How to Become a Personal Shopper

If you love to shop and want to get paid for doing something that you love, you may want to think about becoming a personal shopper. This is an up-and-coming career choice that has gained in popularity over the last several years. As more and more people become busy with work, children and family obligations, many are experiencing time constraints to get everything done. Whether someone is looking for a new wardrobe, holiday gift giving or a special birthday or anniversary present, you can turn shopping into a profitable employment opportunity.

Experience

When you’ve made the choice to become a personal shopper, you need to gain experience. Retail sales can be a great place to start, and it will put you in touch with the hottest trends, styles, products, prices and brand names. You can also decide what you like to shop for most, and market your business around this area. For example, clothes, shoes and accessories may be your strengths, so you will want to place your focus there. A personal shopper can also handle a wide range of items and services such as personal gifts, prescription medications, grocery shopping and lawn and garden equipment.

You can begin your personal shopping career in an upper end department store or freelance on your own. If you are excited but can’t pinpoint where to begin, consider getting professional counseling in the form of a life coach. They can help organize the maze in your mind, and organize your actions and goals.

Research

If you want to make your personal shopping business a success you need to do your research. This includes familiarizing yourself with the various business professions, the styles and colors that work in the business world, and the different forms of casual, work place and formal dress codes. You can also keep current with the latest trends by flipping through fashion magazines and online news stories.

If you’re going to expand your personal shopping business beyond clothing, you need to stay current with popular items from electronics and toys to books and kitchen gadgets. Traversing a mall or retail establishment is no longer the only option for shoppers. You can take your personal shopping experience all over the globe with online shopping. In addition to it being a convenient way to shop for your essential items, you’ll find it holds a vast array of options for your customers.

Take Notes

Whether you’re working on your own or for a retail establishment, you need to keep thorough notes on your clients. This could include what style of clothing that you picked out, the items they liked and disliked and other comments they made throughout the transaction.

Building a personal relationship will help you succeed so sending cards on birthdays or making a helpful call now and again without a business intent can establish firm foundations. If you have a customer that you grocery shop for, you can include important notes on food allergies, favorite items their children liked and special treats for a dog or cat. Anything that you deem necessary to keep them on as a client is noteworthy.

Marketing

After you’ve gained the necessary experience, you’ll be ready to market your personal shopping business. You can begin by offering your services to your friends and family members who have limited time to shop on their own. You can also target your chosen demographic by advertising in an upper-end retail magazine.

A personal shopping career can be a lucrative business. With the right amount of experience, marketing and research, your professional polished image will have your clientele clamoring for your business.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/consumerist/410512044/