We were lucky to catch up with Toni Irwin Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Toni thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I started my business as a personal stylist. I went to college for fashion merchandising and business administration, and I knew after graduating I wanted to work in the fashion industry, but in my own way.

I’ve always been interested in fashion, and my passion behind becoming a personal stylist was to show everyday women that being stylish doesn’t have to only be for wealthy people. Everyday women, deserve to feel great in the clothing that they wear, so I dedicated my business to helping women reach those goals.

Overtime, working as a personal stylist I realized that I wanted to make a bigger impact on my clients. So I made the shift from being a personal stylist, to now a style coach. As a stylist, I did the work for my clients so that they didn’t have to. As a style coach, instead of doing the work for them, I am teaching them the tools they need to build the foundation of their personal style with confidence so that they can learn to make their own style and shopping decisions.

I knew that this would be a worthwhile endeavor based on my own style crisis after college. Post college, I went through a major lifestyle change of going from a college girl to a grown working woman. I started to feel disconnected to my wardrobe and I knew it was time for a change. I was able to take myself through an entire wardrobe upgrade, and it has been one of my best decisions yet. Throughout this wardrobe upgrade I used my knowledge on personal style, body type, as well as researched some new topics that helped bring my new style to fruition. I realized that other women experience these lifestyle changes, but not all have the tools to pivot or update their style to match their current lifestyles.

What we wear is so important to our confidence and productivity in our everyday lives, and I wanted other women to experience the joy of getting dressed and being confident knowing that they are reflecting not only their true selves, but also the goals they have for themselves through the clothing they wear.

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

My name is Toni Irwin Johnson, and my business is named All Things Toni. I am from Atlanta, GA, but am now local to Raleigh, NC. I moved to Raleigh for college back in 2015, where I studied fashion merchandising and business administration.

Since high school, I’ve been passionate about fashion and how people are able to tell their own stories and reflect who they are simply through the clothing that they wear. I grew up very shy, so when I got into fashion, I was fascinated with the fact that your clothing can speak for you before you even say a word. I’ve been able to use that to my benefit and help me start conversations and open up in times I might otherwise feel shy.

Throughout my years in college, I worked in different retail stores, where I got my first experience of styling people outside of myself, my family, and close friends. As I grew closer to my senior year in college, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and focus on fashion.

I am a very creative, artsy person, which is why I decided to name my business All Things Toni. Initially, I offered a combination of products and styling services, but later on, decided to focus on the style portion.

I currently offer an online style coaching program called Mind Body Style where I teach career-focused women how to define their personal style so that they can have better shopping experiences without feeling overwhelmed. I am most proud of this program I have created because it was created not only from my own experiences but with my clients in mind. The first portion of the program focuses on mindset and overcoming all of the mental blocks you have that prevent you from truly being confident in yourself. The second portion of the program is focused on body type. I believe that in order to understand your personal style, you need to understand your body’s proportions and how it relates and interacts with different clothes based on fits, silhouettes, textures, and other details. The final portion of the program is style-focused where I teach my clients how to develop their very own personal style in order to improve their shopping and have a style they can recognize as their own.

I would love potential clients to know that my brand focuses not just on fashion, but on women empowerment, self-expression, self-confidence, and body positivity. I know the frustrations of not understanding how your clothing should fit, or going shopping and not understanding what it is you need to purchase. This is what motivates me to keep going and keep teaching because personal style shouldn’t be overwhelming.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Early on in my entrepreneurial journey, I had so many ideas of things I wanted to do. I was creating handmade earrings, creating t-shirt designs, and offering personal styling services, all while also working a full-time job. I eventually had to make several pivots in my business. The first was to focus on solving one problem at a time. There were too many things I was trying to offer to too many people, so I decided to hone in on personal styling for women.

As I grew in my experience and knowledge, I then decided to pivot from personal styling to style coaching to provide a more impactful experience for my clients. Even throughout my journey as a style coach, my ideal client has shifted. Initially, I targeted young women who were fresh out of college and transitioning into womanhood. The pivot for my ideal client came about after doing market research where I realized that this ideal client was not at a point in her life where she is ready to invest in style coaching. So I shifted my ideal client to women between their late 20s to mid-30s who were more prepared to invest in themselves through style coaching.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

During 2021 I experienced major burnout, and for the first time in my life, depression. Not only was I working on my business, but I was also working a full-time job, and I had just finished a 90-day masterclass, which left me mentally exhausted and overloaded with information. Although this masterclass was very helpful in my growth and knowledge as a style coach, I felt very overwhelmed.

This experience was difficult because ultimately I had to take a step back from my business which is also my passion. Initially, it was hard because I tried to keep working through the burnout, but I wasn’t getting much done, and eventually, I allowed myself to truly take a break.

What was meant to be a 1 month break turned into a full year. During this break, all I could think about was my audience and all of the clients I am meant to help. I knew I would not give up on this dream.

Returning to my business was hard because I had to realign myself and be more disciplined with my time. This time around I prioritized self-care and my mental health along with the goals I had set for my business. Overall, the fact that I was able to return to something I am so passionate about reflects my resilience and my passion to share my gifts with the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.allthingstoni.com/mindbodystyle
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/allthingstoni
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allthingstoni
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCR3CvKxwPJRyG1r740Yr50Q
• Other: Pinterest: https://pin.it/kHTK9o9 Tiktok: http://www.tiktok.com/@all.things.toni

Image Credits
Richard Holder, Tevin Johnson