Starting A Professional Organizing Business

Professional Organizing Business - Background Info:

A professional organizer is a "smooth operator".

You've seen them on Oprah, HGTV and the Bravo channel. They are people who come into your home and organize things - - cabinets, drawers, closets, files and sometimes, minds.

As you sit and watch these shows unfold you look around your place and think, "I do that all of the time.

How the heck do I get someone to pay me for my talents?" A professional organizer is a person who understands the principles behind managing time and space in way that makes life events run as smoothly as possible.

Busy professionals often find themselves being able to manage home or office, but not both as well as would be desired. There's only so much time in the day, but the professional organizer knows how to manage organizational tasks so that it actually seems as if more time is created which is impossible of course! That's the power of good organization.
There are many facets to the world of organizing. You may want to be a hands-on organizer, assisting with a total revamp of a room or an entire house.

You may be more comfortable with one-on-one consulting to help a client organize their thoughts. You could operate your consulting through e-mail, over the telephone, webcasts, do teleclasses, or a workshop at a junior college or specialty store.

There is also a need for training courses for other organizers, group seminars and workshops. Then again you may be the next Barbara K and develop your own line of organizing products. Not to mention being able to promote your skills through writing books, newsletters and other publications.

A professional organizer business can take several forms in terms of services offered. The professional organizer can provide services to residential or business customers or both. In addition, there are several areas of organization specialties a professional organizer can target.

Time Management

Space Planning

Clutter Management

Storage Space Design and Management

Paper Control

A professional organizer can operate a business which specializes in one area or market services in more than one specialty area. This type of business will find plenty of opportunity for new clients in cities where there is a high proportion of busy professionals.

The professional organizer is a relatively new concept that is growing in popularity. In order to start the professional organizer business, you need to have a particular set of skills and knowledge. The skills you need depend on the services you offer.

Professional Organizing Business - Tasks And Skills Needed:

Business Specific Tasks:

If you are planning to do all the business tasks or hiring or subcontracting tasks, here's a list of tasks that need to be attended to when it comes to the business side of running a professional organizer business:

Bookkeeping

Scheduling

Advertising/Marketing

Customer service

Industry Specific Tasks:

Same as above if you plan to do everything yourself or get help, here are some of the tasks necessary to operate a professional organizer business:

Meet with clients to determine organization needs

Separate items into bins for what to keep, what to store, what to donate, what to trash

Assist with storage solutions

Assist with creating better work space

Recommend ways to enhance each room for better comfort and organization.

Time Management: Scheduling, Task Delegating, Devising Goal Driven Action Plans

Space Planning: Furniture Arrangement, Human Traffic Flow, Efficient Space Utilization, Lighting

Clutter Management: Managing clutter and placement of a variety of items in office or home

Storage Space: Arranging closets and other areas limited in space

Paper Control: Filing Systems including using computer software tools to manage information flows You can choose one or more or even all of these services as a professional organizer.

Professional Organizing Business - Approximate Daily Hours Needed:

General Hours of Operation: - When your business is open - Hours vary but you can stick with a 9-5 work week or expand hours to evenings and weekends.

Hours Needed to Prepare - Before Opening and After Hours Activities - List items, categorize and prioritize groups of items, take care of all correspondence, set up necessary items for the next day's work.

Number of Employees Needed To Run A Professional Organizing Business:

Minimum Number of Employees -During the Start Up Phase: You can start this business yourself on a full-time basis.

Number of Employees - Once Your Business is Up and Running Successfully:

Website maintenance

Record/Bookkeeping

General office

Customer Service

Carpenter

Painter

Handy-person

Pickup/disbursement/disposal of items

Skill Requirements for This Business:

Super organizational skills

Desire to help others become organized in work and their daily lives

Attention to detail

Ability to get along with different personality types

Have sound judgement as to what items are 'junk' versus 'treasure'

Be creative with innovative storage solutions

Licenses:

You need a standard business license as well as any required permits and a tax i. d. number as most businesses will be writing off your services as an expense.

Approximate Minimum Start up Cost:

Bare essential: - There will be a cost for your license. There will be a cost for tools. Depending on the size of your first job will determine your start up cost. This is why you should begin with family and friends. This way you can make a small amount of money and use their houses for your trial and errors. Also, to gauge the time and cost of jobs once you are confident enough to venture out.

Minimal exposure - Join an organization and take advantage of their offer for a free website. Make T-shirts and have your family act as walking billboards. Here are some other options:

• The Small Business Association offers free on-line business card advertisement
• Vistaprints.com offers free business cards (you pay S&H fee)
• NAPO, POWR & NSGCD offer free advertising
• Consider joining your local Chamber of Commerce
• Flyers
• Brochures
• Website
• Piggy back on parties – Tupperware

Necessary Equipment to Run this Business:

Necessary Start-Up Equipment & Supplies:

Computer

Printer

Cell phone

Website

Notepad

Camera

Measuring Tape

Level

Stud Finder

Permanent Marker

Pencil

Screwdrivers (Phillips and flathead)

Hammer

Power Drill

Tape (masking/duct/scotch)

Disinfectant Wipes

Face Mask

Rubber Gloves

Vehicle

Supplementary Equipment: - Equipment or helpful products that you can acquire to once your business is off and running:

Van or truck

Moving boxes

Storage facility

Monthly Expenses To Consider:

Wages
Phone/cell phone
Internet access
Permits
Advertising/Marketing
Electricity
Water

Special Requirements and Considerations For This Business:

Find out all you can about the trends in the industry. Know your competition, in particular, their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you identify your competitive advantage. In other words, this will help you figure out what you can give your customers that they're not getting from the other businesses. And keep from emulating the competition's strategy. Instead, make the most of your own advantage points.
Get a camera. It doesn't have to be fancy. This is a business and when starting a business you should not tax the company's budget with frivolous purchases. A disposable camera will work until you can afford a digital (and you will want a digital). Do small projects and take before and after pictures. Most people will believe you when you say you're a professional organizer, but a picture is worth a thousand words.
Start your portfolio with small projects. Do a closet or a pantry. Re-organize a guest bathroom or a shoetree. Just make sure you document whatever you do.
Wherever you go, there you are. You are a traveling office. That's the beauty of professional organizing. If you crave change, you will love this line of work because your work environment is different with every job.
Also, be aware of new regulations when flying with tools. You will have to check your case. If your tools are lost by the airlines are sent to the wrong destination it will cost you your job and credibility.
NEVER force a client to throw anything away. It is there decision to part with their belongings and you do not know the emotional attachment they have to that item. Yes, even if that item is an 8-year-old potato chip.
Find the local listing to shelters, thrift stores, churches and other organizations in your town to dispose of items. Suggest to your client they have a garage sale and donate the money to a favorite cause. It allows them to continue to value their possession and do exactly what they have been saving it for all of these years; allowing someone to get some use out of it.

Pros And Cons of Opening A Professional Organizing Business:

The Pros of Running a Professional Organizer Business:

In demand and defies poor economic climates

Easily expandable to other areas such as moving, selling space solutions, housekeeping and more.

You are making a difference in the quality of people's lives

The Cons of Running a Professional Organizer Business:

Depending on your area, it can be a 'hard sell' because some don't realize the value of being organized.

It can be competitive

You many have to work nights and weekends

Type of Customers You Need to Attract:

The professional organizer can build a successful business through word-of-mouth or networking. A good way to start finding clients as professional organizer is by handing out the business cards, running small classified ads and personally delivering brochures to prospects.

Though you can run a direct mail campaign, it's not recommended until more personal approaches have been exhausted.

Since you are targeting people who are in need of the services of a professional organizer, you don't want to send costly advertising material through the mail which will probably get lost in their home or office clutter.

Since you wan to attract the busy professional, you may want to consider offering promotional discounts to prospects at local businesses or corporate offices.

A great way to inform the public that you offer professional organizer services is to advertise at seminars or community events or volunteer to be a speaker at group meetings or workshops. Conducting seminars as a professional organizer gives you a lot of exposure.

Another successful professional organizer business builder is contributing articles with organizational tips to local newspapers or advertising in club and church bulletins.

Professional Organizing Business Statistics:

Professional Organizing has been touted as one of the fastest growing personal businesses for the New Year. You need to know who your colleagues, competition, clients and vendors are. Not to mention potential subcontractors.

These websites list the current market trends in the industry:

National Association of Professional Organizers – http://www.napo.net
National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization – http://wwwnsgcd.org

Professional Organizing Business Revenue:

Do not price yourself so high people will be scared to hire you; or so low no one takes you seriously - - organizers charge anywhere from $60 an hour to $200 an hour.

Where will your client base be? What is the socio-economic makeup of that area? What are the median incomes? What will be a fair price for both you and the client? How will you bill your clients?

• Time
• Time + Labor
• Time + Labor + Material
• Time + Labor + Material + Additional Services (painting/decorating)
• Consultation Charge

Professional Organizer Business Resources:

Industry-Specific Websites:

Get Organized NOW!

Get Organized: Home Improvement

POWR

The Professional Organizer

Dependable Divas

Courses:

Online Organizing

Becoming a Professional Organizer Start-Up Guide Kit

Advanced International Organizing Professional

Professional Organizer Training Academy

Professional Organizers (CA)

Professional Organizer Training Institute

The Professional Organizer Business

Equipment and Supplies:

Cole-Parmer

Online Organizing

Forums:

The Miracle Worker Organizing Service

Franchises:

The Miracle Worker Organizing Service

Associations:

NAPO

BCPO®

Books:

Get Paid to Organize Homes and Offices

Become a Professional Organizer

It's All Too Much, by Peter Walsh

Organizing from the Inside Out, by Julie Morgenstern

Organize Your Home ... In No Time, by Debbie Stanley

Software:

Intuit

Businesses To Related to a Professional Organizer Business:

Housecleaning
Commercial office cleaning
Moving business
Business planning
Real Estate