Earlier in April, I had the complete pleasure of traveling to North Carolina for a hugely exciting and empowering One on One Session with Kaitlin Holland, founder of The School of Styling.

I’ve assisted Kaitlin on a styled shoot shoot in Old Town Alexandria, and I absolutely loved working alongside her. I’ve been intently following her work and the amazing growth of The School of Styling over the last year, and I’ve been continuously inspired. Long story short, back in February, Kaitlin shared that she was looking for three creative business ladies to test out The School of Styling’s brand new one-on-one coaching, branding, and styling session. I emailed Kaitlin within minutes, expressing how interested I was. She sent a questionnaire my way, since so many had reached out to her that day & she needed to select just three women. I fill out the fairly in-depth questionnaire, just praying that I might be selected. A couple days later, I was so close to bursting into (happy!) tears at my desk at work when I got the email that I was selected!

Between being selected & actually meeting with Kaitlin in person, I had some homework to complete. But boy was this really fun, intentional, and enriching homework! I filled out a thorough, intensive packet, pinpointing what I want my business to ideally be like, what I want the heart of Stephanie Scholl Events to be about, who I want my ideal client to be, and so much more. I loved being forced to spend a significant amount of time and thought into all of these questions and activities before even meeting in person. It really refined my business and my core, and I felt so intentional and aware of what I want my brand to be about. I created a brand-specific Pinterest board (take a peek – it makes my heart go pitter-patter!!), sent her my portfolio, and really delved into the core + my heart behind Stephanie Scholl Events and why I love weddings (and love!) so much.

Though Washington DC is a bit of a drive to North Carolina, I was counting down the days for weeks & was giddy with excitement. And it did not disappoint! It was so good to see Kaitlin again, and I feel like we could talk for days and days without stopping. It’s amazing have an industry friend who is so invested in the community and world that you love, and I absolutely adore Kaitlin & her heart. It was such a refreshing, informative, enlightening, and fun day with her! Every conversation was exactly what I needed to hear, and it was a perfect day of styling, branding talk, and coaching of my little business. Kaitlin is incredibly helpful, open, caring, and filled with insight and wisdom, and her passion for what she does is so evident. I also loved how much time was dedicated to just “creating” and styling, too! One of my favorite aspects of our time together was explicitly discussing the aspects of my ideal client – and how to get to that point. Such truth there!

Kaitlin is soon expanding The School of Styling’s offerings to include these one-on-one coaching sessions, and I can’t wait to see her take this next (huge!) step in her business. I can’t even put into words what a blessing it was to be selected for her trial runs (there was nothing “trial” about the day!) & to delve into this passion of mine so deeply. You can’t really put a value on something like this, as I feel like it was such a launching point & catalyst to really having my business take off – and head in the direction I want it to. Having Kaitlin’s opinions, insight, and push really left its mark on me (and on my business), and it was such a memorable day. And it was just so fun, too! I guess that goes to show just how much I love weddings, styling, design… and great conversations with marvelous people!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Kaitlin! If you ever get the opportunity to be a part of The School of Styling’s one-on-one sessions, you absolutely must do it. I’ll be sure to let you know once these sessions are officially launched!