EPISODE 122 INTERVIEW WITH SUZE SOLARI: SHOWING UP AS YOUR BEST, STYLED SELF

Erin Marcus:

Hi! I’m Erin Marcus, former corporate executive turned entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Conquer Your Business. Welcome to the Ready Yet?! Podcast. We’re excited to bring you more than a hundred episodes of interviews and insights designed to help entrepreneurs get the financial and emotional freedom they need in order to build a business and a life they’re proud of.

All right. We are live. Look at that. Okay. Welcome, welcome, welcome to this episode of Ready Yet?! I am super, super, super excited because, let’s see. I met Suze Solari at the fancy, fancy Union League Club in downtown Chicago where we really kind of hit it off. And then we had a fun chat, and I’m thinking more people need to hear this conversation. I mean, if we’re enjoying the conversation, other people will enjoy the conversation. 

So, what we wanted to do, I wanted to bring you to my audience because I love both what you do as well as your entrepreneurial journey. What you do is important, people underestimate it sometimes that it’s extremely important, and you have a cool story. 

So, before we get into it, why don’t you tell everybody a little more officially who you are and what you do.

Suze Solari:

All right. Well, thank you, amazing Erin, for having me here on your show. It is my pleasure. And lovely to spend time with your community. So, my name is Suze and I’m an image consultant and a fashion writer. And everything I do is to help you guys look and feel your best so that you always show up with confidence and feel joy wearing your clothes and have outfits at the ready. And really to find the hidden joy in your closet. There are lots of treasures that are going un-unused, if you will, especially now that our lifestyle is changing. What I’m doing is in high demand actually, because people are going back to an office and traveling again for work. 

Erin Marcus:

And many of us physically look a little differently than we did.

Suze Solari:

That’s a lifestyle change, right? So, it could be job change. I have a lot of my professional women who I work with, their roles have changed. They’re either completely new company or they’ve grown. They’re leading companies and they want to make sure that they feel good in their clothes that represents their brand. And that’s not so easy to do when you’re navigating like work from home. Now, you’re in an office, sort of body changes like you mentioned too. Weight gain, weight loss.

Erin Marcus:

Well, and style changes,

Suze Solari:

And style changes, for sure.

Erin Marcus:

We were out of the real world long enough for styles to have changed.

Suze Solari:

Yeah, absolutely. And that’s one thing that I do speak about on kind of a regular basis is that our styles do change more frequently than we even think, and it’s okay. But what can keep you stuck is if you are not have that awareness and you really don’t have the time. And that’s what it comes down to is people want time freedom, they want money freedom, they want joy and can’t do that as easily if you don’t have a wardrobe that works for you. That is part of that whole equation, so.

Erin Marcus:

The two things that come to mind off the top of my head when it comes to wardrobe is the physicality of it. Why it’s important? It would be great if we all believe it shouldn’t matter what you look like, but it does matter what you look like, or at least how you put yourself together. It doesn’t mean that there’s this only one standard of beauty. It means putting yourself together for the position. When I was, I’ll date myself here, I don’t know that people still say this to their kids anymore, but I was always taught dress for the job you want to have.

Suze Solari:

Yeah. It’s a great reminder, dress for success. Those are terms that feel older for some reason, but they still are true because it really has to do with your self-image and there’s a duality actually. So, it’s how you are showing up as an expert, as a confident professional and it’s the perception that others are having of you. So, it’s the message that you’re telescoping out there as if you are qualified to do the job and–

Erin Marcus:

Right. It’s not necessarily about fitting in blue suit and pearls, right? Because I was always, not always, I was often given the free reign to be more me than what I think a lot of people are comfortable as far as being themselves. But you had to at least back in my financial services day, you did have to at least look like you gave some thought to what it is that you put together.

Suze Solari:

Oh, yeah, for sure. And I think the thing that, along that vein is that, we can kind of focus on being excellent in what we do, but if we don’t consider how foundational our confidence is to our success, then we can be the smartest person, but no one’s going to know it, you know?

Erin Marcus:

I love that you say confidence, because it’s very true. When you feel that you’re put together, you feel more confident. Now, in terms of style, one of the things I always had an issue with personally was I never, and I still am like this, there’s not as wide a range as there used to be when I was younger. But I am one of those people who you can tell how I feel by what I’m wearing. I’m not as good at using clothes to then create the feelings. So, if I’m feeling edgy, I might dress one way, but then I liked Western and then I like, you know, I liked all the different genres. So, it felt like I don’t have a style

Suze Solari:

Yeah. You got like split personality with your style. I’m this, I’m that and that can absolutely add to the confusion. Right? There’s a lot of reasons why stuff comes into our closets and then there’s a whole host of reasons why we can’t let go of things too.

Erin Marcus:

Or they never leave the closets.

Suze Solari:

And they never leave and I’ve had clients where you’re like, ‘Oh, God, I can’t even see anything because it’s so packed,’ and those old adages of like, ‘Oh, I never wear that. I love it, but I never wear it.’ That is part of the challenge that adds to the style confusion and a lack of knowing what lights you up, what really is sort of speaks to your soul. And we do have more creativity these days. Even in the more traditional consulting and professional industries, we all kind of learned that we could do anything from Zoom now. But we also have to be able to sell ourselves on Zoom. And that’s another thing I work with my clients on is how to show up with that energetic, making that connection so that the person on the other side, it doesn’t matter what job you’re in, you’re always in some kind of prospect mode even if you’re in IT. The person on their side has to know that you are the person for job, that they are interested in you. So, making those connections are harder to do on a call because you don’t have that physical energy that you and I had when we met. Right? That like, ‘Oh, she’s so cool and edgy.’ You don’t have that, right?

Erin Marcus:

We don’t have that. And we don’t know as much. It’s so weird because at the same time, we know more about each other than we ever did because we’re now in each other’s homes basically. So, my boyfriend is currently out of town at a meeting of a team that he leads and they don’t know anything about each other. They don’t know like the things you learn about each other when you’re in the break room refilling your coffee cup, walking down the hall, the little tiny pieces that you just gather over the course of the week don’t happen when you’re only virtual.

Suze Solari:

Right. And so, how you prepare those outfits, like you mentioned, in your mood or whatever happens to be. A lot of what I do is help people make those outfits ahead of time for the events that are coming up that fit all those parameters. Does it fit you? Does it feel good? Is it your style? Aesthetic is a word that I use. It’s a little jargony, could also say style statement. We come up with like a three-word to say, “This is your style statement and it helps you to get dressed and when you’re shopping.” Does this item reflect my style statement? And or something that just might come to you, like, “Oh, my sister-in-law always gives me all her Eileen Fisher stuff or whatever.” And I’m like, “Okay. Eileen Fisher can be perfect, but is it your style? If it’s not, just say no. We can do something else. 

Erin Marcus:

And I always said that before when I was younger and most of my corporate life, until I got to the point where I was successful enough to have the wiggle room to be more and more and more out of the box, I always felt like I was dressing out of someone else’s closet.

Suze Solari:

Yeah. That’s like a red flag right there. It’s information that says, okay. Let’s–

Erin Marcus:

I was putting on a persona.

Suze Solari:

Yeah, like a uniform. 

Erin Marcus:

Right. 

Suze Solari:

And that’s what I tell people when they wear all black too. And this a whole another subject, but it’s like, I know you’re wearing, you’re wearing black.

Erin Marcus:

I’m actually extremely sparkly.

Suze Solari:

You have some color. 

Erin Marcus:

I’m extremely sparkly. 

Suze Solari:

Sparkles. But so, it’s interesting because the sparkles aren’t like really showing up here.

Erin Marcus:

No, not on this one.

Suze Solari:

You lose certain things and the translation, like, even like my earrings have some sparkles, but I don’t know. I do have some sparkles on my dress. But yeah, when you wear black, a lot of things are going on. Like it absorbs all the color around you especially in a setting where you sort of recede into the background. It’s actually like a design concept of where black is on the color wheel, it’s basically all the colors, so it absorbs especially when we’re aging and we’re losing pigment. 

Erin Marcus:

I noticed that. 

Suze Solari:

So, I always pen tell people not to wear so much black.

Erin Marcus:

I noticed that like, I can wear a black t-shirt, that’s fine, and I don’t really wear a lot of plain black. There’s usually some design or sparkle.

Suze Solari:

Yeah. Like the graphic tees, yeah.

Erin Marcus:

But I can tell you, I had an experience, so I’m over 50 now and I’ve worn black phrases, you know, little black dress. And the last time I had my little black dress on, the photographs were horrible. It just wasn’t my color anymore.

Suze Solari:

It’s just the number one like what not to do for a photoshoot. Don’t wear black. And I would say they don’t need to wear Navy either because–

Erin Marcus:

I never know what to do with Navy. I love different blues, but I never know what to do with Navy. 

Suze Solari:

I love Navy, but not in a photo shoot.

Erin Marcus:

But I have a different problem now with shopping post pandemic. The stores are empty.

Suze Solari:

Oh yes, they are. I mean, they’re–

Erin Marcus:

I literally don’t know where to go. Like it used to be, “Oh, I have a thing on Thursday, the weekend before, I’ll go to the mall, go to the large store and by two or three stores, you’re not going to not find something. I have walked out of fashion malls lately with nothing in my hand.

Suze Solari:

Yeah. It is a challenge right now with sourcing, with supply. Okay. with a higher demand right now, people looking and the supplies have fallen off the truck literally. We’re never put on the truck. Right? So, you’ve got that. And what’s happening is manufacturers, because they’re being pressed, the retailers were pressed, no one was buy anything, it just trickles down. So, the manufacturers start making less items or they don’t make as full of a breadth. So, you’re not going to get the full sizes or as many of the sizes. But the point is, if you as the consumer don’t know where the sources are and you spend your time looking, misuse of that resource of time and potentially money, if you’re shopping without a plan, it sounds like, ‘Okay. I’m just going to go and buy this thing,” then you’re not going to have your power. You’re not going to feel like you’re going to present yourself with confidence.

Erin Marcus:

No. You feel like you’re getting–

Suze Solari:

You feel like you failed. 

Erin Marcus:

–stuck with the leftovers.

Suze Solari:

Yes. Like, I just got this thing and it’s okay.

Erin Marcus:

Because it’s the only thing they had. 

Suze Solari:

The only thing that fit or whatever. And so, if you have a closet full of things that are just okay because you’ve been shopping without any kind of a plan, you just would like, you know, throwing darts, ‘Oh, I got to get a dress or I got to get a thing.’ You’re going to then continuing this cycle of feeling like, what do I wear today? What do I wear today? 

Erin Marcus:

It’s reaction mode. It’s the same thing I teach business owners. You can’t live in reaction mode. You can’t run your business from reaction mode. And truthfully, if you’re going to uplevel your wardrobe, you shouldn’t be doing that in reaction mode either.

Suze Solari:

Exactly. Yeah. That’s why I’m here. 

Erin Marcus:

Well, and it’s interesting, and I don’t know if it’s me and aging and the difference in the time and how I spend my time, but shopping used to be something I did with friends. Like that was something we did. We went to the mall.

Suze Solari:

Entertainment, yeah.

Erin Marcus:

It was a form of entertainment and it’s not that anymore. Now it’s exhausting. 

Suze Solari:

Sure. 

Erin Marcus:

Suze Solari:

Yeah. It can be tiring. It takes a lot of mental capacity, use of that. You got to get in the car and drive places. We haven’t done that for a while. And equally as frustrating, which you think, ‘Oh, well then, I’m just going to shop online.’ Oh, good luck with that one because the American apparel industry has a sizing standard and they don’t use it.  Most manufacturers don’t use it for a lot of reasons. One of them is this vanity sizing. You might have heard of that where people are like, “Oh, I don’t want to be a large. I’m going to be a medium brand. You could be a small, medium large or short in the same brand.

Erin Marcus:

And it really is all over the board because–

Suze Solari:

It’s all over the place, so.

Erin Marcus:

I find myself in so many different sizes. And when you’re shopping online, you don’t realize some of these things are coming from other countries and the sizes like just–

Suze Solari:

So, you have to understand those sizes, but–

Erin Marcus:

Yeah. And then you can’t return that stuff. I have a really cool pair of zebra printed pants that need an owner, because I’m never getting into these.

Suze Solari:

Give me the measurement. I’ll take them for you.

Erin Marcus:

They’re a size 8. They’re UK size 8 and they’re flared on the bottom and they’re really cute. 

Suze Solari:

Cool. I think I might need those. You’re so funny. So, yeah, that adds to the challenge. I mean, just put another, you know, like brick in the wall. Right? So, that’s where–

Erin Marcus:

And it’s so disappointing what used to be fun is now a chore.

Suze Solari:

Not fun. And not only is not fun, but then it gives you another whole host of problems. Like, okay, this doesn’t work now I’m not going to have it for my event. Okay. So, that’s the first disappointment. And a lot of it too is body type and body shape. And if you don’t know how to shop for your body shape, you’re going to keep making those mistakes too. And then, what is it like to return something? You got to go online, you got to fill out the form, you got to print it out. You got to print out a label, you got to put it in a box. You got to drive to UPS or arrange a pickup, whatever. I mean, it’s half the time, I had a box in the back of my car for this. It was a cushion I ordered or whatever for this. For three weeks, it was back there because I had to take it to Whole Foods because it was Amazon. I’m like, ‘Okay. When am I going to get there?’ It’s just like anything, like I have a bag of jewelry. Like this is going to the jeweler. It’s just sitting here.

Erin Marcus:

They need batteries that I have to pack over there.

Suze Solari:

It’s all of that that just add to, ugh, this feeling of like, okay. How do I get it all done?

Erin Marcus:

It’s not fun. It used to be fun. 

Loving what you’re learning here and interested in more? Check out our free Facebook group and join us at Conquer Your Business Community to find even more tips and tools designed to help you get out of reaction mode and into conquering your own business. 

So, how did you get into this? Let’s talk entrepreneurial world. How did you get into this?

Suze Solari:

This entrepreneurial world. Well, I love talking about myself. Who doesn’t, right? 

Erin Marcus:

Of course, that’s why we do this. 

Suze Solari:

I know. So, I have an entrepreneurial kind of family that I grew up in. My parents had a family business in Portland, Oregon where I was born and raised. And I always had jobs. I babysat at the age of 10.

Erin Marcus:

Can you believe someone gave me their children? 

Suze Solari:

I was going to say, somebody let me babysit their newborn infant when I was 10 years old. But I was very responsible because I had younger siblings. Anyway, when I was in high school, I was always very creative too. So, I painted and drew and I was always like the artsy one. And I went to school downtown and I would take the bus home and I would walk by these vintage stores and there wasn’t a lot of money in our household. One of those money paradigms that you talk about. And so, I had these jobs. I worked at a bakery and whatever. And so, I’m like, well, I really want to dress more cute than wearing some of these, you know, preppy whatevers because this was like in the late 80s, right? So, I would go to these vintage stores and it really just sparked this like one-of-a-kind uniqueness in me. So, this creativity kind of started there because I was wearing parochial uniforms in grade schools because I went to the Catholic schools, right. So, there was like, I got to bust out of that. So, that’s kind of where the creative side came in. And then I went to design school and studied interior design, which is where I really got the breadth of my knowledge of creating a palette, whether it’s a room or a body. It’s the same principles of layering color, texture, pattern, right? So, practiced design for many years. I lived in Hong Kong and Singapore, so lived in Asia for five years doing design work. And that’s where I just really honed this desire to create and just creating. But I also, because they were just shopping everywhere, I kind of like, I did. I developed a shopping addiction. So, I was always buying. And what I have learned over the years and done a lot of just self-work is that it had kind of a value piece for me. That that was my way of feeling good about myself. 

Erin Marcus:

Yeah. I had the same thing, yes. 

Suze Solari:

Many, many people do. We live in such a materialistic culture. And what I mean by materialism that there’s different ways of referring to materialism, but it’s like stuff, right?

Erin Marcus:

Stuff, right. Well, my girlfriend and I used to joke around when Ulta first came out and we used to laugh. We used to go there and joke about being a good American meant that if you had $5, you spend $5.25 cents.

Suze Solari:

Right. I’m helping the economy

Erin Marcus:

Right. I mean, that’s what we did. That’s what Americans do. And man, did we create problems for ourselves.

Suze Solari:

Yeah. And it doesn’t lead to happiness, as we all know. 

Erin Marcus:

No. Leads to a lot of stuff to throw.

Suze Solari:

Yeah. A lot of stuff. And so, that’s one reason why I got into styling women primarily, I do work with some men, is that they have this social kind of pressures on them and I think they need the most help, especially professional women because I don’t have the time. And so, after really kind of helping myself get through those challenges of like, why do I have so much stuff? Why do I hold on everything? I really wanted to help other people who are going through that same thing of helping to release what doesn’t serve you, and these are the reasons why. Right? And then identifying, what’s missing? So, we go through the process of finding what’s missing and what is the perfect thing to go with this cool dress or–I forget StreamYard is always opposite, right. 

Erin Marcus:

Backwards, right.

Suze Solari:

So, yeah. It’s like, ‘Oh, I found this cool dress. I don’t wear it because I don’t know what to do. Oh, well you need a pair of brown cowboy boots. Oh, wow. I never thought of that. I used to have those, but got rid of them, whatever. Okay, let’s put it on your list. And we make a focused shopping list that informs us where to shop, what we do next. So, we do this layered approach and all in like this safe space where they feel comfortable sharing really some deep deepness and it goes deep.

Erin Marcus:

Right. It really is and it’s extremely personal, especially for women. It brings up every insecurity. As bad as money stories are, this is just as challenging and multi-layered. And it’s so interesting, as I’m listening to you talk about the process, my brain immediately goes, ‘Yeah, but then it changes every season and da da da da da. And so, whatever resistance that was all about and yet, and yet most of us wear the same five things over and over and over again.’

Suze Solari:

Well, it’s the whole 80/20. Right? That pops up everywhere. I had clients telling me actually during the last two year and a half, two years that it was more like 90/10 because they’re like, “Okay. I’m just going to be wearing pajamas on the bottom and like some kind of top.” And so, they were wearing like, you know, 10% of their clothes 90% of the time. But the 80/20 really is I think very accurately applied to women’s wardrobes in the US especially because we have more space. So, the Europeans have a different mindset too.

Erin Marcus:

I had a friend first generation American, and he is Eastern European. And his family would just, they were so blown away at the size of our houses and all of the garages. And then we had storage units.

Suze Solari:

Yeah. Basements, attics, mansions. 

Erin Marcus:

And then it wasn’t big enough. You needed a storage unit for all your extra stuff.

Suze Solari:

Right. Yeah. I know. So, for me, luckily for me, part of my addiction was resolved in a way because I moved around so much. Every few years I was moving.

Erin Marcus:

Isn’t that that you would just move, I throw more stuff away. Just keep moving. I keep saying I don’t want to own anything anymore because we moved again. Yes, exactly. So, in sticking with our entrepreneurial journey, one of the things I love to do is like let’s shorten people’s learning curves. I call this the, “Just don’t do what I did and you’ll be fine.”

Suze Solari:

Don’t do what I did. I love that. That’s great. Yeah, we can certainly–

Erin Marcus:

Don’t do what I did and you’ll be fine. 

Suze Solari:

I love what not to do. Circling it back to entrepreneurial journey. So, when I moved to Chicago, I was working for these interior design firms and very quickly learned like, I didn’t want to work for these. Do you the Dilbert cartoon with the tall guy, who like, “Well, you’ve got silver hair, so you should be a good manager.” I’m like, “Why do I keep getting these jerks, like these stupid bosses?” So, I was like I got to do my own thing. And I always kind of made jewelry and did creative things and did some art fairs and such. So, it was a little bit circumstantial in that when I had my kids, so I had twins. 

Erin Marcus:

Oh, wow. 

Suze Solari:

And yeah. And I was like, ‘Okay. There’s no way I’m coming–

Erin Marcus:

That looks like your life got–

Suze Solari:

I’m not going to go back to work for a jerk and leave my two babies. So, I was fortunate enough to change my lifestyle a little bit with my husband that I could be home with them, with nobody to help me, by the way. Not having any family. 

Erin Marcus:

No neighborhood 10-year-old to take care of your children.

Suze Solari:

I was a total zombie. Right? But to me, it was like, “Oh, I got to be home with them.” But even after about a year, after I came out of zombie land, I’m like, ‘Okay. I have to have something for myself.’ So, I started doing small projects for friends of friends, helping with can you help me with my exterior paint?’ I did a popcorn shop in Missouri. I can do the design work. There were two stories actually. One, I was in a like a new client who was my friend, but this is what to do is use your friends as a beta and then you can just talk about them as clients, as client, that client, whatever. Nobody knows it was your girlfriend. And I went into her closet because we were in her bedroom. I was helping her arrange her bedroom. And her closet had like all manner of crap in there. Like there was stuff everywhere. She had a whole thing of jeans. They were all the same jeans. She had Halloween candy in there, Christmas presents. I’m like, “What’s going on in your closet?” She’s like, “Oh my God, no. I mean, like, it’s a disaster.” I’m like, “Your closet should be an oasis that encourage you to be creative. Like this, for example,” I pull out this cool jacket. She’s like, “Oh, I love that jacket, but I have–there’s a price tag on it. I’ve never worn it.” I’m like, “What the hell! You got to wear this, girl.” We are like, drop down and give me 20. And I made like 20 outfits with the jacket. She’s like, “I can’t believe it. I can’t wait to wear that for the next three things I’m going to.” And so, I was like, oh, my love of style and fashion where I would never wear the same thing twice was all of a sudden like, people need this. And then right after that, I was in LA with a girlfriend of mine. Same thing happened. She had a closet full of stuff you couldn’t even get your hand in. She had a pile of shoes. She was wearing the same flip flops whole weekend. I was like, no wonder.

Erin Marcus:

Right.

Suze Solari:

You can’t find a mace to your shoes because you wear flip flops. So, I just was like, she’s like, “Oh my god, Suze, this is so helpful.” Like we got rid of a bunch of stuff and I’m like, ding, that whole light bulb deal. And I was like, ‘Okay. I got to help people.’

Erin Marcus:

In response to actual need.

Suze Solari:

Yes. I’m like, I live to do this. This is my purpose on the planet.

Erin Marcus:

Your genius zone in service to an actual need is the sweet spot. 

Suze Solari:

Yes. 

Erin Marcus:

And I think what happens is people are so nervous about whether or not someone’s going to like them or think their idea is a good idea that they never test it out and you did it the other way. You–

Suze Solari:

Yeah. It kind of sort of fell into me a little bit because I was doing my own thing with the interiors, but it wasn’t lighting me up anymore. I didn’t want to. I was sick of it. I really didn’t enjoy interiors in the home, so personal. If you make a mistake buying the wrong sofa, oh, that’s the end of you. And I was like, ‘I didn’t even want to do that anymore.’ And also, would’ve had to upgrade my skills. I would’ve had to get new CAD equipment and all that stuff if I was going to do my own design business. So, yeah. So, that’s really how it evolved. And then, I had a part-time business for a while because I had little children. And I did was though I’m just a connector. I love humans. I’m an extroverted extrovert. I’m Enneagram seven, social seven if anybody knows about them. And so, it was very easy for me to go to these networking events and just start talking to people. And then, I met Jill Salzman in Chicago who helps entrepreneurial moms. And I went to her meetups and she’s like, “We got to work on elevator pitch or something.”

Erin Marcus:

What’s that?

Suze Solari:

So, got that. Started working on that. And I guess the thing that I have done along the way, because I felt like I had kind of a safe space with the fact that I could be in a part-time situation. I had to make sacrifices though. There were years where we weren’t taking a vacation but I was always looking for what’s working and what’s not working. Just instinctual. I had no marketing background, no sales training either. And I used to really hate sales. I used to be like, ‘Oh, I’m a creative. Just bring me the clients. I don’t want to do sales.’ And I’d be nervous doing consults on the phone. And I remember that whole thing I learned like it somehow in the early 90s when I was working a corporate setting, when you make a sales call, you get on the phone and you stand up.

Erin Marcus:

Remember all that? Yeah.

Suze Solari:

Stupid stuff. And you–

Erin Marcus:

Men teaching sales.

Suze Solari:

Totally. Yeah. Use a scrap. And I get nervous and I’d be like, I hope they hire me. You know? So, it was that energetic that I now know, of course is like that feeling of a demand that you, ‘Oh, sure. Hope she hires me.’ I mean, gosh, years ago, really have just grown and learned and experience will help with that. Right? So, if you are starting out getting that experience, I always say to people, you’re asking students, ‘How did you do all this? How did you build this? You’ve got this awesome one-on-one work that you do with elite clients and you now have a group program. Like how’d you do the group program? You’ve got five books.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, it does not happen overnight.’ I remember one of your recent podcasts or I think it was a live, is don’t compare yourself to other people.

Erin Marcus:

Don’t compare your–yeah. 

Suze Solari:

Where you are in your journey, you know.

Erin Marcus:

To somebody else’s 10 years ahead of you.

Suze Solari:

Yeah. It didn’t happen overnight for anybody. And I love the word the word pivot.

Erin Marcus:

On your long overnight success.

Suze Solari:

Yeah, exactly. I love the word pivot. It works for me. It’s information.

Erin Marcus:

I use the word iteration.

Suze Solari:

Yeah. I like that word. 

Erin Marcus:

I use the word iteration because for me, an iteration means the next step. Not that I did something wrong and now I have to do something else. It’s the next evolvement. Right? The next making sense, stepping up. As my business has grown and I have the same thing where I have private clients and group clients, and of course, all the different things so I can help people at all sorts of different levels.

Suze Solari:

Exactly.

Erin Marcus:

It’s the iteration of the business. Like you said, what works, what doesn’t work, what people need, what they don’t need. And you say it with the same amount of energy that I do. There’s no emotional attachment to it. 

Suze Solari:

Yes. It’s not a failure. No.

Erin Marcus:

It’s the iteration.

Suze Solari:

Exactly. I like that. That’s a good, good word. Good thesaurus on you.

Erin Marcus:

Good thesaurus. I got my first credit card at 18 years old because I wanted a thesaurus in the student center in school. And if you filled out an application for a credit card back in the 80s, you got a computer and thesaurus at the student center. 

Suze Solari:

They just gave it to you. I love thesaurus. It’s like an open tab in my browser. 

Erin Marcus:

Yeah, exactly. So, what is next for you? 

Suze Solari:

Yes. Oh, God, so good. You know what? I’ve really just kind of expanded recently with this group program. I kind of had it just sort of going along in the background. And then, really during the pandemic shut down stuff, it kind of just all of a sudden really grew because people continued to need help, but they wanted to do it from the safety of their own closets. So, it’s really growing, the group presence. And also, I’m toying with doing some other type of offering that would be in between. So, I’ve got kind of like this big jump. So, I’ve get like the books like a free stuff. You can watch a video on YouTube. Okay. Then I’ve got the books that are like five bucks each digitally. Right? Which are really super good. But then there’s this jump to a group program, which is a couple hundred bucks a month, totally worth it. And then there’s the elite, which is couple thousand.

Erin Marcus:

You just got to fill in your gap.

Suze Solari:

Right. So, let’s find something in there. So, I am toying with like an idea of like a membership where there’s videos, but we’ll see. I don’t know. I haven’t told anybody that. It’s been in my brain now.

Erin Marcus:

Now, we’re telling everybody.

Suze Solari:

I know. 

Erin Marcus:

Yeah. Evidently, it’s supposed to be. So, if people want to learn more about your group and your books and all your things and how you can help them, because I really do watch that. I know I’m part of your Facebook group and things and I love how you talk about it. I think it’s a really fun mix of the creative side, but an understanding also of like, how does it apply to a human, right? How do you make it yours?

Suze Solari:

Yeah. And how can I make it relatable for all of you guys. So, it’s the energy, the emotion around how I deliver the solutions to people.

Erin Marcus:

Exactly, exactly.

Suze Solari:

That people seem to like. 

Erin Marcus:

How can people find you?

Suze Solari:

How do they find me? 

Erin Marcus:

Because you’re hiding, right? You’re hiding. 

Suze Solari:

Yes, I know. So, I do have a couple things that are helpful for just getting to learn about me is I do biannually a Build Your Perfect Capsule wardrobe workshop. So, that’s fun. And it’s in my private group. So, join the Facebook group. There’s links on my website and it’s suzesolaristyle.com. And I also have a tool. So, it’s a resource for getting some action now, some momentum right now how to look good on your Zoom calls. So, what’s my three top tips to crush your calls. And you receive that and there’s a little bonus, a PDF bonus, the five additional pieces that are like wardrobe basics. If you click on the link there that Erin’s going to provide you guys, you can get those tools.

Erin Marcus:

Well, thank you for sharing your tips and your insights and your info and your story. Because I really do, again, it’s not just important for the external for getting to where you want to be, but you have to change your thoughts and your beliefs before you can take different actions. And there is so much to be said about how you feel about your physical appearance affecting your ability to change.

Suze Solari:

Absolutely. What we wear matters. 

Erin Marcus:

It does. 

Suze Solari:

It affects how we feel about ourself, our self-image, the deep respect that we have for ourselves when we show up and for others when we show up as our true selves.

Erin Marcus:

Our true selves and our best selves.

Suze Solari:

Best selves.

Erin Marcus:

And with that, yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Suze Solari:

Thank you for having me, Erin. It’s been a pleasure. 

Erin Marcus:

Awesome. 

I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Ready Yet?! Podcast. I truly enjoy bringing these stories of success and inspiration to you. Please join us in our mission to empower entrepreneurs to be in charge of their businesses and in charge of their lives by sharing this with anyone you know who would benefit from our tactical and motivating advice, leaving us a review and letting us know if there are any particular topics you would really appreciate hearing about. See you next time.