Interested in starting your own Pro Organizing business? That’s awesome!
Here are some quick action steps that you can take TODAY to get started.
As many of you know, I originally started Professional Organizing back in 2019, and have since begun working with others to help them launch and grow their own Professional Organizing business.
Table of Contents
Becoming a Professional Home Organizer
#1 What does a Professional Organizer Do
Professional Organizing can seem more difficult to break into because many of us don’t have personal experiences to draw from. Growing up, we’re exposed to professionals such as teachers, doctors, bankers, etc., and we see them up close, forming a fairly clear picture in our minds of what their job entails and what they do. But many of us don’t have any experiences with Professional Organizers to pull from, except perhaps what we’ve seen on television, which, let’s be honest, isn’t always a good representation. So it can be tough knowing where to start or even exactly what becoming a Professional Organizer entails.
So, what does a Professional Organizer actually do? Well, that can honestly vary based on the individual. But for the most part, Professional Organizers work with individuals and/or businesses, to help them declutter, set up systems, and organize their spaces.
Now, that may be an oversimplified way of explaining it, and some organizers specialize in one of those specific areas, such as decluttering, and some don’t include all of these aspects of organizing in their services. And that’s OK. The beauty of starting your own home organizing business is that you can craft it into whatever you’d like, working off of your own personal strengths, which leads us to step 2.
#2 Identify your Strengths
If there is one thing I’ve learned in working with Professional Organizers, it’s that there is no one-size-fits-all. Starting out, many organizers want to look at what everyone else is doing and set their business up the same. But that doesn’t always work and in truth, you’re shortchanging yourself and your clients by not really utilizing your personal strengths. For example, in working with clients (as an organizer and as a business coach), I capitalize on two of my strengths, setting up systems, problem-solving, and showing empathy and grace.
What does that mean?
When I look at a client’s space, my first inclination isn’t what types of products and labels we could use, or how pretty the finished result may look, instead, I look at what is causing the underlying disorganization. What problems can we solve that will support new systems, that will then help maintain the organized space once I’m gone?
Discovering your personal strengths may take some time and real consideration. And that’s ok. You can continue setting up your business and come back to this piece later on if need be. Sometimes organizers spend a few months or even a few years in their business before really zooming in on their zone of genius.
I suggest that you look at your own spaces and your own home, what do you do well? What mental process do you go through when you first look at a space that needs organizing? A few skills you may have could be:
- Aesthetic visual organizing
- Setting up systems
- Decluttering
- Downsizing
- Coaching
- Time Management
#3 Price your Professional Organizing Services
I wrote a whole blog post on this, that you can find here. But there are numerous areas of pricing your services that you’ll need to consider, including:
- Whether you should charge for the consultation
- Hourly vs. Package Pricing
- How much you’ll charge for shopping services (when clients need organizing materials such as bins, labels, etc)
- Add on services you’ll offer (upsell baby)
- How you’ll accept payment
- How much the competition is charging
The blog post on Pricing and Packaging your Professional Organizing Services dives into most of these fairly in-depth and also includes a free competitive analysis that you can use to compare what other organizing businesses charge, to ensure that you price your services competitively without undervaluing yourself.
#4 Develop your Brand
This is always my favorite part, and many times the first thing entrepreneurs want to do. The point of your brand isn’t to just reflect your style, it’s meant to tell your story, to present a cohesive and distinguishable from others. I wrote an in-depth blog post on Branding your Professional Organizing Business, which also includes a free downloadable brand book that you can use. But essentially, at this step, you’ll want to:
- Decide on a business name
- Brand Colors
- Logo
- A few primary fonts that combine well with your logo
Now, be warned, it is so very easy to get sucked into these details and to get stuck in analysis paralysis. I’ve known organizers who spend months and months perfecting their logo, brand board, and brand details. Do yourself a favor, and set a deadline for how long you’d like to spend. If you’re able to really focus and dedicate consistent time, then 1-2 weeks is perfectly reasonable, so is 1-2 days, it really just depends on you and how quickly you want to get started. Don’t let finding the perfect name and crafting the perfect logo hold you up from launching your dream business. Remember – done is better than perfect.
#5 Develop your Processes and Systems
When starting a business, it’s important to have processes and systems in place – even before you get your first client. This is one of the primary areas I see organizers skip out on when starting their business, and it ends up costing them. As a Professional Organizer, the bar is set high, clients expect you to be…well….organized. If you clearly don’t have your business act together, it’s going to reflect badly. So, you’ll need to determine what your client onboarding process will look like, including:
- How will clients find you and contact you
- What will your initial consultation look like, will there be a phone consult and then an in-person? Straight to in-person?
- What questions will you ask during the consult?
- How do you plan to overcome common objections?
- Will you have a welcome package? If so, what will it include?
- You’ll need a contract or letter of agreement
- How will you accept payment?
- How will you track your time and measure your ROI?
I recommend as soon as you begin gaining traction within your business, investing into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, such as:
– Jobber
– Keap
– Dubsado
I personally use Honeybook and find it is easy to set up and use, while still providing a great amount of functionality. My clients all schedule consultations and meetings through my Honeybook link, it has contract templates that you can utilize and edit, and also allows you to send client invoices.
I’ve heard great things about Dubsado, but honestly the learning curve is a bit too much for me, it’s definitely a robust system but can take a good bit of time learning and setting up.
#6 Set up your Business Essentials
Ok, now the not-so-glamorous part of business. There are a number of essential areas that are vital to managing your business efficiently and legally, including:
- Deciding on and setting up your business structure
- Obtaining any necessary business licenses and permits
- Business banking
- Accounting
- Insurance
I wrote a detailed blog post on Professional Organizing Business Essentials, which goes into depth in each of these areas. You’ll want to be sure to start with your business structure (LLC, S-corp, etc), as you’ll need your EIN for your business banking account. Then, use your business banking account to pay for your business insurance so that you can later report it as a business expense. It is important that you have each of these things in place prior to taking on paying clients. Do some start their business without them? Yup. Do some live to regret it? Yup.
#7 Your Professional Organizer Business Website
You’re going to need a way for clients to find you, learn about you, and contact you. Sure, you can set up Facebook and Instagram and not bother with a website in the beginning, but a website helps communicate to potential clients that you are a legitimate professional and authority in your field. It can be very difficult competing with other organizers who are more established, have a more developed reputation, and more experience; when you don’t even have a website.
A website not only helps potential clients find you, a good website also helps you rank on online searches such as Google, and helps answer common client questions.
Now, there are a few options when it comes to a Pro Organizer website, you can either DIY it or you can pay a professional.
As part of my services, I work with organizers to create stunning custom websites that reflect their branding and story, all at an affordable price. I love working with new business owners, so I’ve gotten creative with my offerings so that I can stay within a “start-up” budget. If you’d like to chat about my web design services, feel free to reach out and schedule a coffee chat or drop me an email.
Now, let me be clear, you can absolutely build a website on your own, but I don’t usually recommend it. Creating a professional website isn’t just about making it look pretty, there is a lot that goes into it, including SEO, page speed, usability, etc. Because of all of these aspects, there is often a fairly steep learning curve, where instead of investing time and energy into developing and learning your business, you’re developing and learning how to build a website. But, if you’re convinced it’s something you’d like to do, then I usually recommend Wix, Squarespace, or Showit as good platforms that make the DIY process a bit simpler. I would suggest that if you do go the DIY route, that later on, you invest in an SEO audit or implementation to ensure that you’re ranking well online.
You can read my blog post on Creating your Professional Organizing Website to learn more about creating your own website for your business.
#8 Market your Business
Marketing your Professional Organizing Business may seem like a scary task, but it doesn’t have to be. Most organizers serve the local community, so you’ll want to keep that in mind. Investing a ton of time and effort into reaching thousands and thousands of people across the globe isn’t necessarily going to help your business (although it might). Now, if you’re focusing on virtual organizing, then that’s a different story, then global reach can be beneficial.
Whether you are focused on building a local business, or strictly online, here are some great places to start in marketing your business:
- Social Media (FB, IG, & TikTok)
- FB Groups
- Speaking Engagements & Workshops
- Partnering with other businesses (real estate agents, house cleaning services, etc)
- Online Service sites such as Thumbtack, Taskrabbit, Yelp, Find My Organizer, Nextdoor, and Groupon
It may take some time, but don’t get discouraged. Once you have invested your time into various marketing techniques, you’ll be able to narrow in on those that provide the greatest return. Just be sure you are asking clients how they found you, or capture that information so that you know what’s working and what’s not.
#9 Connect with other Professional Organizers
If you haven’t already, be sure to connect with other organizers. The Professional Organizing community is honestly one of the most welcoming and kindhearted communities you will find. Join us in our private FB group, introduce yourself, and let us know how we may be able to help. Have an area you’re stuck on or confused about? The Organizers in the group are always happy to help and a wealth of information.
I also suggest reaching out to some organizers in your local area or right outside of it. It can be a great way to learn more about some of the local opportunities, challenges, and maybe even form a professional relationship that leads to collaborations and business.
#10 Consider Niching Down
Once you’ve spent some time working with clients, you may find that you’d prefer to focus on a specific service or work exclusively with specific clients. By niching down, you’re also able to tailor your marketing message to that specific group of people. For example, you may decide that you want to focus on downsizing services, and working with clients who are transitioning to a smaller living space. Or you may decide that you’d like to work with ADHD clients, or Moms, or bachelors, the possibilities really are endless.
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