Many individuals seek higher education upon graduating from college or university to become further marketable. This is also true in the image consultant, personal styling and personal shopping industry, especially when considering salary. Credibility is based on education and experience, and when you seek out certified personal stylist or personal shopper training, you’re further educating yourself to become a highly desirable commodity. Often business people seek a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) to become even more credible business professionals. When you seek higher education in the image consultant, personal shopper or personal stylist industry, you are showing your commitment, dedication, and credibility within the industry to become a top-notch personal shopping and personal styling professional who actually knows the scientific reasons behind the art of styling – increasing your salary potential.
As a Certified Personal Shopper, you will able to bill clients a higher hourly or daily rate than non-certified personal shoppers or stylists. And your clients will be eager to work with you because they trust that you have truly mastered the principles behind image and style, and they know that their image goals will be achieved under your guidance rather than working with someone who says they have a “passion for fashion” and a “love for style.” Many people who work in retail claim that they are personal stylists and personal shoppers. However when you ask them the reason behind why something looks good, you may get a vague and disappointing answer like, “Trust me, that color is amazing!” Versus a well-educated and well-versed Personal Stylist and Personal Shopper will say, “This color suits you because it is in harmony with your personal coloring and highlights your personality.” Education is always the key to success in any industry, therefore wouldn’t you want to be a certified personal stylist and personal shopper who gets paid well to do what they love?
In many urban cities throughout the US, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, or Asia, a first-time personal shopper without professional training can realistically bill at an hourly rate equivalent to $20-$30 USD per hour. However if you seek out professional training, your starting hourly rate can range from the equivalent of $50 – $100 USD per hour, depending upon your market and your target clientele. Within your first 3 years, you will be able to increase your fees to $100-$150 USD per hour due to your training and experience.
During your first year of professional personal styling, you can realistically expect to work with an average of three clients per month depending upon how aggressively your pursue clients and how well you utilize your social network. Given an 8 hour personal styling and personal shopping session, a non-certified personal stylist can expect to earn $480-$720 USD per month.
A Certified Personal Stylist and Shopper who launches a business working with an average of 3 clients per month at 8 hours per session can expect to earn $1200-$2400 USD per month. As you can see, because you have invested in professional training, you have tripled your earnings potential with the same number of clients and same number of hours.
During your first 1-2 years as a professional personal shopper, you will most likely need to seek an additional source of income in order to sustain your living expenses, or be supplemented by your partner, spouse or family. However as you will learn below, if you continue to actively pursue your new career, you can become a self-supporting, full-time personal stylist within 3 years.
During your second and third years as a professional personal stylist, as a non-certified personal shopper, you will be able to raise your hourly rate to $30-$50 USD. With dedication to your business, you can also expect to double your clientele to an average of 6 clients per month. Given an 8 hour session per client, a non-certified personal stylists can expect to earn from $1440 – $2400 per month, equivalent to $17,000 – $25,000 per year. Based on these numbers, you can see that a Certified Personal Stylist worked half as much and earned the same income during their first year as a non-certified personal stylist earned working twice as much in their second or third year.
As a Certified Personal Stylist and Shopper, you can expect to raise your hourly rate to $100-$175 per hour during your second or third year and can also realistically double your clientele to 6 clients per month. By investing in Personal Styling and Shopper Training now, in two-three years you can expect to earn from $3600-$7200 USD per month – that’s an annual income of $43,000 – $86,000. Obviously, it goes without saying that these numbers are achievable through hard work, dedication to actively seeking new clients, and consistently building your social network.
Personal Shopper and Personal Stylist Salaries Across the Globe Range From:
Dubai Personal Shoppers: 350 – 550 AED per hour based on their experience and training
London Personal Shoppers: £ 30 – 45 without training and £ 50 – 80 on average with training
Australian Personal Shoppers: $100 – 175 per hour in a major metropolitan city such as Sydney or Melbourne
European Personal Shoppers: € 55 – 90 per hour on average in a fashion capital, based on credibility and training
Hong Kong Personal Shoppers: HK$ 550 – 1250 per hour depending on experience, training and target demographic
Nigerian Personal Shoppers: ₦ 15175 – 22750 based on target demographic and personal stylist training
The personal shopper and personal stylist industries are growing rapidly in countries including: Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Poland, Australia, Hong Kong and China, Singapore, Shanghai, Taiwan, Malaysia, Korea, The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, India, Nigeria, South Africa, and across Africa. With the US Dollar currently weaker in value against the Euro, now is the time for aspiring personal stylists from Europe and Asia to invest in the Sterling Style Academy’s on-location training programs and our Short eCourses.
Imagine launching your business as a Certified Personal Stylist and earning a salary equivalent to your friends in the corporate world in less than 3 years – doing what you love most, shopping! Imagine earning an income that increases by 50%-100% each year based on your own hard work and merit. In no time at all, you’ll be enjoying the life and career of your dreams!
