We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa J and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa J, how do you think about risk?
Taking risks has been a crucial part of my journey. I had been accustomed to going with the regular daily programming. Clock in and out. After work is leisure time to be social and just wait to retire and pray that I have enough money to live off of. After I decided that my life was much more valuable than that I risked everything and even somethings that I didn’t have.

What should our readers know about your business?
Stylish Branding & Fashion Agency is a company that was born after I worked so many years of visual merchandising, management and styling for individuals. I noticed that where I lived no-one thought that they needed a stylist and yet I went to concerts and performances and found myself un-interested in watching. I wanted to listen but not watch. The stage presence was horrible and there was no visual value to what I saw. So instead of approaching my company as just offering a service I wanted to offer an experience for individuals and brands. That way small businesses that were struggling with there visual identity had help telling there stories. The experience was customizable by the clients and the level they were looking to take there career. There was no easy way to tell public figures and companies that they needed to upgrade there looks and re-brand them selves. So I stopped asking and I just did it without there permission. Luckily they loved my work and started to book my service for different performances and marketing campaigns. It grew from there. In this industry risks are necessary for success. You have to bump your head and screw up a few times in order to figure out your way. It’s time consuming and costly but consistency is the key.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would honestly say that the most interesting place in Tulsa is at Black Wall Street . There is so much rich history there. There are countless stories of successful black owned businesses and places to see learn more about the original black millionaires of Oklahoma.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am not going to lie. I didn’t get a lot of support when starting my business. This was a shock to me. For some reason I expected that there would be some level of support pouring in from people that wanted to see my business succeed. I guess I may have been comparing this to athletes that are showing promise in a sport of some sort. I learned quickly that this was not the case at least for my ethnic community. It was foreign and maybe to some degree people did not know how to support. So when a long time friend of mine Jennifer Brown began offering resources and even a part time position at the company she ran, to help me get by I was emotional and encouraged to keep going. My mother played a huge role in my success, being a single mother of 4 children with no real income has challenges that I wasn’t completely prepared for. On top of that I was a new business owner. My mother kept my children on countless occasions. She cooked for them while I studied or went to meetings and traveled. My mother was the strongest support system I had jumping into this. She wasn’t very sure what I was doing nor how I was doing it but she helped more than she even knows now. I had 2 major mentors that I studied. Gary V and my now business partner. I read so many articles and books. The one book in particular that changed my perspective on why I was having so many challenges was “The Law of Attraction” and the film “The Secret” Once I was able to refocus my energy on the things I was able to control and steer it in a direction that could create fruit I was able to eat from my labor.

Website: thestylishagency.com/Lisajae.com

Instagram: @thestylishagents/@thelisajae

Twitter: @thelisajae

Facebook: Lisa Jae

Image Credits
Stylish Fashion Agency Kasey Alcott Finally Focus

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