Why your business should be more like Iris Apfel

When I grow up I want to be just like Iris Apfel.

The 90 year old (pictured above and below) has become an international style icon and describes herself as a 'geriatric starlet'.  Already a successful businesswoman up until she retired in 1992, she was 'rediscovered' when an exhibition of her colorful and extravagantly accessorized wardrobe was a sensation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York.

Yet when asked for style tips Mrs Apfel has a surprising point of view.  She says "I can't tell people how to have style.  No amount of money can buy you style.... You have to learn who you are first and that's painful." That's not to say she's not outspoken on what people are wearing today.  "Most of the young people today look dreadful.  And celebrities look even worse...  At the Golden Globes and Oscars they all look alike..."

See why I love her?

What I think that Mrs Apfel is saying is that we need to find our authentic self.  Too often we try to copy what someone else is wearing or what the current trends are dictating without a thought for whether it suits us or represents our own style.  Take a look next time you walk around your local shopping centre - most people dress almost in an unofficial uniform.  Mums wear jeans and a t-shirt, teenagers wear jeans and a t-shirt, men wear jeans and a t-shirt.  It's all so very blah.

As business owners I think this unwillingness to stand out in the crowd is obvious in our businesses.  Tom Peters, a marketing expert said it best I think.  "Think about small business for a minute.  In its array of local enterprises your town is probably much like mine - restaurants and shops (and businesses) come and go.  What stuns me is how hard people work to launch something new only to create a business that is so, well, ordinary."

I think in our businesses (and in our wardrobes!) we need to start learning that it is OK to stand out.  Sure that will mean that you will face criticism and you'll probably make some mistakes.  But I'd rather have an inspiring, forward thinking, full of innovation, well branded business than one that might be successful but is limited by my willingness to really stand out.

So throw out your jeans, put on something you're inspired by and start to think about what you could do to make your business really stand out.  Iris Apfel style!