Community Highlights: Meet Emerson Knott of Emerson Rae Styling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emerson Knott.

Hi Emerson, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi! My name is Emerson Knott! I was born and raised in Colorado Springs and am the second oldest of four girls. My dad and older sister are both entrepreneurs, so it was destined for me to became one as well.

From a young age, I was very interested in the beauty and fashion industry, knowing that one day I wanted to start my own business.

I went to school at The Classical Academy, which is a charter school, meaning that we had to wear uniforms. Although I loved the simplicity of picking out outfits everyday, I hated that I had to wear the same thing as everyone else and couldn’t express my uniqueness.

From elementary school through high school, I strived to find ways to add my special flair to our school uniforms, which sometimes lead me to the principals office. Whether it was crazy hairstyles or trying to start trends like wearing colorful ties, I loved being known for my fashion-forward mindset. One year I even made a goal to never repeat the same outfit and I’m proud to say that I did just that.

At age six I began teaching myself new hair and makeup looks from Youtube which then lead me to do my older sister and her friend’s hair and makeup for their first school dance at age eleven.

From that day forward, I began to do my family and friend’s hair and makeup for their special events. I also gained experience in wardrobe styling through coordinating outfits for my family’s Christmas card photoshoots every year. And let me tell you, styling five females with very different opinions and styles is not an easy feat.

After my sophomore year of high school, I transferred over to TCA College Pathways to earn college credits while I was still in high school. Taking mostly college classes allowed me to work my first “big girl” job at Something New Boutique, a bridal and formalwear shop. I started off on their Prom Team and was quickly promoted to their Inventory Assistant Manager after a month of working there.

In my first annual review with Mindi, the owner of Something New, I told her about my desires to start my own personal styling business. She asked me what was holding me back and I told her that I didn’t know where to get started. She gave me three initial tasks and then told me that we would meet in a month and she would give me a few more.

Very determined, I got on these three tasks right away. After meeting with her the following month, I felt like I had a good idea of what I needed to do to keep the process going. I created my first website and began marketing myself to photographers in the area. After a few months, I began to book my first clients and styled shoots.

My initial goal when starting my business was to focus on wardrobe consulting and personal styling and to only do hair and makeup on the side. I did a few wardrobe projects in my first few months of running my business, but then I had a bride ask me to do her hair and makeup for her wedding.

Even though I had never done a wedding before I decided to say yes and it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.

I graduated high school at 17 years old and decided to leave Something New to grow my business. I ended up doing five weddings that first summer of running my business.

Later in the fall I made the decision to take on weddings full time and do wardrobe and personal styling on the side. I decided to pay for some marketing in hopes to do ten weddings the following year.

Three days after paying for marketing the inquires started flooding in. I was completely shocked at how fast it worked and couldn’t believe that this was going to be my life. I quickly surpassed ten weddings in the first few months of booking. By March of 2025 I had a full calendar and was able to quit my side job as a nanny in April.

I had hoped to take on my business full time in fall of 2025 but the Lord had better plans for me. This year I ended up doing 36 weddings! I got asked to do multiple large weddings so I hired a team of four assistants to help out. In the process of training them, I found a deep passion for teaching hair and makeup.

I always told myself that I wanted to start a hair and makeup coaching business but I didn’t think that I would be capable of doing so until I had a few more years of experience under my belt. I felt the Lord putting it on my heart to start one now but I was still hesitant. Before I had announced anything to the world I had two people message me asking if I offered coaching services. That was a pretty clear sign to get my coaching business started now, so I did.

I have been extremely thankful for how quickly and smoothly my business took off. My wedding season is almost at an end and I am so thankful for everything God has done to get me to where I am at only 19 years old.

I look forward to serving more brides this upcoming year and helping more women find their unique style!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a very smooth process from the moment I started my business and I give all the credit to Jesus! I would not be where I am today without His guidance and hand in my journey.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Emerson Rae Styling ?
My business is called Emerson Rae Styling. I do wardrobe consulting & personal styling, photoshoot styling, and hair & makeup styling and coaching.

I am mainly known for doing hair and makeup for weddings and special events. I went from five weddings in my first year of running my business to 36 weddings this year!

What sets me apart is that I am fully self taught and am only 19 years old. I started my business when I was 16 years old!

I am most proud of how quickly my business grew and the influence it has had on others. My business is faith based so I try to plant seeds whenever I can and lead others well.

My wardrobe projects consist of one or multiple of the following: closet clean-outs, closet organization, personal shopping, personal styling, capsule wardrobe creation, and vacation styling.

My personal styling projects consist of special event and/or photoshoot styling.

I offer special event hair and makeup services, including weddings, as well as hair and makeup coaching.

I hope to start doing more destination weddings and am in the process of planning hair and makeup masterclasses and events for larger groups!

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
The first step to starting my business (mentioned earlier) was reaching out to as many photographers and venues as I could and trying to collaborate on a styled shoots and projects. Doing this helped my business grow so much!

I will be moving to Utah in the near future and will have to go through this process all over again out there!

My best advice for finding a personal mentor would be getting involved in a church or faith based group. My personal mentor also runs her own business so she helps me come up with new ideas for my business and pushes me to try new things.

Pricing:

• Personal Styling: $125-$300+
• Photoshoot Styling: $125-$200+
• Hair & Makeup Coaching: $125+
• Special Event Hair & Makeup Styling: $90+
• Wedding Hair & Makeup: $125-$195+

Contact Info:

• Website: emersonraestyling.com
• Instagram: emersonraestyling
• Other: Tiktok: emersonraestyling

Image Credits
Samantha Knott Photography Amy K Photography Rachel J Photo Elena Spraguer Photography