We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kendra Sharpe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kendra below.

Kendra, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The risks I have taken are huge! In the middle of a pandemic in 2020, I decided I wanted to start a business and go out on my own doing something I knew I was good at but still had imposter syndrome. I started from scratch with only funds I had from my marketing job, my computer and camera phone and networking abilities and took the leap of faith into the unknown. Along the way, I found some great clients and pushed through the noise to come out on the other side of fear. I still find myself taking risks when it comes to business. I send that email and ask the questions other might not, but I know these steps will take me further and if I seek out the unknown it usually means I am escaping my comfort zone and entering a new era. For me, starting my business in general was a huge risk! I had to figure out how to make packages, get clients, network and market myself and hone in on my values. Finding the thing that lets your passion and purpose collide takes time and patience. So, I trusted the process, persisted in what I knew I was good at, and worked my way into a new path for myself. Now taking a risk is second nature and what I know I have to do to reach new goals and levels of success!

Kendra, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into this industry simply by having a passion for fashion. As a young child, I grew up ripping pages out of magazines, reading up on the latest trends, and helping friends and family transform their closets. As someone who has just always had an eye for fashion, I took that and ran with it and worked with brands to grow my network and portfolio. This would lead me to working with an agent and putting in the work with commercial clients to help me grow in the field. I now have worked with Peter Millar, Wrangler jeans, Hanesbrands, and more! I started pursuing more personal styling clients because I love to see people light up when they try on something they feel absolutely wonderful in! It brings me so much joy to help people in this way. Style is so personal and to help people discover that is like no other! It’s like a drug. i just want to help people in this way and see it change them for the better. Clothes aren’t just clothes, they are an expression!

My business is shaped around helping women find their style and using it as a tool to look good and feel good! As a personal and commercial stylist, I work with brands/businesses to everyday women/entrepreneurs and businesswomen. For personal styling, I help people explore what style means to them and how they can see themselves in a different light with the power of style. It could be people looking for a change in their wardrobe based on a season, personal goal, new awakening, or simply because they want to feel their best day to day. For commercial work, I am on a set helping brands maintain their brand story and work with models and brand teams to help bring their vision to life with their clothes, whether it be for social/web, e-comm, or print.

I help solve the problem of “What do I want to wear today?” or “What looks the best on my body type?” or “I have a huge event coming up in my life, and I want to look and feel my best, but I don’t know where to start.” There are so many ways people can want to work with a stylist but overall, it’s to FEEL their best and look their best in the process. It’s about learning, growing and experimenting with looks and finding the perfect formula for my clients.

I want people to know that I give 100% to everything I do! When I work with people or brands, big to small, I love to bring a vision to life and see people love their clothes. I want people to know that a life-changing experience is one wardrobe refresh or closet edit away and that honing in on your personal style is one of the most important things you can do to express yourself and live authentically.

To me, fashion is all about trying new things, working on who you are and showing that to the world. Building that confidence and showing up as someone who cares about their image and wants to nurture that and build that aspect of their lives. I love spreading the word about style and showing people and brands that with a little spunk and showing your personality through good style, you can change the way you take on the world!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

My styling business was my side hustle for years! Starting this business was a slow process because I had to have money to live and did my creative business when I had the time. I soon saved some funds, and got a business coach and a brand designer to help me with the styling business to push it forward. Nurturing my connections and grinding in the field was the actual secret sauce to making it more of a full-time gig. I had to really grind! Business cards, networking events, spreading awareness on socials, content strategy, building business processes and packages. It all took time, effort, and the biggest one, trial and error! A key milestone for me was booking with Peter Millar! A huge brand in NC, and I learned so much from that experience!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the biggest reward of being creative is showing what I love to do to the world unapologetically! I love that what I do is fun, exciting, experimental, bold, powerful and inspiring. I love that style is different for everyone and every brand so its awesome to help people find their style and to help brands create an aesthetic. Nothing brings me more joy than being on set with a brand and helping them launch a new product or helping a businesswoman step on a stage for a speaking engagement and totally kill it in a badass outfit we carefully curated. The reward is seeing my hard work pay off with beautiful images or videos and people’s smiling faces! It’s a high that I can’t get enough of!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kendrasharpe.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kendrasharpestyling/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendrasharpe/
• Other: https://g.co/kgs/neBrURc