I sat down with Evelyn M. Stepien, The School of Luxury, to discuss brand positioning in the luxury sector, why testimonials are irrelevant, the loss of personal taste in pursuit of social aesthetics, emotional luxury, and more.

As an introvert herself, Evelin is passionate about supporting quiet, introverted entrepreneurs in navigating the noisy online space with her softer, quieter approach to marketing and branding. The School of Luxury is a boutique consultancy and educational platform for luxury brands. Evelin’s methodology enhances luxury brands to reflect the founder’s character, high personal standards, and values.

If you want to lead with confidence in your business instead of wasting time trying to convince people, this episode is for you. Available on iTunes | Spotify | YouTube.

Creating something beautiful with slow luxury brands and their quiet founders.
For a bespoke experience, we welcome clients to work with us 1:1 for branding and marketing solutions. For those who are interested in learning more about the luxury approach to business, we are soon opening our doors to students for our self-paced experiences. [learn more]

KEY MOMENTS

  • 00:49 Why did you decide to pursue the luxury industry with your business?
  • 02:19 Luxury marketing: show don’t tell
  • 09:07 Opportunity for small business owners with new luxury
  • 12:10 How taste plays a role in luxury
  • 17:51 Emotional luxury
  • 21:00 How to implement emotional luxury with clients
  • 25:58 Excellence in luxury goods & services
  • 40:25 Emphasis on productivity and speed comes at the cost of connection
  • 43:21 The trait that sets you apart as a leader

QUOTES

Leadership has many facets. To me, the most important form of leadership is courage. Courage to stay true to myself, my values, my moral compass, and put my best foot forward. Courage is a tremendous force, esp. in the online space and the echo chamber of social media. Courage to do things differently, pave your own path and do what’s right instead of doing what works (for others).

Evelin M. stepien

I believe excellence is a virtue that wants to be cultivated. Excellence is an attitude, a philosophy. It doesn’t mean to be THE best but do YOUR best. Knowing that I did my absolute best makes me sleep so well at night and brings me so much satisfaction. For me, it’s a personal commitment I make to myself and every single touchpoint in my business. The pursuit of excellence is one of the cornerstones of our framework and methodology, and there is no luxury without it. (My mother always quoted Pope John Paul II about having high standards for oneself even when others don’t and it has stuck with me ever since.)

Evelin M. stepien

Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. It causes you to work not on what you like, but what you’d like to like.

paul graham