Become a Personal Shopper

Could you be a personal shopper?

If you like to shop, know how to put your hands on things quickly, and are envied by your friends and family for your ability to “score a deal,” chances are you could be a personal shopper.

But what exactly does a personal shopper do?  And how to you go about finding people to shop for?

Let's look at these questions separately:

What does a personal shopper do?

Personal shoppers are paid to shop and can be hired by individuals, companies, and retailers to locate a variety of merchandise, from clothing and furniture to groceries and employee gifts.  Some personal shoppers specialize in specific items; others do a variety of things. 

Here are some examples of what they can be hired to buy:

• Christmas gifts for busy people
• Groceries for the elderly or for busy families
• Clothing and accessories for individual or families
• Furniture and furnishings for families or companies
• Wedding apparel for brides or bridal consultants
• Vintage apparel for individuals or for clothing shops
• Employee gifts for companies
• Business gifts for companies
• Unusual merchandise for individuals, companies, or retailers
• Collectibles for collectors and museums
• Rare and historic pieces for museums
• Perform personal shopper services for boutiques and department stores

Many image consultants act as personal shoppers for their clients or engage personal shoppers for this service.  Some personal shoppers do nothing but look for old place settings of china for china replacement companies while others travels the globe in search of rare antiques for high-end clients.

As you can see, the list is unlimited.  Personal shoppers don't just shop for clothing; they shop for a variety of things, most often for the things they themselves like to buy the most.

To be successful, you have to be open to looking for things that suit your clients' tastes, not just your own.  You also need to know how to shop within a set budget.

Many personal shoppers create additional income from their shopping services with other “nice touch” services like gift-wrapping, shopping list reminders, and the like.  Not only does it give the client one less thing to think about, it often leads to repeat business.

How to do you go about finding people to shop for?

Once you've identified your passion (clothing, vintage apparel, home furnishing, rare diamonds, or whatever) and have made a list of your resources (shops, mail order catalogs, internet sites, etc.), you need to put your name in front of the people most likely to use your services. 

For example, if you'd like to shop for high-end clothing for wealthy men and women, put an ad in a local publication or magazine that this

demographic is likely to read, like the local business news, society pages, or a luxury vacation guide.

Wish you could shop for businesses?  Buy or compile a mailing list of your top candidates and send them a letter or post card announcing your

services.

Want to hunt down one-of-a-kind antiques?  Introduce yourself to local antique dealers who might be interested in working with you.

If you want to build your business quickly, pay referral bonuses or give referral incentives (tickets to local productions or sporting events, for example) to your customers for referring you to someone else.  If you really know your stuff and do it efficiently, word-of-mouth will keep your phone ringing off the hook.

If you're a high school or college student pursing a fashion degree, becoming a personal shopper gives you a couple of things that could come in handy on down the road:  extra money, and an insight into what people want in clothing.  It could be a real eye-opener for you.

So could YOU be a personal shopper?  If you love to shop and would love to do so with other people's money, personal shopping could be the fashion job for you.  Just take a look and find out.

Recommended Resource:

Become a Personal Shopper   This no-nonsense guide gives an inside look at the industry and was written by a long-time personal shopper and a former retail magazine editor.  It walks you through all the different things you could shop for as a personal shopper, and include interviews from leading department stores who hire shoppers as well as shoppers earning in excess of $100,000 a year.  Want to get paid to shop?  Become a Personal Shopper today!