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I have been studying colour since I first became aware of colour analysis back around the year 2000.

When I decided to become a colour consultant, I learned the basic seasonal system with Bernice Kentner (Color Me A Season, USA), one of the pioneers of seasonal colour analysis. I learnt how to mix colours from scratch and learnt the 4 basic groups of colour. At no point did I ever find the theory confusing but then Bernice’s way of teaching was simple and straight forward. She used very little jargon and kept things really practical.

It doesn’t have to be complicated

I trained in colour analysis through Bernice’s home study program, which wasn’t that well regarded at the time. The majority of image consultants back then went overseas and took week long in house intensives to learn colour analysis.

I was very surprised when I talked to consultants who told me they were confused about colour considering they had had up to 2 weeks of full day training in the subject. I expected them to be more confident.

In 2010, consultants began to approach me to retrain in colour and I used Bernice’s very simple home study program to teach these consultants. They were truly ecstatic to discover how simple colour analysis could be. Many of them went on to have flourishing colour careers.

You are not alone

I wrote this blog to let you know that you are not the only one confused by colour analysis. There are many consultants out there, just like you, trying to muddle through consultations with a complicated system. I talk to them every day.

It doesn’t have to be like this. Colour theory is simple and hasn’t changed much since the 1970’s. My advice to new consultants is to learn the seasonal approach first. Once you understand the 4 basic seasons – all the other theories flow from this.

If you would like to attend a live online masterclass covering basic seasonal training with me on Wed 27th Nov 2019, 10am CEST, you can get more details and book through this link.

I was greatly taken aback about a week ago when I saw another image consultant take to video to state that online colour analysis doesn’t work and that in-house colour analysis was the only way to get your colours done.

Initially I was mad 😡😡 but then I decided that attacking this woman’s viewpoint was not the way to go. As Michelle Obama is famous for saying, ‘When they go low, we go high’, so I didn’t retaliate and decided instead to write this blog post explaining what everyone ought to know about online colour analysis.

I have just had an online colour consultation done with Aileen and it was an absolute joy. She listened carefully to me and took me on a colour journey to help me understand my own colouring and why certain colours worked more than others. She gave me the confidence to trust my instincts and more knowledge to build upon. It was so nice to do something for myself, I never thought I would be the type of person to even consider doing something like this but meeting with Aileen previously made me realise that I am worth it. Highly recommend ❤️

Lisa Barry

Online colour analysis has been around for a while but it hasn’t gone mainstream yet, which I am in the process of changing with my 5 Weeks To Online Colour Expert Program. Like all things that are new, there is some scepticism around whether it works or not. Happily I can say, it works beautifully for me and the image consultants I train. I have included a few testimonials here from delighted ladies just to drive the message home.

I recently attended a remote color me session with Aileen to identify what colors would best suit me. I’m a mother of 4 kids and have a demanding job so finding time to shop is a luxury I do not have, nor enjoy, so all my shopping is done online. I have found it a struggle to select clothes that I truly feel comfortable in, that reflects my personality and compliments my complexion. Aileen’s session was really enjoyable and very insightful! It also gave me reassurance that the colors I select are not too far off the mark but what I found most valuable is how to inject other colors in my color palette, that really pull an outfit together. This last mile really makes a difference and it’s something I will continue to put into practice! Looking forward to my next session with Aileen to help with style of clothes that reflect my personality! A million thanks Aileen for all your help! I really enjoyed the session and how you approach it in a very pragmatic way!

Rosemarie Brennan

Getting your colours done is all about you and helping you find the colours that work for you, your lifestyle and your personality. Consultants can often get on the ‘wheel of steel’ about being right but this is of no use to you. I teach colour analysis so that my colour consultants work with you – You get their expert opinion but you also have a say. You know yourself best and your opinion has to be taken into consideration.

On Saturday I was surpised by my dear friend with an online colour analysis. It was by @aileenlane_laneimageconsulting
This was a great experience and I learned a lot of new things about how to make the best of my own colours.
I am summer, would have counted my self more of a spring or autumn.
I will now try to experiment with some colours combinations that I have not tried out earlier. This will be so exciting.
Thank you Aileen and Trine for this great experience. I loved it 😍

Dorthe

I have had many clients over the years who previously had their colours done in-house with other colour consultants and they hated the colours they were given. This is a failure on the part of the consultant if you ask me. The role of the colour consultant is to work with you, not to give you a swatch of colours that you don’t love because they think they are right.

Thank you, Aileen. for an interesting and insightful online colour analysis session and the many practical tips.

Maria

An online colour analysis will give you all the information you would get in an in-house consult. Much of the analysis is done offline by the colour consultant but the online consult is absolutely imperative to get your input. This has been the step missing in older versions of online colour analysis.

Thank you Aileen for my Online Colour Analysis. It was really great to be able to have this appointment in the comfort of my own home. I was really surprised to discover my season and Aileen helped explain it all to me very well, with lots of goods ideas & suggestions, so I can start to build my wardrobe around colours that not only suit me but my style. Her support after the appointment has been fantastic as well. Thank you so much!

Kelly Steffensen

Often times image consultants ask me what apps I use for online colour analysis – The answer is none. There are no reliable apps that I know that can predict the correct colours consistently so we use the same information as we do in an in-house consult and we piece the information together to give you a full range of colours that make you feel and look gorgeous. We show you the colours that work in makeup, in accessories and how to build a wardrobe around the colours that make you look your best.

If you still have questions about online colour analysis, I am very happy to answer them. Online Colour Analysis is the future, so now is a probably a great time to get on board!

A lingerie product line, a weight loss program & colour analysis….

I bet you can’t guess what these three services have in common!

The answer is me! At one point I was providing all these services, all at the same time!🤔

When I started my first business, Nutri-Style back in March 2006, I’m not ashamed to say that I hadn’t a clue what I was doing.

Nutri-Style started out offering nutrition and image consulting sessions but I kept adding services in an effort to attract clients. I had no idea what an ideal client was and no idea who I was marketing to.

My thinking was that if I kept adding services and working with everyone, then I would get a steady flow of clients. Ever have this thought yourself?

What actually happened was no one knew the heck what I was offering! I totally confused people and even myself.

One minute I was clothes shopping with someone and the next I was reviewing someones food diary. The final straw may have been when I added a lingerie line to my business offerings. I didn’t sell even 1 bra! I don’t actually know what I was thinking.

I was run ragged trying to be everything to everyone and getting a random client here and there. My days were filled with coming up with new ideas and trying to market these ideas to everyone. The clients I did get, were often difficult and not easily pleased.

The money I had saved to start my business was now well gone and I started to think about having to go back to my corporate job. I really, really didn’t want to have to do that!

Thankfully, I didn’t actually have to go back to my old job and slowly, I kinda fell into my niche and I became known for colour analysis.

Colour was my favourite thing to do and I had 100% clarity around that. This was by far my most successful service and the more I worked with colour the more expertise I gained. My message around colour was extremely clear to me and to my clients and they were attracted to come and do colour analysis with me. The beauty of this was that it was an entry to all my other services so clients started to flow in more regularly.

Oh how I wished that I had niched down earlier but I didn’t hear about ideal client work until I was several years into my business. This has been one of the reasons why I now provide a Free 5 Day Challenge to Image Consultants & Personal Stylists to help you identify your ideal client and turn your image business into a profitable enterprise.

The one bit of advise that I give to image consultants now is that you must niche down as early in your business as possible. While it may seem counter intuitive, it is the only way you will become an expert in a particular area and then get to charge the big bucks for your service . If you continue to offer everything to everyone, you will burn out and give up!

There is an alternative, my next 5 Day Ideal Client challenge is scheduled to run from 4th – 8th Nov and you can join here.

Did you know that my main way of getting clients before I went online was to either create events and talk at them or be invited along by a local business to give a talk to their community?

While I loved talking about colour and style, these events involved a lot of work on my part including preparing the materials for the talk, lugging whatever props I was using along to the venue and a couple of nights restless sleep worrying about what I should say.

I think the biggest issue for me with trying to get clients this way was that the conversion rate was so low. The majority of people would some a long to the low priced event to look and see but rarely would they book or buy my full priced services.

The very last event I did, 12 women turned up for my 2 hour colour demonstration and helpful tips talk. Not one of those ladies bought from me, despite the fact that I invested so many hours in putting together a fun, entertaining event.

I found that events like this totally eroded my self confidence and self-esteem. I was almost ready to close my business before I found another way of meeting, engaging and getting clients online.
I quickly realised that there were customers right there in front of me and I didn’t have to leave the comfort of my own home.

I was pretty clueless about social media so I worked with several coaches to define who my ideal client was, what their problems were and how I could solve their problems for them.
I spent the next 6 months learning how to use social media to my advantage.

I implemented everything I learnt faithfully and when I launched my first online training course, I got 5 clients right into my messages without ever having to leave my laptop.
The second time I ran the promo for the course a few short weeks later, I got 12 more clients. In all my years of doing events, I have never picked up anywhere near 5 clients in one go and with so little effort.

Beyond getting the clients, an even greater achievement is knowing that I now have a viable and sustainable business. The old speaking at events route never provided that for me.

I have taken everything I have learnt in the last year and created my Connect and Convert program.

If you want a shortcut to learning what took me over 12 months, then my 3 weeks Connect and Convert Program is perfect for you.🙋🏼‍♀️

Are you a Jack of all trades but master of none?

Many image consultants are trained in colour, style, wardrobe and personal shopping. When they start out, they provide all these services to everyone- men, women, corporations – anyone who is interested. They take this approach because they want to get experience and clients.

The thought process is that if I cast my net wide, I will surely get lots of clients.

Most have invested a lot of money in training, probably left a well-paid job and took a huge leap of faith to start their business. They work long hours spreading the word about their style services and marketing themselves despite the fear of rejection and judgement. Passion keeps them going for the first year or so but when exhaustion sets in and their diaries are still almost empty, they start to wonder if this career is really for them.

The problem with the ‘cast the net wide’ approach to marketing is that, in your efforts to serve everyone, you’ll end up serving no one! While it is tempting to think that everyone needs your services, in reality, working off this assumption will invariably take you down what I call the path of  ‘no paying clients ’.

It’s a costly mistake – I should know, I took this approach in the first two years of my business before I wised up and niched down.

Once I decided to niche down to small business women entrepreneurs, who needed help with their colour and style, my business took off. My marketing efforts became effective and I started getting clients who were a perfect fit for me. I was finally enjoying my image business and making enough money to stay in business and buy the things I wanted.

This worked great for a while but I realised after a few more years that I wasn’t enjoying work as much as I used to, the clients were starting to dwindle and I just wasn’t that motivated anymore.

I had an epiphany to niche down again after another image consultant asked me if I would train her in colour. The idea really appealed to me and once I got my head around what I needed to do, I was once again excited about my work. I started my image consultant training programs in 2010 and loved working with like minded image consultants simplifying colour analysis and helping them to grow their businesses.

What I learned is that niching down/ ideal client work needs to be done routinely as we grow and change. It is usually not a one-off exercise. I had to do a similar exercise when I restarted my business after taking a break for a few years.

Ideal client work is a must if you want a profitable and fun business. While I find myself resisting doing the work, I have found that it pushes me to expand and grow. I have more fun with my clients, and they have an amazing experience because they get the best of me. Guess what they do then? They go out and recommend me to everyone they know.

In my mind, there is no option but to identify your ideal client and niche down as early as you can in your business. Have you done the work?

I am running a FREE 5-DAY IDEAL CLIENT CHALLENGE starting on 4th Nov 2019.

JOIN MY FREE IDEAL CLIENT CHALLENGE HERE