What Is a Personal Shopper?

Not everyone on the planet was born to enjoy shopping, a condition that is often baffling to those who love nothing more than spending an entire day at a mall. Nor was everyone born with the ability to mix and match fabrics, identify flattering colors and styles or pull a polished look together with just the right accessories. If you already excel as a great fashion sleuth for yourself, getting paid as a personal shopper to help others make smart choices may be the perfect career for you.

Function

The job of a personal shopper is to select and purchase all of the items that the client has neither the time nor the interest to shop for herself. While this usually applies to the purchase of items of apparel, there are also a number of personal shoppers who are in the business of shopping for home furnishings, electronics, sports equipment, groceries,or holiday and birthday/anniversary gifts for the client's family, friends and coworkers based on a predetermined set of parameters and budget.

Types

There are three types of working conditions for today's personal shoppers. The first is one in which the personal shopper is a salaried employee of a major department store or boutique. Unlike a clerk on the floor who gives directions on where to find certain racks, takes clothing to a dressing room and works the cash register, a personal shopper sits down with the client in a concierge-style environment and selects clothes that will fit the client's specific design needs and shopping budget. The second scenario is one in which the personal shopper is an independent contractor who goes directly to a client's home, inventories what's already hanging in the closet, and develops a wardrobe plan. The third type of personal shopper does everything online. Rather than actually buying anything for the client, however, his job is to scope out who has the best deals on merchandise and present the client with a listing so that he can make the purchase herself.

Features

A personal shopper employed by a department store or a boutique usually establishes a long-term relationship with the clients who seek his advice. The initial consultation is often for a specific event (i.e., a wedding, a cruise) and involves the personal shopper taking the necessary measurements, getting a list of color and fabric preferences and determining how much the customer wants to spend. A day or two later, the personal shopper calls the customer back after having assembled a collection of outfits and accessories for her to try on. The merchandise selected all comes from the store in which the personal shopper works. A personal shopper who works for himself has the flexibility to shop in a wide range of different stores but has often established some sort of commission relationship with merchants for promoting their clothing lines. He's also required to establish a relationship with them wherein the merchants allow him to "borrow" the outfits his clients will be trying on and return in good condition the ones that aren't chosen. For long standing relationships with satisfied clients, a personal shopper is often given a credit card number by the client to make purchases directly. For personal shoppers who look for deals online, a modest fee is paid that is commensurate with the amount of time the client believes she is saving by not having to do Internet searches himself.

Expert Insight

To be a successful personal shopper requires that you not only know a lot about the psychology of image consulting, makeovers and fashion trends, but that you also have a structured business plan for determining your operating expenses, setting your fees, advertising your select services, resolving disputes and figuring out what you're going to owe in taxes. The following books provide a realistic look at what your prospective customers are going to expect from you once you hang out your shingle:
"Start Your Own Personal Concierge Service," by Entrepreneur Press;
"Looking Good: Wardrobe Planning and Personal Style Development," by Nancy Nix-Rice;
"FabJob Guide to Become a Personal Shopper," by Laura Harrison McBride, Peter J. Gallanis, and Tag Goulet;
"The Personal Organizing Workbook: Solutions for a Simpler, Easier Life," by Meryl Starr and Thayer Allyson Gowdy;
"The Triumph of Individual Style: A Guide to Dressing Your Body, Your Beauty, Your Self," by Carla Mason Mathis, Helen Villa Connor;
"Color Me Confident: Change Your Look--Change Your Life!" by Veronique Henderson and Pat Henshaw;
"The Perfect Fit : How To Start an Image Consulting Business," by Lynne Henderson Marks and Dominique Isbecque;
"Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best: Color, Makeup and Style," by Mary Spillane; and
"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Consulting," by Robert Bacal.

Warning

Each individual is unique and, as such, it's critical never to force a particular style on someone if it's just not who he is. This means staying abreast of classic styles and current trends as well as educating yourself on the particulars of the industries in which your clients work. Detailed (and confidential) record-keeping is a must so that a client won't have to keep repeating his shirt size every time he wants something new. Many personal shoppers are also called upon to give advice regarding hairstyles, makeup and etiquette--all of which can be an overwhelming task if your expectation was that you'd only be picking out sweaters. If you're not comfortable with these areas, it would behoove you to establish a network of experts for referral. Last but not least, a client who gives you his credit card is handing you his trust; do not abuse it.

Resources

• Social Image
• Entrepreneur
• The Glass Hammer