Actress & model, Michelle McFarlane (Liberman), turned entrepreneur shares her story on becoming a personal shopper and stylist
Find out what made model and actress, Michelle Liberman (now the face of The Shopping Friend), switch from ‘getting styled’ to ‘styling others’.
Shopilist’s Community of Insiders chose our very own Michelle McFarlane (Liberman – yes, she got married!) as one of their Los Angeles Insiders. They sat down with her to get some insight on her and find out how she became a personal shopper-stylist and built the super successful personal shopping business, The Shopping Friend.
Read on, there’s something for everyone here. If you’re an aspiring personal shopper and stylist, there’s some great advice on what makes a good stylist and how to become a personal shopper. You might want to read some of the Q&A’s from the other personal stylists on the list too.
If you’re a client looking for personal styling services, read about Michelle and The Shopping Friend’s Team of Personal Stylists to see if they might be a good fit for you. If you’d like some other options, there are other personal shopper stylists on the list, as well, to read about.
Read the interview below:
Meet the Insiders – LA – Michelle Liberman
Wanna know more about the insiders who style you up or give you tips on how to dress better? We had the chance to sit down with Michelle, our insider based in Los Angeles for a quick Q&A!
What did you do before becoming a stylist/personal shopper?
I was a model and actress in New York City and Los Angeles. Working with hundreds of professional stylists and designers was my fashion and style school. They taught me everything I know. And they knew A LOT.
What inspired you to become a stylist/personal shopper?
I was modeling for Glamour Magazine one day and became friendly with the producer of the shoot. She was looking through my modeling portfolio and asked who had styled one of my shoots. It turned out that I had styled that particular shoot and we started chatting about image and style. She felt comfortable enough with me to ask if I would help her go through her closet and go shopping for some new pieces. I said sure. We ended up spending 10 hours, a week later, going through her closet and then going shopping. I taught her what the other stylists I had worked with taught me. She was super grateful and I found a job that I really enjoyed!
Do you have any tips for aspiring personal shoppers?
To be a fantastic personal stylist/shopper you need three key elements:
The ability to give incredible customer service. The session is about your client. It has nothing to do with you. It’s about your client and their personality and their needs and their wants. Too many people with too much ego have tried this profession and failed miserably. If you don’t know how to make people feel good about themselves, find a different profession.
The skill to dress all body types, all personalities, all genders, in a beautiful style without letting your own style impose on theirs. I once had a stylist work for me who dressed really funky but told me she could dress other people according to their tastes. She couldn’t do it. And I ended up with two dissatisfied clients who didn’t like HER outfits and didn’t like the pieces she pulled. I had to set them up with a different stylist to make it up to them.
You need to remember this is a business. Understanding sales, marketing, and accounting is important if you want to continue to build your client list and grow your styling company. Knowing how to scale your business is essential to survival long term.
Surprisingly, there is a lot to know about this business and profession. This is why I started Stylist School Online. So that more aspiring stylists would have access to the styling education they need in order to build a successful personal styling business.
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