Boss Money: Josephine Eve, Personal Stylist
Josephine’s super power is helping clients find personal confidence and a sense of empowerment through their outfits. She’s worked in the fashion industry for the best part of a decade and very early on in her career she styled celebrities. Whilst that was all glamorous and fun, what brings her the most joy is when she helps every day women transform their personal style so that they not only look good, but feel amazing. Her mission is to make confidence your signature style and wardrobe staple.
"Style is something each of us already has, all we need to do is find it." —Diane von Furstenberg
What does it mean to be a personal stylist? What do you do?
As a personal stylist, my job is all about empowering women and men with knowledge, confidence and style in their everyday wardrobes.
What inspired you to start a business?
I've always enjoyed fashion and shopping from a young age, but I also struggled a lot with my own insecurities and body image when I was younger, and fashion was something that gave me confidence. No matter how down I felt, I could always boost my mood with a bit of colour or a fun new outfit.
Initially I was working in a full-time corporate desk job and I felt like I wasn't living out my true purpose in life as I had always wanted to be in the creative industry. I felt like my creative skills were just wasting away back then.
It wasn't until I was sharing an apartment with a lady who was a wardrobe stylist on TV, and she would always encourage me to start my own business in personal styling as often she would get inspired by my outfits and my latest purchases.
I also really wanted to help people with their confidence in themselves too as this was something that I had struggled with myself growing up. So I wanted to provide a way for people to transform their relationship with themselves, their wardrobe and how they show up in their life everyday.
Starting a business typically involves a lot of trial, error and learning. What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
So many things! I can’t pick one so let me share a few of my top lessons:
Always plan for the year ahead. Going through business day by day doesn't really help if you don't have a thoroughly planned out year (especially for marketing) and how you will reach your goals.
Work on your money mindset. Your mind is the main thing that will either bring you the most success or hold you back.
Don't be afraid of failure of throwing yourself in the deep end and try something challenging. You'll surprise yourself or grow from your mistakes, either way.
The thing that is holding you back from 'doing' those essential business tasks that will help you grow your business is your excuses. You know the ones that you let yourself get away with. Don't listen to those excuses!
Done is better than perfect.
What’s the biggest money lesson you’ve learned since starting your business?
Your limiting beliefs around money (eg; money is hard to come by, or rich people are selfish etc) are SO important.
They are what hold you back from success. I had a lot of limiting beliefs around money which were making me self-sabotage opportunities. For example, I wouldn't always call back every enquiry in the very beginning. It was like I was fearful of being successful and having money coming in on a regular basis.
Once I worked through my beliefs around money, I started to see a massive shift in sales and by the end of that financial year my business had doubled! All that just from changing my mindset!
Josephine, you’re speaking my language!! What a great story. So that makes me curious to know what’s been your biggest financial win as a business owner?
As hard as Covid was in the beginning, it was a blessing in disguise. Due to the impact of the pandemic I attracted so many new clients who suddenly wanted help to curate a new wardrobe. The pandemic had changed them in that they had either lost/gained weight, wanted a new look, had started a new job, a new career, their lifestyle had changed, or simply that the workplace dress code was more ‘relaxed’ and people needed help creating new work looks. So I had a lot of new business because the pandemic had impacted and transformed so many people’s lives.
Fashion is a big part of our everyday life. What kind of legacy do you what to create with your styling business?
My hope is that my clients will gain a long-lasting sense of confidence in the way that they dress, shop and ultimately feel about themselves. That they can always draw upon the skills that I have taught them to navigate their way out of a styling pickle and back to feeling like the best version of themselves.
What does your business empower you to do?
Working for myself has given me more freedom to choose my working hours and achieve things that I would have never have been able to do working for someone else. It also challenges and develops me in different ways each year. It’s taught me how to fail, learn from it and come back stronger, more resilient and more confident than I thought possible.
Who's in your 'A Team'?
For a time I worked with a business coaching company. They helped me to both create strong business foundations as well as grow my online presence. Today my primary source of support is my partner. He’s very knowledgeable and gives me sound business advice.
Do you have any advice that would you give to another lady hoping to start her own business?
Start by doing your market research. What’s the demographic of your client base? Do they want to buy what you’re planning to sell? What are their pain points? Know the answers to these questions before jumping into business.
Then do some planning. Consider the numbers, forecast how much work you will realistically be able to do and consider whether you will need to hire someone in order to gain scale and gain momentum.
Expect that you will have failures and there will be tears but focus more on what you will gain from your business, the impact you can make and the personal growth you will experience. This is the fuel that will get you through the hard times and prevent you from giving up.
As you move through your business, continue to define and refine your process and your positioning to highlight your unique talents that set you apart from the rest!
Finally, what are you looking forward to right now?
Hopefully I’ll be scaling my business further this year. That may mean I need to hire another stylist or perhaps create more passive income through my online styling resources.
The process of understanding what colours and styles suit you can be an absolute games changer for your wardrobe, money and the environment. Not only can you feel more confident but you’ll avoid buying clothes that you never wear and that end up in landfill. To learn more about Josephine’s services you can check out her website or follow her on instagram @Josephine_eve_stylist.