Every personal stylist has that one client who leaves you questioning everything you thought you knew about your business, your talent, and even yourself. You saw the red flags, but scarcity, fear, or hope told you it would be fine. And then it wasn’t. What follows isn’t just frustration; it’s an emotional hangover that lingers long after the final invoice is paid.

In this episode of The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, I’m going deep into what happens when a bad-fit client crosses your path and how to use that experience to build a stronger, more sustainable business. You’ll discover what these uncomfortable moments reveal about you and how you can turn them into tools to help you filter clients with honesty and authority so that you stop trading your time and energy for short-term validation and start running a business that supports you financially and emotionally.

2:23 – The problem with my worst-fit client and why I ignored the red flags

6:44 – What your bad-fit client situation is telling you about yourself as an entrepreneur

10:27 – Examples of red flags and the pattern, cost, and emotional hangover of accepting bad clients

13:35 – The worst thing you can do when you’ve said “yes” to the wrong client and what to do instead

18:05 – How the bad-fit client experience can benefit you and your business

21:21 – Questions to ask when you’re feeling the sting of a bad client situation

Mentioned In How to Handle the Emotional Hangover After a Bad-Fit Client

Creative CEO Coaching

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There’s a moment in every styling business where you start wondering if you’d make more sales by posting before-and-after photos. Maybe you’ve tried it already, or maybe you’ve avoided it because it feels uncomfortable to put clients out there. Either way, those photos don’t usually tell the full story. 

A picture can show clothes and a result, but it can’t show the shift that happened in the middle. When that part is missing—how the client felt, what changed, what became possible afterward—people don’t connect to it. They might like it, but they don’t see themselves in it. 

In this episode of The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, I’m talking about what’s changed in the styling industry, why before-and-afters don’t land the way they used to, and why people feel so skeptical when they scroll past them. We get into how to talk about results in a way that feels respectful to your clients and actually helps your audience see themselves in the transformation.

1:49 – Why “before” and “after” photos don’t convert

5:30 – Why these photos used to work and what changed to make them stop working

9:02 – Why “before” and “after” photos might often feel uncomfortable to post 

11:15 – The key to showing client results that convert your marketing into sales

13:01 – Four questions for creating powerful client stories that sell authentically

15:08 – Why over-delivering doesn’t create client transformation and how doing less can actually deepen results

18:48 – How to identify the biggest mindset shift for your client so you can build your marketing around it

20:47 – What it means to “walk the talk” of transformation

21:27 – What it takes to build authority and scale your business sustainably

22:55 – The power of humanizing your client results 

Mentioned In Why Before and After Photos Don’t Sell Transformational Personal Styling

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There comes a moment in every stylist’s business when the dream starts to feel a little too heavy. You’re fully booked. You’ve hit six figures. You’ve built the reputation you once chased, yet the joy feels dulled. The work is still meaningful, but the constant doing has started to blur into exhaustion.

This is where most stylists get caught. They’ve learned how to build a business, but not how to lead one. They’ve built momentum, but not margin. They’ve mastered how to execute, but not how to articulate what they stand for.

In the finale of our Multi Six-Figure Stylist Series on The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, we’re breaking down the shift that separates stylists who stay stuck in execution from those who evolve into true thought leaders. I’ll explain why you can’t delegate effectively without conviction, why your team can’t mirror your standards if you’ve never codified them, and how thought leadership is what transforms a stylist into a sought-after industry voice.

3:09 – Difference between thought leadership as a new entrepreneur vs. a six-figure stylist

5:54 – Why substance is the key to gaining thought leadership, not tactics

8:46 – Examples of thought leadership with real substance

13:27 – Why being known as a thought leader goes beyond better-paying clients

17:15 – Difference between being a service provider vs. a thought leader

22:28 – Three things to clarify so you can become a thought leader

25:47 – Your final takeaway from this series

Mentioned In Thought Leadership Turns an Overbooked Stylist Into a Trusted Advisor

How to Think Like a Thought Leader, Not Just a Personal Stylist

Multi Six-Figure Stylist Series:

Why Six Figures Still Feels Like Survival Mode

The Mistake Stylists Make When They Start Hiring

Getting Out of Fight or Flight So You Can Actually Level Up

Creative CEO Coaching

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It’s one thing to reach six figures in your styling business. It’s another to actually feel like you’ve arrived there. Too many stylists keep sprinting on the hamster wheel long after they’ve “made it,” believing that being overbooked, exhausted, and constantly available (even after hiring help) means things are working. The reality is that this is just survival mode, and it keeps your business stuck at the exact level you’re trying to grow past.

In part three of our Multi Six-Figure Stylist Series on The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, we’re talking about something that trips up a lot of high-achieving stylists—believing that staying booked and constantly moving means the business is growing. It doesn’t. Your next level shows up when you’re not buried in client work and reacting to every task, but when you finally have room to make decisions and move the business forward.

2:13 – The deeper truth behind why six-figure stylists can’t see their next level

3:03 – How “busy” becomes a false marker of safety and success

4:54 – Hidden cost of staying in motion and why it keeps you small

6:11 – The expense of always being busy (and the feeling that makes it worse)

8:19 – Why subtracting (not adding) is the real key to expansion

11:17 – The nervous system’s role in keeping you overbooked and burnt out

13:32 – The essential mindset shift that separates experts from hustlers

14:50 – What it actually looks like to slow down without losing progress

18:30 – How to start releasing things in your business that no longer serve you

Mentioned In Why Being Busy Is Blocking Your Next Level as a Personal Stylist

Creative CEO Coaching

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Like many, Erin Stoll started her career by helping friends with closet edits and styling for parties. She experimented on Instagram, showed up consistently, and took on opportunities that scared her. Little by little, she created a body of work that is as unique as it is impactful, creating a full-time business in the process.

Erin’s journey offers inspiration for what it takes to build a sustainable, fulfilling personal styling business rooted in authenticity, creativity, and courage. Her story also underscores the power of mentorship, community, and being willing to pivot away from traditional notions of success to create a career that truly fits your passion.

In this episode of The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, you’ll hear about Erin’s evolution from a six-figure corporate fundraiser to a successful personal styling entrepreneur and influencer. You’ll discover the challenges and strategic decisions she made while staying authentic to her values, her innovative approach to merging creativity with business, and her advice for stylists looking to grow their business sustainably while remaining genuine.

2:30 – How Erin began her styling business journey

6:43 – Why Erin initially struggled (and still does) with the influencer label

11:02 – What aided Erin’s growth on Instagram and why she barely works with brands now

16:50 – How I encouraged Erin and gave her a lifeline when I myself was still a stylist

22:27 – How the pandemic led Erin to quit her job and go full-time in her business

26:56 – Creating a movement and difficult (but vital) business challenges Erin faced

34:23 – The development of Erin’s live stage show, Style Thief Fashion

37:39 – Planned tour stops in 2025-2026 and the uniqueness of Erin’s show

39:40 – Erin’s advice for stylists trying to build a full-time business who feel stuck

44:11 – How Erin was the catalyst to my transition from stylist to styling business coach

How Erin Stoll Turned Showing Up into a Six-Figure Styling Career

Style Thief Fashion | Instagram

The Self-Styled Podcast

Creative CEO Coaching

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Many stylists mistakenly believe that scaling a team means scaling their business. As a result, they find themselves overworked, underpaid, and feeling stuck in the same business challenges they had at $50k. Instead, you need to take the reins as a creative CEO, a leader who remains the primary decision-maker while strategically building support around you. 

In part two of our Multi Six-Figure Stylist Series on The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, I’m breaking down why outsourcing execution is not the same as outsourcing responsibility. I’ll discuss how failing to define your own standards, vision, and success metrics can create more chaos and how to course-correct by reclaiming your role as the ultimate driver of your business.

1:46 – Why hiring help too early (or ineffectively) after hitting six figures can harm more than help you

3:29 – How six-figure stylists can fall into the trap of outsourcing responsibility

5:45 – Why simply hiring help won’t move your business forward

8:52 – Why the expensive trap in hiring people isn’t the money spent acquiring them

12:23 – What you’re really doing when you hire support for your styling business

13:54 – The dividing line between running a successful business and it running you

15:48 – You are the decider in your business, no matter how much you make

Mentioned In The Mistake Stylists Make When They Start Hiring

Creative CEO Coaching

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An identity crisis often arises when hustle meets success for established stylists. Despite hitting that magical six-figure revenue milestone, you feel disillusioned, burned out, or stuck. It’s like you’re still in business survival mode, just focused on getting the next client.

But now you’re ready to lay the foundation for your business’s evolution. Whether you’re chasing your next revenue goal or stuck in old patterns that have plateaued your profits, this four-part Multi Six-Figure Stylist Series is your call to upgrade and build the styling business you actually want.

In this premiere episode of the series on The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, I’m revealing the truth behind why reaching $100,000+ in revenue rarely feels like how you imagined it would. I’ll discuss why business owners at this stage often feel more exhausted, unclear, and unsupported than ever, and what it takes to pivot from stylist-for-hire to creative CEO.

1:23 – How hitting six figures doesn’t guarantee clarity, peace, or freedom

6:18 – The high cost of chaos at higher income levels

7:33 – A widespread occurrence with financial milestones to avoid

9:59 – The key internal shift needed to step into a creative CEO mindset

15:43 – The importance of understanding your business to hire support effectively

19:15 – Why you need to upgrade your marketing and positioning at this level

23:15 – Why you shouldn’t wait to upgrade your identity, systems, and marketing

Mentioned In Why Six Figures Still Feels Like Survival Mode 

How Shame and Pride Keep Stylists From Creating True Client Transformation

How to Think Like a Thought Leader, Not a Personal Stylist

Creative CEO Coaching

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When you don’t have new clients lined up, it’s tempting to whip up a brand-new offer, slash the price, and call it a solution. It gives you a quick dopamine hit, but it’s panic mode, not strategy. And that cycle of tweaking and adding services is one of the fastest ways to burn out your styling business.

Every new offer isn’t just the service itself. It comes with hidden jobs: packaging it, building systems to deliver it, and marketing it well enough to sell. That extra work stacks on top of what you already have, leaving you scattered, confusing your audience, and exhausting yourself before you ever see consistent results.

In this episode of The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, I’m sharing why “offer hopping” keeps stylists stuck and the three legitimate reasons you might actually add something new. You’ll walk away knowing the difference between an offer that strengthens your business and one that only distracts you from the momentum you’re trying to build.

3:55 – Why simply copying other stylists’ service menu never works

5:57 – Three invisible jobs you commit to with each service you create

8:24 – Why client droughts aren’t a signal to offer more services

10:06 – Three externally-driven reasons why stylists create new offers

14:40 – Three times it makes sense to add a new offer to your styling menu

19:25 – What to do when you feel the urge to copy another stylist’s service

Mentioned In Why Adding Offers When Your Styling Business Feels Slow Is a Mistake

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It’s time for a wake-up call. If you’re a stylist feeling stuck despite doing all the things, yet hesitate to invest in your growth to get unstuck, then you need to be aware of some uncomfortable truths…ones that too many business owners don’t want to say out loud. 

In this episode of The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, I’ll show you three truths that will either give you the clarity to take action investing in your business or the realization that you’re not ready yet to move forward.

Inspired by a viral trend, this episode pulls no punches. You’ll discover why honesty and emotional maturity are essential for you to achieve sustainable business success.

3:08 – Why posting from what inspires you isn’t working effectively

7:54 – The marketing content metric you should focus on tracking

8:58 – Why you’re not competing on the same playing field as top stylists

13:41 – A need to check your thought process about “pay to play”

17:44 – The fast-changing styling industry and stylists who will thrive regardless

20:04 – What is required for business growth in this industry

Mentioned In 3 Truths Personal Stylists Don’t Want to Hear (But Must to Hit Six Figures)

Income Accelerator Program Application

How the Income Accelerator Program Can Elevate Your Styling Business

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You don’t find out if your styling business is healthy by looking at likes or followers. You find out by looking at your repeat client rate. That number tells you the truth about whether your business is built to last.

When clients come back, it’s never just about the service they booked once. It proves that your marketing, your pricing, your offers, and your delivery are all working together. And when they don’t, that’s the clearest sign something is off. A healthy styling business should see 30–40% of clients rebooking season after season. Anything less, and you’ll always feel like you’re hustling for new clients.

In this episode of The Six Figure Personal Stylist Podcast, I’ll show you why your repeat client rate is your business report card, how to use it to spot gaps, and the habits that quietly tank retention—from over-giving to chasing the wrong buyers.

2:32 – Why rebooking existing clients is easier and more profitable than chasing new ones

5:49 – What your repeat client rate actually reveals about the way your business is designed

9:50 – How to tell if your client experience is strong enough to make people want to return

12:04 – The connection between your marketing, positioning, and retention

15:39 – The trap of trying to sell to everyone instead of the right clients

17:10 – Why “more packages” on your menu doesn’t mean a better business

18:46 – How over-giving in your services drives clients away instead of bringing them back

22:05 – Using your repeat client rate as the ultimate business report card

Mentioned In Why Repeat Client Rates Matter in Your Styling Business

Income Accelerator Program Application

How the Income Accelerator Program Can Elevate Your Styling Business

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