Today we’d like to introduce you to Savannah Boyd.
Savannah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Hey There! I am Savannah Boyd, owner of Hearts of Style. Let me start by saying what an honor it is to be featured on Voyage Atlanta. It was such a sweet surprise to receive the email that a friend and fellow “Boss Mom” had nominated me! I am truly grateful and excited to share a little of my story.
Although originally from Louisiana, after living in Atlanta for 12 years, Georgia has become my home. After graduating from Auburn University, I moved here and began my career in fashion and was immediately driven by the desire to help people look and feel their best! This industry is much more than styles, trends, and the “latest and greatest” to me! I truly love people and building relationships. I find so much joy in helping someone put together pieces that depict who they are and who they want to be.
I worked in retail for several years and quickly noticed that there seemed to be a disconnect between receiving great customer service and receiving great service from someone you could really trust. I saw the need for someone that wasn’t just trying to “sell” you something. It became a mission of mine to always offer an honest opinion to my clients. I think because they knew I was looking out for their best interest, many of them would reach out to me about doing some shopping for them in other stores, and also about helping them evaluate and manage their existing wardrobe. They needed help clearing out the purchase mistakes that they had made in the past.
As I began to do that with any extra time I had, I realized that not only did I enjoy it, I really had an eye for identifying things that didn’t work and finding things that did. It was then, in 2008, that this personal shopping business was born. From my perspective, fashion is an outward reflection of the beauty that is within, hence the name, Hearts of Style.
In my dreams, I prayed that I would someday be a mom, but I knew that if that day were to ever come I would be really sad to let go of my love for fashion and the opportunity to serve people by helping them feel their best. It has been crazy to see this dream and vision that I had so long ago actually become a reality. My three babies, whom I call the CEOs of Hearts of Style and the CEO’s of my life, are my right-hand men and my little princess! It is truly a blessing to be able to run my business and still be a very hands-on mom.
Thankfully, a special person approached me in 2013 right before I was about to have my first son. She inquired about a position assisting me with Hearts of Style. I could have never imagined how Important that inquiry would become.
I say this all the time, but I could never pull it all off without my friend, Ryn Pollard. She can literally read my mind, and she is always a calm and steady voice when I am spouting off visions, ideas, and goals. I am all over the place trying to be the best at all of my “jobs” and I honestly do not know what I would do without her help. I am so grateful for the asset she is to this business, but more importantly for the love, she shows to my family and me.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I cannot say that the road has been smooth, but you cannot grow unless you encounter obstacles. Even after ten years in business, I still feel like I have a lot to learn. There are some things that come naturally to me, like relationships. As I mentioned, establishing those is the most important part of this business. On the flip side, my business comes with A LOT of accounting, and that part can be a nightmare. It does not come naturally to me, and it takes up a lot of my time.
The time that I would rather be using to meet with clients, shop, etc. Balancing these two aspects is a daily obstacle for me. Balancing my business for the rest of my life as a wife and a mom is always an obstacle. Things are constantly moving at full speed around my house and I have found no secret to tackling everything that is required of me as a wife, mom, and business owner. I remember after having my first child telling people that I could not wait to find a balance between family and business. Ha! Here I am over five years later and I can honestly tell you there is NO BALANCE.
There just isn’t enough time in the day, nor are there enough activities that encourage independent play for little people to make BALANCE a reality. Every day is a victory, and even though I usually end my days feeling like I didn’t accomplish it all, I get right back up the next day and give it my best shot again!
Hearts of Style – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Hearts of Style specializes in Personal Shopping, Wardrobe Consultations, and Closet Auditing. We work with clients who use us on an “as needed” basis as well as clients who have us building on their wardrobe consistently each season. We love packing up our clients for any special trips they have planned and enjoy the overall process with those who need an overhaul in their closet by doing a closet audit. That process is such a great opportunity for the client to be taught the tools and lessons they need to be able to move forward on their own with confidence and hopefully without repeating past mistakes.
I’m pretty sure I am known around town as the only shopper who usually has one, two, if not all three of her tiny assistants in tow! They are each very energetic and eager to share their opinions about all of my purchases! It is certainly interesting at times, but my little CEOs are very much a part of my everyday life so sometimes we just roll with the punches in order to get it all accomplished. Many times this looks like Ryn driving my car around while I sit in the back feeding or entertaining my crew.
I am INCREDIBLY blessed that the clients I work for understand the priorities I have set for myself as a mother and are always welcoming us with open arms if I arrive with any of them in tow to work in the closet or deliver new items. Even though I sometimes feel and probably look like a rubber band being pulled in 100 different directions, I pray that I am known by my clients as a friend who they can count on. Not only for their wardrobe needs but for anything that I could ever help them with.
Yes, there are a lot of personal shoppers scattered throughout Atlanta, but I really feel like Hearts of Style is one of a kind! You are not only getting a service when you reach out to us, you are gaining a relationship, one that I want you to know you can count on. We are happy to meet you wherever you are with your wardrobe and with whatever budget. I feel like there is a big misconception regarding hiring a personal shopper, and that is that you assume you need a large budget to spend on clothes.
That is definitely not the case with us. It is my opinion that a small budget shouldn’t hold anyone back from getting the help they need to gain more confidence and overall wisdom on what pieces are the best for them. I would encourage anyone who doesn’t have the ability to overhaul their wardrobe all at one that starting small is a start! And you have to start somewhere. To me, the most rewarding part of my business is being the one who encourages a person and gives them the little nudge they need to find and redefine the beauty that is already inside them.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Ha… This is actually a tough question for me. My personality trait is very Type A.
However, having three children while trying to run a business pretty much bulldozes that task-oriented personality! I have really had to work hard at learning how to adapt to chaos and let a lot of things go. I used to measure success by how much of my “to-do” list was tackled, by how much I had to “show” for my hard work, and by how much money I was able to earn and save.
Based upon that way of thinking I could easily feel like I haven’t been super “successful” thus far in my business. If I am being honest, at the end of each day I am running on fumes and usually feeling pretty defeated. The reason for that is as much as I give 100% to being a wife, mom, business owner, friend, volunteer, etc., there is still a never-ending list of things that I am not able to accomplish. That right there is a daily challenge for me. I have to continually accept GRACE and the TRUTH that even in chaos there is a great purpose in all that I am trying to accomplish. It is just a process and something that cannot really be measured by a check mark.
One of my favorite quotes is,”Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try just one more time.” Thomas Edison
There are certainly days that I think it is impossible to continue doing all that I am trying to do, but then I take a step back and reflect on all of the amazing people I have met through this small business. People who have somehow been impacted by the work that I have done. People who have more confidence, more courage, and more joy. People that now look in the mirror and hear a little southern voice in their head telling them that they are beautiful! =) Even though I put a lot of pressure on myself because of what our society would say traditional “success” looks like, testimonies from my clients are enough proof for me that I am doing something right.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.everythingheartsofstyle.com
- Phone: 334-303-2655
- Email: heartsofstyle1@gmail.com
- Instagram: @shesheartsofstyle
- Other: https://linktr.ee/shesheartsofstyle
Image Credit:
Kathryn McCrary Photography
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