About Michelle Charpentier | Strategic Business Coach

Michelle Charpentier

Founder & Strategic Consultant

Michelle Charpentier helps ambitious professionals and growing businesses move from overwhelm and scattered priorities to clarity, strategic focus, and predictable growth by applying luxury brand principles. Drawing from 20+ years of corporate leadership with prestigious brands including David Yurman, John Hardy, Rhone, and others, she creates the same feeling of clarity and confidence that defines luxury brand strategy.

From Corporate Excellence to Strategic Partnership

Michelle's journey began with a B.A. in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management from Columbia College Chicago, followed by Image Consulting certification from the Fashion Institute of Technology. What started in 2006 with fashion show production and special events evolved into strategic leadership positions that shaped her understanding of how premium brands think, operate, and scale.

Her corporate trajectory included pivotal roles at Ford Modeling Agency, The Chicago Incubator, The Merchandise Mart, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstrom, where she developed expertise in customer experience, brand positioning, event production, and operational excellence. She contributed to high-profile industry events including New York Fashion Week, Gen Art, Chicago Fashion Focus, and productions such as America's International Beauty Show featuring celebrity stylists like Paul Mitchell and Nick Arrojo.

Her experience with premium brands taught her the systems, strategic frameworks, and operational clarity that she now applies to help entrepreneurs and business owners achieve measurable growth, premium positioning, and operational freedom.

Proven Leadership in Luxury Brand Strategy

Michelle's strategic expertise includes her tenure with luxury jewelry brands David Yurman and John Hardy, where she applied enterprise-level thinking to drive measurable results:

Revenue Growth: Doubled team revenue while simultaneously elevating service quality standards
Operational Excellence: Developed in-house customer experience and eCommerce teams from the ground up
Industry Recognition: Led team to win the Stella Elite Award for best-in-class customer service two consecutive years
Scalable Systems: Built operational frameworks that supported rapid expansion without compromising brand standards
Team Development: Created high-performing teams that consistently exceeded growth targets through strategic focus

Her work with premium activewear and apparel brands further demonstrated her ability to apply luxury brand principles across diverse industries, developing strategies that honor both performance and premium positioning.

The Strategic Pivot: From Executive to Entrepreneur

In early 2020, Michelle's leadership position was eliminated due to COVID-19 impacts—a moment that, while unexpected, became a catalyst for transformation. Pregnant with her first child and having worked continuously since age 16, she saw this as an opportunity to finally take a real break and be fully present for her growing family.

During this time, Michelle witnessed local businesses struggling to survive without digital strategies—mom-and-pop shops dependent on foot traffic, companies operating with Facebook pages instead of websites, businesses with no email lists or coherent marketing plans. Recognizing the strategic gaps that were causing these failures, she began offering small projects to help struggling business owners and newly unemployed friends enhance their personal branding and launch their own ventures.

What started as helping others during a crisis evolved into something she had always dreamed of but never fully pursued: her own strategic consulting practice. Michelle realized she had inadvertently launched Charp Consulting by applying her luxury brand expertise to solve real problems for real businesses.

This realization became the foundation for intentionally building Charp Consulting, helping clients transform their businesses from scattered priorities into strategic, revenue-driving systems while creating the clarity and confidence to scale without overwhelm. As a mother of three who successfully transitioned from corporate leadership to entrepreneurial fulfillment, Michelle embodies the strategic work-life integration she teaches—proving that you can build something meaningful without sacrificing what matters most.

Luxury Brand Strategy for Every Ambitious Professional

Through Charp Consulting, Michelle specializes in working with creative entrepreneurs and premium brands ready to think and operate strategically. Her unique methodology applies luxury brand principles - strategic clarity, premium positioning, and sustainable systems - to businesses of any size.

Client transformations consistently include:

Clarity in decision-making and priority-setting, eliminating overwhelm
Premium positioning that attracts ideal clients and higher revenue
Sustainable growth systems that free time for high-value work
Operational clarity that supports scaling without burnout
Work-life integration that aligns professional and personal goals

Thought Leadership and Industry Impact

Michelle's expertise in strategic business growth has been featured across industry platforms where she shares insights on:

Applying luxury brand principles to small business strategy
Creating sustainable growth without traditional hustle culture
Strategic systems for ambitious professionals balancing multiple priorities
Premium positioning strategies for service-based businesses

Her speaking topics include strategic time management, customer experience excellence, personal branding for career advancement, and productivity strategies for busy professionals. Michelle shares insights to help ambitious professionals apply these strategies and achieve clarity, growth, and premium positioning in their own businesses.

Community Building and Strategic Networking

Beyond individual client work, Michelle champions authentic professional relationships through:

Charp Connections: A networking community focused on strategic collaboration rather than transactional networking, bringing together ambitious professionals who understand that authentic relationships accelerate success. The community offers free virtual learning opportunities and low-cost events designed to help members learn, connect, and grow together.

Charp Communiqué: A weekly newsletter delivering strategic insights and luxury brand principles to ambitious professionals. Drawing from her corporate experience and anti-hustle philosophy, Michelle provides practical strategies for creating clarity and confidence in business and career growth.

Strategic Mentorship: Guiding emerging entrepreneurs and career-focused professionals in applying strategic thinking to their professional development.

Industry Leadership: Facilitating partnerships and collaborations that create mutual value and sustainable growth.

Members and mentees gain actionable strategies and clarity to accelerate their growth without overwhelm.

Personal Philosophy: Luxury Principles, Real Life

Michelle's work is driven by the belief that luxury isn't about budget - it's about strategic thinking and intentional execution. Her philosophy centers on the idea that "Clarity is the New Luxury" - the most valuable thing you can create in business and life is strategic clarity about priorities, systems, and goals that are aligned with your values.

Her anti-hustle approach proves that sustainable success comes from working strategically, not harder. By applying the same principles that make luxury brands successful, any ambitious professional can create confidence, control, and meaningful growth.

Ready for Strategic Transformation?

Michelle’s clients don’t just grow their businesses—they reclaim control, implement actionable strategies, and achieve predictable results. Whether you’re a corporate professional planning your next move, an entrepreneur ready to scale strategically, or a business owner seeking premium positioning, Michelle’s approach creates clarity, confidence, and measurable growth.

[ Schedule a Strategic Conversation ]

Connect with Michelle:

Email: Michelle@CharpConsulting.com | Virtual Meeting: Schedule here
LinkedIn: Strategic insights and luxury brand commentary
Instagram: Behind the scenes look at business building
Speaking: Available for conferences, workshops, and strategic sessions

“Luxury isn’t a price point — it’s the feeling of complete clarity,
confidence in your decisions, and control over your growth.”