creating your business style no.3
exploring the alternatives
Photo credit: Leather-craft-37 Pixabay
If you don’t have a distinctive style yet, or you are wondering how to become more creative, take a deep breath and give yourself some time. Start to look around you. What colours and patterns appeal, what imagery attracts you, and can you begin to see trends and themes appearing? Don’t restrict yourself to your own industry when you are searching for references. Very often you might be able to see how a general design trend is proceeding, and then how you can translate this to your own business. This will be most obvious as the trend for less formal clothes has become the norm in almost every business. Where you might have expected your solicitor to be wearing a black suit only a few years ago, they will undoubtedly still be very smart, but the suit might be history.
One of the best ways to collate all this information is in the form of a vision board. These can be physical – pictures, fabrics, photos etc. stuck on a large piece of card - or virtual, on your computer, using something like Pinterest. Look back at things you like, and that have worked for you in the past. This process isn’t designed to achieve a eureka moment, or to reinvent the wheel, just have some fun. You are not striving for perfection in any form, or needing this to be your ‘final’ edit. The ideas that you are exploring currently, are just that, ideas. While you are working on the aspects of your image that appeal to you, always keep in mind, what is your customer, or your boss, expecting to see? You need to reflect your aesthetic but you need to reflect others expectations as well.
Can you take some ‘you’ time to work on this aspect of your life? The insights you get from this creative visioning will only be as valuable as your input. By clearing your head of the day-to-day clutter, and allowing thoughts and visions to come together, you are allowing your creative side to develop. Many people are creative IN their lives and in their businesses, but taking that time out to focus on being creative FOR your business, can be something that is often overlooked. You may work in your career, and for your business, but how often do you work ON your business? Whatever your position, you are a vital part of the day to day running of your working life. Reflecting all the aspects you are needing to juggle in your career will pay dividends in both time and effort.
Once you put creativity at the forefront, you can begin to define your aesthetic. Finding a unique blend of creative inspiration will put you in a very strong position. Whether you are confident to work on your image yourself, or are thinking of employing a stylist or designer, you will be able to easily expand your thoughts beyond any initial ideas. Having done this background work you know what you want things to look and feel like. You will not have to be continually searching and referencing other concepts, or asking other people, because you will have faith in your ideas. This element is key to achieving your goals. While they will not have your personal vision, professional stylists will be able to help to create your business identity around your ideas, once you know what they are.
Whatever business you are in, or service you offer, the bottom line is that essentially people buy from people. By defining your unique aesthetic, your style will give you the edge. When you stand out from the crowd in a design led, considered way, with a voice that is authentic, you know that you are in the best place to take advantage of every opportunity that comes.
All rights reserved. Milly Churchill asserts the right to be identified as the author of this work.