Kerry Brownell didn’t start with a background in sales or business. Yet after six years at the helm of Kerry’s Style Sessions, she’s learned valuable lessons about what makes a service business work. Drawing from her experiences in personal styling, Kerry shares practical insights for those considering their own business venture.
Finding Your Business Foundation
Before diving into business strategies or marketing plans, Kerry emphasizes the importance of passion. “Know what your passion is, know what your drive is, know what you really want to do, what you really love to do,” she says. She believes this internal motivation makes the difference between pushing through challenges and giving up when things get tough.
Solving Real Customer Problems
Understanding customer challenges shapes every aspect of a successful business model. “Work out what pain points you are going to solve for them, what challenges are you going to solve for them,” Kerry explains. In her own practice, she noticed a clear need: “The ladies that come to see me for styling, they don’t know how to dress for themselves, they don’t know how to shop for themselves.” This insight drives her service approach and shapes her client communications.
Additionally, Kerry takes an unconventional view of sales skills. “You don’t have to be a sales expert,” she notes, adding “I certainly don’t have any sales experience in my background, it’s all been self-taught.” Her approach focuses on genuine connection rather than practiced techniques. “Your passion will come through, people want to see that transparency and authenticity in the people that they’re dealing with.”
Getting Help When You Need It
Working alone brings its own set of challenges. Kerry shares, “If you are a solopreneur – I am a solopreneur and always have been – it’s really hard when you’ve got all these ideas swimming around in your head.” Her solution? “Get yourself a business mentor… they know the challenges that you’re going to go through and what you need to overcome, they’ve experienced it all themselves!”
Some business tasks require professional help. Kerry learned this firsthand with financial management. “Get yourself a bookkeeper unless you absolutely love doing that sort of thing, which I didn’t and I absolutely don’t!” she advises. She suggests outsourcing tasks that fall outside your expertise or interest, allowing you to focus on serving clients.
Brand Development Decisions
While many new business owners get caught up in design details, Kerry offers practical advice about branding: “We can spend so much time just trying to work out what colors we’re going to choose, what font we’re going to choose, and really it doesn’t matter at the end of the day.” However, she acknowledges the value of professional help: “If you really want to do it then pay for someone, pay for a professional to do this for you, it will save you so much time and stress .”
After six years of running Kerry’s Style Sessions, Kerry’s main takeaway is surprisingly simple – you don’t need to be perfect at everything. What matters more is understanding what your clients need, being genuine in your approach, and not being afraid to ask for help. She’s found that keeping these basics in mind helps cut through the noise of business advice and keeps her focused on what actually matters – helping her clients build confidence to look and feel their best.
To learn more about Kerry Brownell and her approach, check out her LinkedIn profile.
