Monica Garg brings image consultation for women to India
“Image is your best visiting card,” says Monica Garg, Director of International Luxury Academy, an academy offering luxury image consultancy in New Delhi.
Trained in image, style, fashion, colour, and etiquette by several certified image masters of the world, Monica is a certified trainer from the Etiquette School of Manhattan in New York. In addition, she has done various certifications from Institut Villa Pierrefeu in Switzerland, which has only enhanced her skills in image enhancement for women.
“Each one who comes to me has a different concern. While some want to look their resplendent best on their wedding day, a few want to enhance their image for a good career boost. Then there are children going abroad for a summer internship who want to enhance their image prior to setting foot in a foreign country. The concerns are varied and their solutions are also different, but essentially it is about raising the individual’s confidence level,” says Monica.
While some are helped with better body language, a few get groomed in fashion and style. Usually anywhere between eight and 10 sessions are enough to help the individual. Depending on mutual convenience, Monica’s Academy trains them in a month or in a couple of months.
About Monica
Monica has a science background. She opened up an etiquette training centre and grooming school
for girls in 2010. There she provided specialised training courses for brides. It was in the year 2012 that she started her work in image consultancy.A low investment business with high returns, Monica feels this sector is all set to grow in the coming days. Some of Monica’s students have successfully done their courses only to become entrepreneurs now and start up their own image studios in turn.
Monica has been bestowed the Samaj Ratan award by former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit for the empowerment of women through image consultation. “We are trying to educate women to get a place in society. Once the daughter-in-law of a politician approached me to get a makeover as she thought she was not groomed enough to accompany her husband to prominent get-togethers,” says Monica. After the grooming session, she gained just the right confidence and had an enhanced image.
Incidentally, Monica’s Academy was the first one to bring in the concept of image consultancy in India with an international affiliation to enable students get the best international quality courses in the industry. Presently, Monica is successfully running the International Luxury Academy, a part of Style Image Private Limited, a business venture of the Ganga group of companies involved in a diverse range of business ventures.
Monica’s expansion plans
Monica is looking at introducing new courses for women and she is planning to expand operations
to other cities as well. A complete bootstrapped venture, Monica is not looking at funding anytime soon. She is all set to start a centre in Ludhiana soon.For Monica who loves her work and is passionate about everything she does, she likes to mentor students herself. As Monica says, she does not have a role model but is a strict believer of hard work. That alone, Monica believes, is the right way to go ahead.
Monica believes she has invested in the right sector as the next big thing in India is going to be image clinics.
“With every passing day, the awareness about the self is improving and that is indeed good news for us,” concludes Monica on a lighter note.