Pow.wow

Rachel Fauman

Rachel Fauman can take in what many don’t see and create visions of expression, feelings of confidence and stories of success. She has the innate ability to take a human canvas and turn it into something special for all to see and appreciate.

Rachel owns a Personal Shopping/ Image Consulting business and her mission is to take her customers vision of their image and make it a reality. She also focuses on making shopping and all aspects of her client’s wardrobes, easy, fun and effective.

---

Welcome to Pow.wow, Rachel. What is your background?
I grew up in beautiful Ann Arbor Michigan and went to Eastern Michigan University where I triple majored in Humanities, Human Development, and Retail Economics. I actually only took a couple of fashion courses in College but I worked as a buyer and in window displays and I interned for Nordstrom as well. With all this, I gained a strong background in buying, visual merchandising, and personal shopping in small local boutiques like Ambiance all the way to large national chains like Nordstrom.

Why did you choose the field your in?
My sister used to say that I never wanted to play Barbies I just wanted to set up the Barbie store and dress them. So I guess that you could see from early on, I loved clothing. Therefore, I chose fashion as a career path because for me clothing is a form of art. Nothing is better than helping people use clothing to increase their confidence and as a means for self expression. I love to translate trends into indispensable pieces that become the backbone of any well-conceived wardrobe and that give a polished look.

What was the specific defining moment that led you to start your business now?
The idea of creating my business came about when I met a good friend and we started bouncing ideas off each other about what kind of businesses we would like to start and what impact we wanted to have on the people we worked with. So it was only natural that Personal Shopping/Image Consulting was the concept I headed towards.

Where does your inspiration come from and how do you keep up with the trends?
My inspiration comes from International fashion, local boutiques and designers, and people I see walking on the streets. I do occasionally travel to experience fashion in other parts of the country. Actually, one of my favorite places is Montreal. Men and Women have such a different idea of fashion there and it has a lot of European influences. I keep up with trends by doing research, reading trade journals like Women’s Wear Daily, people watching, and keeping up with international fashion weeks.

What would you change with your business if you had the time?
If I had the time, I would make my website more in depth and more multi dimensional.

What would be the biggest professional reward for you?
The biggest professional reward for me would be having a client tell me that they had succeeded at a large life goal due to the work we did with their image.

Who are your clients and how do you get new business?
My clientele ranges in age from 15-60 years old and in occupations from students to VPs to Bay Area Society. The most effective way for me to find new business is through referrals and the Internet.

What is the one piece of advice you would give someone just starting out?
Make sure to always watch your competition.

Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?
Like others, I would like to do well enough to see my company grow to about 10 people in the next couple of years. And from there, I see my business expanding into other cities across the country.

Has being a part of Pow.wow helped you?
Being apart of Pow.wow has given me new ideas of how to expand my business and new resources to tap into.

Thank you for letting us discover the business you’ve made for yourself!

Rachel Fauman
Ensemble Personal Image Consulting
www.ensemble-consulting.com
734.645.8847