Her Story
About Erika
I started working at a very young age - I was just 14 when I got my first job working for the ferry boat companies to Mackinac Island, so I began early on in the travel industry on the docks with the boats. Later in my career, I kind of fell into technology when Best Buy actually made a clerical error in hiring me - I was supposed to be in customer service, but the company was doing a reorg at the same time and they put me in Geek Squad instead. I said okay, well, let's roll with it, and we'll figure it out as we go. I very quickly fell in love with working with technology and people, and I got promoted very quickly into a technical role with them. That really spurred my career with Apple, where I was for almost 9 years. I'm not one who can sit still very well, so while I was at Apple, I got cross-trained in every department except for one. I'm very curious by nature and I'm always seeking to understand, so if I ever got bored, it was a question of what new skill can I learn today and how can I help support my teams. That grew into my role at corporate with Apple, which I transitioned to just like a month before COVID and everything shut down. I was right out of training with them and everything was on fire after training. It was me and a couple other people who helped create their Work From Home program, which was a program to keep our employees employed during COVID when we shut down the retail locations, transitioning all of the retail employees into that program and giving them jobs. We made sure we had no layoffs. I did have to slow down after that - it was a lot and just mentally was very taxing. That's when I stepped over into automotive, specifically EV startup, and moved on to Rivian. I've been in automotive ever since then, starting in 2019 or 2020. Moving over into the startup and EV space, it's a very volatile market and I'm no stranger to layoffs at this point. I've had a company that I was with who didn't make it, which is very common for startup industry. During that time, I did a lot of soul-searching because I've been through this 2-3 times now and it really drains you financially. So I spent last year thinking and opened my own business. I was actually running my own business while I was working at both Adamo and Slate. After getting laid off from Slate in November, I had the business there and I've been running the business ever since. I went from $0 in sales to a little over $25,000 in just short months. I'm growing exponentially and the community that I have created through the business has been just so much more than I would have expected it to be.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Erika
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my biggest focus has always been my people and the connections that I'm able to make. Not specifically projects that I'm proud of, but the impact I've had on my teams and the relationships that I build and create. When you have an employee who you worked with 10 years ago call you and say you had an impact on me, or still wants to touch base and reach out because you were that one person who listened, or you were just that person or that leader that was there for them years and years ago, and they still know that 10 years down the road you're still going to be there for them - that's really where I make my impact and where I'm most proud.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Definitely, I would say, take the leap. Anything that I've had to do, I've really had to push myself and have faith in myself and just kind of take the leap. Sometimes the payoff is worth the risk that you take, and honestly, in my case, I think that every moment of it has been worth it, even the bad. Sometimes when it doesn't seem so great, it's brought me to where I'm at, and I'm so thankful for where I'm at. And I wouldn't be where I'm at without taking those risks. Especially as a woman in the automotive industry, we have a lot that pushes back on us and tells us that we're not worthy or we're not capable. And I say take the leap and prove them wrong.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think sticking with just being genuine. Throughout my career, you know, you get the advice of you need to change yourself for the people you're surrounded with, or the atmosphere that you're working in. You hear a lot of, you need to play the game, and I just have morally never been a person who could do that. I've always stayed true to myself and stay genuine, especially in the things that I'm passionate about and the things that I believe in. And sometimes that's worked out great for me, and people gravitate towards and respect that genuineness, and other times, you know, I've had leadership that doesn't respond so well and it can backfire on you a bit. But I think just staying true to myself throughout the whole process has really set me apart and just helped me as an individual on a personal level, remind myself who I am on a daily basis.
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