Minnesotan To Meet: Jodi Mayers' Wardrobe Change

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Many of us strive for success at work. So, listen to this resume: Accenture, Best Buy, Wells Fargo, Seabury and Cargill. Sounds like you'd be set in corporate America, right? Well, not Jodi Mayers.

A health scare forced her to reevaluate what she wanted out of life. Then, she took a gamble, bought clothing boutique "corset" and started styling women: racks of clothes, diverse displays of jewelry, handbags and shoes.

"We're always looking for versatility of pieces," Mayers said.

Mayers seems to have everything pulled together.

"We believe in pairing high and low priced items for a rich look," says Mayers.

But for a while, it was just her outfits that were a good fit.

"I tell everyone it was an early mid-life crisis," says Mayers.

In 2010, she was stressed out from early mornings, late nights and too much travel in her corporate consulting and Human resource gigs. Then, she got sick.

"We didn't know what was wrong with me at first, but I lost 30 pounds in three weeks," Mayers said. "We thought it was just from the stress but later found out it was Crohn's disease. That was the factor in me needing to take care of myself and figure out what I'm doing."

She took time off and one day went to lunch with some girlfriends.

"I happened to walk into 'Corset' which was an existing business in Hopkins," Mayers said.

It was a personal shopping store and the owner wanted out. Luckily, Mayers wanted in.

"I came home and said, 'I just walked into a store, it's for sale, I'm super excited about it and I want to do it,'" says Mayers.

But her husband, Paul, needed convincing.

"My husband had a little bit of a freak out," Mayers said. "I was the consistent about the benefits."

Once he was on board, Mayers got to work.

"I reopened, which was pretty much a liquidated store front, back in April of 2011," Mayers said. "We had no inventory, no structures. It was like setting up a brand new store again."

She says she trusted in her talents and focused her energy. Once she got up to speed on running a small business, and surrounded herself with advisors from her previous corporate life.

It was time for another wardrobe change.

"So, as soon as I felt like we got this, I knew we needed to step into the heart of our demographic," Mayers said. "So, we moved here in September of 2012."

Now, in Edina, she still works long hours. But she thinks Crohn's disease has given her good perspective.

"I find I take to different styles that make me feel comfortable throughout the day," Mayers said.

She's helping people look and feel good.

"It's all about helping people to use the clothes," Mayers said.

So, all women can find their "core-set" of clothes. A lot of people do think it's a lingerie or corset shop, they don't carry either.

But encourage someone to open one, because people are always stopping in for both. Their clothes run from sizes 0 to 20.

You can get a consultation done in store, at home in your closet, attend a seminar or bring in a private party.

To learn more about all they offer, click here.