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

Hi TAVIA, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

After years working as fashion designer in NYC, my job was no longer fulfilling to me and I was looking to create a business around something more meaningful and impactful. After 15+ years of working in the fashion industry, I was tired of the hustle and grind. I was burnt out. I was done feeling overworked and under valued. My job became all about sales and deadlines. Almost zero creativity. I lost all passion in my work. And as a creative, this is the worst feeling in the world. To loose passion for your one true passion in life?! I felt empty and meaningless. But I knew I was meant for more. So, I decided to make a change. I signed up for my a personal development program and discovered my bigger purpose in life…To empower others to step into their power and own their greatness! Once I discovered this was my gift, my gift made room for me to not only receive it but to own it AND share it with the world.

I had already gotten bitten by the entrepreneurial bug before as I co-owned and co-designed a fashion line for 5 years but this time was different, I was focused on being of service. I thought about how I could combine my expertise in fashion with teaching everyday men and women how to turn their style into their secret weapon and that’s when my business idea was born. I decided to focus on helping men specifically with their style and image as no one was doing that at the time. Living in NYC, most stylists and image consultants focus on helping women but with my background in menswear, I knew that helping men was an untapped market I could really support in helping me feel empowered with style!

TAVIA, 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 Tavia Sharp, I’m an Image Consultant, Personal Branding Strategist, Marketing Expert, Speaker & Trainer. My business, Styled Sharp, has helped 100’s of ambitious thought leaders, executives, coaches, consultants & service based experts increase their INFLUENCE, INCOME, & IMPACT by helping them sharpen their style, visibility and brand (online & off).

I help the real influencers making an impact in the world to create their most profitable image so that they stand out in their industry and attract premium opportunities with their magnetic personal brand. I specialize in working with impact driven entrepreneurs, coaches, speakers, and thought leaders who want to style their image and brand for important events, sales calls, Book covers, TedX talks, Speaking engagements, TV appearances, Podcast interviews, Website, Social media Content, Branding materials, Speaker reels and more. My team and I rebrand your entire image online and off from head to toe style makeovers to full branding photoshoots to digital profiles.

Typical client results:
-Banking more profit because everything about you screams professional
-Close more deals because people trust you
-Having better conversations because you look the part
-Being taken a seriously as a leader not just a hobbyist
-Speaking with authority and showing up like you mean it

I love helping people get dateable, promotable and investable and stand out with style!

Have you ever had to pivot?

When Covid hit, like many entrepreneurs, my business took a major hit. We were in lockdown and no one needed what I was offering at that time. So I had to take a good look at my business model and what I was offering. This is when I realized some hard truths about what was working and not working so well in my business.

Truthfully, the first few years of building my personal brand online were a major struggle for me. I was over-serving and undervaluing myself BIG TIME. And I could not figure out how to market myself in a way that felt natural and consistently attracted premium clients. Over the years, I experienced so many ups and downs. And so many times, I almost threw in the towel.

Seriously, I thought about going back to work in the fashion industry because at least, I’d have a steady paycheck. But I knew going back was no longer an option. Especially because it’s my passion and my purpose to help others through my work. So, I kept at it. After years of investing in some of the best coaches and high-level programs to find the KEY to standing out online and attracting clients, I realized that I had the KEY to unlock massive profits in my business all along. You know what that key is?

BRAND IMAGE. Being an image consultant, I thought how come I never paid attention to the fact that no matter how brilliant you are, how much experience you have under your belt and how passionate you are about what you do, unless you have a BRAND IMAGE people want to buy from, you’ll always have a hard time standing out. Your brand image = cash in your pocket.

Once I created a strong brand image and started marketing my business from that place, signing 5 figure clients, filling up my programs and connecting with other experts became a whole lot easier. Over the last couple of years running my own Image Consultancy with my personal brand as the focus, I’ve been able to gain exposure for my brand including TV appearances, Podcast interviews, features in magazines, & a major online platform with over 100+ million monthly readers, and paid speaking opportunities including all expenses paid trips to Mexico & Puerto Rico.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me is using social media and Google and focusing on building my brand online. I use social media as a tool to create a brand that people want to learn more about combined with a strategy to connect with people in my network which generates leads consistently.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.styledsharp.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/styledsharp
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tavia.sharp
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taviasharp/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXbDxFX6ycbCQjg3V6nq8Jw
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/StyledSharp/

Image Credits
Image Credits: Karjaka Studios and Julien McRoberts Photography