Meet Kelly Lundberg, a personal brand coach who set up Dubai’s first personal shopping brand
Kelly Lundberg, a serial entrepreneur and personal branding coach, speaks to YS Gulf about her journey from starting her first personal shopping and styling company to now becoming a personal coach.
Twenty years ago, Kelly Lundberg’s mother told her in passing that Dubai, UAE, would be a cosmopolitan city one day with different cultures, businesses, and leaders thriving in the region.
“I don’t know if my mother had a crystal ball or something. But I moved to Dubai to work for Emirates Airlines. After working for a few years, I decided to pursue my passion for personal styling and fashion with StyleMeDivine,” Kelly tells YS Gulf edition in a video interaction.
Starting her business at 24, Kelly is an award-winning stylist, serial entrepreneur, author, and TedX speaker, today.
“I started my business in 2005 when styling and personal shopping concept didn’t exist in the Middle East. Since I was 24 and naive, it worked to my advantage on some level. I ended up working with brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel, among others,” Kelly says.
However, building a brand and concept from scratch, which didn’t exist in the Middle East, meant overcoming several challenges. Kelly had to relearn many nuances, including understanding the legalities and the operational aspects of a business, while setting up StyleMeDivine.
“There wasn’t any ecosystem or network as there is today,” Kelly says, adding that it had to build the market, the right relationships, and educate its customers. However, an existing demand in the market helped the startup take off.
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A woman in the business world
In UAE, it is not usual for a woman to establish her own business. Recalling an early incident, Kelly says when she first started her venture and applied for a loan at a bank, the bank manager chose to speak only to her male friend accompanying her.
“No matter how many times my friend redirected the manager, he wouldn’t look at me. But I did manage to find my path, and I worked with celebrities and royalties. After building the business for a significantly long period, I decided to move on to the next stage of the journey,” says Kelly.
She ensured her business partner was like-minded and had the right thought process and vision.
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Way forward
According to Kelly, the 2008 economic crisis hit her business hard as luxury brands and services were the first to suffer from the recession.
During these times, she realised the importance of mentors and business coaches and reached out to different people to understand the best way forward to tackle the economic downturn.
After 15 years of working in styling and personal shopping, Kelly was sure she wanted to move closer to the branding element.
“While I still love styling, I realised it wasn’t something I wanted to continue doing. I decided to sell the business and move on to become a personal brand coach,” Kelly says.
Today, Kelly has clients across the world. Since most of her work is online, Kelly hopes to travel more as she wants to understand the different aspects of personal branding and styling.
Advising women leaders, Kelly says, “Don’t wait, take action because that action propels things forward. That fear people feel is just the unknown, and actually, excitement. So take action, and that brings you clarity.”
Edited by Suman Singh