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Interview With . . . Hellen Buttigieg We Organize U Oakville, Ontario, Canada by Maria Gracia 1. What is the name of your company? Where are you located? How long have you been in business? My company is We Organize U, a division of Canyon Light Coaching and Consulting. I am located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. I have been in business for almost 2 years. 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.) I am a member of Professional Organizers In Canada (the Canadian version of NAPO). I sit on the National Board of Directors as Director of Chapter Development. 4. Why did you become a professional organizer? I love to organize. I love people. And I have a passion for guiding and motivating others to drastically improve their business and their life. 5. What type of organizing do you specialize in (home, office, etc.)? I specialize in time management consulting and organizing small offices and home offices. I also coach other Professional Organizers so they can jump-start their businesses. 6. Do you sell products, services, or seminars? Please describe. As an authorized Paper Tiger Consultant, I sell Paper Tiger software. The services I provide include organizing, consulting and personal coaching. I do in-house seminars as well as speaking engagements for various associations. 7. Have you written a book(s)? If so, what is the title(s)? I am in the process of writing a book. 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? Not at this time. 9. Do you have a web site? If so, what is the address? Yes. The address is: www.weorganizeu.net 10. Is travel a big part of your business? No. 11. Who is your primary target audience? My primary target is business people and those in transition. 12. Describe your typical workday. I start the day with a morning workout. Then I catch up on office activities (return e-mails, phone calls, etc.). After lunch, I organize for clients for 3 hours in the afternoon. I wrap up any loose ends in the office when I get back. At 5:00 PM, I engage my voice mail and spend time with my family. Some evenings, I have speaking engagements or attend personal development seminars. 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? Yes, Yes, Yes! But you must truly believe in the value of what you do in order to attract and keep clients. Also, you must be careful not to under value your services. 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)? Workshops (some free, some paid), published articles and my web site are the most effective marketing vehicles I use. 15. Which one marketing technique have you found works the best for you? Please describe. I wrote an article for a magazine that is distributed free to 500,000 people in my area. I offered a free idea-pak and got over 200 requests! I am still getting clients from that article months later. 16. Describe a successful, creative marketing technique that you use, or that you've used in the past. I am a member of Toastmasters International and when I enter speech contests, I get the chair-person to ask me about my business during the get-to-know you interview. Afterwards, I have several people approaching me to ask for more information. 17. Do you feel that networking plays a big role in growing your business? Yes, networking plays a huge role in growing my business. 18. What do you do to generate referrals? I tell everyone I meet about my business. That includes my massage therapist, my dentist, my accountant, my hairdresser, etc. I ask them if they will display my business cards or at least take a few extra in case they come across others who could benefit from my services. They are happy to help, and of course, I do the same for them. This is easy to do if you believe in the value of what you offer. 19. What do you find to be the most exciting part of your business? The most exciting part of my business is seeing the positive changes that occur in my clients' lives after they have worked with me to organize even just one room. It's as if, by clearing clutter, we have flung open the locked gateway that was keeping abundance out, and it just starts to flood their lives! 20. What do you find to be the most frustrating part of your business? The most frustrating part of my business is cancellations, especially last minute cancellations. I can understand if it's an emergency, but when clients forget about appointments because they didn't write them down, it's frustrating for both of us. 21. Describe your greatest success in this field. My greatest success in this field was a woman I mentored who was considering becoming an organizer. She has gone on to teach a popular program which helps other professional organizers start their businesses. One of my greatest joys is being the candle that lights another! 22. As a professional organizer, do you have a funny story to share? There was this one client who had hundreds of old, dusty magazines and I encouraged her to get rid of them. She agreed, and together we hauled them down 2 flights of stairs in boxes (she lives in a low-rise apartment, no elevator). We made numerous trips up and down the stairs until we brought them all down. Then we hauled them across a field that led to the parking lot. We piled the boxes into my van and the last step was to drive to the end of the parking lot where the recycling bins were and dump the magazines. Unfortunately, I forgot to close the trunk of the van and as I started to drive slowly, the magazines started flying out! It was raining Cosmo, National Geographic and Vogue! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I chose to laugh. My client joined me and together we laughed hysterically at the irony of it all. After that, we had new energy and we needed it for the clean-up ahead of us. Since then, I have never forgotten to close my trunk! 23. As an organizer, what professional organizing information or tools are you always on the lookout for? I'm always on the look-out for inexpensive, attractive all-purpose containers and simple time-saving ideas. 24. Looking ahead, what do you see as your greatest challenge? My greatest challenge is to continue to service my growing list of clients while still taking time to relax and be with my family. 25. What is your best tip for people interested in becoming professional organizers? Learn to ask the right questions and listen carefully to what the customer is saying. You can pick up a lot of information about their values and their style, which will help you develop the best organizing strategy for them. 
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