Welcome to the fourth podcast in the Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women Series
These podcast series are taken from the book: Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women: How to Dress to Impress and Make Money Helping Others Look Good Too!

Hi, I’m Areta

Today’s episode: 4 Steps to Set up Your Image Consultancy Website

In the last episode, I discussed the 5 basic steps you can take to start a home-based business as a personal stylist or image consultant.

Part of the work an image consultant does is to create brands for celeb clients such as singers, actors and reality TV stars. To do this effectively, you need to have a website to advertise your business.

Now, let’s get back to the topic of this episode. What 4 steps do you need to take to set up your image consultancy website?
1. Buy a domain name for your new business
If you can get your business name as your domain name, that would be great. Make sure your domain name tells people in a few short words what your business is about
2. Buy a hosting plan from a reliable hosting service provider
3. Get a good website designer to design an effective website that showcases your knowledge and experience. Ensure you use an experienced copywriter to write the copy (text) on your website and an SEO expert to make sure the text and photos on the pages are optimized for search engines.
4. What else can you add to your website? What about before-and-after photographs of your clients? You can even create slideshows of the photos on the homepage. Videos are very engaging; consider adding a video to your site. Ensure you add either your site URL or logo on the images and video

So, those are the 4 steps to take to set up image consultancy website. Just to recap, those four steps are buying a domain name and hosting plan, getting someone to design the website for you (or you can design it by yourself) and then uploading all the relevant info to your website.

How can you acquire the skills and knowledge to become an image consultant? Well, you can start by reading the book: Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women: How to Dress to Impress and Make Money Helping Others Look Good Too! [https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167][/https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167]

We’ve come to the end of this episode. Thanks for listening.
Goodbye and catch you on the next podcast!

Listen to the podcast here: [
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kofYOqojwzs][/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kofYOqojwzs]

Welcome to the third podcast in the Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women Series
These podcast series are taken from the book: Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women: How to Dress to Impress and Make Money Helping Others Look Good Too!

Hi, I’m Areta

Today’s episode: 5 First Steps to Set Up Your Personal Stylist Home-Based Business

In the last episode, I listed out the twelve kinds of clients a fashion consultant can work with. As a personal stylist, fashion consultant or image consultant, some of your work could involve giving presentations to employees in companies about office dressing and corporate etiquette. Or you could make presentations and organize seminars to new graduates on how to dress for interviews.

You could work onsite (the client’s home or office), from your own office or from home. From home, you can work remotely, using communication tools like Skype. Busy professional women working from home, can manage both business and family.

Now, let’s get back to the topic of this episode. What are the 5 steps to setting up your home-based image consultancy business?
1. Decide on the fees you’ll charge your clients
What services will you offer? Just wardrobe consultation or will you also handle shopping for the client, plus social etiquette? Whatever services you choose to offer, decide on what you will charge your clients
2. Select a business name and register it with the Corporate Affairs Commission
Make sure the name is unique, that means no one else is using it. Go to the CAC, fill the forms, pay the fees and submit the forms.
3. Write a business plan
This is one of the most important parts of starting a new business. You can start with a short list of things you need for the business and then as you gather more information, add more details. Don't forget to add any projected costs of running the business like transport, utilities, equipment, software, etc.
4. Get a graphic designer to design a logo, a business card, and invoices
Choose the colours that represent your brand, design the logo and use the colours and logo in all your communications, online and offline. On your business card, to your name and title, add your social media and web links in front.
5. Print out your new business cards and other documentation

So, those are the five steps you can take to set up your personal stylist business at home. Just to recap, the five steps are:
First, decide on the fees you’ll charge; second, select a business name and register it; third, write your business plan; fourth, design your correspondence and fifth, print out your business cards, flyers, catalogues, etc.

If you’re interested in starting a career as a personal stylist, you’ll need to acquire the right skills and knowledge. How can you do that? Well, you can start by reading the book: Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women: How to Dress to Impress and Make Money Helping Others Look Good Too! [https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167][/https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167]

We’ve come to the end of this episode. Thanks for listening.
Goodbye and catch you on the next podcast!

Listen to the podcast here: [
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3-ydYDFEMk][/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3-ydYDFEMk]

Welcome to the second podcast in the Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women Series
These podcast series are taken from the book: Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women: How to Dress to Impress and Make Money Helping Others Look Good Too!

Hi, I’m Areta

Today’s episode: 12 Kinds of Clients Who Need a Fashion Consultant:
In the last episode, I explained who a fashion consultant, otherwise known as an image consultant is. I also talked about the knowledge a fashion consultant needs to have to be able to work with clients and make money.

Fashion or Image consultants can work with both individuals and corporate organizations. Image consultants, as the name suggests, are concerned with images. Which means you can work on both a person’s image and a company’s image.

A person’s image is reflected in their clothing, tone of voice, facial expressions, vocabulary, social etiquette, body language and gestures.

A company’s image is reflected in the behavior of their customer service reps on the phone, their office environment, the look and feel of their corporate websites, etc.

Working as an image consultant usually means you will do individual consultations, seminars, workshops, coaching and presentations for your clients.

Now, let’s get back to the topic of this episode. Who are the 12 kinds of clients that need a fashion consultant?
1. Brides-to-be
Obviously women about to get married are serious about looking fantastic at their wedding. That's where a fashion consultant comes in
2. Television anchors and TV show hosts
These people are in the public eye; therefore, they always need to look great
3. Senior business executives
Dressing for success... top executives must look the part, especially those whose jobs involve meeting with clients. Therefore they need the help of a fashion consultant
4. Actors
On the red carpet, on the screen, they must always look great. Actors definitely need the help of an image consultant
5. Public speakers
Because their work requires that they stand in front of crowds of people, they need the help of a fashion consultant
6. Celebrities
They're stars! The general public has certain expectations about their celebs and that includes their style and fashion-sense. Celebs are desperate for the help of personal stylists
7. People wanting a makeover
This kind of person wants to change their image, for whatever reason. They require the assistance of a fashion consultant
8. Beauty pageant contestants
These contestants need the help of a fashion stylist to give them an edge over their competition
9. Wannabe models
Girls who aspire to be models need to know how to walk, what makeup colours to use on their face and many other things that a fashion consultant can teach them
10. Lawyers
Even lawyers, especially those arguing a big case, need the help of an image consultant. They want to look smart, to impress the judge, jury and the media
11. Politicians
What image does the politician want to project? Woman-of-the-people? Intelligent and honest? Whatever it is, a personal shopper can help
12. Singles seeking a mate
Sometimes singles that have been unlucky in love feel they need to makeover their image to attract the opposite sex. They need the advice of a fashion consultant

So, those are the 12 clients a fashion consultant can have. Just to recap, your clients range from singles seeking a mate, politicians, celebs and brides-to-be to lawyers, models and beauty pageant contestants.

If you’re interested in starting a career as a fashion consultant, you’ll need to acquire the skills and knowledge that will enable you provide the image makeover services to your clients. Start by reading the book: Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women: How to Dress to Impress and Make Money Helping Others Look Good Too! [https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167][/https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167]

We’ve come to the end of this episode. Thanks for listening.
Goodbye and catch you on the next podcast!

Listen to the podcast here: [
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptxa4tzcUZQ][/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptxa4tzcUZQ]

Welcome to the first podcast in the Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women Series
These podcast series are taken from the book: Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women: How to Dress to Impress and Make Money Helping Others Look Good Too!

Hi, I’m Areta

Today’s episode: 9 Things an Image Consultant Can Do for Clients
First, who is an image consultant? An image consultant is also known as a fashion consultant, personal shopper, personal stylist, wardrobe consultant or a makeover consultant.

To become an image consultant, you need to know about the different bodyshapes, the right styles of clothing for each and the secrets to acquiring an ideal balanced bodyshape (figure-eight or hourglass) using exercise, colours, accessories and underwear. Also, you need to know about the various human face shapes and how using colour in makeup, together with the right hairstyles and earrings can help one achieve a balanced oval face shape.

Now, let’s get back to the topic of this episode. What are the nine things an image consultant can do for her or his clients?
1. Closet/wardrobe consultations at the client’s home
That means you sort through the clothes in your client’s closet, leaving what suits their figure, highlights their best features and throwing away what doesn't work
2. Clothes, shoes and accessories shopping
You can do this for and with your clients, choosing the right clothes, shoes and accessories (for example bags, jewelry, scarves) everything that blesses your client's bodyshape and skin colour
3. Mix and match outfits
This means, for example, selecting the right tops to go with the right skirts, the particular jacket that gives the illusion of a figure-eight shape, which colours to wear closest to the face and more
4. Provide clothing alterations
Tightening clothes that are too loose, letting out clothes that are too tight, reducing the hems of trousers and skirts
5. Bodyshape analysis
Is the client an apple, hourglass, wedge, boy or pear bodyshape? Knowing how to determine a client's bodyshape is critical.
6. Hairstyle analysis
Is the client’s current hairstyle the best fit for the client's particular face shape? What hairstyles should the client use? Centre-parted styles? Side-styles? Updos? What are the right hair colours that go best with the client’s skin tone?
7. Face shape analysis
Does your client have an oval face, a diamond, round, pear, square or oblong face shape? What hairstyles suit them best? What shapes of earrings and eyeglasses highlight their most attractive feature? What's the colour of their skin? You have to know how to determine your client's face shape.
8. Makeup analysis
What is the colour of your client's skintone? Does she have a warm or cold skin? Is she a Winter, Summer, Spring or Fall skin? Or does she have Dark, Medium or Fair skin? What colours should the client use for her foundation, powder, eyeliner, eyeshadow, blush and lipstick?
9. Social and corporate etiquette
You educate your clients on how to dress and act in various social situations. For example, at a dinner party, you may instruct your clients on the clothes to wear, the cutlery to use for meals… At work, you may direct your clients on what to wear for a major business presentation, how to speak, the body language gestures to use…

So, those are nine of the things an image consultant does for clients. Just to recap…
First, closet consultations; second, shopping for or with clients; third, mix and match outfits; fourth, provide clothing alterations; fifth, bodyshape analysis; sixth, hairstyle analysis; seventh, face shape analysis; eight, makeup analysis; and finally, nine, social and corporate etiquette.

I’m sure you’re wondering where you can acquire the knowledge you need to become an image consultant. Well, you can start by reading the book:
Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women: How to Dress to Impress and Make Money Helping Others Look Good Too! [https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167][/https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167]

We’ve come to the end of this episode. Thanks for listening.
Goodbye and catch you on the next podcast!

Listen to the podcast here: [
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPFM-e8ACqY][/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPFM-e8ACqY]

Would you like to have a shapelier, curvier body?
Do you wish you can dress in a way that makes head turn to look at you?
Would you like to make extra income from the comfort of your home?
Want to know how to dress for success at work or in your business?
Want to learn the tips and tricks to setting up your image consultancy business?

Read the book:
Bodyshape Intelligence e-course for Busy Professional Women: How to Dress to Impress and Make Money Helping Others Look Good Too...

What You Will Learn:
The secret to choosing the clothing, makeup, underwear that will make you always look younger, slimmer and taller
Your bodyshape and what are the right types of clothing that will fit your shape
The simple exercises you can do right now to achieve the bodyshape you desire
The best way you can make up your particular face shape and look stunning all the time
How you can use underwear to give you the bodyshape you desire
How you can make extra income from the comfort of your home as an image consultant
The Bodyshape Intelligence for Busy Professional Women gives you the answers to all these questions and more!

Who Is This Book For?
Career women
Executives
Customer Service Personnel
Sales Managers
Seamstresses
Fashion Designers
Busy Mothers
Housewives
Brides-to-be
Teachers
Job applicants
Students
And other busy, stylish women

Click here for the book [https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167][/https://okadabooks.com/book/about/bodyshape_intelligence_for_busy_professional_women/16167]

You want to write that script, hot novel or short story but you have never done that before. How do you start?

Well, to write your story, you need to solve this simple mathematical problem:
(Character + Location + Conflict) x Time
Character
A character can be a person or animal in a story. You should make your characters as exciting as possible by asking questions about your characters. You can have main characters and minor characters.
Location
Where is your story based? Lagos, Nigeria, your hometown? Or it could be an imaginary place like the kingdom of Meramara, as in the Last Warrior Queen
Conflict
This is the meat of the story – it is drama, plain and simple. For example, murder, revenge, love, struggle for power, battle for the throne of a kingdom and betrayals. Make sure your story has some conflict. Give your main characters a goal that they need to achieve and then put obstacles in their path to achieving that goal.
Time
These 3 elements take place over a time period. It could be within a few minutes, a week or over years. It could take place in the past, present or future. Last Warrior Queen spanned three generations of African Queens and 1 king.
Every aspiring writer must make sure they have these four elements in their story.

Check out the Last Warrior Queen Page on Facebook

Hi

I am an author, scriptwriter, director, editor and producer. I am also starting up a new production company: Creative Explosions Entertainment which will be making movies, music videos and TV shows. I have extensive experience and knowledge in authoring works of fiction. I have written and published two novels, one by Spectrum Books in Nigeria and other in the USA which only came out this April.

But I have also offered the following services:

Book Editor: Helped aspiring writers editing their manuscripts.

Professional Scriptwriter: I use screenwriting software to write my scripts. I have many scripts that I have written for my use which I will produce in due time but I also help others with their script writing problems.

Trained director and filmmaker: I just returned from New York where I completed a Film making course at the prestigious New York Film Academy.

Video-editing: I help other filmmakers edit their TV and Film projects using video-editing software. I have used Final Cut Pro, Corel VideoStudio, Adobe Premiere, etc.

Logo Creation: I create logos for personal and professional use.

I am also interested in working with anyone with experience and talent in film and video production. Reply to my post and I will send you my contacts.

Areta
Creative Explosions Entertainment
Lagos, Nigeria

Extract from 'The Last Warrior Queen' available on Amazon.com and from the Author,

From where Kann-Bako stood on the bow of the boat, he could see the shoreline of the kingdom of Meramara. He smiled widely in anticipation and took in a deep breath. At last! The famed gold of Meramara was finally within his grasp.
It had been a trying journey over many swollen rivers. At the start of the voyage, the men had been enthusiastic and expectant, but when the journey seemed like it would never end, their eagerness had started to wane. Some of them had begun to doubt that there really was a Meramara.
After all, before they had set sail from their kingdom on this quest for gold, they had heard the gossip on everyone’s lips about Meramara. People said that it did not exist. Others warned that anyone who went to Meramara was never seen again. Some said that it was inhabited by bloodthirsty spirits with magical powers, lying in wait for hostile foreigners.
Kann-Bako turned to face his sixty-odd army on this boat. He had amassed a fleet of twenty boats for this expedition, and each of his warriors was fully armed with frighteningly sharp swords and single-shot firearms that they had acquired by trading slaves with the Europeans. They were fierce and ruthless men; each was an expert at administering death. He pointed to the shore as he loudly announced, “There it is, men! Meramara! A fortune in gold awaits us!”
The men cheered heartily.
Kann-Bako smiled at this display of excitement. These were his men, and he would look out for them as always.
A tall, swarthy man with a bald head, Kann-Bako was a mighty chieftain in his kingdom; in fact, he was his king’s most trusted military commander. He enjoyed enormous popularity because of the numerous battles he had won for his land, the Damba kingdom. Musicians composed songs about Kann-Bako.
They sang that he had never lost a battle and that even death was scared of him. He was in his early forties now and had been in the army since his teenage years. He was cunning and cold-blooded, skilled with every weapon known to his people.
So when the king of Damba heard the stories of a kingdom upriver, where there was unlimited gold, ripe for the picking, who better to send to this kingdom where the roads were paved with gold than Kann-Bako? With funding from the king’s treasury, skilled boat builders were commissioned to build twenty seaworthy vessels, each capable of carrying sixty to seventy people. These boats were about sixty feet across and one hundred and fifty feet long. They had curved hulls, and the bows and sterns curved upward and pointed vertically. This shape kept them high over the water, so that only the greatest waves could leap the sides.
The first sentry stationed on the hill overlooking the valley caught sight of the approaching boats. From the displayed sails, he knew that these were not friendly vessels. Meramara was in danger! He rushed to set fire to the beacon beside him, and when the flame caught hold and began to burn, he picked up a curved horn and blew it three times. The air carried the three sharp blasts over the hill and to the sentry on the next hilltop. By the time the boats had berthed and the armies were preparing to disembark, word of their arrival had reached the palace in the capital, Bodikar.
In the palace, the ruler of Meramara was holding court with the council of chiefs when a sentry rushed into the stateroom. He knelt before the exquisitely engraved gold throne and the regal individual who sat on it. In a trembling voice, he reported to his ruler the worrisome news he had just received.
There was a pause, a moment of silence throughout the room. Then the monarch of Meramara turned to a palace messenger nearby and said, “Alert the twelve commanders of the armies. Tell them to prepare to ride out in a few minutes. I will be joining them.”
Soon after, thirteen fighters rode out through the thirty-foot Great Gates of Bodikar to meet their one thousand, two hundred-odd invaders.
Meanwhile, Kann-Bako and his men streamed out onto dry ground, matchlocks at the ready. A shower of arrows welcomed them, shot from the bows of one hundred men waiting in the valley. Arrows struck two of Kann-Bako’s men. The others cocked the hammers of their guns and aimed.“Shoot!” Kann-Bako roared, and his men obeyed.
The Meramara archers fell to the ground, their arrows proving inferior to the deadly cartridges of the guns. The valley resounded with the loud cracks of each fired matchlock and the screams of the men as the slugs tore into their flesh. Seeing that they were hopelessly outfought, the remaining archers abandoned the skirmish and ran for their lives.
Kann-Bako turned to grin at the men behind him and said, “This is going to be easier than I thought.”
They laughed in agreement.
Kann-Bako drew his sword and strode boldly ahead, followed by his ferocious men. Their hearts sang with the confidence of impending victory. They believed that this land was theirs for the taking. His army advanced further into the valley until they were about sixty yards away from the bottom of the hill.
They had pieced together an idea of this kingdom from the tales of adventurous traders who had come into contact with a few people from Meramara. They knew that the capital city, Bodikar, where the gold reserves were reputed to be stored, should be on that hill.
Suddenly one of his men nudged him and pointed up at the hill. He said, “My lord, look!”
Kann-Bako glanced up at the hill. From where he stood, he could make out thirteen figures on horseback, clothed in bright red-hooded cloaks.
He drew himself up, expanding his barrel chest and announced, “My name is Kann-Bako, mighty commander of the armies of King Izua of Damba. I am also known as ‘The Destroyer of the Nations.’ My name strikes fear into the hearts of people all over the world. I have heard of the enormous wealth of your kingdom, and I want to secure that wealth for my king and my country. If you surrender peacefully, you avoid bloodshed, but if you resist, I will annihilate your people and burn Meramara to the ground.”
In answer, the thirteen hooded figures dismounted and stood facing the invaders in the valley below. The bottom of their cloaks swept the dusty earth as they stood silent and with their faces shadowed.
“Are you hard of hearing? I will ask this only once more; do you surrender?” Kann-Bako roared.
“No!” A strident voice issued from the group of cloaked shapes, and then with a simultaneous fluid motion, they whipped off the red cloaks, and below, the men gasped. Though it was too far to see their faces, their figures were undeniably female.
“Women!” a man murmured beside Kann-Bako.
“Yes, and that means that they are easier to kill,” Kann-Bako stated coldly, his eyes fixed on the hilltop.
The women were similarly dressed in bright red blouses that stopped at their waists and baggy shorts that were tight around their calves. They gripped swords and carried shields covered with finely decorated motifs of a sword in metallic gold, crossed by a streak of white lightning on a background of red.
“Though I don’t believe in sending a woman to do a man’s job, I have no qualms about killing you all. Where is your king? Is he cowering in fear in his palace?” His loud voice boomed across the valley and over to the hill.
One of the women stepped forward and shouted, “I am Alosha, queen of Meramara.”
“Queen?” Kann-Bako’s head fell back as he laughed for a few moments before bellowing, “Then, my Queen, prepare to die!” He aimed his rifle at the figures on the hill and began to advance.
But then something strange happened. The queen charged down the hill towards them, swinging her sword, and as her feet touched the ground, the earth started to quake violently, and the ground all around them began to crack. Those who were unfortunate enough to be standing over one of these cracks fell when it suddenly widened beneath them. The earth simply swallowed them up.
The closer she came, the more the earth shook.
Kann-Bako was speechless with shock as he watched the supple-bodied woman run towards them, right arm pulled back and right leg thrust forward.
At the same time, another woman sprang into the air without the aid of wings, soared above the hill for a minute and then with a yelled war cry, she swooped down on the army in the valley, sword upraised.
One of his men screamed, “This is witchcraft!”
Hearing the hint of panic in his men’s voices, Kann-Bako snapped out of his shock and shouted, “Shoot them! Shoot them both now!”
The men started to obey, but then another female warrior on the hill raised her head and sucked in her breath, the air swelling her chest, and then blew it out of her lungs in a gush. With a gigantic whoosh, the disproportionate breath from her lungs swept up volumes of sand, and in a flash it became a powerful wind that submerged the entire valley in a sandstorm. The unrelenting sand blinded and disoriented the men.
Panic set in. Their guns were useless now. The men could not see, and they stumbled sightlessly across the valley. All around them was whirling sand.
Kann-Bako raised his hands in front of his face but was dismayed to find that he could not even see his hand. He could hear shrieks of terror all about him but he refused to give in to fear. He was Kann-Bako, glorious chieftain of Damba! He would not give them the satisfaction of hearing him scream.
All of a sudden, he felt cold steel at his neck, and a warm, feminine voice whispered in his ear, “Destroyer of Nations, prepare to die! The gold of Meramara belongs in Meramara.”
Expertly and unhesitatingly, Queen Alosha slit his throat from one end to the other and watched coldly as his head toppled off his huge frame.