Today we’d like to introduce you to Genelle Beyer
Hi Genelle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
A practical start of my story may be 2011, when I moved to New York City for 6 months to complete an Image Consulting Program and train with one of the best in business, But I’d actually go further back to snippets of my childhood and exposure to clothing and fashion through my mom who was a seamstress. She ran her own business out of our home, having clients coming regularly to sew unique pieces for them. My mother had an amazing ‘fashion sense’ as some put it and she was always able to expertly advise her clients on what may or may not be complementary to their body, personality and overall style. It was because of her vested interest in all these areas, that she was part of that pioneer clientele of women who got their colors “done” by the popular company at the time – Color Me Beautiful.
My sister and I luckily got entire wardrobes of her creations growing up. I could recall piecing together ideas through magazines and patterns (remember Butterick, Simplicity, McCalls?) and requesting signature outfits befitting a 7 year old’s social calendar – birthday parties and holiday concerts! At a young age, I read through the Color Me Beautiful book she was gifted and quickly grasped concepts of color and could more specifically explain wanting a ‘dusty pink’ not an ‘electric pink’, or warm vs cool, bright vs muted and so on. I have a distinct memory around the age of 11, sneaking my mothers makeup collection and testing out which of warm or cool toned makeup looked better on my skin tone. Beyond being what people may call a ‘girly girl’, I was invested in the WHY and HOW for myself and others.
While my mother’s and my interests shifted over time, our latent passion for style remained in subtle ways. My mother went on to found her own preschool, and I eventually pursued psychology at university. On one hand, I thought I had given up on a childhood dream of one day being some sort of stylist, on the other hand, psychology ended up being the missing piece of a business that was yet to come.
I fell in love with the show ‘What Not to Wear’ in the early 2000s, and appreciated the deeper insight encouraged by hosts Stacy and Clinton specific to a client’s personal style journey, or lack thereof. Once I committed to the idea of actually pursuing this dream of becoming an Image Consultant and Professional Stylist, I knew that I wanted to build a similar foundation of care, concern and true relationship with my clients. I could see how I could work with my clients and give them an authentic experience of depth and discovery, all the while, creating a wardrobe they would look and feel confident in.
ImaGen launched in 2012 after one of the clearest dreams I ever had. The name and logo idea along with very specific explanations of both came after a few months of ruminating on how I would even start this business after completing my program. As cliche as it sounds, I was one of those people who woke up in the middle of the night, quickly scribbling down my ideas and mock up of a logo. The next day I reached out to one of my friends who dabbled in graphic design to bring the logo to life. Day by day and little by little I found ways to market my expertise, and I was thankfully able to easily do that during the height of Facebook and Facebook for business. To build my portfolio, I offered free services, volunteered my time to organizations and was even granted the opportunity to write a question and answer column for a lifestyle magazine on Image & Personal Style.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not! I chuckle as I write this, because I wonder if anyone who has built a business ever stops experiencing struggles. In case it is not known, I was born and raised in Trinidad, the most southern of the Caribbean islands. Remember I mentioned moving to New York for 6 months? That move happened in late 2011. Incidentally, it was during this time that I met my now husband who…stay with me now, was actually from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I happened to visit during that 6 month US stint. The reason I mention this is because I fully intended to return to Trinidad to build my business in that context. But God had other plans. After meeting in December of 2011, our friendship eventually blossomed into a romantic relationship and we were engaged and married in 2014.
I spent 2-ish years building a business in Trinidad, while working a full-time job. After moving to Milwaukee in 2014, I felt like I had to start all over in a completely new territory that was foreign to me for some obvious and maybe not so obvious reasons. I mean, I moved from the warm and colorful tropics, where our clothing type and style were consistent, to cold and somewhat more ‘neutral’ in style and expression of the Midwest that changed every couple months. I had to ‘learn the ways’ and rediscover my own personal style in a location and culture I was not familiar with. I was learning my own cold-tolerance while trying to understand coat density and shifting my mind from celsius to fahrenheit! Everytime I felt ready to launch my business, I would suffer deep imposter syndrome as someone calling themselves a stylist who was still trying to figure out her own style.
After one year of living there, I decided to take up a job at Nordstrom which had opened a new full-line store in Milwaukee. It was a 3-year working period I hold dear. Working in what was considered a higher-end department store focusing on customer relationship and experience, gave me valuable exposure to quality pieces, styles, designers, trends and functionality AND a five-star customer experience. I may lump some of these experiences into a category of struggle, but I also fully believe everything was working out and building up to a specific timing. Inside of the frustration of putting a business on hold, I was gorging myself on the buffet of invaluable training and exposure to brands and other veteran stylists. Nordstrom was my own styling playground and offered me a practical space to develop and perfect my styling skills with every customer experience. I can boast of a couple core memories of styling well known local news anchors; one for an annual black tie fundraising event, while the other for a simple blind/ first date experience along with their everyday on-camera looks! I was often named in the top ten salespeople of the week, and awarded a bronze medal for customer care in the region. If it wasn’t for my time there, I would not be able to add ‘Bra Fit Specialist’ to my styling services, a unique addition often outsourced by other stylists.
For the majority of this business journey, I had been ‘burning the candle at both ends’; working multiple jobs while raising a daughter, navigating the pandemic with the rest of the world, all the while wrestling with the decision to pursue ImaGen full time in an ever changing economic environment. The struggles were and are real and can be hard, but my personal and professional growth are undeniable.
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 am an Image Consultant and Professional Wardrobe Stylist and I transform women through discovery and implementation of a personal style, brand and message that empowers them into that next level authentic self! For many women, the combination of shopping and simply getting dressed every day brings deep frustration. I come in to create ease and efficiency in your closet and everyday dressing, rebuilding any lost confidence in your wardrobe AND yourself. The ImaGen Transformation Experience is a celebration of YOU – your body, your personality, your life, your voice, your essence.
My services are offered both in-person and virtually, and these include:
Professional bra consultations and fittings
Color Analysis
Closet Audits and Organization
Personal Styling and discovery of your Style Archetype or ID
Personal Shopping
Outfit Capsuling
Brand Photography Collaborations
Event and Travel Styling, Shopping, Packing/ Shipping
Group and Corporate Workshops and Speaking Engagements in Professional Presence and Customer Experience.
ImaGen also offers clients use of a Digital Closet App that puts their closet and shopping experience at both our fingertips! This efficient and style savvy tool removes any distance at all from your transformation experience. This feature of ImaGen services is highly image-based; seeing your closet, personal shopping list and outfit creations all in one place.
I attended a Women’s Business Forum recently and in a networking portion of the morning, I was asked “What do you get most complimented on?”. The answer to this I realized is the same as what I am known for, what sets me apart from others and what has become part of my personal and professional brand. I am the encourager, the empathizer, the relatable ‘sister-friend’ who listens and hears your heart as you navigate your 40s, motherhood, workplace burnout, illness, postpartum, being the caregiver or the one who has poured sacrificially from her empty cup till she has lost versions of herself she once knew and celebrated. I identify with my clients because I am or have been exactly where they were in some way. The skills in styling I carry in my back pocket are what allow me to emerge on the other side confidently. I know that when I look good, or more accurately, when I take care of myself, I am a better version of ME to myself and to those around me. My conversations with clients throughout their transformation process are deep and the personal style journey is often quite internal that then manifests externally. It will never just be about shopping. I work with individuals who are ready to take the next steps to enhance, to elevate and to empower themselves and their style to reach their personal and professional goals.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Having now lived in 3 different locations with 3 somewhat vastly different cultures, I am so excited for what is ahead in Atlanta! I’ll admit that living in the ‘Hollywood of the South’, I hope to one day gain skills in costume design, styling commercial, TV and movie characters and general editorial fashion styling.
I am passionate about working with women (and men) who want to transform their style and build a personal brand, but I look forward to having greater reach through development and use of an ImaGen digital platform and educational hub that can bring individual clients or professional groups, college students and graduates, HR and Customer Service and Relationship, Leadership and Training and Development industries together who will have access to digital courses and resources that aim to advance their personal and professional mission.
There is so much value in discovering the immense impact that comes from harnessing your style and overall image. I know that COVID brought about a whole new trajectory of style – loungewear, athleisure and ‘WFH’ (work from home) style grew exponentially. I look forward to being part of an industry that can still bring clarity and understanding to the ever-changing and sometimes confusing trends and directions to levels of business dress, social dress codes and more. We’re certainly beyond certain style rules that existed due to very particular societal structures in very particular countries, but Image Professionals and Stylists like myself will always aim to build a style and brand that is appropriate to your current lifestyle and reflects YOU and your unique essence.
Pricing:
- 3 Tier packages starting at $1200.00
- A la carte specific services started at $250.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ImaGenConsultingServices.com
- Instagram: @ImaGenStyle_Consulting
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImaGenServices
Image Credits
Sierra Brown
