Opportunity Awaits…W by Worth

Ask Terri Krasnoff what makes her a great stylist, and she’ll answer immediately: Michele. “We really are a great team,” says her partner Michele Banea. Our husbands say, “you two spend the entire day together, how do you get on the phone and still talk to each other?͛ We always have something to talk about.” Michele grabbed the opportunity to start her W by Worth business with her daughter, Bianca Gabay, four years ago after leaving a 17-year career in the mortgage industry. “It was time for me to stop and do something that I enjoyed,” she says. She investigated a few different opportunities, but choosing W by Worth was easy. “What drew me to becoming a Stylist was not only the clothes, it was the company. After a brief trip to NY with [Bianca], I saw the culture of the company, how long people have been with the company and how wonderful everyone is…and we were sold.” Bianca, was just finishing her graduate degree and was pregnant with her eldest. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do beyond my degree,” Bianca says. “When my mom approached me with the idea of working together, I decided to go with it!”

Their business grew quickly through referrals from friends, and Michele found herself wishing there were two of her. “I didn’t really know Michele,” Terri admits, “but I liked her a lot after shopping with her and suggested we all get together for dinner to discuss.” Also an entrepreneur, Terri owned a stationery store from which she had recently retired when she met Michele. “I never would have guessed that the perfect partner would be a client. But one should never assume!” Terri, too, is a natural when it comes to W by Worth, but for a different reason. “I’m more in it for the people,” she says. “I love making them look beautiful and feeling great about themselves. I also love being a part of their lives. When I had my stationery store, I followed my customers lives with invitations and announcements. For me, W by Worth is a way to continue to connect with people,” says Terri. “And Michele and Bianca are amazing stylists.”

“Bianca brings a great dimension because she brings all these young mommies,” Michele says. “I follow different trends that might be for a different clientele,” Bianca agrees. “I’ve gotten into putting together outfits to attract clients and doing a lot a Facebook and Instagram posts gearing up for shows.” Every season, the three Stylists hold trunk shows for one week. The clothes spend the week at Michele’s house, which becomes her W by Worth boutique four times a year. And, season after season, their clients’ reactions are what keep Michele, Bianca and Terri in love with what they do. “I never realized so many women hated shopping or didn’t have the time to shop,” says Michele. “Recently, I had this one woman who was very understatedly dressed – she had jeans and like a tie-dye shirt. She was very quiet. And after working with her for about 30 minutes she was strutting around and now she sends me pictures of what she is wearing and comes to every show. I am so happy when my clients email and text me to tell me how good they feel in their clothes. I love to see them feeling confident.”

Terri couldn’t agree more. “What we do is a feel-good job. We help women look and feel great about themselves. I absolutely love being a part of Worth; no one ever leaves the showroom not feeling great. It makes my job an easy one,” Bianca says.  “I’m with my kids pretty much 100% of the time and have time with my husband too. It’s great balance as mother of two young kids. This business means everything to us,” Michele says. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”