Once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, I was invited to the inaugural meeting of the UK Northern Group of what was then The Federation of Image Consultants (TFIC).
I remember grumbling to myself as I drove up the motorway to Leeds that Saturday morning in 1985, wondering why on earth I had given up half of my weekend to ‘learn more about’ something I hadn’t the remotest interest in joining.
That day I was introduced to a revolutionary concept of colour-coded products that totally changed my future as a business owner.
But this story isn’t about me.
This story is about Petunia, the image consultant who had telephoned to invite me to this event.
Petunia and I had never met before that day. For a couple of years, she had been buying my pre-printed colour and style workbooks for her own image clients.
She told me this – her story – much later.
Petunia really, really wanted this…
Back home that same day, Petunia tried to fathom out a way to find the money to invest in a starter pack of the colour-coded products.
Petunia didn’t have a bean as she’d just got divorced and her daily struggle was simply to keep a roof over her head with her 3 girls!
She’d had to borrow the petrol money to drive to Leeds and, having never worked during her 20+ years of marriage, had no idea how she would survive the next week, never mind find the money to invest in a business opportunity!
Most people would have just given up and gone home.
But not Petunia.
She had made up her mind that this was what she really, really wanted to do.
So she ruddy well made it happen!
Where there’s a will, there’s ALWAYS a way
She borrowed a wonderful friend’s credit card to buy the starter kit and promised to pay her back within the month.
Even before the kit had left the warehouse, Petunia had already set up 6 appointments to present these colour-coded products to friends and family.
The kit arrived, Petunia pored over the contents, learned all the training materials off by heart, practised madly, and, quaking in her boots, packed everything in her broken-down car on six separate occasions over the next 4 weeks, and earned enough commission to pay back every single penny that she’d borrowed from her friend.
Exactly as she had promised.
There’s nothing like making a promise to keep you focused
So when people tell me, “I really don’t have the money for a training course right now…” then I know their need or desire to become an image consultant is just not strong enough.
Because if it was, then they would absolutely find a way.
How did Petunia do it
1 From a practical point of view
Petunia needed to put bread on the table right there and then.
So she got busy, hustling for business, learning as much as she could, sharing her dreams and aspirations with anyone who would listen, and offering a fun experience and a fabulous service to her clients.
At each of those first 6 appointments, she booked at least 2 more.
From those 12, she booked a load more, and lots of her clients then wanted her colour and style services too.
Within a matter of weeks, Petunia was earning all the money she needed to pay the bills and could now pick and choose when she worked and how far from home she would be prepared to travel in the future.
2 From a positive mindset point of view
Petunia made one big decision with a huge goal attached to it
- to get that starter kit and sell enough products to pay her friend back within one month
Petunia then took well-thought-out action
- she booked her first 6 appointments before she had even received her starter kit
3 Which meant that
Petunia absolutely HAD to deliver on two fronts:
- she could not possibly let her clients down so she HAD to fulfill the appointments she’d already made
- she HAD to make enough sales to repay the loan
When you set goals for yourself like this, and you take the action needed to achieve those goals, you simply cannot fail.
So how much do YOU really want to become an image consultant?
What are you actually prepared to do to make it happen?
And if you don’t do what it takes right now, how much longer are you going to wait?
See how quickly you could recoup your investment:
- Sharon from the UK purchased my Colour Analysis Training in a Box course and had her first full-paying client three weeks later
- Liz from Australia borrowed the money from a family member to take the same course and was able to pay back the loan within 10 weeks
Just 6 – 10 clients could do the same for you.
Even if you could only handle one client a week, you could still recoup your entire training investment within a few short months.
And from that point on, everything you make is profit!
Is it time to make a big decision?
If it is, are you prepared to back it up with a massive amount of well-planned action too?
If you know deep down that it’s time to stop faffing around playing small and fulfil your potential in the world of image on planet Earth, then…
Just Flippin’ Do It!
Start your new adventure here
with professional training in the core skills and how to run a profitable business:
- Always, always start with colour – Colour Analysis Training in a Box
- How to find clients and make money
- Ask me your questions