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

Shelby, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

Since starting beautifully bare we’ve seen over 1000 clients! Through that we have gotten so much feedback from our amazing ladies! One of the reasons I started beautifully bare was to change the way that women see themselves. Through that mission alone we have helped countless women regain confidence, and feel sexy in their own skin! That not only benefits the client but pours out into all avenues of their life! Recently one of our clients left her session and this is what she had to say – “ You have no idea what today meant to me you and your whole team are such beautiful people. I feel so beautiful and loved. What y’all do is so much bigger than taking pictures. You may have noticed my Medusa tattoo. Not to over share, but my Medusa holds deep meaning to me. I was raped in 2016 and ever since then I felt like I lost my femininity. On top of that, I lost myself for months. You brought back a piece of me today. Thank you so much for that. You all made the vibes so welcoming and loving. Please feel free to pass my message along to any and everyone, I truly can’t thank you all enough.” We are changing lives for these women!!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Hi there, I’m Shelby Coughlin! The owner of beautifully bare and the face behind the camera – capturing all of our beautiful clients! Beautifully Bare began with a few friends in a gorgeous hotel downtown. At the time I had no idea if I’d even like or be good at boudoir. My self esteem was at an all time low and failing was pretty terrifying! However, I pushed all of the doubt to the back of my mind and went for it anyway! Am I glad I did? ABSOLUTELY! I started this business and never looked back – After the first round of shoots, I was HOOKED. I found my passion. I found my niche! Not even a month and a half later I met my amazing hair and makeup artist, Shelby Crull and immediately we clicked! We were both on the same path and they crossed at just the right moment! Days later we were moving into our very first studio space!! This began, SHELBY SQUARED! We’ve focused our time and attention on providing a luxury boudoir experience for every woman. Our motto is “All bodies are GOOD bodies!” Because everyone is beautiful and deserves to feel that!! Our experience is what sets us apart, for us it’s not just about the photos. It’s about how you feel! We spend countless hours on our set ups and our spaces and ensuring that our studio space is a place where you feel seen, heard and worthy! Not only do we curate a beautiful and private space for our clients, we spend time getting to know each client so that we can better understand how we can help! Our purpose goes far beyond sexy photos, you won’t just look like a GODDESS, you will feel like one too!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being genuine and real with my clients! Hands down the best decision ever. I’m able to truly create relationships with my clients and our talks go so far beyond photos – we think of it as therapy and so do our clients!

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

From the very start I sold out my marathon sessions, where you see 8-10 clients per day! At that point I knew I’d need to invest in my own space but HOW?! I started making calls and looking at all the apps and finally a friend of mine said they knew of a studio space for rent – and the rest was really history! I saw it and was moving in within a week. Crazy right?! Everyone thought I was, oh and did I mention I’m a recovering people pleaser?! It was a hard pill to swallow but I knew I was onto something. Something REAL! Something raw. Something that couldn’t just be taken away. This was going to work. So I risked it. Every last dollar that we saved. The best investment EVER. One that I will forever be thankful for!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @beautifully.bare_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2015520121923865/?ref=share_group_link

Image Credits
-Beautifully Bare