How to Start an Image Consulting Business
Business Overview:
If the idea of helping people achieve their best selves—whether professionally or personally—appeals to you, learn how to start an image consulting business. The purpose behind a business idea like this is to create a market where you can instruct individuals on how to dress, speak, behave, and “sell” themselves in their best light. Of course, if you’re thinking of starting an image consulting business, plan on looking the part yourself. This means you (and your employees, if you have them) need to perfect your own image and etiquette before anyone will trust (and pay) your company to help them. Additionally, you’ll want to possess a good eye for details and for style so you can better assist your clients in determining what their clothes should look like and how they should present themselves. Achieving success as an image consultant means that you will have to establish relationships with your clients so you know how to help them and what their image goals are. To do this, you should have strong people skills and enjoy working with others in sometimes sensitive situations (think: body issues or social anxieties). Your client relationships and image building techniques might take weeks or months to develop and culminate to a finished “product,” and so pricing your image consultant services can be a difficult task. You would do well to have a very definite pricing scale for your services, based on the detail of consultation you provide for your client. Finally, you should be prepared to market your business effectively; because while it is becoming more and more popular, not everyone has heard of real-life image consultants. Talking up your business and looking like a million bucks can turn your dream into a lucrative business model.
A Day in the Life of an Image Consulting Business Owner:
In this business, your mirror and your eye for detail can be your best friends, so starting the day by looking the part of a stylish and successful business owner will be your first task. Next, you’ll want to review your contact and to-do list. This will set up your day—do you have any client meetings or will you be working on your recruiting and marketing techniques? If you will be consulting a client, you will need to review what the client will expect from you that day, whether it’s a wardrobe analysis or etiquette lessons, and you’ll want to be overly prepared for it. If you have employees working for your consulting firm, you will want to ensure they’re keeping up with the clients and providing the level of service your clients would expect from your company. Finally, you will need to review your expenses to ensure your business is growing and earning you profits.
About Your Customers:
Your customers will be interested in modifying their look or their behavior in order to achieve success in their lives. Their motivations for hiring an image consultant can run the gamut from new weight loss to recent divorce to impending promotion, and your company will need to be armed with the expertise to meet their needs. Because your clients’ needs can be so vastly different, you might tailor your services to fit a certain niche. Your company could provide image consulting for divorcees, executives, cancer survivors or any number of life-altering experiences that might call for a change of image.
What You Need to Start:
- A name for your company that explains what you do
- Business license, permit, and insurance
- Office space (a home office works fine for this business)
- An eye for style, etiquette, and detail
- A look of your own that will appeal to the masses
- A pricing menu for your services
- Relationships with local store and boutique owners for samples
- A contact database
- Financial-tracking software
The Good:
- You can start this business with very little money upfront and no specialized education.
- You can run your business on a part-time or full-time basis, with or without employees.
- You can operate your image consulting business from your home office.
- In addition to meeting new people, you might also get some “ins” at local boutiques or shops that you introduce your clients to.
- The business can be lucrative, especially if you make a name for yourself, or find your business a niche market.
The Bad:
- Image consulting is not always the top priority in people’s lives, especially if there’s a downturn in the economy (conversely, that may be exactly when people need your services the most).
- Pricing a service like this can be tricky.
Resources:
- Association of Image Consultants International
- World Association of Image Consultants
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Article on Image Consultants
- Word IQ on Image Consultants
About The Author
Templateify
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