I trained in style back in 2004 through a company in the US. It was US$5000 at the time and to say I was disappointed with what I got was an understatement.

All the information was there but I had no idea how to apply this information to a real person. There was no video training or no practical training. As you can imagine, it was pretty depressing after paying for such an expensive course.

I really just wanted something simple that I could customize for clients. I needed someone to show me exactly what to do.I didn’t know how to conduct a style consult based on what I was given.

I didn’t even know what my own body shape was and how I should dress that. No matter how much I read, I didn’t seem to fit into any of the common body categories.

There was little or no support going with the course I bought and really I didn’t even know where to start. It was so bewildering!

I was also quite proud at the time and didn’t want to admit I was clueless. There seemed to be no one to turn to.

I eventually became aware of a company that sold style guides that you could customize for your client. They did get me going doing style consults but I continued to struggle as the information that was presented in the guide often contradicted with what I thought would work for the client. There was no way to edit the guides. Additionally, it wad large and cumbersome and often caused problems when printing. So how it worked was that you bought a hard copy template (which wad bloody expensive at the time), then you plugged the clients data into a computer program which generated personalised information for the client. You would then print out the guide onto every other page on the template. Needless to say there was lots of costly mistakes. While it was the best I had, it didn’t delight the client and it left me less than excited. It put me off selling style consultations altogether.

It dawned on me quite a few times that I should create my own style guide but I felt the amount of work involved would be overwhelming and I put if off for quite a bit.

Then one fine day I just started preparing one!

It went though many revisions and I got different people to help at different stages. I got a student at one of the design universities to do all the illustrations for me and I had an admin person help me put it all together. Publishing back then was not as easy as it now.

I refined the style guide over time so that it was exactly what I wanted.

I was excited to do style consultations again.

My style guide worked really well for many years and I even ended up selling it to other consultants over the years.

Everything was going really well till I had to move my style services online.

I had to come up with a new way of working with my clients is establish what their body shape was to take body measurements without taking body measurements.

So like a lot of things I do, I just started. It wasn’t perfect but I kept working on my delivery and the consults started to be really popular and I got great feedback. My style guide works just as well online as offline.

Round about that time, I was running my 5 Week To Online Colour Expert Program for Image Consultants and lots of them were asking me for a style training.

I eventually got the time to create the program — my unstoppable style program was born. This program helps other consultants get their style consults online.

So what I have learned through the course of my style journey and creating my style training? Here are a few things that you need to consider if you are planning to take you style online:

1. If you are just starting out and considering purchasing a style course to help you get online, be sure to check what support is included. Oftentimes there is none. Just yesterday I had someone on the phone telling me this. This is also what I experienced myself in the early years.

2. If you are working online, you need to learn how to analyze a clients figure without the need to take measurements. I stopped taking measurements years ago because they often confused me rather than helping me. What we see visually is enough to be able to determine body shape, scale, face shape and any prominent features.

3. You need to simplify the style consult process as much as possible and build a consult that you really enjoy. I put off selling style for years because I just didn’t enjoy the process.

4. Stop trying to fit everything into one session. Clients on average remember 3 things you tell them. Spread the consultations out. Structure them the way you want them. How would you like to receive the information?

So there you are, everything you need to know to get started with your online style consults today. You can read more about my Unstoppable Style Training & Support Group here.

Working online is the new norm for us image consultants and looks like it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Doing consultations online, does require a new set of skills. One skill you will need to learn is to fill your online colour and style programs so that you can continue to have a steady and reliable income.

Here are 10 easy ways to fill your online workshops that will have you booked solid in no time:

1. Come up with a powerful title for your workshop that draws in your ideal client and includes the benefit they will receive from attending it. Here is a free resource that I use to come up with top titles: http://www.internetmarketingcourse.com/freeheadlinegenerator/
2. Give yourself enough time to promote the event. 10 days before is a good time to start promoting the event.
3. Get people to register with their email so you can follow up with them closer to the time. Zoom gives you the option to ask people to register for a webinar.
4. Set an early bird price to encourage early registration. I have never yet met a client that doesn’t love a bargain.
5. Use testimonials liberally showing the results you have achieved for other people. Written testimonials are great but video testimonials from previous clients are even better.
6. Tell people exactly what they will get so and what problem you will be solving for them.
7. Create scarcity. Is there a maximum number of participants that you can take per session? Be sure to mention this and be sure to inform people as spaces start to fill.
8. Talk about your event every day on social media in video and in posts in the 10 days leading up to the event.
9. Think about ways you can encourage people to invite their friends e.g. 20% discount for you, for every additional person you get to register.
10. Make registration and payment for the event as simple and as painless as possible. Do not make people jump through loops to attend as you will lose them in the process.

With no change in the current way of working for the foreseeable future, filling your online programs will remain a daily necessity.

If you are still struggling to get your services online and/or are looking for help in creating a highly profitable online program that you can sell over and over, then drop me a message.

You have probably heard that you need to niche down if you want to make a go of your business and become an expert.

What to do though, if you love lots of things? You love colour, style, shopping, wardrobe, men, woman, corporations, teenagers, makeup parties…. The list goes on.

If you are just starting out, then its probably a good idea to try out a few things till you know what you love doing and what works for you. You need to do first and then the path will become clearer. As Marie Forleo says “Clarity comes from engagement, not thought”.

If on the other hand, you’ve been in business for a while and you are still providing the whole canoli to everyone and their mother, then its time to think about narrowing the services and products you provide so that you are operating from your zone of genius and not stretching yourself too thin.

Here are a few questions to help you start thinking about getting more specific about who you work with and what you provide:

1. What topics bring you to life and light you up? What are you happy to spend hours researching? What questions would cause you to stay up all night to find an answer. What doesn’t seem like work? Several of the stylists I know, love to work exclusively with men but styling men leaves me cold. I have no interest. This was a clear clue that styling men was not a good fit for me. What leaves you cold? What could you stop doing today and not miss at all?

2. Who are the people you would like to serve? You will be spending time every day interacting, training and answering questions with these people. Are they your people? Will spending time with them be comfortable and fun? I spend the majority of my time every day in the company of image consultants and personal stylists. I provide training, answer their questions and we learn together. I look forward to spending time with and interacting with my clients every day. Do you enjoy spending time with your clients?

3. Are you making money with this service that you love or is their potential to make money in this area? Once you have decided what you actually want to do every day and who you want to do it with, you need to figure out how to make money from it. This is often where image consultants get stuck as they are rarely trained in business. These skills need to be learned in the same way as you learned how to do a colour or style analysis. Business skills do not come naturally to most people.

So if this article has got you wondering and you think you are at the stage where you need to start to consider to niche down, then my ideal client challenge is a great next step for you.

The challenge will help you niche down so that:

➡ Your marketing efforts become way easier and more focused and you attract people who will be delighted to pay your fees.

➡ You automatically become an expert image consultant in your area as you know exactly what your client wants and needs.

➡ You speak directly to your ideal client in their language which will allow them to get to know, like, trust and buy from you quickly.

I was interviewed recently about being a coach to image consultants and personal stylists. Here are the questions I was asked and my very honest answers.

Q. I understand that you are an image consultant business coach. Can you tell me more about that?

A. Yes, I help image consultants and personal stylists take their image business online, get more clients and be financially independent. I do this through online group training programs. I help consultants take their colour analysis business and their styling business online.

Q. Did you start off with a niche proposition or did you start broader and refine down when you found what the ‘sweet spot’ was in terms of clients? 

A. I was much wider when I started out as an iamge consultant offering everything to everyone but I only really started making money when I got really specific. Its a scary step because it feels counter-intuitive but now I know its the only way to go as you can be super focused and clear in your message and people get what you do and how you can help them much faster.

Q. Do you find that it gives you enough variety? 

A. Yes, I have more than enough variety, as along with working with colour, I have to run a business. That provides more than enough variety!

Q. Do you ever find conflicts of interest, given some of your image consultant clients will undoubtedly be competing with each other, or at least will view each other as competition? 

A. I don’t believe any of us image consultants have competition if we work at what we love and show up as ourselves. I have built a community of consultants who trust and support each other. I have seen no competition within my group so far only comraderie and support.

Q. What is the best and worst thing about your role as an image consultant coach? 

A. Mindset is the biggest challenge as you are continually required to be open and grow and learn from your mistakes as an entrepreneur. You have to keep moving forward despite the fear, despite the criticism, despite everyone not loving you or what you do.

Q. I can see you previously worked in the corporate world (as I do now) – what was the biggest or most challenging part of the transition into self-employment as an image consultant? 

A. I was young and passionate and clueless when I left corporate and to be honest the biggest fear was letting go of the big pay cheque. I was very ready to break free so I just too a chance and did it. The mind will try to stop you to keep you safe. It goes back to mindset again. This will be your greatest challenge so work on this everyday. My biggest influencers have been Tony Robbins, Eckhart Tolle, Denise Duffield Thomas, Susan Jeffries and more recently Marie Forleo.

I have been hearing that image consultants and personal stylists are feeling quite ‘icky’ talking about and promoting their colour, style and wardrobe services because of the much bigger and more serious issues going on around the world at the moment.

I think now more than ever, colour, joy and anything that lifts peoples spirits is badly needed. Additionally ‘getting your colours done’ is an investment in yourself, your career, your family and one of the best things you can do for the planet. Now, that doesn’t sound one bit frivolous to me.

Here are 6 reasons why I think colour analysis is a fun and important investment in yourself:

1. Your skin, hair and eyes radiate health when you wear the right colours and you get to wear less makeup to look fantastic. How is that for a saving in money and time right there?
2. You spend far less time and energy shopping when you know your perfect colours. You can walk into a shop and walk past the majority of whats in there and go straight to the colours that light you up.
3. Imagine how much you will love your wardrobe, when you look inside and know that every single colour in there suits you and every colour in there works with every other colour. Think how much stress you will be saving yourself every morning when putting your outfits together.
4. Knowing your colours is one of the most Eco friendly things you can do because when you know your best colours and you buy only those, you will wear your clothes to death. You will also be able to make the most of shopping in thrift stores and be able to pick and chose pre-loved items in colours that make you look fantastic. How sustainable is that for you?
5. How often have you come away from the hair salon with a less than flattering colour after paying through your nose for baby fine highlights? Imagine being able to tell the hair colourist exactly what you want. Should you be asking for a cool or warm base colour? A bright or a muted colour? What is your best level of contrast? All this information is part of a routine online or inhouse colour analysis and all for less than what you would pay for one or two trips to the hair salon to get your highlights done!
6. Colour and colour contrast play a key part in looking professional and put together. Do you know your best level of contrast in the clothes you wear? Do you know how to elevate that level of contrast when your are required to look more professional, confident or authoritative?

As image consultants we know that getting our colours done is life-changing. For gods sake, its probably one of the main reasons we decided to become image consultants in the first place. Now is the time to go out there and share our gift with others and show them how ‘Getting their Colours Done’ is one of the best investments they will ever make both personally and professionally. And did I say how much fun it is?

So what have I missed? Do you have any other compelling reasons why someone should book in with you for a colour analysis right now?