Turn chaos into cash; a professional organizer explains how she uncovered a lucrative business - Business Opportunities

Home Office Computing, Oct, 1993 by Harriet Schechter

I've always been a well-organized person-or so my friends and family tell me. You see, I've been trying to help them get organized for years. So it would seem that starting a professional organizing business would be a gold mine for someone like me. When my sister began sending me news articles profiling people who were supposedly making a living at what I had been doing as a hobby, I was intrigued.

When 1 started The Miracle Worker Organizing Service in 1986, my field was still relatively new with only a handful of professionals. But it hasn't taken long for the concept to catch on. In 1987 1 joined the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), which at the time, had around 50 members. In 1993 membership swelled to about 500. This burgeoning field offers endless possibilities for an ambitious entrepreneur.

While you don't need special training programs or accreditation (my bachelor of arts is in comparative literature, of all things), you do have to do your homework. So before you quit your job and have business cards printed, you'll need to explore the following five areas: skills and abilities, personality, start-up costs, cash flow, and marketing.

Skills and abilities. There are five main areas of organizing: time management, information management, space planning, clutter control, and closet/storage design. You'll attain the most success by choosing the areas that best suit your skills, experience, and talents.

It's important, however, not to develop tunnel vision. You need to constantly educate yourself, through reading, classes, and networking, so that you are aware of resources, alternative solutions, and new developments in all five of the major areas of organizing. Otherwise you might be too hasty in passing on a job that, with a little research, you could actually handle yourself.

Of course a good knowledge of computers also comes in handy, not only while working with clients' computer-related organizational needs but also in running your own business. I mainly use my computer for writing correspondence and articles and for designing forms; many of my colleagues use them for mailing lists, desktop publishing, and so on.

Another important skill is being a good listener. A big part of what I do is to ask clients about their needs. I try not to assume that I know what their problems are until I've listened for a while. There is a tendency for would-be or new organizers to feel that they already have all the solutions. But when you haven't heard the questions, how can you provide the answers?

Personality. Being organized yourself doesn't always mean you're good at assisting others. It is important to set a good example, but if you're a perfectionist with a dictatorial style, beware! Clients are paying you to advise and assist them, not bully and pick on them.

Empathy and humor are also good traits to have. Without empathy, it's difficult to relate to clients' situations and therefore be able to show genuine respect for them. 1f you come into theft homes or offices with the attitude that you're superior because you're organized and they're not, you probably won't do well. And a sense of humor is always helpful, especially when going through piles of papers or other clutter for hours on end.

Star-up costs. The start-up costs for an organizing business are extremely low. Your initial expenses will include: a business license, cards, letterhead, promotional literature, telephone answering machine, service or voice mail, computer hardware and software. I also found it wise to invest in a professional organization membership early on. You'll get to network with veterans who can teach you valuable lessons and other neophytes who may become strong allies. Also keep in mind that the people who do the most work in these organizations eventually get the most recognition and often reap far more than monetary rewards.

If you already have a computer and printer, you should be able to get started for well under $1,000. A home office is probably the only office you'll ever need because there is virtually no reason your clients would ever come to you.

Cash flow. Surveys of NAPO members have shown that organizers charge from $25 to $125 per hour, depending on the type of service offered, the geographic location, and the level of expertise. (Not bad for a career that requires no formal education.) However, in the seven years I've been in business, I've seen dozens of starry-eyed organizers come and go because they think they're going to make a living at this right away. Unless you have some type of financial support system in place (job, pension, savings, family, or credit lines), it's going to be extremely difficult to pay your bills at first. An organizing service is an ideal operation to grow from a part-time to a full-time business. One of the nice things about having an organizing business is that you can get paid at the time of service, thereby eliminating the time-consuming chores of invoicing and collections. (Be sure to let clients know your terms ahead of time.) Many organizers, however, prefer to invoice. The bottom line is that you can choose whichever way feels most comfortable to you. If you do decide to invoice, don't forget that the buster you get, the more time and expense you'll have to invest in the process.