We were lucky to catch up with Sara Siegel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sara, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

My entire Los Angeles career in Fashion started with taking a risk. I moved from my hometown in Michigan to California with $10k (that I saved up working as a waitress three months before) and a deep gut knowing that I would get a job if I take the risk and move across the country. My goal was to work in Fashion Wholesale as a sales rep so I printed off my resume and drove to DTLA. On the corner of Los Angeles St & 9th, you’ll find the California Market Center and the Cooper Design Building. I took the elevator to the top of each building and walked each floor passing out my resume to the showrooms that I felt intuitively drawn to. I was really nervous and so there is this quote from the movie “We Bought A Zoo” that I kept repeating in my head as I would walk through each door:

“You know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just literally, 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”

And it was the door at August Showroom that was my YES – I started three days later after moving to LA. I started off as a showroom assistant and moved my way up to an executive sales rep, repping six women’s contemporary brands across the US and International. It was three years later when I took another risk and quit that job without a job because my heart was being called towards something different. I wasn’t sure where I belonged in fashion so I tried it all. I said yes to many faucets within the industry, It was within this space of exploring where I found my love for acting. I started taking classes and knew this was a major passion of mine. Gratefully, my best friend Braxton Holme connected me with the store manager at Intermix Beverly Hills and it was through that job I unlocked my gift of Styling.

My biggest risk was taken four years later when I quit working retail to dive all in on business as a Personal Stylist for Women Entrepreneurs.

Sara, 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?

Sara Siegel Styling is a multifaceted styling business throughout the Fashion and Entertainment Industries. From brand photoshoots, events and everyday lifestyle looks, I empower Women Entrepreneurs through the way they dress to feel confident, beautiful and fully expressed as themselves. My superpower with clients is the ability to drop in 1:1 and connect on an intimate level to understand their stated and unstated desires. As your Stylist, I save you time. I hold the vision for you while we shop so you don’t have to. I see you in a different light than you see yourself and will always style the highest version of you. I’m a natural born visionary and styling is an extension of my soul – I’m grateful each day to be able to share these gifts to the world. My love of styling also shines through commercial and film. These opportunities started to arise as my career as an Actress started to evolve. I learned quickly that for me as a Stylist, It’s about seeing the clothing come to life through the lens of a camera that lights me up – Whether that be through a fashion photoshoot or a film. Nothing excites me more than seeing the vision come full circle. It’s that – And seeing my clients stand taller and walk more confidently because of what they are wearing.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Nobody talks about that as a new entrepreneur all your money habits will be exposed. Deep generational money habits. My highest vision for sharing this is so that you feel inspired to keep moving forward.

I spent the past 15 years generating money by trading a lot of my time for a paycheck every other week. This type of energy is in its masculine form. Where now, I’m creating money in the feminine way by it flowing in and out – And it was a hard adjustment. I learned that when you have money flowing and out, your foundation needs to be strong and clean. It was about 5 months into my business when I had hit my rock bottom. I needed to hit my rock bottom to truly understand where I had to go in order to create the foundation my business gets to stand on. It was this feminine roar that came alive inside of me. It was taking myself seriously enough to get curious about what was happening in order to create a shift and do better. That when my avoidant tendencies start to rise, it’s actually a sign to look deeper within myself and to God – Because there is no going back, so the only way out is through. The scarcity mindset will be present and it’s an opportunity to learn her & love her. You can’t create when you’re in scarcity. Now that I’ve softened into this experience, I’ve been able to move forward with more trust within myself and my work. Only you and God will truly know the depths to which you will go when building your business.

Someone once told me that what I was experiencing is an ‘initiation into entrepreneurship’ and I so felt that to my core.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I was a Lead Stylist at Intermix Beverly Hills and it was through working luxury retail where I learned my love of styling. I actually never thought I would be a Stylist haha, however if you were to ask my best friends and family that, they would all say they knew!

I was with the company for four fabulous years. It was about my third year in when I started having women ask me as I was styling them out in the dressing room, “Do you style outside of the store?” I eventually started to say YES because I was noticing a pattern. That’s when it all clicked and I remember thinking, ‘I found my purpose’

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @iamsarasiegel
• Other: Email: info@stylingbysara.com

Image Credits
Photographers: @lcostaphoto @chrisfrarastudios @akihamarketing Clients: @iamvictoriawashington @christinedadkins Other: @braxtonjholme @yvonne_szefer