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Interview With . . . Heather Levin Simply Organized Home Asheville, NC by Maria Gracia 1. How long have you been in business? Since March 2005. 2. Is this your primary business, or a part-time business? Yes, this is my primary business. 3. Are you a member of NAPO? (Please indicate if you're an officer.) Yes, I am a member. 4. Why did you become a professional organizer? Organizing is something I've always been good at. I'd been helping friends and family members organize their homes for years, just doing it becuase I enjoyed helping them out. When my husband and I moved to Asheville, I decided now was the time to go into business for myself, and I took the leap. 5. What type of organizing do you specialize in (home, office, etc.)? I specialize in both residential and commercial organizing. 6. Do you sell products, services, or seminars? Please describe. At this time I am not selling any products, although by Thanksgiving I hope to start doing seminars locally. 7. Have you written a book(s)? If so, what is the title(s)? No. 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? Yes. It is a print newsletter called 'Organizing 101' and is free to anyone who requests my Info-Packet. 9. Do you have a web site? If so, what is the address? My Web site is www.simplyorganizedhome.com 10. Is travel a big part of your business? Yes. Many of my clients live further in the mountains, an hour away or more. 11. Who is your primary target audience? My primary audience is working women aged 25-60, or busy families with children who just don't have time to get everything done in a day! 12. Describe your typical workday. I usually start working around 8:00 a.m. If I do not have an organizing project that day, I will work on marketing until around 12 or 1. I will be putting up doorknob hangers, distributing fliers, or pitching articles to local publications. I take an hour break for lunch, and then spend the rest of the day making follow-up calls, browsing through organizing catalogs and reading organizing articles. I also make a point to watch every episode of Mission:Organization, which is on here at 2:30 and Designed to Sell. I always learn from those shows! 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? Well, I'm sure every part of the country is different. I won't lie and say it's been a piece of cake here in Asheville. It's taken a lot of hard work to get my business off the ground. I truly believe, however, that if you don't get discouraged you can make a great living doing this. It just takes time, the right attitude, and a lot of hard work. And you CAN NOT give up. It might take six months, it might take a year, or two, to get a steady client base, but you have to stick with it. 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 newspaper advertising, my website, doorknob hangers, NAPO, and fliers around town in libraries, markets, and other public places. I am planning on having a sign made for my car, and I will soon be offering free seminars. 15. Which one marketing technique have you found works the best for you? Please describe. Well, it's a tie between the fliers and the doorknob hangers. The hangers generate a huge number of hits for my website. 16. Describe a successful, creative marketing technique that you use, or that you've used in the past. I leave my business cards 'lying around' all over the place. I leave them in cafe's, at bookstores, at the market. I don't know if this does anything, they might just get thrown away, but you never kNow!™ 17. Do you feel that networking plays a big role in growing your business? I haven't done much networking yet. It is an avenue I need to work on. 18. What do you do to generate referrals? I offer at $25 referral fee for my clients. If they send someone to me that decides to buy, I send them a $25 check. 19. What do you find to be the most exciting part of your business? I love that moment when I'm done working with a client, during the last session, when they turn around and see their clutter gone, or their papers filed. The look on their face is priceless. I've really helped someone better their life. I've made things easier for them, and hopefully taught them how to do it themselves from now on. It's a great feeling. 20. What do you find to be the most frustrating part of your business? For me it's generating prospects. I thought when I started this business I'd get flooded with calls for my Info-Packet, and it simply hasn't happened. That doesn't mean it won't, it's just been slow, and I'm constantly thinking of new ways to get my name and my offer out there to grow my business. 21. Describe your greatest success in this field. Well, it's a little too soon for me to have won awards or be featured on HGTV, but for me, so far, I'd say my greatest success has just been having the courage to start my business. It's like taking a leap of faith. You don't know if you're going to fly or fall, but that's what makes it so worthwhile. You jump, and flail your arms and gasp and try so hard, and if you don't give up, if you flap hard enough, eventually you soar. 22. As a professional organizer, do you have a funny story to share? Gosh, I wish I did. Can't think of one right off the bat. 23. As an organizer, what professional organizing information or tools are you always on the lookout for? I constantly read through catalogs like 'Pottery Barn' to find beautiful ways to keep rooms organized. I've noticed a lot of organizing products are just ugly. People don't want ugly things in their homes, even if it is for the greater good. So I'm always on the lookout for aesthitically pleasing products that my clients will actually want to buy. 24. Looking ahead, what do you see as your greatest challenge? Just the constant toil of growing my prospect list, of finding new, creative ways to get my name out. 25. What is your best tip for people interested in becoming professional organizers? Good question. Maria Gracia's Ultimate Guide for Professional Organizers really helped me out. I was so nervous before my first assessment, so I bought her book thinking it might have some information on what I should say or do, and it has turned into a fabulous tool for me. Her tips on marketing are great. I bought her husbands marketing book when I first started my business and his ideas were great too. I need to go read it again! I guess if I had my own tip to offer it would be to just read as much as you can. Read about marketing, read about organizing, read about other small business owners, how they made a success, or what they did wrong. And do some free organizing jobs for friends or family members before you start on paid clients. The pictures you take of their spaces you can use to create a portfolio for future clients, or add to your website. 
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