We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elizabeth Lewis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Elizabeth, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My first taste of doing what I do now as a career took place when I was a little girl, as these things often happen. As an extremely shy kid growing up in the South, I could barely string two words together when someone asked me a question. Compounding on this, we moved around a lot due to my Dad’s work and it was very hard for me to maintain a solid group of friends. I felt so unsure of myself and my place in the world. However, I learned early on that one place where I did feel comfortable expressing myself was through fashion. I was an avid watcher of shows such as Fashion File, What Not to Wear and any runway show or designer interview I could catch, and I became enamored in the visual power of what I could wear to express who I was (and who I wanted to be) in a way that my voice could not yet capture.

Fast forward 20 years to when I started working in the world of consumer packaged goods. My role as brand manager was, in part, to lead new product launches for well-known, household brands and work closely with our design team to create just the right packaging for them. Early in my role, I found myself becoming frustrated by the amount of time and stakeholders it took to decide on the final packaging for these products. However, as I matured in my role, I realized that not every product get a big advertising budget, so it’s important to stand out on shelf and interrupt the shopper’s journey so they can notice it. Just like when I was young, I again remembered the power of visuals to express who we are and what we offer when we are unable to connect with someone directly with spoken words.

I was so inspired by this work that instead of focusing on products, I decided that I wanted to focus on people, helping them get noticed and achieve their own personal vision of success. Moved by this mission, I founded Brand, Style & Bloom, my branding and personal styling consultancy, in 2019 and can’t believe this is my fifth year in business. In essence, I am helping others to find their voices and communicate to the world how awesome they are. How lucky am I?!

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

My mission as the owner of Brand, Style & Bloom is to help professionals, including entrepreneurs and corporate employees, get noticed to achieve their personal vision of success at work, using branding and personal styling as tools.

Our work together usually begins with a fun creative session where I help my clients to discover their own unique superpowers and then activate them through their style, online presence and work. As a result, my clients understand what makes them unique, helping them to feel more confident and become more seen, leading to better career growth and business success.

I have worked with hundreds of people through corporate workshops (UBS, MassMutual and Royal Bank of Canada have been customers) and 1-on-1 work. I also recently launched a sustainable luxury knitwear essentials line called THE COLLECTION by Brand, Style & Bloom, which helps women to look and feel amazing in their personal and professional lives.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I learned that not everyone is going to support you or understand your dream, and that’s okay!

I have always been a person who loved having the approval of others. However, becoming an entrepreneur, that is definitely something I had to unlearn. Not everyone is going to understand your dream or what you’re trying to build. When I left corporate, many people thought I was crazy for leaving my nice steady paycheck. If I was too focused on seeking their approval I may never have gone down this path and received the gift of living my dream every day.

Advice is a great thing, and yes, we should seek it out as entrepreneurs so that we can make our products and our businesses better. However, if you know you have a burning dream inside of you that will benefit the world in some way, then it is your job to at least investigate the idea. Don’t let the disapproval of others stop you before you even begin!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When I was thinking of leaving my job to pursue my dream full-time, I met with an accountant. She told me it takes at least 2 years to get a new business off the ground so I should be prepared for that financially. I’m so happy she told me that because it can often seem like when people become entrepreneurs, they instantly become successful. But that is most often not the case. It can take months (or more!) to even get your first customer. So I always tell people to be as prepared as they can financially if they plan to work in their business full time. Your creativity as an entrepreneur and building a valuable business can become strained if you are constantly worried about how you are going to pay the bills.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brandstylebloom.com/
• Instagram: @brand_style_bloom
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethdlewis/
• Other: THE COLLECTION by Brand, Style & Bloom website: https://brandstylebloomcollection.com/

Image Credits
Photo by Jonathan Makrinos (this is the credit for the image of me in the green dress)