Obstacles to becoming a model...

Any successful business begins with lots of research. Every successful business person prepares for meetings and negotiations by anticipating obstacles and preparing for them.

If there is an obstacle in the road on your way home today - you will not park the car and walk home - you will drive around it.

You need to prepare two separate lists of the obstacles that you face in entering this business and finding the success that you desire. List number one is the physical obstacles that you face and list number two is a list of the life obstacles to you will encounter.

Physical obstacles are the things about your physical appearance that could have a negative impact on your ability to model. There is no such thing as a perfect face or a perfect body - there never has been and never will be.

A few examples:

• Too short for fashion (In New York 5'10" - 5'11" / Smaller markets - 5'8" and taller)
• Overweight
• Bad teeth
• Squinty smile
• Big forehead (Tyra Banks)
• Big Butt (Tyra Banks)

Understanding your physical obstacles is very important not only to understand what type of modeling you should be considering but also to plan your photo shoot so that you are selecting the right types of outfits and poses.

Life obstacles are the things in your day-to-day life that will interfere with your ability to do business. There is no such thing as a perfect time or place to just jump in and be a model.

A few examples:

• You have a day job
  (Most print modeling happens Monday through Friday - 9 to 5)
• You have young children
• You are under the age of 18 (Child labor laws apply)
• You are a college student
• You live in a small town in the middle of nowhere

Understanding your life obstacles is important to be able to make a solid presentation to an agency or client that assures them that you are prepared to deal with these obstacles and that you have properly researched the business and understand its requirements.

Take your time with this exercise and it will pay you back ten-fold with a realistic view of the opportunities that await you as a model and the obstacles that you face in achieving your goals in this industry.

Understand that if you prepare these lists honestly and thoroughly - they will be very long. This exercise is not meant to discourage you, but to prepare you. The longer your lists are - the better prepared you will be to find success as a model.