HOW TO MAKE CASUAL STYLE WORK AS A FREELANCE COACH
Freelancing often leaves you wondering what in the world you are supposed to wear to your business meetings.
Let's face it – you just love those yoga pants and anything else just baffles the heck out of you.
As much as we all would rather step on a piece of glass then work in a corporate office, the dress code is pretty plain.
Now, you have the freedom to choose.
We often forget that the freedom to choose whatever we want to wear ends up being a little bit overwhelming – there are just so many possibilities!
The first thing you want to know is if casual is appropriate dress for your business affairs – about 80% of the time, it is. Your day to day meetings and virtual coaching calls are the places where you can 100% rock casual style.
The key to keeping it casual is to make sure it looks put together. Where most coaches go wrong is taking casual a little too far, and show up in a sweatshirt or ratty t-shirt. It isn't that you can't wear a sweatshirt or t-shirt – It is that you need to learn how to style it appropriately. Every time you wear something more laid-back, consider taking it up a notch.
Let's say you've been working from home all day and you have a late meeting. I know it's tempting to just throw on some jeans with that busted sweatshirt you've been wearing all day. If you decide to wear a sweatshirt, pop a button down shirt underneath to elevate the look. It will instantly look like a pulled together look instead of something that you just threw on.
Your client needs to see that you take care and time on yourself because it will subconsciously trigger what they believe about your work ethic. They will directly associate it with how well you will work for them.
Alright, let's talk about the ripped jeans.
This is open for debate – many people with tell you that you should never wear ripped jeans to a business meeting. I'm that one that tells you you can wear whatever you want, within reason. This simply means that if you client won't be all like:
"Ugh, Susie wore ripped jeans to our coaching session, I think I'm gonna fire her!"
then it most likely is a OK call to toss them on. The trick is to balance it out so that it won't look sloppy.
As a stylist, wearing a trendy pair of ripped jeans will work when I meet with a client. Even though I may not necessarily suggest something like that to them, they understand that I have a knowledge of trends and how to apply them to style. It won't diminish my ability as a stylish.
No matter what you choose, you have to think about the client you are meeting with. I won't suggest that you wear ripped jeans if you are meeting with a client who prefers a more professional look. That is a super easy fix – swap out the light ripped jeans for dark straight leg jeans, and you have an equally causal yet slightly more professional look.
Learning to build a style that earns authority is a process.
Let me help you through it.
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