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Interview With . . . Diane L. Campion Organize This! Albany, New York by Maria Gracia 1. What is the name of your company? Where are you located? How long have you been in business? My name is Diane L. Campion, owner and president of Organize This! We're located in Albany, New York and I have been in business about 2 years. 2. Is this your primary business, or a part-time business? Organize This! is my primary business. 3. Are you a member of NAPO? (Please indicate if you're an officer.) I am a member of NAPO as well as a member of the Upstate NY NAPO. 4. Why did you become a professional organizer? I became a professional organizer because I took all the aspects of my former career that I liked and ditched the aspects I did not like and developed it into my professional organizing business. I had a 20 year career in labor relations and my final position was Director of Organizing. 5. What type of organizing do you specialize in (home, office, etc.)? I do both business and home and family organizing. My newest program is 'Organize Your Kids.' I always say my services are 'training, coaching and doing' based on the needs of my clients. 6. Do you sell products, services, or seminars? Please describe. I sell a couple of products: The Organize This! Family Center which provides an organizing solution to busy families seeking to keep track of all of their appointments, activities, invitations, date based obligations, official school papers, etc. I developed it as a result of my work with busy moms and families with lots of paper on their kitchen counters and dining room table and it's a great solution - a very popular product. The Organize This! Prompter System comes in residential and business versions. In the home the Prompter System is a bill paying system and a way to prompt yourself to do things on time. In business it prompts you to meet the obligations of your job and the projects you are responsible for in your career. I also teach 'in home' classes, workshops by contract and speak frequently. 7. Have you written a book(s)? If so, what is the title(s)? I have written a workbook entitled 'Get the Life You Want -- A Workbook' which takes a common sense and goal oriented approach to making positive changes in your life. I sell this soft cover workbook for $12.50 I am currently working on a book with my sister - a teacher and adjunct professor - with the working title of 'Organize Your Kids.' Our book will teach parents basic organizing concepts in a way that they can teach them to their kids. It relates the importance later in life of various organizing strategies and provides age-based behaviors and expectations at the stages of your child's development. 8. Do you publish a newsletter? If so, is it a print newsletter, or an ezine? Is it free, or is there a charge? I publish a free quarterly newsletter that is available in hard copy or email. It is available by signing up on my website. 9. Do you have a web site? If so, what is the address? Yes, the address is www.Org-This.com 10. Is travel a big part of your business? I love to travel and always accept out of town invitations. I also teach workshops on travel, organizing to get the most out of travel, creating meaningful travel memories through journaling and photos. My training and workshops attract a wide array of students - young and old, married and un-married, wealthy and not so wealthy, professional and blue collar. 11. Who is your primary target audience? My target audience is young families and small business owners for my organizing services. 12. Describe your typical workday. My typical workday includes 3-4 hours of organizing work in either a client's business or residence. Working side by side with my clients is my favorite thing. I also sit with them on each visit and we review my observations and recommendations to come up with solutions for their organizing or business dilemmas. 13. Every person interested in entering the professional organizing field is wondering, "Can I make enough money doing this?" What is your outlook on this question? I would say that your geographic location is crucial in making the decision to go into organizing as a way to earn a living. I had a rewarding and lucrative professional career in another field for many years before I started my business so I have the luxury of other income. I feel I am quite innovative and enthusiastic in my business approach yet still my workflow has its ups and downs. I live and work in a rather conservative and economically challenged geographic area and it would be very difficult to support a family solely on my business income. Did I not have my prior management experience and my educational credentials, I would lack the unique qualifications to advise my clients on business management issues as well - I believe it gives me an edge and an advantage over an organizer that brings less to the table. Business owners feel they are getting their money's worth with my combination of skills. The key to increasing your income in this business as in many others is selling something other than your direct labor to generate profit. 14. Which of the following marketing vehicles have you used to help you grow your business (direct mail, newspaper advertising, free workshops, radio, television, web site, e-zine, telemarketing, yellow pages, joint ventures with other professionals, publicity, other: please describe)? I have used direct mail, newspaper, free workshops and lectures, website, yellow pages, business directories, joint ventures, free publicity by way of newspaper articles, biz to biz mailings, Chamber of Commerce publications, networking meetings, press releases to help grow my business and I must comment that the advertising dollars I have spent have not given me a good rate of return. Next year I will be re-thinking my strategy. 15. Which one marketing technique have you found works the best for you? Please describe. It seems that most of my business has come from the Yellow Pages, my website, leads from my workshops and some NAPO referrals. I am currently involved in a brand new biz to biz mailing so I will know soon if that bears fruit. 16. Describe a successful, creative marketing technique that you use, or that you've used in the past. Free and reasonably priced workshops have been the most successful form of marketing for me. Additionally, I have forged relationships with a couple of reporters that have gotten me some business after articles have been printed about my services. 17. Do you feel that networking plays a big role in growing your business? I think networking is very important. I hand out lots of cards and pamphlets and sometimes get calls 3 and 4 times removed from my original encounter. 18. What do you do to generate referrals? I remind people that my business thrives on referrals, I make referrals to other local small business people, I always follow up on even the most obscure referral. 19. What do you find to be the most exciting part of your business? I love to learn about people's businesses. I am fascinated with all of the many ways people make a living and the mechanics of the different businesses. Two of my most interesting clients were a flag maker where I learned lots about the process of making US and other flags; and a scuba diving center when I subsequently became a certified diver and learned about running the business and planning dive travel worldwide. 20. What do you find to be the most frustrating part of your business? The most frustrating part of this business is the people that need you the most. Unfortunately, many of the people that need organizers procrastinate over the decision to hire an organizer just as they may have procrastinated over other aspects of their lives. I also get frustrated by people who begin to re-organize and then abandon the process midway through. 21. Describe your greatest success in this field. My moments of greatest success are when clients come back and tell me they have used some of my strategies and they worked, things turned out differently than they would have had I not been involved. 22. As a professional organizer, do you have a funny story to share? Not at this time. 23. As an organizer, what professional organizing information or tools are you always on the lookout for? I am interested in learning about successful marketing techniques. I am always on the lookout, as well, for organizations looking for training or a workshop presenter. 24. Looking ahead, what do you see as your greatest challenge? My greatest challenge will be in riding out the ups and downs of my business. Keeping a positive attitude when I have a slow month and moving forward with new business ideas that appeal to a variety of target audiences. 25. What is your best tip for people interested in becoming professional organizers? Don't come to Albany, NY!!! No, really...study your geographic area to determine the state of the economy in which you are launching, look for venues to get your company and your skills out there to the public, join some networking organizations to promote your business. 
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