Seek out people who have the skills you’re trying to learn or the connections you’re working to develop. Ask them to show you how they got to the place you’re hoping to get to. The worst they can say is no.
Jordan Stolch is a Fashion Stylist and Wardrobe Consultant based in Los Angeles, California. With a natural ability for style and aesthetics, the Canadian-born native quickly built a strong career in the celebrity and entertainment realm as well as in personal shopping and private styling. She has solidified herself as an innovative force in the fashion industry and highly sought after consultant.
Jordan has a strong aptitude for trend direction as well as an accurate understanding of the individuality of style. She recognizes what it takes to bring a vision to life, whether it be for the red carpet or for day-to-day dressing. As a Stylist, she is uninhibited and known for pushing the boundaries of safety and simplicity while always staying true to the needs and demands of her clients.
Jordan is committed to providing exceptional services while also tailoring her skills to meet the requirements of each project she works on. She is constantly transforming the image of her clients, assisting them in cultivating a brand and personality unique to their fashion tastes and preferences.
Jordan specializes in red carpet, film/television, commercial editorial, music video and advertisement styling. In addition, she is a full time Wardrobe Consultant and Personal Stylist for men and women all across Southern California.
Where did the idea for your company come from?
Fashion was a natural progression for me that didn’t so much come as an idea, but more a calling that’s always been interwoven into my DNA. I grew up in a relatively small city outside of Toronto Canada, so a career in fashion wasn’t even on my radar as something that was available to me. After university I moved directly into a sales and ecommerce position, keeping my interest in clothing as more of a hobby.
In my early twenties I visited Los Angeles for a business trip and was immediately enamored by the city. It’s fantastic weather and endless array of options gave birth to a drive inside of me that would come to realize almost anything was possible. Returning home, I couldn’t ignore the unsettled feelings I was experiencing and my newfound desire to create more for my life. Looking to LA and the way people lived there, I determined that a career in fashion was not only what I was meant to pursue but also something that now felt possible. Within a year I had packed up my life in Canada, been accepted to a great fashion school in LA, and was ready to begin a new chapter.
After graduating from FIDM, I was offered a fantastic position with a styling firm and joined a team of like-minded women who had also set out to turn their passions into lucrative careers. Breaking into the entertainment and fashion industry is no small feat, and the work that has gone into developing my skills as a Stylist since arriving in this country is ongoing. I’ve had so many opportunities in these last 8 years to work with brands and celebrities I never would have dreamt possible earlier, and I often step back and look at my life with immense gratitude as I realize I’ve been able to turn my love of style into a career.
The idea for my business and career path came from constant determination and an awakening within myself that recognized anything can be possible if you’re willing to put in the work.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
My day starts around 5am with a workout and breakfast, and by 7am I’m at work. In order to be productive, I like to stick as closely to a routine as possible so that I’m always managing my time. I’m usually answering emails, requesting samples from designers and ordering clothes online for the first few hours of my work day. From there the shopping begins and I’ll spend the majority of my day scouring the malls and showrooms in LA hunting for the right pieces for whichever project I’m working on at the time.
I typically have a few fittings per week, which entail going to a client’s home or to a film studio to put outfits together and do all the behind the scenes work before a photo shoot or a TV show can come to life. After the shopping and fitting comes hours of returns where everything is taken back that isn’t used for a project. People often have the perception that being a Stylist is really glamorous, but it’s pretty far from. Between carrying loads of garment bags up flights of stairs, spending hours in LA traffic to get from one mall to the next, and trying to keep hundred of receipts organized so that everything can be returned properly, a typical day doesn’t look like what many people would imagine.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Style is visual so in order to plan out a project and determine which course the fashion will take, I have to be able to see my ideas as opposed to just speak about them. Pinterest is a really great tool for me because it easily allows me to collect ideas and look at them together as a whole. If I’m working with a celebrity who wants to revamp their style for example, I’ll start by putting a reference board together for them on the app. We’ll then study it, add new ideas, take things off that aren’t working, and really look to find where the commonalities are amongst all the photos and what makes up the essence of the direction we’re moving in. I’ll do this same process for any project, because it gives me the strongest starting point to reference and gain inspiration from.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Personalization. This is a trend that’s taken the forefront in nearly every industry lately and I’m so excited about the way it pertains to fashion and customer service. I love to be able to tailor my styling experience to the unique needs of the client or brand I’m working with and come up with innovative new ways to make individual goals a reality.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
The last thing I do before going home from work is planning out my next day, which is a habit that allows me to be really productive. A lot of people spend the majority of their morning determining what needs to get done, and in essence wasting time thinking rather than executing. I like to be efficient with my time and have a plan in place as soon as I begin my day.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Try at all costs, even when you have no idea what your next step is. Try something and if it doesn’t work, try something else. The only place you can fail in is when you’re stagnant, because you’re not growing. Even if you try something and it doesn’t pan out the way you envisioned, you will learn and understand yourself and your business more thoroughly.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Most women do not love shopping. There is a common misconception that being a female intrinsically comes with a passion for spending hours in the mall. I can say with certainty, after working with hundreds of women in this capacity, the opposite is quite true. Most women feel as overwhelmed in the mall as their male counterparts and are too busy to navigate the endless array of options that never feel exactly suited for what they’re looking for. As we transition more and more into an outsourced economy, you will see lots of females leaving their shopping and wardrobe needs in the hands of an expert.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Ask for help. Nothing in business or in entrepreneurship can be done alone, however many people find themselves too afraid to seek guidance. Often times when you ask, the answer will be yes and will open new doors you didn’t know existed. Seek out people who have the skills you’re trying to learn or the connections you’re working to develop. Ask them to show you how they got to the place you’re hoping to get to. The worst they can say is no.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Asking for referrals has been instrumental in growing my business. People naturally love to make recommendations when needed, especially in the world of entertainment, so I always make a point to mention that passing my name along when the opportunity presents is appreciated. A referral carries much more weight than marketing or a social media presence, because there is an authentic recount of the experience from the direct user to back it up.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I don’t believe that anything in entrepreneurship can be viewed as a failure outside of not trying. I’ve done lots of things in my career that haven’t panned out the way I’d hoped – jobs I didn’t get, clients who went a different direction, creative ideas that didn’t get used. I don’t see any of this as failing however because it’s absolutely vital in business to keep trying and learning from the things that don’t work.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
A service that is strictly dedicated to taking care of customer returns. One of the biggest complaints about shopping I hear from my clients is that they hate returning items that they’ve changed their mind on or no longer need, so they ultimately just keep it to avoid going back to the store. In major metropolitan cities, a service like this could also partner up with Stylists and Personal Shoppers who are constantly inundated with returns. People would definitely pay a service fee to have their item taken back to the store without having to do it themselves.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
A Udemy course on social media marketing and Google Adwords. I’m pretty useless on both fronts and learned so much that I’ve been able to apply directly to my ad campaigns.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
Trello is a very useful platform for me because it is something that allows me to be extremely organized while also sharing my projects with other members of a team. I have boards for every client, campaign, TV segment etc that I’ve ever worked on and can reference it at any point if I need a reminder of what was previously promised to a client, what their sizes are, brands they prefer etc. If other Stylists are working on a project with me we can stay up to date on each other’s progress without having to call or email.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
“Setting the Table” by Danny Meyer. It is a fantastic reminder that hospitality takes a forefront role in nearly every industry, and that a failure to recognize the transformative role it plays in building a brand and maximizing profits would be to ignore the dramatic importance of experiences in business. I have gifted this book to so many people and have a personal goal of meeting Danny one day to thank him for the blessing he has unknowingly given me through his book.
What is your favorite quote?
“When you are building a company you must believe there is an answer and you cannot pay attention to your odds of finding it. You just have to find it. It matters not whether your chances are 9 in 10 or 1 in 1000; your task is the same,” – Ben Horowitz from “The Hard Thing About Hard Things”
Key Learnings:
• Keep trying even when the path isn’t evident yet. The worst thing you can do is nothing. Try something, anything, to get to where you want to be in your career. If it fails to work they way you hoped, try something else.
• Read books and educate yourself through the teachings of people whose careers you seek to emulate. If you do not have access to a mentor, you can still find guidance through the writings of successful entrepreneurs and leaders.
• Be disciplined and committed to your goals. Just because you really want something to happen doesn’t mean it will. You must be willing to put in the necessary hard work and effort, often times sacrificing your personal life and free time.
• Be eternally grateful for everything you have. While you may feel you aren’t yet where you want to be, there is always so much good in your life that can be taken away in an instant. It is critical to reflect on the place you’re in and be grateful for what you’ve been given in life.
Connect:
www.linkedin.com/in/jordanstolch
Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.