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| "An Organized Approach to Enhanced Productivity." |
| As mentors and trainers, we have met with organizers who are struggling with their business because they haven't ... |
| * clearly identified where they want to go, |
| * determined what they want their business to be, nor |
| * established what role they want to play in it.� |
| We have also talked with many organizers who start their businesses with the goal of helping others only to find themselves stuck in a quagmire of marketing, management and administrative tasks.� Many haven't employed a robust contact manager, such as Microsoft Outlook to manage their business. |
| As your organizing business becomes more complex and time consuming, your original vision of the business usually changes or gets lost, and it can become increasingly difficult to define and implement a strategy that helps you achieve your desired success.� |
| Whether you want to take your business to the next level or are just starting out, to be more successful you need to regularly clarify what you want your business to be and what your role in it is or should be. |
| In order to develop a plan that works for you, we suggest you use a journal or notebook to record your answers to the questions below. To achieve success as a professional organizer, you need to focus on the following areas ... |
| * Your passions and strengths |
| * How you want to spend your time |
| * What work tasks you enjoy |
| * What direction you want to take� |
| Determine Your Passions and Strengths |
| The energy, determination and persistence it takes to build a successful organizing business only makes sense if you are doing something you love - or that at least gives you great satisfaction. |
| What are your passions? |
| What are your strengths within those passions? |
| How can you leverage your strengths and passions to become more successful?�� |
| Do you know how much you need to charge in order to earn the income you desire? |
| Do you know reasonably how many hours you can devote to organizing projects? � |
| Do you know which aspects of your passions suit your expertise and experience? |
| How do You Want to Spend Your Time? |
| While there are many similarities, organizers' personalities and interests vary greatly. Some organizers have a passion for hands-on organizing while others focus on working with clients on a consulting basis.� Some organizers absolutely do not want to work in an office environment; and yet others would prefer never to talk to a client or customer and write about organizing. |
| What aspects of your business are you good at and which do you want to develop further?� Use the following questions to help you clarify how you want to spend your time. |
| Do you like employing marketing strategies? Do you enjoy networking? |
| Are you an educator, do you love sharing organizing tips and techniques? |
| Do you prefer managing the business and sub-contracting to others? |
| Do you like to travel or prefer to work close to home? |
| What Tasks do You Enjoy? |
| We all like and dislike different activities, excel at some and are better off delegating certain tasks to others. Clarifying what you like and dislike is essential to then defining the strategies and structures you need to create a more satisfying business. |
| Do you enjoy hands-on organizing projects?� Residential?� SOHO?�Corporate? |
| Do you like to write? Do you have an e-zine? Have you submitted articles to others? |
| Is the phone your communication tool or do you prefer e-mail ? |
| Do you enjoy public speaking and sharing your ideas? Can you teach organizing seminars? |
| Do you enjoy dealing with clients? |
| What Direction do You Want to Take? |
| What have the answers to the questions above told you about your business and your role in it? Depending on the services and products you provide, does your business need additional resources, such as additional training, sub-contractors, technology, geographic presence, or capital?� |
| Would you prefer to be a successful one person business/sole proprietor? |
| Would you like to grow your business to include a partner or sub-contractors? |
| Will profit or passion be the driving force? Or both? |
| Are your markets local, regional, national or international? |
| The answers to these questions will help you define your business goals and your role in your business' growth.�� Once you have a clear and current idea of where you are going, you can define a success strategy to get there and to achieve your potential. Where do you want to take your organizing business? |
| Have you budgeted 50% of your time for non-billable hours? |
| Do you like to use systems when teaching clients to become better orgainzed? |
| Do you enjoy organizing using technology? |
| Are you a competent bookkeeper? |
| Do you use a program such as Microsoft Outlook to manage your business? |
| Would you like to appear on local or national television? |
| Where do You Want to Take Your Organizing Business? by Debra Milne |