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Interview With . . . Figen Genco Haigh Genco Organizes Langhorne, PA 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 Figen Genco Haigh and my company name is Genco Organizes. We're located in Langhorne, PA (30 mins from Philadelphia). I've been in business since January, 2001. 2. Is this your primary business, or a part-time business? This is my primary business. 3. Are you a member of NAPO? (Please indicate if you're an officer.) Not yet, but I attended the Philadelphia chapter meetings, and NAPO convention in Austin, Texas this year. 4. Why did you become a professional organizer? I had always been organized and I loved organizing, but I didn't realize that it was a skill that I could help people with, until it was pointed out at the office I was working at as an office manager. With their encouragement I started my own business. 5. What type of organizing do you specialize in (home, office, etc.)? Mostly homes and home offices. I am working on home staging and learning to work with people with ADD recently. 6. Do you sell products, services, or seminars? Please describe. I sell services. I don't have any products, yet. I give seminars but I haven't done one for a fee, yet. 7. Have you written a book(s)? If so, what is the title(s)? No, but I have written articles, and they were published in Bucks County Courier Times (local paper) and Outlook (publication of Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce, of which I am a member.) 8. Do you publish a newsletter? If so, is it a print newsletter, or an e-zine? Is it free, or is there a charge? I haven't started my newsletter, yet, but I submit articles to other newsletters and e-zines. 9. Do you have a web site? If so, what is the address? Yes, it's www.gencoorganizes.freehomepage.com 10. Is travel a big part of your business? Traveling to clients sites, the furthest has been an hour drive. I went to Texas for the convention. 11. Who is your primary target audience? Homeowners, small business and home office owners, working/non working moms and real estate agents. 12. Describe your typical workday. Depending on chamber committee meetings, my day might start at the Chamber, or at my home office. I do my administrative office work in the mornings, organize, file, do expenses, read and reply to e-mail, write articles, check out some Web sites for my professional growth, prepare literature to send out, work on my Web site, read/write literature and brochures and make phone calls. If I have an appointment in the morning, the order changes, office work is done in the afternoon. I also have networking meetings and percolator meetings-through the chamber mostly in the morning and business card exchange events in the evenings. Client appointment hours differ according to the clients available hours, so I don't have a fixed schedule. 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? It depends on what people mean by 'enough money.' What I think is enough may not be sufficient for someone else's life style and expectancies. I am quite happy with what I am making, but there is always more to earn in this business if someone is willing to spend more hours and work harder. They can sell products and seminars. They can find more aggressive ways to sell their services. They can hire people to work for them, and have a work force. They can get involved with more technological aspects as computer and hand held devices training, warehouse organizing, coaching, etc. The possibilities are limitless. Just decide on what your goals are, and work towards them! 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)? Mostly publicity and networking. I belong to a very energetic and big chamber, Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce. I am very active in the chamber, participating in the committees, bringing in new members. People know that I exist. That is the biggest step at the beginning. I sent out press releases, and articles. I get my e-mail marriage story published in the local paper so I got more publicity. I did my Web site and got clients through that. I joined a referral program of another organizer, and got listed in two other organizers' Web sites. I belong to two networking groups for leads. I got offers from Rotary chapters to give presentations, and I accepted. All these gave me exposure. I also had a booth at the 'Career Women On the Move' expo through the chamber. 15. Which one marketing technique have you found works the best for you? Please describe. Networking. What we do is very personal, and people need to know you and trust you before they let you see and touch very personal belongings. 16. Describe a successful, creative marketing technique that you use, or that you've used in the past. I have a magnet board on my car with my company name on it. I haven't got any clients directly from that. When I hand out my business card to people I don't know, they sometimes say they recognize it. Attending business card exchange events always leads me to clients, even if not directly, eventually somehow. 17. Do you feel that networking plays a big role in growing your business? Actually, networking is the biggest part of it. 18. What do you do to generate referrals? I simply ask my clients and people in my networking groups for referrals. 19. What do you find to be the most exciting part of your business? When my clients start to realize how beautiful, systematic, functional, and positive their environment is starting to get. This mostly happens after a few hours of organizing. And each new appointment, I see them waiting anxiously for my arrival, and start listening more attentively, and cooperate more enthusiastically, it is a wonderful feeling. It gives me even more satisfaction when they acknowledge me after some time about how they have been maintaining the system and order I created for them. Actually, the whole thing is wonderful. I love it. 20. What do you find to be the most frustrating part of your business? Marketing, finding clients. 21. Describe your greatest success in this field. I can say that creating my Web site gave me the biggest client I ever had. 22. As a professional organizer, do you have a funny story to share? My clients and I always have fun together. We share lots of laughs once they realize that I am not judging them with the mess or the dust bunnies flying around. I have a cute story, though. A client's daughter was very excited about all the organizing going around in the house--I did the whole house there. She was asking me a lot of personal questions. One question was where I was from, and I answered 'Turkey.' Next day her mother told me the daughter went to the neighbors and was bragging about having a professional organizer in their house. What she said was: 'We have an organizer in our house, her name is Figen and she is from Chicken!' 23. As an organizer, what professional organizing information or tools are you always on the lookout for? Filing tools, drawers, closet and shelf dividers, folder and plate holders. Practical, functioning, inexpensive products which can make my clients' lives easier. To tell the truth I am not finding many functional tools out there that are worth the price. So, sometimes I end up using a tool or something else, other than it was originally aimed for. 24. Looking ahead, what do you see as your greatest challenge? Finding clients. I am not an aggressive sales person, that is the weakest part. But I am hoping people will eventually find me by word of mouth. 25. What is your best tip for people interested in becoming professional organizers? Learn not only how to organize but also how to run a business and how to market yourself. 
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