laneimageconsultingThe idea for this blog came to me when I was walking my dogs in the forest recently. Inspiration often strikes when I’m out in nature. My mind switches off from everything else and lets my ideas flow. It’s magical!
I was thinking about a niching session I had held in my Savvy Stylists Success School. I was going back over the conversations I had with the stylists on the call. I realised that there are just two fundamental problems that personal stylists, image consultants and fashion stylists face in their business:
- Not being clear enough in your niche
- Struggling with money blocks
And if you can solve these two problems in your business, the sky is the limit!
I say this based on my experience of working with hundreds of clients and growing my own business from a couple of hundred dollars of income to a six-figure business.
It’s important to note here that my business DOESN’T run me ragged. I don’t work day and night to achieve my income. I have lots of time freedom and can spend quality time with friends and loved ones while also indulging my passions for travelling and being outdoors.
There are many things I’ve implemented to get where I am. Still, the two most significant, and which flow through to everything else I do in the business, were to get 100% clear on my niche (who I help and with what problem) and overcome all the unhelpful beliefs I had about money.
Let’s talk about the problems I’ve identified in more detail.
1) Not being clear enough on your niche.
Almost every one of the stylists I work with tells me their ideal client is a businesswoman, professional woman or corporate woman. Often, these stylists have never worked in a corporate environment themselves, and it baffles me why they would want to help someone they don’t really know anything about. When I ask them why, the answer is always because they believe that such a professional woman can afford their services.
Knowing that your target clients can pay for your services is undoubtedly an important factor, but it’s not the only thing to consider. You need to have a natural affinity with your target client. You need to have walked in her shoes and truly know what her problems are if you’re going to be able to help her and show her that you’re the one she should choose to work with.
If you don’t have the same experiences, you can’t connect in a genuine way and will likely only be able to speak generally about her problems in your content, or even worse, end up copying what other people say.
I can’t stress how important it is that whoever you choose as an ideal client is someone you understand and whose problems you have experienced first-hand. You will know exactly what’s going through her mind, what blocks she is facing, and what objections she might have to working with you, and you’ll be able to guide her to overcome them all and become one of your paying clients.
When choosing your ideal client, it’s also essential that you are further along in the journey than they are. You need to be a few steps ahead of them and have made progress toward overcoming the problems they’re dealing with. You need to be through the other side to reach back with solutions that you know work because they worked for you. You can’t take people’s money in good conscience if you’re still figuring out how to fix the same problem for yourself!
2) Struggling with money blocks
The example I used earlier about choosing professional women to work with because you think they’re the only ones with money is a money block. You’re blocked if you’re picking your ideal client from this one sector because that’s the only place you think you can earn money. But don’t worry, you can overcome it!
In reality, there are many scenarios where you can earn plenty of money. You don’t need to chase the corporate women (unless you have a natural affinity with them) like 99% of the other stylists out there. If you’re solving a problem that’s really painful for somebody, they WILL find the money to hire you. They will spend their money with you and deny themselves other things if you are truly helping them.
Also, don’t forget that you shouldn’t make assumptions about people’s money situations. You don’t know who or what they’ve got in their life to help them finance your support if they can’t do it alone.
One of the ladies I was helping on the call the other day was going after employed corporate women because they’re the ones she believed had plenty of money to pay her. Her specific experience was actually in supporting women who’d been laid off or made redundant. She’d help them to become visible and launch their own businesses. However, she wasn’t targeting them in her marketing because she believed that they didn’t have any money.
When I asked her what she was basing that assumption on, she explained that it had been her own situation. She didn’t have any money when she first started her business and couldn’t afford to work with anyone to help her. She hadn’t considered that a lot of people who are laid off have redundancy packages and are looking for help to get them back on their feet again. She’d got stuck by an insidious money block.
We’re not usually aware of our money blocks; they’re unconscious decisions we make that limit what we can do in our business. They limit where we can go and prevent us from seeing opportunities staring us right in the face, and it can be tough to get beyond them.
Ways you can work with me to solve these problems
I help my clients with both these challenges. I spend a good portion of my time assisting clients to establish their niche. There is an option to add on a money block session if this is required. Working on both elements is part of many of the programs I offer because they’re vitally important for a successful business.
- My Claim Your Niche VIP intensive is for you if you need help to confidently work out your niche. It’s 3x 45-minute one-to-one coaching sessions where I help you establish your niche and understand your money blocks. I then give you the steps you need to take to move beyond them.
- Alternatively, in my 6 Figure Stylist mentorship program (my six-month program), we spend lots of time working one-to-one establishing your niche. We then go really deep to understand everything your ideal client is dealing with. We then create a high-ticket program (that earns you a lot of money) that solves their problems. I then help you create a lead generation and marketing plan to attract all the clients you need to fill your program repeatedly.
- Another exciting way to work with me is by attending my 6 Figure Stylist Retreat. Over the course of 5 days, in one of the most beautiful locations in the world, I help you create a passive income stream to bring a consistent flow of money into your business that requires minimal effort from you. After the initial design and marketing work, you’ll be bringing money in while you sleep and even while you’re on holiday! How does it work? By establishing your niche, of course! We work out what problem you’re solving and create your passive income product based on that problem.
If you are interested in any of these ways of working with me then email me at aileen@laneimageconsulting.com with your questions. 😊