Up until recently while we’ve been locked down, I have gotten asked almost daily, “How did you get started in styling/image consulting?” OR “How did you decide on starting your business.”

It’s rarely clients who ask me these questions, so it never occurred to me to talk about it with you. But the other day as I was organizing my office, I came across the clipping below, and it brought up good memories and inspired me to share more.

You can see that the newspaper is pretty old, but the story goes even further back…

If you haven’t seen my Meet Dana page, I invite you to check it out, but in a nutshell, I have loved clothes for as long as I can remember!

I particularly remember asking my mom, who was super stylish, starting around age six, “Mom, can I wear this together?” And if she ever said “no,” I would immediately come back with “why not?”

And she’d explain why the colors, patterns, etc. didn’t work. Sometimes I’d take her advice, but often times, if I liked it, I’d wear it anyway.

In the interest of brevity, I’ll fast forward from six-year-old Dana to 1994. I’d just begun my first “non-fashion” job selling advertising when I ran across the newspaper ad for “Closet of Miracles.” I was intrigued!

For some reason I wasn’t able to attend the “fashion show,” but I absolutely had to know more, so I met with the woman who put it on.  She explained how women could look better simply by wearing the right colors and shapes. And it made so much sense.

She went on to tell me more about her business helping women look and feel their very best. I seriously can’t remember if she called it image consulting, but I knew it was what I wanted to do. And I started doing as much research about the industry as one could at the time without the Internet.

Fast forward to 2003…almost 10 years after I’d heard about my dream job, I was at a place in my life where I was ready to dive in.

First, I took very specific image consulting training, because even though I had an innate sense of style, I wanted to become an expert in my field.  (Did you know I’m certified?)

Immediately when I got home from the training, I “hung out my shingle,” and the rest is history.

I’ve been helping successful women “Take the Stress Out of Getting Dressed” since 2004! And I’ve loved every single minute of it.

Things have definitely changed a ton over the years.

• Society has gotten way more casual!
• I used to wear suits and skirts a lot!
• Now I often wear jeans for shopping trips (stylish jeans, of course)!
• I’ve had a cell phone the whole time I’ve been in business, but I didn’t always snap photos and selfies like we do today!
• You used to be able to park at Cherry Creek Mall for free!

This is the short list…obviously there have been LOTS of changes.

What hasn’t changed?

• I love networking (in person, yes. Via Zoom, not as much.)
• Women want to feel stylish and put together which leads to more confidence, and I love helping my clients achieve this!
• I love my clients!
• I love having fun!
• I love writing these newsletters and blogs!

And that gets you up to speed about how I got started and what I’m up to with my business. Stay tuned…I have some exciting new things coming down the pike soon!

Now, over to you I would LOVE to hear from you! What would you most like others to know about you? Let us know in the comments.