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

Alright, Amy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights 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.

I was never a risk taker. I was a perfectionist who feared failure, steering clear of anything that could potentially challenge me outside of my comfort zone. And so I lived a life of success by only engaging in things that i did well.

Until I met my husband. I had always wanted to open a women’s clothing store. I worked for years in retail, learning from the best in Boston. When my husband and I moved out of the city, I was ready to bring city style to the suburbs and open my women’s boutique, dresscode. But I was petrified. What if no one comes in? What if I fail? What if…
My husband’s response was So What. What’s the worst that can happen?
For the first time I digested what it would mean to fail. I sat and marinated on what that might feel like. What it would look like in real life. And what the benefits of taking this risk would mean to me – the fruition of my dream vs. the unknown.

This was my first and most liberating risk.
I learned about facing fears.
I learned about dealing with challenging situations and having to use my own abilities to find solutions.
I learned that I actually HAD these abilities inside of me! I was so much stronger and capable than I ever knew.
I learned about resilience.
I learned that the reward of taking a risk was a million times better than staying stuck, yet safe.

Fourteen years and 3 children later, along with the growth of online sales and social media, I was finding that being a solo-preneur was making me feel trapped. I was so caught up with running the multiplying aspects of the business, that I wasn’t finding the time or experiencing the joy of being with the clients on the floor. There was no balance in my life and I was missing too much with my children.
But owning dresscode was my life. It was who I was – my identity, my purpose, and my first child. It was also literally making me miserable. I didn’t know what to do without being the owner of dresscode.

And that was my second big risk. I let it go. I sold the store after 14 years (thanks to several years of therapy and a visit to two mediums). I was now ready for my year of Yes. I didn’t want to commit to anything right away. For the first time in my life, I didn’t have a job waiting or even an idea about what I wanted to do. Instead, I wanted to organically let the universe send me in the direction of where I was meant to be.

Long story short, it lead me to getting certified to teach pilates, where I learned that making women feel strong in their body was as exhilarating and empowering as helping them feel beautiful and confident in their clothes.

And then, in my search to understand the inflammation in my body (hip replacement in my 30s etc.), I worked with a health coach. And this changed my world. I learned about nutrition and diet, but also about mindset, habit change and the importance of self love. I needed to learn more, so I became a certified Health and Life Coach, followed by a certification as a Nutrition Coach. Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I used every single tool I had learned, to get through those years of treatment.

My third major risk is my reinvention in my 50s to create EVOLUTION self + style.
Cancer has taught me that I have more strength and resilience than I could have imagined. Taking risks has made me realize that not only can I survive, but I will thrive by pushing myself. So now when I am fearful, I push forward instead of letting it stop me. I embrace it, with the understanding that what’s on the other side will be my reward.
This is my story of reinvention. My personal Evolution. Of having found the strength to let go of something that no longer served me. Of trusting that there is more out there and that I am deserving of that balance, joy and accomplishment. Through my new business EVOLUTION self + style, I work with women to help them identify where they want to be and what’s keeping them stuck. To remind them of their strength. To give them the tools to make the changes in their bodies, minds and lives in order to be the person they are meant to be.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My background is in retail. I have been obsessed with fashion since I was little, and worked in Boston with industry leaders for years before opening my own store dresscode in Andover. My greatest joy was to watch women rediscover themselves through the transformative power of a new outfit. After 14 years, I made the difficult decision to close the store in order to find more balance in my life. As much as I felt I was losing a part of who I was, it gave me the opportunity to begin my next chapter and discover where I was meant to be.

I became certified to teach pilates and discovered that I experienced the same thrill empowering women to feel strong in their bodies as I did empowering them to feel beautiful in their clothes!

My own health journey, to understand the inflammation in my body led me to became a certified Health and Life coach which gave me so many powerful tools – how to eat for energy, to understand my habits, to create a positive, powerful mindset. I followed up with a Nutritionist certification to learn even more about the power of food as fuel. And when I was diagnosed with cancer, I used every single tool I learned to make it through that year of treatment.

My journey has taught me that a strong body and a strong mind is a super power. This is the message I feel called to share with other women who are looking to step into their potential. Through nutrition, mindset, movement and style, I empower women to become the healthiest, strongest and most stylish versions of themselves.

I am most proud of my ability to help women achieve this change. To see someone light up because of your guidance, to watch them put healthy habits into practice which improves so many aspects of their life is my whole purpose! It fuels me like nothing else. It also provides a powerful community of like minded women. Often at this stage in life we can feel isolated, and through workshops and other in person events, women are reminded and empowered by knowing they are not alone in their challenges and experiences.

Today I provide several ways to work together. I offer 1:1 wellness + nutrition coaching in person and through zoom. I offer personal styling. And I offer my most complete package which includes nutrition coaching + movement + a closet edit. My holistic approach encourages women to truly feel and see the change on the inside and outside.

I believe this is what differentiates me from other coaches. My nutrition philosophy is that food = fuel. And that it needs to be not only simple, but sustainable for the rest of your life. I don’t do any dramatic cleanses, elimination diets or countless counting. Instead, I educate my clients about the fundamentals of nutrition so that they can enjoy their life and still lose or maintain a healthy weight. Helping someone to feel amazing in their clothes reinforces wanting to feel amazing in their bodies. When you feel good about your appearance, you feel more confident. And you tend to make choices that reflect and are in alignment with that empowered person. I want to help women live in this empowered state, by combining nutrition, movement, mindset and style.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Absolutely! I am beyond blessed to have only worked in industries that I love. I have been obsessed with fashion since I was little. As I grew up, I realized that what I loved most about fashion is its transformative power. You can dress for whoever you want to be that day. And more importantly, a great outfit can give you such confidence, even empowering you with a greater sense of purpose and power that you wouldn’t feel if you approached the day in sweatpants or something that was less inspiring.
I always said, when I opened my store, that I wanted every single person to feel better by the time they left, than when they came in. That has been my mantra. And still is to this day, even though my approach is slightly different and more all encompassing now.
Today, I have expanded the ways in which I can help people to include nutrition, mindset and movement in addition to style. All of these modalities are about empowering women to feel and look their best.

Have you ever had to pivot?

my biggest pivot occurred when I realized that owning my store was no longer a positive part of my life. To have to admit, that the very thing I birthed, that defined me, that gave me purpose was no longer healthy for my sense of well being or family was beyond challenging.
I had no idea who I was without the store. But the lack of balance in my life, and the fact that I no longer liked how I felt or acted on a daily basis gave me no choice. Being constantly stressed and exhausted and missing out on family was impossible to ignore.

So for the first time in my life I left one chapter before knowing what the next one would hold. I allowed space to see what organically would come my way when I was open to it. And so I became a certified Pilates instructor when my teacher suggested it to me. And I realized that I could help empower women to feel strong in their bodies and the result was the same exhilaration as when I helped them to feel beautiful in an outfit.

My own health journey, to understand the inflammation in my body lead me to become a certified Health and Life coach and Nutrition coach, which gave so many powerful tools – how to eat for energy, to understand my habits – which ones served me and which ones I needed to leave behind and how to do that. How to create a positive, powerful mindset. I am so thankful that my cancer diagnosis came after this certification, because I used every single tool I learned to make it through that year of treatment.

It is incredibly unnerving to put yourself out there in a new industry, in an unproven realm, but one that resonates so strongly that you are compelled to move forward.
This pivot has been scary. And so much harder because instead of opening a store and letting people come in when they want, you have to introduce yourself and what you do to the world constantly, especially among a crowded field of competent people. But I ask myself if the effort is worth it and I always know that it is. To feel like you have the ability to make a difference and to help people feel good – that’s all we really want. And that reminds me that it’s exactly where I am meant to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Evolutionselfandstyle.com
• Instagram: amy.finegold
• Facebook: Amy Finegold – Evolution self + style
• Linkedin: amy-finegold
• Yelp: Evolution self and style

Image Credits

Mariah Gale Photography