Tomorrow I am flying to Auckland with a great friend and colleague, Jennifer Manson of Home Style.
We are going to spend some time listening to "Mike Dooley" Some of you may have seen him on "The Secret" DVD, or know of his website www.tut.com I am not really sure what to expect, but go with an open mind and an open heart.
I promise to share with you any great information I gather and find that will help you in your pursuit to be more organised.
Cheerio, Wendy
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sharing the great work of others
If you look down the left hand side of this page you will see a list of other websites and blogs I enjoy and recommend.
When you have a little bit of time have a look at some of these, I check each of these regularly and enjoy reading some of the blogs in particular. There is an amazing wealth of information out there and I wanted to share some of my favorites.
I know some of the blog and website authors personally and some I only know through the marvel of the Internet, but I know for sure that each and every one of them helps make the world a better place through the work they do.
I added these links yesterday and I invite you to meet some of my online friends by clicking a link and having a read.
Happy Days.
When you have a little bit of time have a look at some of these, I check each of these regularly and enjoy reading some of the blogs in particular. There is an amazing wealth of information out there and I wanted to share some of my favorites.
I know some of the blog and website authors personally and some I only know through the marvel of the Internet, but I know for sure that each and every one of them helps make the world a better place through the work they do.
I added these links yesterday and I invite you to meet some of my online friends by clicking a link and having a read.
Happy Days.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
I had not gone anywhere!
Hi All,
It is great to be back. I have been really flat out and doing some travel since you last heard from me. The best thing though is that all is great in the land of Totally Organised Limited.
I have just employed two new staff members in Christchurch, to work with our hands on clients. So if you want to get organised in Christchurch now is the time as I have the bodies to get it done.
My first book is nearing completion and due on my publishers desk in the next week or two, whoohoo I cannot wait. Hopefully publication date will be in the 2nd half of 2008 and I will keep you posted.
Last week I ran a Presentation in Christchurch "Organised for Success" to an audience of 13, it was a fun morning and I enjoyed meeting all who where there. I am sure you are all feeling a little less cluttered and more organised now that you have been to one of our presentation.
The plan for 2008 is for these presentations to happen around NZ and also overseas. So if you are in an area and want to come along drop me a line so I can set up a date near you.
I will be doing my best to post daily and get you some tips and things, so here's to tomorrow.
Cheers
Wendy
It is great to be back. I have been really flat out and doing some travel since you last heard from me. The best thing though is that all is great in the land of Totally Organised Limited.
I have just employed two new staff members in Christchurch, to work with our hands on clients. So if you want to get organised in Christchurch now is the time as I have the bodies to get it done.
My first book is nearing completion and due on my publishers desk in the next week or two, whoohoo I cannot wait. Hopefully publication date will be in the 2nd half of 2008 and I will keep you posted.
Last week I ran a Presentation in Christchurch "Organised for Success" to an audience of 13, it was a fun morning and I enjoyed meeting all who where there. I am sure you are all feeling a little less cluttered and more organised now that you have been to one of our presentation.
The plan for 2008 is for these presentations to happen around NZ and also overseas. So if you are in an area and want to come along drop me a line so I can set up a date near you.
I will be doing my best to post daily and get you some tips and things, so here's to tomorrow.
Cheers
Wendy
Friday, September 21, 2007
Building the Business of Organising
Being a Professional Organiser is a fun occupation. It is also incredibly frustrating at time. I spend a lot of time talking about what I do, I always get interesting responses, some include.
* The Blank Stare: Normally reserved for incredibly organised people who wonder why people would need a Professional Organiser.
* The loud laughter: Either very organised or embarrassed about own level of clutter.
* "I know someone who could use your services" : great, but I will only help them if they are ready to get organised and declutter.
* "Boy, do I need you or what?" - Great call me and I will get you organised.
Today my dilemma is what actually stops the "Boy I could use your services" group from making an appointment. I am looking at innovative ways to let people know that by calling me they will achieve more in a 2 hour consultation then they would working on getting organised on their own for 10 hours. A client of mine calls this the 5 x leverage. She is sure she achieves 5 x as much when I am working with her. The she assures me this multiple works with how great she feels after having an organising session and how much more she achieves for a period of time after the session.
This client also assures me I do not charge enough for my services, as the value of my services are greatly underestimated by people who have never used a Professional Organiser.
This is all fantastic, but how do I equate that to converting the "I need you services" to actual clients.
We looked at the "Traffic" analogy, being disorganised is like driving on a 4 lane freeway with 2 lanes closed, traffic gets through but it is slow and sluggish, having a session with a Professional Organiser results in the closed lanes being opened, creating a fantastically clear flow of traffic. This clear flow last for weeks after the session, drivers feel better and they get to where they are going much quicker.
Now imagine that in life, I can make that difference to peoples lives, homes and business's and I do this on a regular basis. But man I am ready to do it for more people. I am ready to grab those "I really need your services" people and show them what the clear freeway looks like.
So what stops them from actually taking the step, I suspect it is:
* too confrontational - having someone help sort through belongings
* Embarrassment
* Too hard
I am not naturally organised so I fully understand where my potential clients are coming from with any of these feelings, but boy if I had a "Wendy" to call a few years ago, I would have swallowed my pride and done it. The I would have managed to get organised in weeks or months not the years that it did eventually take me.
What a Professional Organiser should be able to do for you is encourage you, motivate you, support you and give hands on help to clear any area of your life that is disorganised. This is done in an empathetic non judgemental manner. A good Professional organiser is not there to judge you, but to help you open those other lanes on the freeway. One thing my clients do say is that I am approachable, down to earth and even fun to work with.
So I am here putting all these thoughts out there so that all my potential clients can see the benefits to their time, life and sanity in getting some help in to tackle the issues. If anyone has any innovative suggestions in getting this message out there, please let me know, email me action@totallyorganised.co.nz and for those of you that have been wanting to call, go on pick up the phone or email me and make a time to clear that great freeway we call life.
Have a blast of a weekend.
* The Blank Stare: Normally reserved for incredibly organised people who wonder why people would need a Professional Organiser.
* The loud laughter: Either very organised or embarrassed about own level of clutter.
* "I know someone who could use your services" : great, but I will only help them if they are ready to get organised and declutter.
* "Boy, do I need you or what?" - Great call me and I will get you organised.
Today my dilemma is what actually stops the "Boy I could use your services" group from making an appointment. I am looking at innovative ways to let people know that by calling me they will achieve more in a 2 hour consultation then they would working on getting organised on their own for 10 hours. A client of mine calls this the 5 x leverage. She is sure she achieves 5 x as much when I am working with her. The she assures me this multiple works with how great she feels after having an organising session and how much more she achieves for a period of time after the session.
This client also assures me I do not charge enough for my services, as the value of my services are greatly underestimated by people who have never used a Professional Organiser.
This is all fantastic, but how do I equate that to converting the "I need you services" to actual clients.
We looked at the "Traffic" analogy, being disorganised is like driving on a 4 lane freeway with 2 lanes closed, traffic gets through but it is slow and sluggish, having a session with a Professional Organiser results in the closed lanes being opened, creating a fantastically clear flow of traffic. This clear flow last for weeks after the session, drivers feel better and they get to where they are going much quicker.
Now imagine that in life, I can make that difference to peoples lives, homes and business's and I do this on a regular basis. But man I am ready to do it for more people. I am ready to grab those "I really need your services" people and show them what the clear freeway looks like.
So what stops them from actually taking the step, I suspect it is:
* too confrontational - having someone help sort through belongings
* Embarrassment
* Too hard
I am not naturally organised so I fully understand where my potential clients are coming from with any of these feelings, but boy if I had a "Wendy" to call a few years ago, I would have swallowed my pride and done it. The I would have managed to get organised in weeks or months not the years that it did eventually take me.
What a Professional Organiser should be able to do for you is encourage you, motivate you, support you and give hands on help to clear any area of your life that is disorganised. This is done in an empathetic non judgemental manner. A good Professional organiser is not there to judge you, but to help you open those other lanes on the freeway. One thing my clients do say is that I am approachable, down to earth and even fun to work with.
So I am here putting all these thoughts out there so that all my potential clients can see the benefits to their time, life and sanity in getting some help in to tackle the issues. If anyone has any innovative suggestions in getting this message out there, please let me know, email me action@totallyorganised.co.nz and for those of you that have been wanting to call, go on pick up the phone or email me and make a time to clear that great freeway we call life.
Have a blast of a weekend.
Monday, September 10, 2007
What a difference 2 hours makes
Some people ask "How long does it take to declutter a space?"
We;ll the answer is not cut and dried, however last Thursday I worked with a client and in 2 hours we had her office go from chaos to clarity.
It can be surprising what can be achieved in 2 hours if you are focused and determined to get the job done. Also the pay off for doing the job is huge. My client last Thursday has told me since that she loves the space and is getting things done in it.
How did we achieve so much in such a short time?
The steps we followed were.
* Have a box ready for recycling papers.
* Rubbish bag for non recyclables.
* Then begin to sort through and action all the items in the room you are working on.
* Try to avoid the temptation to bypass tricky decisions.
* have a tray for items that require action.
* Make an appointment with yourself to spend an hours actioning the items in the action tray with 48 hours of the declutter session.
That was how we dealt with Jennifer's office on Thursday, I am calling her later today to see how her "Action Appointment" went this morning.
This was achieved within 2 hours, and I will be posting Before and afters on my website http://www.totallyorganised.co.nz/ later today.
So if you need to declutter a space, call me. We can achieve a lot in 2 hours together as a team.
Happy sorting.
We;ll the answer is not cut and dried, however last Thursday I worked with a client and in 2 hours we had her office go from chaos to clarity.
It can be surprising what can be achieved in 2 hours if you are focused and determined to get the job done. Also the pay off for doing the job is huge. My client last Thursday has told me since that she loves the space and is getting things done in it.
How did we achieve so much in such a short time?
The steps we followed were.
* Have a box ready for recycling papers.
* Rubbish bag for non recyclables.
* Then begin to sort through and action all the items in the room you are working on.
* Try to avoid the temptation to bypass tricky decisions.
* have a tray for items that require action.
* Make an appointment with yourself to spend an hours actioning the items in the action tray with 48 hours of the declutter session.
That was how we dealt with Jennifer's office on Thursday, I am calling her later today to see how her "Action Appointment" went this morning.
This was achieved within 2 hours, and I will be posting Before and afters on my website http://www.totallyorganised.co.nz/ later today.
So if you need to declutter a space, call me. We can achieve a lot in 2 hours together as a team.
Happy sorting.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
I always knew it....
For the last 4 years I have been confident that there is a market for a great Professional Organiser in New Zealand. However tapping into that market has been really difficult. As I am sure it is in any business.
It seems I have finally tapped into it and broken the deadlock in my business.
I love speaking in public, media and presenting so I am really working on that part of my business. As part of Nation Organising Week, 3rd-9th September. I arranged a FREE workshop titled, "So you need to declutter!", well my oh my the workshop has opened the floodgates. I have had to put on 2 workshops to meet the demand. So will be in front of 80 people over 2 evening.
This is wonderful, as I have this workshop set to go as a longer session with workbooks etc, so once these 2 are over I will begin to advertise my seminars monthly. The cost will depend on the topic, length of presentation and the audience.
I have also secured some great media coverage, including "Breakfast" on TVone as well as "Close Up", the "Sunday Star Times", "Metropol" "NewstalkZB" and "Otago Daily Times". I have a real passion for helping people to become more organised and have lives that are less stressful and generally improve the quality of their lives using simple strategies, finally that passion is beginning to pay off.
It is incredibly hard work, but boy am I buzzing with excitement and enthusiasm, as it is so great to make a difference.
So I will keep you posted as the business of my seminars develops. Also I would love to meet some of you at them, I am going national with these. So if you read my blog comer and say Hi and introduce yourself.
It seems I have finally tapped into it and broken the deadlock in my business.
I love speaking in public, media and presenting so I am really working on that part of my business. As part of Nation Organising Week, 3rd-9th September. I arranged a FREE workshop titled, "So you need to declutter!", well my oh my the workshop has opened the floodgates. I have had to put on 2 workshops to meet the demand. So will be in front of 80 people over 2 evening.
This is wonderful, as I have this workshop set to go as a longer session with workbooks etc, so once these 2 are over I will begin to advertise my seminars monthly. The cost will depend on the topic, length of presentation and the audience.
I have also secured some great media coverage, including "Breakfast" on TVone as well as "Close Up", the "Sunday Star Times", "Metropol" "NewstalkZB" and "Otago Daily Times". I have a real passion for helping people to become more organised and have lives that are less stressful and generally improve the quality of their lives using simple strategies, finally that passion is beginning to pay off.
It is incredibly hard work, but boy am I buzzing with excitement and enthusiasm, as it is so great to make a difference.
So I will keep you posted as the business of my seminars develops. Also I would love to meet some of you at them, I am going national with these. So if you read my blog comer and say Hi and introduce yourself.
Monday, August 27, 2007
The best laid plans.
As many of my regular readers will know I have 3 fantastic kids. Every Sunday in winter my husband and I try and get them up the mountain for a ski day. So part of my Saturday jobs is to remind the kids to get all their Ski gear laid out for the next morning.
As a Professional organiser I find that giving people responsibilty to handle their own organising issue. So by getting my kids to be responsible for getting their clothes ready is one of these steps.
Imagine my surprise and laughter when we arrived in the car park at Mt Hutt, with only the boys (as Grace was busy winning a Computer Competition at Canterbury University), had left their Ski Pants at home. How did they manage this, you may ask. Well it seems that the previous week they had decided to keep them in their room, not with the ski gear that all stays together week by week.
As we wake early 6.30am to go skiing the kids travel in the car in their under ski wear leggings, so they boys jumped out of the car in their leggings, and declared. "Where are our Ski pants MUM.....they are not in the bag? To which I helpfully replied, "they will be wherever you left them, and given I reminded you to get your gear ready last night, I do not think it is my problem!!!!" harsh I know, but please how many times can a person be reminded and systems be put in place before people catch on.
Suffice to say they will not do it again.
We managed to hire 2 pairs of pants and they happily skied of for a session with there Sunday ski instructor "Teeny".
However on the organising issue. We went to the desk and paid for our pant hire and were pointed in the direction of the clothes hire area. we stood there with 4 others for 15 minutes. Eventually I just grabbed 2 pairs of pants off the rack, threw the docket on the desk and we went skiing. At the end of the day we returned them to the still unmanned rental desk, and went home. It was incredibly frustrating, as these mountains charge big bucks for their ski passes and hire etc, then to be wasting so much time because they do not have enough staff to get the CUSTOMERS kitted up is really frustrating. if we had not helped ourselves, we have no idea how long we would have waited, as any staff member who happened by in the time we waited were not interested in stopping to serve people. I just hope the other 4 people in the queue eventually managed to hit the slopes on what turned out to be a glorious day up the mountain.
And boy's, don't forget your pants next week.
As a Professional organiser I find that giving people responsibilty to handle their own organising issue. So by getting my kids to be responsible for getting their clothes ready is one of these steps.
Imagine my surprise and laughter when we arrived in the car park at Mt Hutt, with only the boys (as Grace was busy winning a Computer Competition at Canterbury University), had left their Ski Pants at home. How did they manage this, you may ask. Well it seems that the previous week they had decided to keep them in their room, not with the ski gear that all stays together week by week.
As we wake early 6.30am to go skiing the kids travel in the car in their under ski wear leggings, so they boys jumped out of the car in their leggings, and declared. "Where are our Ski pants MUM.....they are not in the bag? To which I helpfully replied, "they will be wherever you left them, and given I reminded you to get your gear ready last night, I do not think it is my problem!!!!" harsh I know, but please how many times can a person be reminded and systems be put in place before people catch on.
Suffice to say they will not do it again.
We managed to hire 2 pairs of pants and they happily skied of for a session with there Sunday ski instructor "Teeny".
However on the organising issue. We went to the desk and paid for our pant hire and were pointed in the direction of the clothes hire area. we stood there with 4 others for 15 minutes. Eventually I just grabbed 2 pairs of pants off the rack, threw the docket on the desk and we went skiing. At the end of the day we returned them to the still unmanned rental desk, and went home. It was incredibly frustrating, as these mountains charge big bucks for their ski passes and hire etc, then to be wasting so much time because they do not have enough staff to get the CUSTOMERS kitted up is really frustrating. if we had not helped ourselves, we have no idea how long we would have waited, as any staff member who happened by in the time we waited were not interested in stopping to serve people. I just hope the other 4 people in the queue eventually managed to hit the slopes on what turned out to be a glorious day up the mountain.
And boy's, don't forget your pants next week.
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