Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Courtney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

Wishing for things to happen sooner in life can be such an easy thought to creep inside our heads, but I honestly believe that the right things happen at the right time. I’ve had too many beautiful things develop in life that I knew happened at the perfect time. As I reflect back on the past versions of me I know if certain moments had taken place sooner I wouldn’t have been ready to handle it even if it was seemingly a wonderful opportunity.

My previous 16 year professional career in fashion retail management helped build my confidence in working with people one-on-one. I was able to develop empathy for the challenges that so many faced during the fitting room experience because I witnessed the negative self-talk customers had firsthand. I was able to see what so many people needed in their lives to build their confidence. Had I started at any given time during my retail career my business may have technically still worked out just fine, but I’m confident that every training and interaction with customers helped me build what my business is today and I know it wouldn’t be running the way it needed to be.

As a business owner I consistently grow each year with new ideas and show up better for my clients because I’m willing to learn what works and doesn’t. You have to be fearless and willing to make mistakes as a business owner and the journey isn’t always rainbows and butterflies. However, we can’t have the good without the bad which makes the experience so beautiful and vulnerable at the same time.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started working in fashion retail management in 2003 not really knowing what I truly wanted to do with my life. Honestly, I fell into my first management role on a whim and never expected it to take me on the path of entrepreneurship. I ended up working while finishing up my undergraduate degree in psychology and then my graduate degree in fashion merchandising. When it came to career options, I always wanted to work in the fashion world but went with a safer degree in psychology. I promised myself that if I still had the desire to work in fashion, I could always go back to school. So I did. I didn’t realize at the time that having these two degrees would better equip me in working with my clients.

Anytime I tried other positions outside of fashion retail, it simply didn’t work. I found any other job boring or mundane. Desk jobs drained me of any creativity and made my productivity lower. If you’ve ever worked in retail you know there’s never a dull moment and always something to do. I needed that in a job and my brain is wired to work that way. What pushed me to actually leave retail management was having my second child. I was officially over working retail hours and I missed being with my family. I’d always loved the idea of being a personal shopper but helping people buy clothes wasn’t enough. I’ve realized that people, my clients need a listening ear. They want more than just a great outfit. They want more of what the great outfit can produce! Confidence. In 2016 I started really entertaining the idea of personal styling. I lived in a beautiful, charming small town called Marietta, Ohio at the time and knew that it would be a challenge to make a business like this work. I certainly believed in it but when you live in an area where they feel style isn’t a priority, it’s going to be difficult because personal styling is a foreign concept to so many. Even if I believed in it wholly, that might not be enough to make it a successful business.

With the encouragement of family and friends I decided to go for it. I dabbled in it on the side while still working full-time in retail, but it wasn’t until 2020 that I started putting full effort towards making it a full-on serious business. My husband ended up getting a great job opportunity in Columbus, Ohio so we decided to move. The move took place the weekend everything shut down in 2020. During this time I had lost my job due to the challenges of that time. I started practicing my styling services virtually. If I’m being honest I didn’t expect it to be feasible to style people that way, but low and behold it worked! And it was actually producing more success and allowed me to meet amazing people and loyal clients.

I decided to really fine tune my abilities and learn more about what it truly took to run a styling business. So in 2021 I decided to get certified in personal styling. This was one of the best decisions I ever made because it gave me a community of fellow stylists and built my confidence in running my own business. Once upon a time I went by the business name of Randomosity 740. I originally wanted to open my own boutique and style people that way. I let go of that dream when I realized it wasn’t going to fulfill my actual purpose. After my styling certification I realized I needed a stronger brand and vision so I decided to change my business name to Sur(real) Style with Courtney. I fell in love with this name because I truly believe that finding your style and building your confidence is such a surreal feeling. I always say there are healing powers with finding your personal style.

Remember when I mentioned that I never knew how important having a psychology and fashion degree would have been for my business? Well, this is why. My style sessions end up feeling therapeutic to many clients and I attribute that to my educational background in psychology coupled with my active listening skills. All my life people have told me that I’m always positive and an excellent listener. It wasn’t until recent years that I’ve started to really see the evidence of that because of the changes I see in my clients after their sessions. The most rewarding times in my business are when I receive a text of a selfie from a client with an excited message around how they dressed themselves. This shows me how confident they’re feeling in their style and utilizing what they’ve learned from me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tear up when I receive those sweet messages.

I fully believe in what I do because of the transformations that I see in my clients. It actually inspired me to start my own podcast because my mission in life is to help build people’s confidence in more than just style. My podcast focuses on style and confidence where I interview experts in different areas of building confidence. The podcast is called, “The Surreal Style Experience” and you’ll hear from different professionals such as career coaches, yoga instructors, and life coaches. I decided to add the podcast feature to my business this year because I felt mainstream social media just wasn’t enough to spread the message of confidence building. This is probably one of my proudest moments because it’s a way for me to really pour myself into others in ways that will hopefully somehow make a difference in their world. I’ve even had virtual styling sessions booked because of what resonated with them in their own style and confidence journey.

Recently, I developed a virtual styling tool that’s a 4-week session called, The Mindful Style Experience where I work one-on-one with people to help build their confidence through style. This session excites me so much because it truly helps provide a service to add to their tool box in building their confidence and literally seeing themselves differently in the mirror. All I want to do in life is encourage and help people feel good about themselves and this is the best way that I know how to do it.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

There are so many ways to connect with people in the world these days. I show up on social media consistently and have had clients booked that way but honestly, it’s the real life connections that I make. From previous clients of mine, to meeting people at conferences, listeners of my podcast, and any other place I get to interact with people is what I attribute as the best source. One thing about me is that I really enjoy talking to people and more times than not people find it intriguing when they find out I’m a personal stylist. It’s always followed with more questions about what I actually do and how I do it. My passion for what I do tends to ooze out in my conversations so this is the best way for me to find new clients.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Social media is a strong tool in connecting with others on a global scale so I spend a lot of time creating content that’s either fun or informative and sometimes both. I send out weekly newsletters that provide value and encouragement. I’m always looking for ways to stay connected with my clients which was another reason why I started my podcast. This is another way to hear and learn from me and the professionals I interview.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://surrealstylewithcourtney.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surrealstylewithcourtney/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/surrealstylewithcourtney/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-smith-586a3237/
• Other: Podcast: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/whmNG5Ak0vb

Image Credits
All photos credited to Lorena Opris