|
Interview With . . . Jamie Novak Life U Love Fanwood, NJ 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 Jamie Novak. My company name is Life U Love, and I'm located in Fanwood, NJ. I've been in business for 13 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 just joined and am awaiting my member number. 4. Why did you become a professional organizer? To help others create a life they love, to do what I have to do to help them first find the life they have under all their stuff. 5. What type of organizing do you specialize in (home, office, etc.)? Home and office about 50-50. I also do individual sessions one on one regarding topics like time management. 6. Do you sell products, services, or seminars? Please describe. Yes, my new book was just published this past January, A Busy Person's Guide to a Life You Love. I lecture nationwide and recently opened Life U Love an Organizing Studio and Life Balance Boutique. We offer nightly workshops. 7. Have you written a book(s)? If so, what is the title(s)? A Busy Person's Guide to a Life You Love and before that I had a bunch of tips booklets. 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, I offer a free monthly e-zine, printed copy upon request only. 9. Do you have a web site? If so, what is the address? Yes, it's http://www.LifeULove.com 10. Is travel a big part of your business? I spend some of the year out in LA with my husband's side of the family and I do workshops and see clients there. 11. Who is your primary target audience? I work best with women in their thirties seeking solutions to being overburdened and having lost themselves. 12. Describe your typical workday. I prepare my day the night before, I create a list of things to do, calls to make, things to follow up on and so on. Then I awake at 7 and start my day. I see clients between 8-5, I oversee workshops between 6-10 and then I prepare for the next day. 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? What you put into it is what you can get out of it. It is not a get rich quick job, that's for sure. But it is a job with a lot of personal satisfaction and one that you can make a living at if you have the persistence to follow up and do a good job. 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)? Yes, yes and yes. I started with free workshops selling tips booklets. I now get paid for most of my speaking engagements. I have a yellow page ad but that comes with my business line at the center. I have a great web site and that really helps. I have been on TV and on the radio, I am always in the paper. I write articles and have a monthly newsletter. I hand out flyers and my book was just published. I joined networking groups and tips groups. I get referrals from clients and I just chat with everyone everywhere in a casual manner. 15. Which one marketing technique have you found works the best for you? Please describe. Workshops. Before I had my own center where I could host a workshop, I held them around town. Open to the public or for a small group I gave a talk and then offered my booklets and services. Highly successful. 16. Describe a successful, creative marketing technique that you use, or that you've used in the past. Well, I enjoy seeing my name in print. Display ads are paid advertising and do not mean as much as an article about you, plus they cost money. So I read the newspapers and contact reporters that write articles, and ask them about articles they've written. I tell them I read what they wrote about so and so and introduce myself. 100 percent success so far! 17. Do you feel that networking plays a big role in growing your business? Without a doubt- a huge role. Meeting people face to face is the best way to let them know what it is that you do. Remember, you are going to be going into their space, touching their stuff, they have to trust you. 18. What do you do to generate referrals? I have a referral program in place for my clients and I attend networking meetings. 19. What do you find to be the most exciting part of your business? I love walking into a new client's space to see what can be done to improve their life. And I adore public speaking. 20. What do you find to be the most frustrating part of your business? The fact that the same people we target are the people that can't find our business card or don't have a system for writing down our appointment. I find it challenging that I get calls like 'I just found your flyer, I meant to come to the workshop but I lost the flyer and just found it now, but I see I missed it.' 21. Describe your greatest success in this field. In terms of personal satisfaction it would have to be helping to save a marriage. The husband and wife never ate a meal together because the dining room table was covered with junk. On my first visit we cleared off the table, scrubbed it and set it. They eat dinner there almost every night. They talk and have now become closer when they were ready to live apart. Professionally it would have to be opening Life U Love An Organizing Studio and Life Balance Boutique. 22. As a professional organizer, do you have a funny story to share? I do actually, I was with a client the other day, we were doing his home office. The hand sewn oriental rug was located beneath 7 years of papers! What a challenge. Anyway he was commenting that his wife was unsure of how great this whole thing was going to be and she had almost cancelled. Well, what do we find but a diamond tennis bracelet from Tiffany's still in the box! He bought it and it got covered with stuff before he remembered to give it to her. He called her into the office and presented it to her- well the wife and I are now very good friends and she will never doubt my powers again. 23. As an organizer, what professional organizing information or tools are you always on the lookout for? Products that work well and last a long time. I stay away from cheap stuff that has no use, and there is a lot of that! I like quality and usefulness. I look for a piece that will serve multi-purposes. 24. Looking ahead, what do you see as your greatest challenge? My ability to train new PO's to take on the jobs that I cannot fit into my calendar. 25. What is your best tip for people interested in becoming professional organizers? Work and volunteer as an assistant with an already established professional organizer. 
Click Here for Contact InformationCopyright 1998 - 2008 Effective Business Systems Get Organized Now!™ 611 Arlington Way Watertown, WI 53094 |
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZERS NEWSLETTER We respect your privacy. Your e-mail address will never be shared with or sold to anyone.
|