaning in my designs! When starting my clothing brand, the thing I was most excited for was being able to form and create a community of likeminded individuals that encourages and pushes people to express themselves creatively! After all the most important thing in my opinion is individuality! My brand has grown to where it is today solely on the fact that I never gave up. I never fell for the hate comments, the set backs, and the tribulations of starting a business. Did those things bother me? Absolutely. But I was always encouraged by my support system to keep going and stay focused on what this brand means to me. Being a social media based brand it can be very difficult navigating and creating a niche audience online. One of the most difficult things is really just getting started. The first 6 months of starting a business is always the hardest. Posting everyday and not getting any views, checking your website and seeing no orders come through, or seeing how much you are investing in this dream and not seeing a return yet. These for me were the most challenging things. The thing that helped me get through the first 6 month “rut” was making sure my mind was in the right place and making sure I stayed consistent NO MATTER WHAT. Just because something hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it never will. Having patience and a strong mindset is the key to overcoming any type of challenge!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a lover of Los Angeles, my personal favorite spots are SUR Restaurant for drinks and a fun night out, Jet Rag Vintage Store for shopping or even sourcing new pieces to upcycle, and the Pantages Theatre to see some amazing shows!

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?
The two people I need to give the most credit to are my parents. My father John Olson, my mother Loree Olson, and my Step-Mother Elizabeth Puzo-Olson. Through the last 5 crazy years of me starting my entrepreneurial journey, these three people have supported me the entire way. Whether it was my mom taking spur of the moment photos of my friends in my designs, or my dad and step mom showing me the ins-and-outs of how to legally start my business, they have not once doubted me and have only shown me love and support through the entire process. I owe everything to them.

Website: www.outsidersclothing.shop

Instagram: @calaholson , @outsidersclothingcompany , @knowyourworthbook

Other: Tik Tok: @calaholson @outsidersclothing

Image Credits
Image credits to: 656 Photography

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