PODCAST SHOWNOTES

Welcome to the Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, the ultimate no-BS business podcast for ambitious personal stylists ready to build a six-figure and beyond personal styling business.

You won't hear the typical snoozefest business advice that most personal stylists get told all of the time. Nope. Instead, I'll be sharing business-building strategies that will help you create a killer personal brand, a cult following of loyal personal styling clients, and make a ton of cash while creating lasting style transformations for your clients.

I'm Nicole Otchy, your host and a former personal stylist of 14 years who built a lucrative styling business in three major cities, but only after spending years trying to crack the six-figure styling business code without burning out. And now I'm here to tell you how to do exactly the same. Let's get into it.

Welcome back to The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast. If you're hanging out here with me, chances are that you are not just dabbling in personal styling. Some of you may be still considering it, in which case you are absolutely welcome here.

But if you're here, you're a regular listener, you're one of the many people who actually listens to the end, which so many of you do and I'm so grateful, you're serious about building a business that gives you financial freedom and really high-quality clients that you actually make a lasting impact on.

Now, one of the biggest shifts that I see when I work with stylists who have already hit six figures, sometimes they're at multiple six figures, isn't that they've magically cracked the code on avoiding burnout or that their business is running on autopilot and they're just going to these client houses who are paying them tens of thousands of dollars, otherwise they're just like sipping drinks on the beach, none of that.

It's that they don't just see themselves as a stylist. They have positioned themselves as a trusted advisor to their ideal clients. That difference is everything in what's possible for them, in their income, in their impact, in the type of press they get, in the type of podcast they're asked to be on.

It doesn't always mean that everybody is liking their posts or that they put one thing up and it converts to sales. It means that they have a steady flow of consistent clients because they're showing up in a specific way regardless of what their audience is doing. Today I want to talk about how stylists at any stage of business income-wise can start adopting the behaviors and the mindset of a thought leader because that is what elevates you from a service provider to someone who commands top-tier rates, who attracts ideal clients with ease and who build a styling business that is actually sustainable if it is paired with the right business plan.

This is just a part of sustainability. This is about really being the most effective in your marketing that you can be, and it will feel better to a lot of you because it really changes the game on how a lot of stylists think of their content, which is from a real perfectionistic point of view.

When you're a thought leader and you're thinking of yourself as a thought leader and you're behaving as a thought leader, you have to execute on ideas before they are fully formed in service of getting that back and forth with your audience because that's what leaders do. They get into contact with the people they lead and they take in that information and it shapes their action and their communication.

First, let's define what thought leadership actually is because I see a lot of people throwing this term around, but I'm not sure that I see a lot of great examples of people embodying it. What is a thought leader? Thought leadership refers to positioning yourself or your brand as an expert in your field.

It is about more than just delivering a great service. A thought leader generates innovative ideas, shares valuable insights, and ultimately shapes the way people think about their industry. About personal styling, personal identity, and a person's relationship with fashion or style.

Thought leaders don't just talk about what they do, they talk about why it matters. Why it matters—So incredibly important. Personal stylists who really behave like thought leaders, they're not just posting outfit ideas or shopping links or telling you where to buy the next great coat, they're talking about how clothing impacts confidence, specifically in lived experiences, in career success, in personal branding success, in self-perception success, in dating success. They're educating, influencing people, and leading conversations in ways that make their ideal client say, "I need this person in my life, not necessarily I need a stylist."

Let's talk about real reasons why thought leadership matters and why at the end of the day, it will always be the thing that I believe makes people stand out in business and gives your business the most longevity. It commands more money.

I know that that's something everybody listening cares about. Why does thought leadership command higher rates? Because people pay premium prices for authority, not just for services. Services are a commodity, authority is expertise. If you think about it, when a business leader needs legal advice, they don't just hire any lawyer.

They don't go type into Google, any lawyer will do. They go for a lawyer who knows their particular area that they're struggling with. They go for the lawyer who's known as the expert in their industry for the problem they are struggling with.

When someone wants to work with a personal trainer, they don't just pick any random personal trainer, they choose the one who has a clear philosophy, a strong track record with clients that look like them, and a unique way of doing things that appeals to whatever it is that that person is struggling with most.

Maybe they're known for their shorter workouts because they work with busy people, people that don't like going to the gym, so maybe they specialize it at home. Whatever it is that is the thing that is sort of in the way of that person getting to their health and fitness goals on their own is going to be an important factor in the positioning of the personal trainer that is right for them.

If you think that going to a gym is the worst possible thing, you're probably not going to pick the personal trainer that's obsessed with you doing 45-minute, two-hour gym rat exercise routines. You're going to want someone that tells you how to get fit and look amazing in your house, potentially.

The same applies to personal styling. High net worth clients, busy professionals, public-facing figures, people who are not wondering if they should hire you or take a vacation, are not hiring stylists just to fix their closet or get them some outfits.

They're hiring someone who understands their identity, their personal brand, the positioning of that brand in the marketplace, and their lifestyle, and someone who can advise them on how to align their external image with their internal goals, sure, yes, of course, because everybody wants that from a stylist, but that actually can advise them in a way that helps them be confident that the perception they're projecting is giving the right messages to the right people.

That stylist has to know a lot about psychology and why certain things trigger perceptions and other people. All of that. That's not the same thing as just that outfit looks flattering. If you're just another stylist offering a closet edit or shopping sessions, or you're really focused on reducing your rate, you're competing on your price. But if you're a thought leader who shares insights on why personal style is a tool for power, for influence, for success, you will start to build a category all of your own.

This is why I know I say a lot about like, don't ever share tips and tricks or if you're going to share them, like I said on the last episode, wrap them up in the identity of your ideal client. But notice how when I'm talking about thought leadership, we're talking about something that's so far above that.

The thinking of a tip or a trick seems just silly next to the enormous responsibility of thought leadership. Helping people think about their relationship to their style and their clothes differently takes a lot more persistence and messaging than making sure that you check off your Instagram to-do this week.

This is what I mean when I talk about having a content strategy. This is what we focus on in the work that we do with people because I am not interested in you being a personal stylist. You already should be a personal stylist by the time I get to you. I am interested in attracting stylists who want to be thought leaders, who want to truly transform the way that people use the tool of style.

Lots of us say that we do that. I'm sure I said that. But when I look at my career, I am clear that it wasn't until I was very confident and comfortable with myself and in my expertise and in having sometimes difficult conversations with clients that I became truly transformational.

It wasn't when I was giving away tips. It wasn't when I was repositioning my services all the time. It wasn't when I was running sales and hoping that people signed up because I gave 20% off. I wasn't behaving as a thought leader. I was too far down the anxiety scale, if you will.

Thought leadership helps you rise above it, is what I believe, because you're too busy creating new ideas and new connections for people in order for them to see this thing differently so that they want to hire you. Again, they don't just want a stylist, they want you.

This is why thought leaders attract higher-quality clients. They build stronger brand loyalty and they charge significantly more. How do you actually start positioning yourself this way? Let's get into it. You know I wasn't going to leave here without telling you.

This is how I want you to act and think like a thought leader in your personal styling business, because here's the truth. Being a thought leader isn't about having a massive social media following or getting featured in Vogue. It's about how you think, how you communicate, and how you position yourself. Nobody needs to give you permission for this. Nobody.

In fact, if you're waiting for permission, this is it, keep moving in, you have it, don't look back. These are the three key shifts to start making today in order to start embodying more of this thought leadership energy. Shift from sharing tips to sharing perspectives.

Most stylists focus on what to wear, what they're wearing, why they're wearing it, what they pulled for their clients. Thought leaders focus on why it matters. You may have the same starting content, but the way you talk about it is different. Instead of posting five ways to wear a blazer this spring, start talking about why a well-fitting blazer changes how you are perceived in the boardroom or on stage or in some other context that drastically impacts your client's life.

Instead of showing before and afters, which I know is a big controversy in the space and most people don't want to do anyway, you don't need that. Lots of people tell me, "Oh, I don't really want to show before and after, so I'm not sure how to post," or they use it as an excuse for why they're not showing up consistently.

But here's the truth, explaining the psychological shifts that happen when someone starts dressing in alignment with their future self, and then they actually get the job or start nailing their talks or start pitching themselves more as business owners, that's what people want to hear.

They don't really even want to see those before and afters. They want to know how the before and afters actually impact the lived experience of the person that you styled. That's the good news. It's not an excuse to not boast. Your audience needs more than Pinterest outfit ideas.

They need new ways of thinking about personal style. There is no shortage of outfit formulas, of outfits to buy, of links to click. There is a serious shortage of new ways of thinking about personal style. The second way you can start embodying thought leadership in your business is to develop a clear point of view and stick to it.

Thought leaders do not try to be everything to everyone. They have a specific philosophy and they are not afraid to stand by it. I want you to ask yourself this, what do you believe about personal style that most stylists aren't talking about? Now, I don't want you to delve deep into everybody else's content if you are not already, but if you already are checking out other stylists, this shouldn't be hard for you.

Maybe you believe that style is a leadership tool. Maybe you believe that high achieving women are wasting time and energy making low-level wardrobe decisions. Maybe you believe that getting dressed isn't about impressing others. It's about stepping into your next-level self.

That one, I'll be honest with you. Lots of people are saying that. But what type of next-level self? What do they want to do when they are their next-level self, that having this wardrobe will help them do? Whatever it is, make sure that it is clear, make sure it is compelling, and make sure it runs through every single thing you put out.

When I get to a lot of stylist websites, I learn very quickly that the thing they say they do on Instagram is nowhere to be found on their website. If I can get to your homepage and not see this alleged niche that you're telling me that you have, we have a problem because that is in thought leadership behavior.

The point of view that you bring to the styling industry has to be everywhere, and who you do it for has to be everywhere to make sales easy. Don't make people work so hard to understand you. Show that you've already done the work to understand them. The third point about really making sure that you're starting to step into and embody thought leadership is for you to start practicing communicating like an expert, not just a business owner, not just a stylist.

Your marketing shouldn't feel like a sales pitch. It should be a conversation with somebody who's already leading in the industry. How would you show up differently today—this is a question I asked a client last week—if you were already behaving as the stylist, the stylist, the one and only best in the world stylist for your niche?

Instead of focusing on what you sell, focus on what you stand for. You can figure out what service to put them in on the sales call. People don't remember that. People can read your whole website. You can give them your prices before a call, and they'll still be shocked and alarmed by their price when they get on the call with you because nobody remembers, but they will remember what you stand for.

That is big picture. That is a feeling. That is something that their identity will connect with and that's what makes the difference between people getting on calls that are dying to work with you and people getting on calls interviewing you.

Instead of constantly trying to “convince” people that you're the right person for them, create content that challenges their current thinking. I am going to be so honest and I really struggle with this myself because when I put out certain episodes that feel like they have a little bit of rub to them or they feel a little bit very direct or very to the point, I know lots of you think that that's just how I communicate.

But actually, it's something I struggle with because I don't want to be off-putting. But what's wild is it's the episodes—and my podcast producer can totally vouch for this—that I am the most anxious that go out because they are the most direct, they are the most honest, and sometimes I worry that people will think that I'm being not as kind as I want to come across.

Those are the ones that do the best because I am telling the truth. One of the things I have talked about with clients recently is, I have to be very responsible about my energy. When I'm delivering something that I perceive to be maybe a little against the grain or tricky, because I know lots of people do it and it's the industry norm, I try to make sure that I've really checked in with my energy and it truly is coming from a place of love and the best interest of the people involved.

I don't put out episodes like that, that often though I think to some people my affect is more direct than theirs and sort of just partially personality, partially 15, 16 years of marketing has taught me what my audience actually responds to from me, not necessarily going to be the right angle for you.

But what I've learned is that when you challenge people's current thinking, they may not sign up right away, but they usually come back around if you're delivering it and you have a presence that consistently shows that you care about their best interest. I know I have clients that say things to me like, “Oh, I can't be as honest as you. I can't be as direct as you.”

They're really trying to say, “I don't want to be controversial.” But if you're telling people something that you know is going to help them get better results, even if it's something that they need to stop doing now, wouldn't you hope somebody would tell you the truth versus just letting you do that ridiculous thing over and over?

An example of this is that a lot of stylists use words like, "You shouldn't be shopping from influencers. They're not going to help your style." That makes it about the influencer. It doesn't make it about the person who's buying from the influencer. It's not to make it seem like you're doing the wrong thing, which is fine, but instead of doing it that way, it's more about, “That feels like you're trying to convince people. Don't go with influencers. Go with stylists. Go with me.”

But instead, you want to think about how has them shopping links from influencers, how people that have told you they've done that in the past and then hired you, what is the difference in how does their wardrobe feel to them versus what it feels like when they're just hiring off of links from influencers?

Then when you think that through, the headline is like, “The reason that you feel like crap in the clothes that you're buying from influencer links is X, Y, Z.” See, it's not really about the influencer. It's about how the person feels by taking the action. That is what I mean when I say you want to create content that challenges their current thinking.

Not challenging people's thinking, that's when they say they're doing something wrong, there's sometimes when you're just going to say that and that's fine. But when you're thinking of a body of work and thought leadership, it really has to be something you repeat often and it has to, from different angles, challenge their current thinking.

It can't just be don't do it. Why? Sure, as a shorthand now and again, you can say that, but you have to have multiple reasons why they can't or shouldn't do it if they want XYZ end result in their wardrobe. Instead, last of talking with the logistics of working with you, talk about the long-term transformation of working with you.

Not just when you deliver the lookbook, not just when they get a couple of compliments at work but what happens to that person over time when they rewrite the story of being someone that has good style because at the end of the day, the majority of people that come to a stylist, whether they have okay style or not in your eyes, don't have the style that's good enough for them.

What happens in their life when they do have a style that they feel is up to the standard that they want to live in their life? That's going to make a huge difference in how people perceive you and your work versus how many sessions they get with you and all of that.

Sure, that stuff has to be somewhere, has to be on your website, has to be in your sales column boarding or wherever you put that. But it's not the thing that you should be leading in your marketing because it's boring, quite honestly. It doesn't show that you stand for something.

It takes up the air time that is very limited, in which you have people's attention. A thought leader makes people think, they make people feel, and they again make people say, "Not I need a stylist, but I need you in my life." The stylists who break past six figures and build businesses that are actually feeling good to run on a daily basis, they can't believe the kind of clients they're calling in, the kind of client conversations that they're having, are not just doing marketing.

They're positioning themselves differently. They're leading conversations. They've stopped seeing themselves as just a service provider and really started seeing themselves as advisors, as educators, and as leaders. If you want to work with high-level clients who trust you when they get on the sales call, not after they work with you, but when they're actually on the sales call, they're just on the sales call to get some details, they already respect your expertise and they are ready and willing to pay a premium rate without hesitation, this is the shift that you need to make. This is it.

It's very hard to be a thought leader and not have your content be about your ideal client. That's why I like this concept and it's why I've been sort of starting to introduce it into my content. Because when I try to think about how I want my ideal client to act, it is from this space. There are going to be a lot of people that have zero interest. They just want to create cute outfits. That's fine. But I want stylists who want to be transformational.

Transformational styling starts with changing people's minds, not with changing people's wardrobes. This is the foundation of all of the work I do with my clients and even of the work I do on this podcast. I didn't start a podcast to get more business. I started a podcast to create thought leadership in the industry that I saw was sorely missing.

Everything I'm sharing with you, everything I tell you to do, just FYI, is what I actually do every day of my life. I would never tell you to do something in your business that I don't do because I always test things first, see the results, and then share that back with my clients.

I just want to share that to be totally transparent on here, because there are three steps that I'm going to give you that I have had to do myself that have allowed me to get this business to six figures in one year, and I'm on track to double what I did last year. Here are those steps.

One, identify your unique point of view on style. Not your favorite tip, not your favorite tricks, your unique point of view. It's not just—spoiler alert because I give this note every time I work through action plans with Income Accelerator clients, I think women have a right to feel confident, or I think you should feel good in your body. It's not that, that's a given. We need to go deeper than that.

Number two, start shifting your content from tips to insights. If you give a tip, make sure that at the end of that tip, you are helping people rethink the actual thing that you're talking about, not just take an action, but to think differently about the action that they may take with that tip. Number three, stop trying to sound like every other stylist out there who you think is successful. I hear a lot of this, “Well, there's so-and-so, and she also does personal branding and she seems successful so I did these posts and they didn't get the same reach. Now I don't know why. I guess it's because I don't have the right audience.”

No, it's because you're positioning yourself as a thought leader in the space isn't about having a niche that somebody else has that's successful. It's about you having an opinion about that niche that makes you successful. That is going to be the difference. You have to build up the muscle of letting people hear your opinion.

Sometimes that means being wrong. I know that is deeply scary to lots of us, myself included. But what I have found is that if you keep showing up, and you keep dedicating yourself to a group of people, and you keep going deeper, and revising your thoughts, and almost like it's a paper in school that you wrote, and you're just like updating it all the time, you're making it better, you're making your thesis stronger, which I know is going to turn off a lot of people who hated writing in school, so forgive me, but that is what thought leadership is.

I like it because it's not something that requires your perfection. It's something that requires your attention, your care, and your commitment, but never and never your perfection. That's a big thing that I want to help a lot of stylists with, is not thinking that marketing, leadership, and having a platform is about perfection.

At the end of the day, it's the spirit and the energy that you come to that group of people with that lets them know intuitively that you have their best interest in mind. If you misquote something or you make a mistake, it's forgotten because you're human, you treat them as humans, and you are not making a mistake mean that you're a bad or a wrong person.

Just like them not wearing the right clothes for their body shape or the right colors doesn't mean anything about their identity. Same thing. You modeling that, that's transformational. I'll talk to you in the next episode.

Thank you so much for hanging out with me. It turns out that social proof is actually pretty important. So if you could help me out, I'd so appreciate it. If you just had a quick free moment and could leave me a rating or review on the podcast app, that would be killer. And even better, if you wanted to share this episode on Instagram and tag me, that would totally make my day and it would bring so much more awareness to the podcast and would help other stylists just like you who are looking to build lucrative styling business because the better each of us does, the better all of us do. Thanks for hanging out with me and I'll chat with you next time.