It was in a corporate office in London two decades ago that Ann Whitaker realised the power of colour.
“One of the girls in our office walked in one winter’s day wearing a bright red dress suit and she looked amazing,” Ann said.
Back then corporate colours were generally black and grey, she added.
“There were about five of us that ran across to her and asked about her vibrant new look. She had her colours done, so I got the number off her and went and had mine done … basically it changed my life.”
Ann went on to train with the House of Colour – the UK’s premier colour consulting company and for the past 14 years she’s been advising clients in Australia, Tanzania, and South Africa on what suits them best.
“In the right colours you look well, healthy, alive, rested and have an even skin tone. The wrong colours can make you look tired, drawn, sick and sometimes really unapproachable, you can also look a lot older and a lot younger, in a bad way,” Ann explained.
She operates her business, Ann Whitaker Style from her home in Brisbane, but now also offers virtual colour consultations in which she puts colour swatches up to the screen to determine whether her client is a summer, spring, winter or autumn colour palette.
“Most of my clients are generally women 40-plus. When you’re younger you get away with a lot more, as you get older you start to gain lines and wrinkles and the right colours help with that,” Ann advised.
An AusMumpreneur Award nominee last year, Ann became a part of the Qoin Merchant community as she saw it as an opportunity to tap into a new revenue stream.
“For me Qoin has brought extra customers in, it’s given me a point of difference, and an entirely different market to talk to,” she said.
When asked what advice she’d give prospective merchants about the digital utility coin she said: “What have you got to lose?”
Ann offers colour consultations on 100 per cent Qoin and said that she had two Qoin customers booked in in the past week.
“Aside from that, I’ve been able to get my cleaner on Qoin, I’ve done the odd meal out and I’ve just paid for electrical services, we got smoke alarms installed.”
When it comes to navigating a small business in challenging times, Ann has some timely advice.
“Be open to change and remember first impressions matter.”
For more on Ann and her services, check out her listing or head to her website.