Today we’d like to introduce you to Cecilia Esquivel.
Hi Cecilia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always loved art – specifically fashion. As a kid, art was an outlet for me, and in high school, I started to express myself through my outfits. I always struggled to balance creativity with school or a career, so I decided to turn my passion for clothes into a business. Since then, I have felt like a piece of me that was missing has come to life.
I learned about Fashion Styling through courses I took at Condé Nast and decided to use my newfound skills to help everyday women with their style. My mentor at the time encouraged me to upskill with Condé Nast and I haven’t looked back since then. This was around 2 years ago.
It’s equally important for me to build a great business as it is to do my absolute best for a client by building up my Styling skills.
I have made it a daily priority to dedicate time to growing my business. Whether it’s creating Social Media content, taking an Email Marketing course, or showing up at events. I’m passionate about growing my Personal Styling business both In-Person and Online and I continue to visualize success and connect with mentors/leaders to do so.
Every new client has allowed me to grow my styling skill set. With a new client comes a new body type, new wants/needs, new preferences, new habits, etc. Styling a new client is always a learning experience that I devote dedicated energy towards. My clients are my best teachers. I listen and learn in order to give them the best Personal Style advice and coaching. If I can help them improve the way they get dressed every day and feel better about their daily personal style, I know I’ve succeeded.
Today, I balance Personal Styling with a career in Tech. I’d love to be on a TV show like Queer Eye, where I can empower real-life heroes with Personal Style or break into Celebrity Styling/Fashion Styling for luxury brands.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As I mentioned before, balancing creativity with the analytical part of my brain has always been a challenge. Additionally, time is not always on my side. When I pour myself into helping a woman with her style, I am taking time away from learning about new technologies or networking to grow my social capital in tech.
Like every new experience, it takes a lot of energy to see the needle move, so staying committed to growing my business over the last couple of years has also been a challenge. Additionally, I’ve struggled with seeing consistent results in sales, connecting with the right audience, and overcoming imposter syndrome/perfectionist tendencies.
I have a great family and community of friends who support me and encourage me every day. It means the world to me that they see my passions and talents and support me to continue growing. Every challenge I’ve faced has strengthened me in my purpose. I feel like Style, specifically Personal Style for women, is meant to be part of my life’s work, making every hurdle and obstacle worth overcoming.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I began styling to help women feel confident enough to take big risks in their lives. If you’re ready to invest in yourself and reap rewards, let’s work together to transform your style. My niche is women who are changing the game in their industries – entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, leaders, etc.
I spend so much time with each client, delivering a luxury experience through 1-1 coaching/delivering coaching materials, creating custom Lookbooks, doing research behind the scenes, and so much more.
I take a lot of pride in my Lookbooks because they are very effective in making a style habit for a client with no clue about how to dress themselves. Seeing my client go from 0 to great style is in large part because of the power of all the custom outfits I curate in a Lookbook. They take into account body type, complementary colors, style preferences, and my client’s daily routine. No one on the market uses such a customer-centric approach to Style. My customer-centric approach was developed through knowledge and experience in CX and UX and constant iterations of learning with style clients.
I like to grow my relationship with my clients. What may start with 1 Closet Cleanse can turn into a multi-year relationship where I empower my clients through different seasons.
The quality of my Styling work and the relationship I build with my clients are definitely what I’m most proud of.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I really associate my success in business with 2 characteristics. One is curiosity; the other is risk.
Unless you’ve seen someone create a business from the ground up, a lot of your growth is through trial and error or extensive Googling. Both very important!
Being curious/learning as much as I can about different areas of entrepreneurship has grown my confidence and my business. If you’re not learning something new every day, you’re falling behind. Grow your brain as much as possible, ask for help, and follow your areas of natural curiosity.
Another characteristic that has allowed me to succeed is TAKING risks. As a recovering perfectionist, I have had to reframe my thinking around ‘failure’ as a good thing because it means I’ve tried. I’d 100% rather ‘fail’ than sit on an idea because it’s not perfect.
Pricing:
- Closet Cleanse & Merchandising – $220
- Special Event Styling – $125
- Lookbook – $175
- 1-1 Shopping Session – $125
- Full Styling Transformation – $850
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cecilia-esquivel.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceciliaesquivel__/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ceciliaesquivel.personalstylist/
- Other: https://www.cecilia-esquivel.com/styling-services
Image Credits
Ashley Gongora
