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

Richelle, appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

Richelle K Image Consulting was born post-grad. I was super young, super exposed to the real world at 20 years old, and really ready to just be who I wanted to be. That started out with being a stylist, but not long after pursuing that, I found out I had a knack for marketing, motivational speaking and just engaging with any generation. To me, image consulting has such a deep definition that exceeds the expectations of a wardrobe stylist. Even as a stylist I was very invested in getting to know who my clients were, pouring into them the confidence to find their true identity. *That* would make anything I put them in really shine. I started seeing a shift in my desire to shop, and I wanted to do more for women – help them build their brand, curate events for them to network with other women finding themselves and their footing in their businesses. I found myself connecting with real estate agents, lawyers, agriculturalists, and the list goes on. We all had something to contribute, and I made it my mission to serve and build a network for us all the tap into. I went through many seasons where I didn’t have clients at all, and sometimes I still have them, but the work is never done. I am always rebranding myself, or giving my corporate career a facelift. I’ve pivoted to serve the tech industry, get more comfortable in the men’s fashion world, and hone other skills I know I’ll need when I go to the next level. I try not to spend so much time trying to figure out how I’ll get to the next step. I appreciate where I am and make sure I absorb all the information and wisdom that comes with the stillness. The goal is to always be moving. As Rick Ross said, “I don’t want to move fast, I want to move right.”
I knew I could succeed when I realized it was second nature to just serve. My purpose in life is to share my life in a way that will inspire others to pursue something greater. I call myself a professional hype-woman. I’m serious! I really put my all into helping people see the best in themselves, and address areas that need some improvement. We’re human, so hopefully we will always be evolving, but my goal is to help people start using muscles they aren’t usually comfortable using. Eventually they’ll get to flex those muscles and use them to do something incredible.
These days my resume reflects a creative project manager. I’ve been helping people serve themselves, refine their personal brands so that it kind of bleeds into their business. As an entrepreneur it can be difficult to keep it colorful, especially if you’re service based and have to serve clients whose businesses are so monochrome. Whatever that looks like for you, you know what I mean. I think we all have to do things we don’t necessarily enjoy for our business, but those things typically give us experiences we need to be better business owners. I’ve curated a lot of social media content, built websites and developed product assortments that will reach millennials to Gen Z, our favorite innovators.

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

It’s no coincidence that I am doing image consulting. I’ve been mentoring youth since I was about 18, and since then have been a leader to young adults. My focus is always spiritual, social and mental well-being, and that’s evident in how I solve issues for my clients. A lot of roadblocks end up being tied to personal hurdles. My go-to is prayer and journaling, but healing and the transformation process looks different for everyone. I call it prayer, others call it affirmations, whatever works, I know how to connect with my people. My faith in God serves as the catalyst for all my successes. It’s the reason I believe I have or can find the answer to my clients challenges. I’ve mostly worked with people whose business is in the fashion and beauty industry. Common challenges I’ve come across are lack of brand identity, imposter syndrome and what I like to call a “creative drought”. Some clients don’t know what audience to focus on, or how to appeal to that audience. I start by getting them to think: it’s hard to connect with people you have nothing in common with. So let’s start with you. Who are you? What are your interests? If you could live anywhere and do anything, where would you do it? Be as detailed as possible. Once we figure out who they are, we can talk about what made them want to service this particular type of clients/customers. I’m most proud of being able to mold the process to each client. Everybody isn’t the same and they don’t all have the same challenges, so being versatile, understanding and confident in my ability to help is rewarding to say the least. I aim for my clients to trust me because I’m not interested in adding to my portfolio. I want to help people establish their identity, elevate their image and ultimately, help them make an impact with their business.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Low key I always had the dream of being a talk show host because I believe I really have the personality and interest to do it. I still do! At the beginning of the pandemic, I decided to start getting on Instagram live regularly just to connect with the youth I couldn’t see at church, and share some stories to encourage my internet friends. I collaborated with Black-owned businesses to share their products and services, and eventually just had random guests to have candid conversations about anything we could think of. I really just went with the flow. People I didn’t know started following me to watch every week. I started a faith-based segment called Trust Him Tuesday where I shared scripture and encouraging words just to inspire people to keep having hope for a better day during the pandemic. Before I knew it I had a few thousand followers and we were engaging, learning to socialize again. For anyone just starting, document yourself doing or talking what you really enjoy. Whatever brings you peace or joy, share that with people. Being genuine is really what draws people. TikTok is the best example of how platforms that allow us to be ourselves serve as the best environment for us to network and, most importantly, make friends.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

The journey to success isn’t and probably will never be linear as a creative. The more comfortable you get with being uncomfortable, the better off you will be. Make no mistake, sometimes it will build character because I think you have to fight to love what doesn’t always work the way you want it to. But remember just that – you love it. If you don’t, you know what to do. Simple.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.richellekconsulting.com/atbc
• Instagram: Instagram.com/richellekathyrn
• Other: https://anchor.fm/astoldbychelle