What made you want to start an organizing business? It’s a question I’m often asked by confused people who can’t understand why I’d subject myself to such torture. Long story short, organizing is my absolute favorite thing to do; I was that kid whose favorite part of playtime was cleaning up. I also came by the business part honestly; growing up in a home where both of your parents are business owners, being your own boss seemed like the only option. But how did it all come together?
It might shock you to learn that loving to organize and owning an organizing business are two different things. Working with my clients is not about me getting my fix – well, not completely – it’s about figuring out the best systems that will work for each individual. We’re not all the same and different systems work for different people. For my clients with ADD, they need things out; if it’s not out, they won’t see it and won’t use it. For clients with young children, safety is key – the medicine needs to be up, even if it’s not in the most convenient place.
I am often introduced to people looking to start their own organizing businesses. They start out talking about how they love organizing, which is important but not the only factor. I wait to hear them talk about owning a business, customer relations, the love of the hustle, etc. but it rarely comes. Yes, I love to organize, and working with my clients is the best part of what I do, but if I didn’t also work on the marketing, sales, social media, networking and financial aspects of my business, there would be no clients.
Growing up, my parents would end their workday, we’d eat dinner and they’d go back to work. It taught my siblings and myself a great work ethic and what it takes to be your own boss. For my parents, when something went wrong, it was their fault and they fixed it. That is how I endeavor to run my business; if I make a mistake, I fix it.
So why do I do what I do? When I look back it seems that it was meant to be. If you’re at all skeptical, I’ll leave you with this: as a child my favorite game was something I made up called, ‘The President is coming, clean up your room.’ It’s important to point out that that I’m Canadian and we don’t have a President… J. Although I didn’t know it at the time, this seems to be where I would always end up.