Personal image consultant as a career

Image consultants help people cultivate a professional or updated appearance. They may work with businesses or individual clients to make changes to their looks, communication skills and behavior. Many professional image consultants specialize in a certain area, such as clothing, social etiquette or public speaking. A large portion of these consultants are self-employed and must spend a great deal of time marketing them and finding new clients.

Personal branding is a leadership requirement, not a self-promotion campaign. Developing your personal brand is essential for the advancement of your career and development as a leader.  Personal branding consultants help ones business by establishing credibility, growing your network and help you reach your business goals.  Branding is important because it creates loyalty, meaning, and a trust with your audience.

People in this position typically have relevant formal training and certifications offered by product vendors and a variety of image consulting associations. Personal branding is essentially the ongoing process of establishing a prescribed image or impression in the mind of others about an individual, group or organization.

Personal Branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. While previous self help management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal-branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging.

Professional image consultants help their clients develop and project a desired image through grooming, clothing selection and, in many cases, training in etiquette and self-presentation. Some travel may be required for this job; you may visit clients' homes or guide them in making appropriate purchases during shopping excursions. Personal image consultants also do a lot of office work when they're self-employed, like bookkeeping and scheduling clients, as well as marketing their services. 

Personal branding consultants require to start by gathering data, performing market research to identify target markets and assess consumer perceptions, competition, business trends, and product value. Consultants can also perform internal audits to ensure the needs and goals of a company's departments are aligned. This research informs the development of an overall brand strategy, which can affect logo and package design, pricing, placement, advertising campaigns, and customer service messaging. Decisions influenced by personal branding consultants include where to distribute a product, what medium is best for advertising and how to shape product messages for different demographics. Soft skills are essential for personal branding. The soft skill development training programs include the way you present yourself, your vocal and verbal communication skills, body language, etiquettes, and stress and time management. Soft skill development also includes team management, leadership qualities, ability to negotiate well. People who are strong on soft skills are the ones who find that they have meaningful social and personal relationships.

Branding consultants lend their marketing expertise to help a company make key strategic decisions and bring a product to market. Entry-level work can be attained by completing a marketing bachelor's degree program, but it's common to supplement work experience by completing a master's degree program.