Sharon Haver helps women entrepreneurs and small business owners be seen so that they can step into their star power.

As an internationally recognized style expert and personal brand success strategist, with a combined background in the business of marketing, entrepreneurship, and visual messaging, Sharon helps women who want to be seen as an influencer get the high-level clients they want.

Sharon Haver

Q & A

Leadership Girl (LG): What is the name of your business?

Sharon Haver: FocusOnStyle.com

LG: Tell us about your business…

Sharon: I have a three-decade career in both style and business, including New York photography fashion stylist for 15 years, bootstrapping web entrepreneur, speaker, spokesperson, and the bootstrapping founder of FocusOnStyle.com, online since 1999.

My vast style background, marketing degree, and entrepreneurial spirit brought a wealth of opportunities including starring in my own Macy’s TV commercial and headlining a lifestyle book alongside President Jimmy Carter and Gloria Steinem. My weekly Scripps Howard News Service fashion advice column was distributed to 400 newspapers.

I have been featured in hundreds of television, radio, print, and online media such as Real Simple, CNN, Martha Stewart, Oprah, ELLE, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and more.

I am the creator of Simply Amazing Headshots and the C’est Chic Crash Course, author of StyleWORD, Fashion Quotes For Real Style, and host of the 7 Days to Amazing Podcast.

LG: Who do you serve?

Sharon: I’m dedicated to helping other lady bosses and their businesses get out there so they can step into their Star Power and get high-level clients and opportunities.

LG: What is your website’s url?

• Sharon: https://focusonstyle.com/
• Full Bio: https://focusonstyle.com/about-sharon-haver/
• Press: https://focusonstyle.com/pressclips/

LG: How did you get into your current business? What opportunities or needs did you see?

Sharon: I became a stylist when an art director hired me for a 3-week shoot in St. Maarten. Upon my return to New York, word got out and photographers kept hiring me as a stylist. I upped my day rate ten-fold! I guess being a stylist pursued me rather than my pursuing it as a career. I worked steadily as a New York fashion stylist for 15 years!

Even though I had fab jobs and went on glamorous locations, it never felt “right.” Rather than creating brand images and working with models and actresses, I wanted to help everyday women feel great about themselves.

So I pitched a fashion advice column to the Scripps Howard News Service and they said yes! The “Focus on Style by Sharon Haver” column went out to 400 papers each week.

I left the newswire for a syndicator who screwed me. Long story short, rather than being on maternity leave, I found myself with newspapers expecting my column. I got out of the bad deal and launched FocusOnStyle.com as a B2B site for my column in 1999 when my son was born.

The site took off in a big way.

I quickly learned everything I need to know to run an online business and it’s in its 18th year online. SEO became just as sexy as shoes to me, and who ever thought I would understand tech? But if it’s your business you must be well-versed in its operations, especially when starting out.

My “business getting” site suddenly became a go-to style site offering stylist advice to help you make the most of what you’ve got.

A few years ago, I felt a pull of wanting my business side to come forward.

I wanted to help other women entrepreneurs to fully be empowered with their strengths and be seen as not only a leader in their expertise but someone who had that certain something that made them shine over the masses.

Positioning is the new currency.

You must stand out in a crowded market while being the best at being you. I call that stepping into your authentic Star Power… helping women own that is what drives me.

It wasn’t easy for me.

Even though I have been on all sides of media, it was about making other people look good. So I finally took the big plunge and came out as the face of my brand. If I can do it, so can you… that’s the need I fill: helping you be the best at being you!

LG: What have been your biggest challenges?

Sharon: Seeing women who shortchange themselves and knowing I could help them thrive if they would only give themselves permission to be seen fully.

LG: What has been your Greatest Reward?

Sharon: Seeing clients and students unfold in their authentic style and watching their confidence and capabilities blossom.

LG: If you could change something, what would it be?

Sharon: I wish I could hold a magical mirror to other women entrepreneurs so they could see their magnificent worth and finally stop hiding and start celebrating themselves to fully step into their Star Power.

LG: Who are your ideal clients?

Sharon: Smart, savvy, experienced woman who want to be the face of their brand and embrace the power of being the best at being themselves.

LG: Social Media, Yay or Nay?

Sharon: Yay.

LG: What is unique about your business?

Sharon: We live in such a fast-paced world now where first impressions are formed in just a few seconds. The Internet has made it so that every photo, every video, every visual image of us is just like our own magazine cover!

We go through over-crowded social media streams where we are positioned next to celebrities, thought leaders, and industry leaders… how we show up is critical to our success.

Those who are seen as influencers reap the rewards, the others are just swiped over. It’s that simple. But don’t worry, anyone can have their influence match their credibility with some strategic tweaks.

I have the unique background of being a “two-headed monster,” equally versed in running and marketing a business as I am in style.

To me, it’s the holistic approach of actually walking my talk on every level that propels us to success.

All my tips come from my real world professional experience.

As a bootstrapping entrepreneur with a business degree in Marketing and a graduate of an extensive amount of business and personal development programs and high-level masterminds, my advice is based on how I’ve successfully run my online business since 1999.

Being a style expert and personal brand success strategist is the combination of getting your visual and brand message in sync.

Prior to be being the founder of FocusOnStyle.com, I was a well-known New York fashion stylist on major photo shoots for 15 years, where I styled everything from Vogue covers to advertising campaigns for cheesy products that I made look so good that you would actually want to buy them.

Empowering everyday women to think like a stylist to confidently dress themselves to shine was a dream, so I pitched a syndicated column where my fashion advice was distributed to 400 newspapers each week on the Scripps Howard News Wire.

The 7 Days to Amazing Podcast are conversations with guest experts, celebrities, and thought leaders including Carson Kressley, Alison Levine, and Joan Juliet Buck to help you make your life, business, and style even more amazing in the next week.

StyleWORD, Fashion Quotes For Real Style is the stylist express book for high-impact style and fashion advice that gets to the point. I am creator of The C’est Chic Crash Course, Simply Amazing Headshots, and other personal development programs along with VIP celebrity business brand training for small business owners and fellow entrepreneurs.

I have been my own boss since I left my first “real” job at a press release distribution agency.

My well-seasoned career boils down to getting your message out there in a variety of ways.

I have a love/hate relationship with tech, and find running a successful online business just as fabulous as a new pair of shoes or what your font says about you.

Helping you and your business get out there is my passion.

Business is in my blood; style just happens to be my beat.

I speak my truth and go after it; let me lead you to do the same.