Raise Your Glass, Raise Your Standards – Your First Step to a Luxury Brand Upgrade
When you’re thinking about elevating your brand to luxury, this is where you start. Clarity, conviction, and words that make luxury clients obsessed with working with you. 🍾💥
Hello and welcome to The Business of Luxury! Especially if you’re new around here 👋🏼 And a shoutout to my regular readers. Your comments are lighting up my world, thank you 🤍
〰️
If you think luxury is all about charging high prices and a fancy font, here’s your wake-up call.
Luxury is about creating a magnetic presence that naturally attracts the kind of clients who elevate your work – the ones who inspire your most daring, iconic creations. If you’re a professional, expert, coach, or service provider, this one’s for you.
Because if you’ve raised your prices and heard crickets, I get it. There’s an art and a strategy to elevating your brand so that premium clients are drawn to you before they ever ask about your rates.
In this briefing, we’re breaking down how to redefine your standards, position yourself as a must-have investment, and attract those dream clients who don’t just pay – they elevate everything you touch.
Let’s get into it…
The pep talk you didn’t know you needed.
You’re good. Really damn good. But if you’re honest, your brand still feels like 2020. And so does your client roster.
Deep down, you know you’re overgiving, bending your boundaries, and haven’t given yourself a pay rise in years. Meanwhile, you’ve honed your skills, invested ££££ in your expertise, and evolved into a powerhouse with testimonials for days. But your brand? It’s still playing small.
You know the clients you want to work with – they’re on your vision board – but they’re not on your calendar. Not yet.
But it’s not that they’re not out there. They are. You’ve met them, seen them, maybe even worked with a few. Now it’s time to align your brand with who you are now, so those dream clients see you as their next move – the one who makes working with you feel like the upgrade they’ve been waiting for.
Because let’s be real – you’re not just here to work with anyone. You’re here to work with the best.
And the best? They’re not drawn to logic – they’re drawn to their next level.
The Reality Check: What You’re Accepting Right Now
I may or may not have had this convo with a friend this week…
*takes your hand, looks you in the eye and whispers...*
Love... Your schedule is packed, your inbox is full, but your brand? It’s still sitting in 2020. And so are the clients you’re attracting. You’re working with people who suited your old rates, your old energy – not the elevated, next-level expert you are now.
Here’s the truth: You’ve outgrown your brand. And the world deserves to see it.
Think about it: If every client on your roster felt like a luxury client, how would that shift your energy, your bank account, and your reputation? How bold and daring would your work be? What if every project felt like a dream collaboration instead of a drain? What if you knew that every time you said yes, you were saying yes to someone who’s in alignment with the luxury brand you’re stepping into?
That’s the luxury client standard. And it’s not just possible – it’s closer than you think.
Here's the record scratch moment: Every time you say yes to a client who fits your old brand, you’re closing the door to someone who’s ready to pay premium rates and rave about you to their network.
(read that again!)
What if, instead of saying 'hmm, yeah, ok' to new clients, you were popping the champagne because you’re rewriting the way the world sees you and your brand.
It’s not about being demanding. It’s about being discerning. And that starts with aligning your brand – and your standards – with the powerhouse you are TODAY.
What Makes a Client “Champagne” Worthy?
High-end clients aren’t just high-ticket – they’re high-caliber. They don’t just pay your rates; they elevate your brand by association.
These are the clients who are magnetically drawn to you – your brand, your work, your energy. They allow you to do your most daring work – the kind that gets you noticed for all the right reasons. And they can’t wait to share your name with their inner circle. That’s the sign of a great brand.
Because that’s why we’re here, right? To be known for what we do best – and to do it at the highest level.
Here's the mindset shift: It’s not about being the logical choice. Logic is for clients who want a bargain. Luxury clients are driven by alignment. They’re looking for someone who reflects where they’re going next, not just someone who solves a problem.
They want to feel like working with you is a statement move – not just a smart decision.
Need a refresher on premium vs luxury?
Imagine working with clients who value your work as much as you do – clients who are captivated by your brilliance and can’t stop talking about how working with you feels like a privilege.
That’s the luxury client vibe. And once you experience it, there’s no going back.
And the best part? It’s closer than you think.
Ad Break…
Ready to elevate your personal brand to luxury level then I highly recommend The Business of Luxury SERIES.
This NEW, binge-worthy 2-week email series unlocks the BTS secrets of the world’s most coveted luxury brands—revealing exactly how they command authority, dominate as a category-of-one icon, and attract high-end clients effortlessly. And how YOU can too.
Now, let’s get back to those Champagne Clients…
Messaging Makeover – The Power of Words to Attract Luxury Clients
If you think luxury clients are choosing you because you’re the best option 🤮 on paper, think again.
They’re choosing you because your brand presence makes them feel like the next-level version of themselves.
Your messaging is the bridge between who they are and who they want to become. It’s not about pitching what you do. It’s about positioning how working with you is a transformative move – a statement of intent, not just a service transaction.
Oh, and just to be clear – word salads are off the menu. Luxe clients aren’t here for fluff. They’re here for that perfectly curated, unforgettable first bite. So make it delicious 🤤
Case Study: The Repositioning of Aesop
Aesop didn’t become a cult luxury brand by talking about hand soap (can you imagine?!) Instead of selling features like scent notes or packaging design or fast shipping, they positioned each product as a ritual, an experience, a moment of pause in an overstimulated world.
What was once a boutique skincare line became a global luxury staple, not by focusing on logic (“Here’s what it does”) but by tapping into emotion (“Here’s how it makes you feel and what it will remind you of”). That’s the power of elevating your messaging – from informative to aspirational.
Example:
🧠 Head/Logical: “Here’s what I can do for you and how much it will cost.”
❤️🔥 Heart/Aligned: “Here’s how working with me will elevate you to where you want to go next.”
Luxury clients don’t want to feel smart for choosing you. They want to feel elevated. They want to feel like working with you is a status move – a power play.
Action Step: Audit your messaging with Aesop’s approach in mind.
Is it practical or powerful?
Logical or aspirational?
Are you presenting yourself as the smart choice or the iconic one?
Because the right clients? They’re not looking for logic. They’re looking for their next-level self. And your words are the mirror that shows them who they could be.
It’s easy to talk about building a luxury brand – it’s another thing entirely to embody it.
Because here’s the truth: Elevating your brand isn’t just about pricing or pretty fonts – it’s about giving yourself permission to show up as the version of you who knows exactly what you’re worth. The one who knows your words carry weight, who trusts your brand to speak from the heart without over-explaining or justifying.
Authenticity is the buzzword everyone’s throwing around, but the real work? 1Clearing the BS that’s standing between who you are and express it fully, without flinching. It’s stripping away the fluff and speaking from a place of power – with words that make luxury clients sit up, lean in, and say, “I need that.”
Thinking about a brand overhaul? It starts with recalibration.
And that’s what The Champagne Client Code is – your blueprint for stepping into the energy of the clients you actually want, the ones who see your work as a next-level investment, not a negotiable expense.
It’s time to let your words do the heavy lifting. Because once you start showing up as the luxury brand you already are? The right clients will meet you there.
The Champagne Client Code is the first step in recalibrating your brand from your heart, not your head – the taster before the full transformation when you work with me. It’s where we refine your message, elevate your standards, and align your vibe with the clients you want saying yes.
Consider this your entry ticket. Every pound you invest becomes a credit toward the full recalibration – a behind-the-velvet-rope experience for those who know they’re ready to rise. Because when you say yes to working with me, you’re not just making a choice – you’re setting a new standard for what you accept and what you attract.
So, raise your glass, raise your standards, and begin your recalibration.
Let’s pop the Bolli, baby. 🍾💥
This article first appeared on my blog. For more luxury business insights like this, head to carolynne.me.
Personal Note:
I released this post last night, and it just didn’t sit right with me. I spent hours (okay, two days… now three!) writing and rewriting it. It felt heavy, forced – like I was trying to fit myself into someone else’s words.
Late last night, I felt it in my gut: Pull it. Rework it. This morning, the clarity came. The authenticity came back. This version? It’s the one that feels like me.
Thank you for trusting me to make that call and for being here to read the real thing 🤍
Love your content.
Such a great piece, I remember a professor of mine who once said that people buy products because they make them feel part of that world. I wonder, if you can tell, what brands you consider luxury that are not already established. I mean they’re not Gucci, Saint Laurent… but new.