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

Hi Neepa , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about growing your team – how did you recruit the first few people, what was the process like, how’d you go about training and if you were to start over today would you have done anything differently?

I started out as a solo entrepreneur and added on a technical VA after 2 years. At that time, there wasn’t a lot of Virtual Assistant agencies out there and we met through my business coach at the time. I focused on hiring someone who could help me with technical aspects of running the business that I didn’t understand (ie website maintenance, setting up social media profiles/business pages, client onboarding process, setting up our first email marketing platforms, researching tech tools we should use).

Then as the business grew she wanted to be less involved into the day to day so I created a job description for an operations assistant/admin. This role was to be our main point of contact for clients which allowed my technical VA to take on more backend work which is more in line of her zone of genius. I posted the job on facebook, linkedin and indeed. One thing I quickly learned was this title was still a new concept so indeed really gave us no leads. A friend who runs a social media company had great success in Indeed and I remember being an employee and finding great applications. But as a small business owner in a creative field like personal styling, I found way more leads through facebook and linkedin. At one point we were a team of 5 but now we are a team of 3. I always describe our team as small but mighty. We care so much about our company mission, values and customers.
If I started today, I would hire the first person that 1st year and use a VA agency to find them. Hiring is a process and even if someone passes all the interviews, finding people who share your passion for your business long term is rare.

Neepa , 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?

My name is Neepa Sikdar and my company is called Accessible Style ™. I began my career in the retail industry working in merchandising and sales for J.Crew, DKNY, Kate Spade, GAP & Target. After successfully managing $40M+ businesses, I realized that I wanted a more direct connection to the customers who were wearing the shoes and clothing that I was putting in my stores + online.
I also realized that women over 35 had a difficult time navigating through the sea of brands in the retail landscape and that it was so confusing trying to figure out what looked good on their body as they got older and went through life transitions.

Through my company I provide practical style solutions that help my clients raise their confidence, visibility, and revenue. The 1:1 work I do with clients is a VIP experience and I really get to know my client well as she’s going through a wardrobe transformation and I’m her partner in style. My clients are incredible women and I’ve had the privilege of styling: business coaches, speakers, doctors, lawyers, teachers and executive women in the c-suite. I never desired to work with celebrities so I could be famous, I wanted to shine a light to all the remarkable everyday women that are making a difference in their communities.

I also teach personal style development through my fashion membership group: Rise + Style. This is a newer endeavor for me and looking back, it may have been the business idea from the beginning. Through the membership, our team gets to help more women get the tools and tips to develop their own signature style.

What set us apart, a style membership is a new concept. We don’t believe in just providing our community with shopping links. We know that won’t solve their problem of having nothing to wear. We provide them with resources (videos, pdf’s, q+a sessions) so they can learn to style themselves.

We also want our community to know that we are inclusive. Our community is size inclusive, racially diverse and accepting of marginalized communities. Our personal style is how we connect with each other.

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

Like most service-based business owners the pandemic was challenging for my business. I remember my conversation with store managers on March 12th, we discussed pushing out my client SHOP appointments by 3 weeks.  At the time, my calendar was full of wardrobe edits and personal shopping sessions until the end of June.  Naturally when we stopped going out, we didn’t need to worry about what to wear.  People were barely getting out of their pajamas.

I remember thinking to myself, “How is my business 95% in person? Why hadn’t I thought about making my business more sustainable?”

Prior to 2020, I had worked with a handful of clients virtually despite having the technical tools to work virtually.  I just didn’t have a need to shift the way I was conducting my services.  I felt frustrated and disappointed in myself, but I quickly realized I wasn’t alone.

I began finding online communities to be a part of and utilized the established networks I already had. 2020 changed the entire direction of my business.  Our process is very personal, and I didn’t want our clients thinking she was missing something if we didn’t meet in person.  I had to figure out how to help her edit her wardrobe, shop online, and create outfits from my computer. I shifted to styling predominantly online utilizing tools like zoom and our online closet app to connect with clients.  Now the work I do with clients is a healthy mix of virtual and hybrid services for clients geographically close to my home.

It also gave me the opportunity to launch our fashion membership program, Rise + Style where I teach women how to create an authentic style.  Women needed community and connection and I’m very proud that I took this challenge and didn’t close my business but rather shifted its trajectory.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I’ve always taken my reputation seriously. I built a successful career in fashion before I became a business owner. Even though both fashion and the world of styling are increasingly competitive markets, I wanted people to take me seriously. Integrity matters no matter what you do. People need to trust you before they buy from you. The world of social media is saturated and video focused, attention spans are short. My reputation was built from client referrals, local press and the fact that I often over deliver what I promise to my client. I am honest and direct, sometimes this gets me in trouble but I deliver fashion advice with kindness. I’m not here to make you feel bad about your shopping habits, body , or whether you’re aware of the latest trend or IT item.

Clients/Members see a direct return on investment from us which includes: new career opportunities, job promotions, increase in speaking opportunities, and press coverage to name a few. Powered with the right outfits they can confidently become the face of their brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://accessiblestyle.net/
• Instagram: instagram.com/accessiblestyle.net
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neepas/
• Other: Sign up for our newsletter: https://accessiblestyle.net/optin/

Image Credits
Image Credit: Alexandra Khan, Mallika Malhotra, Neil Van Niekerk