Business Spotlight - Empowered Image Consulting:

Inspiring Women to Love Themselves and Their Style

By Emma Verrigni

After 30 years of working in the beauty business, Mindy Shoemaker recently became a certified color and image consultant through Style by Color and will start her own image consulting business, Empowered Image Consulting, in March this year.

Shoemaker became one of the three women in Michigan licensed by Style by Color. She will base her consulting business out of Viaggio Spa, where she has worked as a hairdresser for nine years.

Style by Color is a faith-based image consulting business dedicated to making women feel confident in the way God created them, with over 300 certified consultants nationwide.

Shoemaker’s certification involves specialization in color and body analysis. In a typical session with Shoemaker, she analyzes a client’s specific color profile based on their skin tone, hair color, and other unique features. Shoemaker will also identify a client’s body type and help guide the client toward the most flattering clothing styles. At the end of the consultation, she provides each client with a booklet containing their most flattering colors and patterns.

Shoemaker was inspired by Style by Color founder Shari Brandel’s commitment to finding the colors and styles that best suit women.

“My goal is to empower women so they feel confident — that’s what I’m passionate about,” Shoemaker said. “I know how much it changed my life, and how much it boosted my confidence, and I think that’s very important. All women are strong, but sometimes we don’t always see that in ourselves. I want to change people’s vision of who they are.”

Shoemaker said she first found out about Style by Color by searching for Christian color analysis companies.

“I had my own colors done, and it literally changed my life — it just streamlined everything,” Shoemaker said. “I now know what colors look good on me, and that gives me confidence. After that, I went home and cleaned everything out of my closet that didn’t suit me.”

Shoemaker said color analysis also made getting dressed much more convenient.

“Now I can go in my closet and grab anything,” Shoemaker said. “Everything matches, everything goes together, and it’s less stressful. I save a lot of time and a lot of money, and I just don’t buy clothing frivolously anymore, because I know my colors.”

Brandel developed a color code system that differed from typical four-seasons color analysis which only matches women to a color code based on one of the seasons. This system considers a client’s hue, value, and chroma in natural lighting.

Shoemaker hopes to carry out the mission of Style by Color to empower women to appreciate their God-given beauty.

In the future, Shoemaker plans to use her skill in color analysis to help women in need, particularly those in difficult situations who would like to improve their confidence or need to dress well while entering the workforce. She also hopes to participate in speaking engagements at churches and nonprofits to motivate women to appreciate their inner and outer beauty.

To get in contact with Mindy, you can reach her via Viaggio Spa at 517-398-2108, or you can email her at empoweredimageconsulting@gmail.com. Empowered Image Consulting is located in Viaggio Spa at 2370 Hudson Road, Hillsdale, Michigan, 49242. You can also visit her website at www.empoweredimageconsulting.com.