ST. LOUIS — Picture this, you’re at a photoshoot and you’re overwhelmed with emotions. You’re nervous, you’re fixated on how your hair looks, and on top of that you’re unclear on how to pose. Have no fear, Chi Anderson’s The Creative Coach, LLC to the rescue.
By booking through Anderson’s creative coaching services, you’re hiring her to be your assistant for the day. Her goal is to not only have you feeling good and looking good, but to have you indecisive about what photos you want to use.
Ideally, the photo options are so limitless that you have difficulty choosing.
“Sometimes I ask the photographer to pause so that I can fix their hair or their garments, because those things can make or break a picture,” Anderson said.
“Nothing is off limits for me when I'm helping my clients. I have lotion if they’re ashy. I have tissue if their nose is running. I have safety pins for adjusting. I have a mirror if they need to remove lipstick from their teeth. Whatever they need I probably have it in my little fanny pack.”
Once the pair meet, she places the client in front of a full-length mirror and asks if she wasn’t there how they would pose just to get a sense of how they see themselves.
While music blares in the background, Anderson provides pointers between shots to capture subtlety rather than robotics.
“If they’re standing, there’s a powerful stance they can do by folding their arms that says I own the s**t, this is who I am, this is mine,” Anderson said.
After getting laid off in November from her job at a nonprofit agency due to the coronavirus pandemic, Anderson had no choice but to think on her feet on how to sustain her lifestyle. She maintained income from working at the studio with her business partner and booked modeling gigs here and there, but she knew pivoting was necessary to keep her afloat.
“I’m so happy,” Anderson said. “Entrepreneurship is not easy. It’s not for the weak. It’s not for the emotional. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
As of Jan. 22, The Creative Coach, LLC is now a registered Missouri business.
“It’s confirmation that I’m walking in my purpose when I hear clients say ‘where were you last year, where were you 10 years ago, I needed you yesterday’,” Anderson said.
“There’s a huge need for my services because it takes a load off the photographer, allowing them to focus on their craft and it helps my client. We all win here.”
Modeling isn’t second nature for Anderson. She began her career at age 18 after growing fascinated with it from watching the popular television series “Amercia’s Next Top Model.”
She stepped away after realizing many of the agencies back then wanted money upfront — and after her mother encouraged her to get a corporate job with benefits instead.
Now, two decades later, Anderson is back to the passion she adores and that intertwines with her coaching services.
“They [the fashion industry] need more Brown faces. They need me,” Anderson said. “They need everything that comes with me.”
A former life and career coach through her own coaching and mentoring company Prize & Shine Life Coaching/Mentoring, LLC, Anderson was honored with The St. Louis American’s 2019 Salute to Young Leaders award for her efforts and philanthropic work in the community.
“As an advocate for women and a lover of all people, I am passionate about helping others meet and sustain their true potential and purpose.” Anderson said in an interview with The American in 2019.
Anderson is a model for the online boutique Brazen Boutique and for Bag Crazy. She has signed with St. Louis-based talent agency, Now Talent Management, and she also does voiceover work.
A 1998 graduate of Normandy High School, Anderson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Washington University; a Bachelor of Science in business and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
She’s a known philanthropist. Since 2018 she has led an annual laptop fundraiser for college-bound teen girls. She recently gave away eight laptops, flash drives and protective covers.
Prospective clients can book with Anderson through her creative coaching services by visiting https://chithemodel.com/ or her Instagram page @chi_themodel.