We recently connected with Kara Batey and have shared our conversation below.

Kara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I practiced law for 13 years as my “regular job” and do feel happier running my own personal styling business. At the same time, there are parts of being a business owner (especially when it’s just you) that aren’t particularly fun, ex. completing seemingly endless administrative tasks, or anything related to taxes. Sometimes I want to (and frankly, do) put those things off to focus more on the interesting, client-facing tasks. However, because of my past career, I’m fully aware that no matter the focus of the business, there are many ancillary tasks that must occur in order to run the business. On a personal level, the fact that I’m willing to take on the minutia associated with running my business tells me that I’m really invested in what I’m doing and where I plan to take it.

Kara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I work as a personal stylist and wardrobe curator, helping women build enviable style. The work that I do (collaborating with women on their personal style and wardrobe) allows me to meld the communication, analysis, and problem-solving skills I developed as a lawyer with my visual, expressive, creative side. My ability to use both my right and left brain enables me to serve my clients in a way that is structured yet explores the nuances of each woman’s personal aesthetic.

I’m thrilled to be making changes to the way I work with clients this year. After trying some of the approaches more typically used by stylists and based on my experiences with clients, I’ve recently developed the Blocks of Style Method. The Blocks of Style Method is an innovative approach to providing personal styling services in that it allows each woman to prioritize the aspects of her wardrobe and style she wants to focus on at any given point by selecting a combination of three critical elements that are the Blocks of Style: edit, curate, and integrate.

To arrive at a place where I feel like I’m making organic and positive changes to my business hasn’t been an easy process. I’ve put a considerable amount of thought and effort into assessing the challenges my clients face because I am providing services I believe can enhance women’s lives.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My personal styling business is the result of a major pivot in my career and life. I practiced law for more than a decade and was a partner at the firm I worked at for the majority of that time. However, after moving on from the firm, I found myself at a totally unplanned and complete unexpected career crossroads. Life is full of surprises, right?

I’d wanted to start a personal styling business for more than 10 years, but it really was kind of a pipe dream because I was focused on being a lawyer. Since I had this backburner idea of what I would do with my life if I could pick anything new and start over, personal styling was the only option for me outside of continuing to practice law.

Honestly, even though it was the only option I was considering, I took some time to think about making the change and researching what I would need to start and run this new business. It was also a gut-wrenching decision to stop being a lawyer because after 13 years so much of your identity feels tied up in your profession. At the same time, because I had a pretty clear idea of what my options were lawyer-wise, I was able to make an informed decision about continuing or not. I ultimately chose to start my business – but it was hard to let go of where I’d thought I wanted to end up.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The clothes, shoes, and accessories that we put on and our feelings about those things are inherently so very personal – and are often topics of conversations among women. Because of that, my best source of new clients is referrals from existing or former clients who feel positively about the work we did together.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.closetbykb.com
• Instagram: @closetbykarabatey
• Facebook: closetbykarabatey
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-batey-64a6324/