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Interview With . . . Teine Kenney organizethisTM Newbury Park, CA 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 Teine (pronounced Dana) Kenney and my company is organizethisTM. I'm located in Newbury Park, CA. I've been in business for 1 year. 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.) Yes, I am a member. 4. Why did you become a professional organizer? For 9 years while my 14 year old daughter was terminally ill, I honed my knack for priority and time management. She passed away and I started my business. I am an expert at organizing medical papers and busy families. My degree is from UCLA in Int'l Econ, but all my work experience was in creating systems. It was a natural choice to start a business doing what I love and what life had made me good at teaching and living. 5. What type of organizing do you specialize in (home, office, etc.)? Special interest in chronic and ADD organizing challenges. Have ingenuity and patience for special needs clients. Am also known for setting up clients computers with Quicken and Palm or other PDA devices to manage their life and office. As a former professional chef, (1st job out of college!) I'm great with kitchen chaos and teaching space management techniques to large families. 6. Do you sell products, services, or seminars? Please describe. I sell a comprehensive in-home analysis and needs assessment. It comes with suggestions for bottle necks etc. and solutions for efficiency and time saving tips. I have done a few public speaking events but have not charged for those. I am honing my speaking skills because I really want to teach what I know to others. 7. Have you written a book(s)? If so, what is the title(s)? No, not yet. 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 use a quarterly newsletter that I purchased from Time2Organize.com. It is great! I recommend it to other newer PO's who have no time to publish a unique newsletter, but understand the value of having one to offer 9. Do you have a web site? If so, what is the address? My Web site is http://www.iorganizethis.com 10. Is travel a big part of your business? I travel within a one hour radius for free and then charge by the hour for longer distances. I have not been hired to air travel yet, but a current client is discussing having me fly back east to unload and disperse of the contents of an apartment she keeps. 11. Who is your primary target audience? Affluent, chronically disorganized or ADD mothers/women who need discreet help from someone who understands the demands on their lives and knows how to handle their things. 12. Describe your typical workday. 6:45-8 AM: getting 3 kids to school unhurried, loved and attended to 8-8:45 AM: email and touch up day schedule 9 AM-2:30 PM: work hours with client or business building have Palm Treo PDA to do emails from road 3-9 PM: Check computer then start Family time 9- 1 AM: Research, development, paperwork, laundry, defrosting, and getting ready for tomorrow! 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? In the beginning, I set my sites on a high yearly salary, worked backward from the number of hours I wanted to work in a day, and came up with a rate that would fulfill my goal. Since my business started a year ago, I have increased my hourly wage by $25 and surpassed my goal. But, I work about 12 hours a day right now. It is work I love and have a passion for, but I am working hard. Your money achievement will be related to your talent, your professional and personal style and to the number of hours you are willing to commit to the growth of your company. It is absolutely very profitable and your imagination is the limit. 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)? Website, phonebook, direct mail, networking groups, public speaking and auctions at private schools. 15. Which one marketing technique have you found works the best for you? Please describe. Word of mouth is the best, direct mail was the least, networking group and good client service makes word of mouth explode. 16. Describe a successful, creative marketing technique that you use, or that you've used in the past. I've made my services an item to purchase in silent auctions at my children's private schools. It was a 'non revenue generating service' initially but everyone saw my display and I got lots of interest. I speak at the local MOPs groups. 17. Do you feel that networking plays a big role in growing your business? Absolutely! I coordinate the Networking Groups at my children's schools and I network constantly. 18. What do you do to generate referrals? They seem to generate themselves from work I've done. People knew me in the community because I had a daughter who died of a brain tumor. I am relatively famous for being the mother of an amazing child. That combined with doing good work makes people identity with me and feel comfortable. I make a memorable photo album of our project too, they like to show it to others, my logo is on it. 19. What do you find to be the most exciting part of your business? Primarily, I love looking at a mess or a chaotic environment, SEEING the solution, and being able to promise peace to the owner of the problem. It also feels good to help a client who may be at the end of their rope and ashamed. It is very important that I teach them skills to maintain the newly organized space. I would say continuing my education/research with NSGCD and NAPO is second most exciting. This business niche is booming but I believe it is only the beginning. 20. What do you find to be the most frustrating part of your business? Not enough time to spend on my own paper management. I have high standards for my own office, but have had to let them down a bit. I am also frustrated when I client is sure I've 'changed their life!' but I know the clutter is about to creep back and humiliate them again. 21. Describe your greatest success in this field. I was called to assist an elderly woman who just had a tiny stroke. Her family actually found me for her while she was still in the hospital. I knew enough about hoarding, shopping, and chronic disorganization to take on the enormous job of emptying 9 years of stuff (that had never been put away) from her apartment. It was my largest job to date. I bid the job accurately and used a 5 person crew. It was most satisfying because I figured out or knew how to handle the special needs of this wonderful lady. (My daughter had a stroke so I knew what she was recovering from.) I organized and labeled everything from her medical files to her underwear! When I returned to give her the complimentary photo album of the project, she was just opening her mail, I watched as she effortlessly filed a tax document. She was able to put paper in it's proper place for the first time in her whole life. We celebrated with a pear cider! 22. As a professional organizer, do you have a funny story to share? A working mother of an 18 month old daughter was asking me for suggestions after a recent speaking engagement I had. She was very earnest about solving the problem of how to sort her mail when she first walked in the house after a long day at the office. Of particular urgency was doing it well because she was operating under the distraction of her daughter pulling at her leg begging for attention. I almost launched into my familiar spiel about sorting mail--near a trash bin, have homes for regular items like coupons, magazines, bills etc. But, I stopped and thought about her problem for a second longer and then told her the problem is not the mail, it's the timing and her priorities. She'll never be able to give the mail her attention until her daughter is full up of love. I told her to come in the door and set the mail down instantly, not even to look at it. After she connected with her daughter was the best time to look at her mail. She had never even thought of doing it that way because she was living under an expectation that wasn't working for her but she felt like she HAD to follow. It's not really funny but situations like that are everywhere! It just takes a fresh outlook to see the solution 23. As an organizer, what professional organizing information or tools are you always on the lookout for? Ingenious solutions for helping a chronically disorganized person who suffers from ADD and/or depression. 24. Looking ahead, what do you see as your greatest challenge? I want to be able to make money while I am not actually working. This means I need to create a product that will sell after I have created it the first time. I'd like to write a book, that is a challenge and a life long goal. 25. What is your best tip for people interested in becoming professional organizers? Join NAPO and your local NAPO chapter. Avail yourself of the information about this business on the Internet and use it! 
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