Are you Lost on LinkedIn? Frazzled about Facebook? Puzzled about Pinterest? You’re certainly not alone! Staying on top of constant changes to social media sites and deciding whether to join yet another social network can leave you longing for the days when all you needed to market your business online was a simple static website.

Since those days are behind us, there is probably something you wish you knew so you could more easily manage your social media profiles and promote your organizing business.

You could spend hours searching the web for answers, or you can just ask me. I don’t claim to know all there is to know – and I doubt that anyone does – but I do spend a lot of time using and reading about social media, so if I can’t answer your question, there’s a good chance I’ll know where to find the information you need.

I’ll be conducting a Social Media Q&A session as an invited guest of the Halton-Peel Chapter of Professional Organizers in Canada on Monday, April 16, 2012 and I hope you can make it!

Those who attend will also have the opportunity to learn about operating a successful and money-making organizing business from Wendy Hollick of NEAT SPACES, recipient of the 2011 POC Ambassador Award. Wendy and I worked together on many organizing projects and seminars but even though I’m her VA, I rarely get to see her now, so I’m really looking forward to hearing her speak.

Click for more details about this event, including times, location, and RSVP contact information.

If you’re planning to come out as a member or guest, feel free to submit your questions to me in advance by leaving a comment below or by sending them through the contact form on this site. If you can’t be there, you might wish to send me your questions anyway, as I’ll be posting all of the questions and answers here on Your Organizing Business at a later date.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Ask a Question about Social Media.

As a blogger, I’m committed to sharing all types of information that might benefit you in Your Organizing Business, so when I heard about the recent National Association of Senior Move Managers conference, I was eager to invite an attendee to tell us about it in a guest blog post. Robin Blinder was happy to oblige, and I’m pleased to welcome her here today.

The annual conference of the National Association of Senior Move Managers was in Austin, Texas this month – January 12^th through the 15^th.  As a professional organizer who is also a senior move manager, this conference is one of the ways I continue to educate myself, recharge my business batteries, and network with those throughout the country whose professional life has taken the same fork in the road.  This was my second NASMM Conference, and once again, NASMM did not disappoint.

First, the venue – the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Texas – was a wonderful place to attend a conference.  Great halls for the nearly 400 attendees to gather for keynote sessions, meals, and events like the 10^th Birthday Party of NASMM, excellent rooms for breakout sessions, and a myriad of open meeting areas for networking and small group meetings.  Austin showed up with weather that was warm enough for walks along the river or across the bridge.  And there were plenty of restaurants and nightspots to visit with new friends or old friends reunited.  Fun times!

This year’s educational sessions were superb.  I started out my conference time with Thursday’s pre-conference sessions – “Speak Up! And Present Your Way to Success” and “Winning Sales Strategies for Senior Move Managers.”  Both sessions, taught by renown experts in our field, gave me tons of ah-ha moments & things I could implement to grow my business.

There were four keynote general sessions – one more than last year, and each of them touched a different area of my business.  Friday’s opening keynote, “Differentiate and Dominate” by John Jantsch of “Duct Tape Marketing” fame, helped us to think of our business and our marketing strategy in a whole new way.  Saturday’s keynote, “My Client Has Dementia: Now What?” by Teepa Snow, was phenomenal.  Teepa delivered some tough information in a very entertaining way.  Sunday’s keynotes, Jeremy Solomon’s keynote on dealing with diversity in the aging market and Tim Richardson’s “Rich Service” presentation, both gave me a number of take-away points to apply.

But that wasn’t all!  The 24 breakout sessions during the conference were so rich that I bought the CDs in order to catch the sessions that I wasn’t able to attend.  The topics hit on business topics like marketing, sales, human resource & finance, tactical topics for SMMs like estimating, space planning, and disbursing client belongings, and client-centered topics such as family communication, client “potholes,” and decision-making.  There was definitely something for everyone, and many of the sessions also applied to my organizing business.

If you’re a Senior Move Manager and have not attended NASMM’s Annual Conference, join us in St. Petersburg next January 20^th-23^rd and experience for yourself the tremendous value it brings to you and your business.  If you’re a NAPO or ICD member and have thought about adding senior move management to your services, come to St. Petersburg and see what this growing field can add to your business.  Hope to see you next January in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida!

Robin Blinder is a Professional Organizer and Senior Move Manager serving the Tampa Bay, Florida area.  You can find more information at http://www.consideritorganized.com.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on NASMM Conference Opens New Doors for Professional Organizers.

For many of us, the start of a new year is a time for change. Even people who don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions generally see this as a time to set goals for the coming months. As a professional organizer, you probably support your clients in moving towards their goals, but who’s helping you with yours?

You started your business because you’re passionate about organizing and helping others, but to be a successful entrepreneur, you also need to know about product development, budgeting, branding, marketing, networking, social media, video, and loads of other things. You can really spend a lot of time researching these topics and trying to find people you can really trust to give you the right information!

Fortunately, Stephanie LH Calahan of Calahan Solutions, Inc. has pulled together over 20 of the best experts on productivity, mindset and business growth in an extraordinary program designed specifically to meet the unique needs of entrepreneurs who want to excel in business and in life. In Fire Up Your Biz – Enrich Your Life!, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from a number of your organizing colleagues along with other business experts. Take a look at this line-up!

• Depressing Desks and Psychic Debris: Cleaning up the Work Space by De-cluttering the Head Trash (Regina Lark 01/18 @ 11AM CST)
• Unlock the Secret to Achieving Your Profit Goals (Nicole Fende 01/19 @ 11AM CST)
• Mindset Matters: Secrets to a Powerful Mindset (Des Gray 01/19 @ 7PM CST)
• We’ve Got To Stop Meeting Like This: How to Run Meetings that Actually Get Things Done (Debbie Rosemont 01/25 @ 11AM CST)
• Get the Right Support for Your Business, Inside and Out (Marcia Hoeck 01/26 @ 11AM CST)
• Get Time and Tasks Managed Quickly (Michelle Panzlaff 01/26 @ 7PM CST)
• Conquering Your Fear with a Knockout Punch (Dr. Shannon Reece 02/1 @ 11AM CST)
• The 3 Surprising Keys that Open the Door to Small Business Abundance (Andrea Feinberg 02/02 11AM CST)
• A Busy Family’s Guide to Getting Organized So You Can Live Your Best Life and Still Enjoy Your Family (Ellen Delap 02/02 7PM CST)
• From Procrastination to DONE! (Carrie Greene 02/08 11AM CST)
• 5 Keys to Social Media Success: Do it Right, Stop Wasting Time and Get Results! (Janet Slack 02/09 11AM CST)
• How to Overcome your Mental Money Barriers, and Break Free to Success (Georgina Sweeney 02/09 7PM CST)
• Networking for Success (Heather Townsend 02/15 11AM CST)
• Conquer Email Overload (Stephanie Shalofski 02/16 11AM CST)
• Passion Management: How to Juggle/Prioritize all of the Passions We Have (Lisa Montanaro 02/16 7PM CST)
• Five Secrets to Streamline Your Work Flow (Miriam Ortiz y Pino 02/22 11AM CST)
• When Life Interferes: Making it through Life’s Transitions as a Business Owner (Sue West 02/23 11AM CST)
• TiME Strategies for the Busy Entrepreneur (Allyson Lewis 02/23 7PM CST)
• Solopreneur Motivation Secrets: Create the Work Environment and Results You Want (Elaine Quinn 02/29 11AM CST)

That is already a lot of information, and Stephanie tells me a few more sessions will probably be added to the schedule soon.

What’s really amazing is that it won’t cost you anything to take part in this program! And no, it’s not going to be just a series of sales presentations; the goal is to be ALL content and NO fluff! You’ll even have the opportunity to submit your questions when you register, so you know the experts are doing this to help you achieve your business goals for 2012.

Sign up for Fire Up Your Biz – Enrich Your Life! today.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on It’s a New Year – Time to Fire Up Your Business!.

One of the first books I read when I became serious about organizing was Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern. Despite the explosive growth in the industry, to this day, I can’t think of a professional organizer who is more well known.

Just imagine what it would do for your skill level, your credibility, and your self-confidence to be trained by the Julie Morgenstern Organizing Institute! Julie has developed cutting-edge training courses to teach her methods to both new and experienced organizers, including the following two programs scheduled for the fall.

Organizing Clients from the Inside Out – Friday, October 21 and Saturday, October 22, 2011

To earn your clients’ loyalty, you need to understand how they think and function. Knowing how to make things look good just isn’t enough! Based on the Organizing from the Inside Out book, this workshop will train you to organize people rather than things, and to design systems that are customized to your client’s unique habits, style and goals. After two days, you’ll know how to provide exceptional client service that will increase your referrals and help you stand out from your competition.

Conducting a Needs Assessment – Sunday, October 23, 2011

This workshop was designed to develop your analytic, diagnostic and closing skills, which are completely different than those required for hands-on organizing. It provides focused study and practice of each stage of a two-hour, billable needs assessment, from the first 5 minutes through the presentation and close. You’ll learn to walk into any new organizing project and map out a winning plan of action based on the client’s unique needs.

I conducted a lot of free 30-minute consultations before I realized it wasn’t giving me a good return on investment, and switched to a longer, billable assessment. I’d have saved myself a lot of time and energy if I’d taken this one-day workshop, and it would have paid for itself very quickly!

These workshops will be held in Midtown New York, and you can save $200 if you sign up for both. This is an amazing deal, especially if you’re traveling in from out of town for the weekend. Sign up before September 15 and get a 10% early bird discount!

Click here for further details and registration information.

Will you do me a favor? When you register, please fill out the form as follows to let Julie know you learned about the workshops from me. (Disclosure: I will receive a referral fee if you do.)

Please share: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned from Julie Morgenstern?

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Do You Want to Organize Like Julie Morgenstern?.

One of the wonderful things about the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival is the opportunity to connect with organizing consultants with a wide range of specialties. Today I’ve invited Ellen Delap, who is one of our Professional Organizers Blog Carnival Star Bloggers, to tell us about hers.

© visi.stock - Fotolia.com

Families are struggling with cohesiveness, communication and  organization.  It’s about who is making dinner, can the laundry get beyond the living room, and who is doing what when.  Enter the Family Manager Coach!

I have always had a special connection with my family clients, especially those with ADD.  The struggles these families were experiencing could be helped.  Certified Family Manager Coaches^TM offer a unique perspective, that of viewing your home like a business, to help families think about their connections and roles in a new way.

Training

I learned of this certification through the Wall Street Journal and looked into the program.   Certified Family Manager Coaches^TM are trained under Kathy Peel, called “America’s Family Manager” by journalists and millions of women. She has authored 21 books which have sold over 2 million copies.  Families find coaches through the www.familymanager.com website or through googling “family manager coach”. Over the course of 2 weeks and 6 modules which include several online tests and commenting on forums, I completed the certification in 2009. I have since renewed my certification with further review of modules and by taking an annual test.

How it works

As a coach, I have the opportunity to offer an online assessment tool for clients to find their strengths and challenges.  Some clients like this option and some would prefer the initial assessment in person.   Then we meet in one on one sessions, focusing on where they need a boost.  Typically, we work together on setting up family routines, such as the family meeting and daily schedules, organizing areas throughout their home, and finding creative ways to share and delegate responsibilities.

What clients say

At the end of each session, my client has a fresh start and a fresh perspective.

“When I hired Ellen, I needed help with time management and decluttering of my home. With her help, I was able to implement a regular family meeting and created a command central. We also partnered to declutter and organize closets and the home office. Putting her knowledge in practice has helped me better manage my family’s schedule and create the order I needed in my home.”

Helping families is a rewarding experience and makes a difference for all of us!  I encourage you to look at www.familymanager.com to see if this would be a great addition to your business or if you could benefit from a session with a Family Manager Coach.

Certified Professional Organizer and Certified Family Manager Coach
Ellen Delap
Website: www.professional-organizer.com
Twitter: @TexasOrganizer
Facebook: EllenDelapProfessionalOrganizer
LinkedIn: EllenDelapProfOrganizer

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Interview with a Certified Family Manager Coach™.

With many clients away on vacation, you may find yourself with extra time to work on your business. Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities for you to acquire additional skills, even if you’re facing a seasonal drop in income or just starting out and don’t have a generous budget.

This Thursday, July 21, Melissa Ingold is offering a free teleclass, 3 Secrets for Making More Money as an Online Service Provider (I’ve signed up for this one myself!). She’s going to teach us:

• The one thing that can create more income, banish burnout, and give you back your time
• How to offer your services to clients and price them to maximize your income
• The 3 essential things you MUST have on your business website and the common mistakes you need to avoid

A Red Bench is planning to discontinue 20 of their recorded teleclasses for professional organizers on July 25^th, but until July 24^th, you can grab up as many as you like for only $15.00 each. This special deal applies to the following classes:

• Levering Networking into Actual Business
• Turn a Call Into a Client
• Applying the E-Myth
• Do More In Less Time
• Red Bench Book Club
• Ask the Organizer
• The Best Paper and Technology
• The Secret of Successful Failing
• Sales That Work In Today’s Economy
• Get Noticed, Be Remembered
• From Ideas to Information Products
• World Class Marketing Plan
• Get The Right Things Done
• Reinventing Your Career: How to Look Before You Leap
• Maximize Your Profitability; Offering Products and Services at a Variety of Price Points
• Sizzling Sales Techniques
• Brand Yourself Through Your Appearance
• Conducting Engaging Teleclasses
• Meal Planning Made Easy
• Secrets to a Successful Workshop

All of the other programs offered by A Red Bench are also available, at regular price. No matter what stage you’re at in your business, there’s something for you.

Although not on sale, here are some other programs for you to consider:

• Comprehensive Training Program, on-demand webinars and recorded teleclasses from ProfessionalOrganizers.com
• Fast-Track Your Online Organizing Business, a six-part audio series from the International Association of Virtual Organizers

And of course, you can always take classes through your professional association or learn informally from your organizing colleagues online!

What are your professional development plans for the summer?

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Summertime Savings to Help You Grow Your Organizing Business.

Every year for over a decade, the Metro Washington, DC Area Chapter of NAPO has hosted the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference for Professional Organizers (MARCPO). For the benefit of others who might be interested in holding a similar event, I asked Deb Lee, Marketing Chair of MARCPO 2010, what goes on behind the scenes, and here’s what she told me.

MARPCO 2010 volunteers: Lynn Meltzer, Alisa Levy, and Susan Unger

If you’re like me, you like attending conferences. If you’re like me, you expect the ones you attend will have great food, amazing speakers, and be in a comfortable location. Not only will the content be fabulous, but you’ll also get to see old friends and connect with new ones.

If you’re like me, when the conference you’re attending is one that you’re also helping to organize, you absolutely want it to be great.  And, if you’re really are like me, then you know what it’s like to work with an amazingly tireless group of people to put on an equally amazing conference.   Working behind the scenes on NAPO-WDC’s 12th Annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference for Professional Organizers (MARCPO 2010 – Purpose, Passion, Profit) was fun, exhausting, exhilarating, and any other word you can think of when you’ve been immersed in it for twelve months!

Though it was the third year in a row that I’ve worked behind the scenes, I still learned a thing or two about what it’s like to coordinate the many arms of a conference.  If your association or group is thinking about putting on a great conference, you’ll need to do a lot, and you must have the “3 P’s.”

Judy Parkins, MARCPO 2010 Conference Chairperson

People

Before you have a plan, you need people.  Sound counterintuitive? It isn’t really. You can plan till the cows come home, but if there’s no one around to execute said plan, well, you don’t have much, do you? Besides, when you have people, they can help you create a plan so fabulous that everyone will look like rock stars.  Sometimes, your people get clever and get their own people (think sub-committees).  When everyone steps up to the plate and takes care of the things they’re tasked with, you’re almost guaranteed that you’ll put on a 5-star event.

“Say what you’ll do – then follow through.”

–Judy Parkins, MARCPO 2010 Chair

Care to guess how many people worked on MARCPO 2010? There was the Conference Chairperson, Judy Parkins, who pulled everyone together.  She had four committee chairs (Speakers, Expo, Marketing, & Program), and each of them had their own committee members. There were also volunteers who manned the registration desk, handled the AV, fixed speaker slides, and made sure we had banners and signs. Did I mention that we had a Community Partner liaison who handled the donations we received?  How about the folks who eye-balled our docs and website content to make sure there were no typos? …hmmm…think I might be forgetting a few people…

All in all, there were 30+ people involved behind the scenes. So, you see, people really come first.

“Another important element of creating a successful conference is a shared vision. All of the people involved knew that we could produce a high-quality, classy, professional event with a very strong educational component. We were all working hard to reach that same goal.”

–Julie Gray, MARCPO 2010 Expo Chair

Purpose

You probably thought that the second “P” would be plan.  No, not yet.  You need a reason or purpose for pulling all these fabulous people together. 

Janet Schiesl, Speaker Chair with Julie Gray, Expo Chair

So, what’s the point?  Is there a vision for the conference?  What do you hope attendees will learn and experience?  Solidifying the purpose will drive the direction and feel of your event.  When carefully crafted – and if your people are all on the same page – the memory of your conference will be forever imprinted in the minds of everyone in attendance. Yes, they will remember the content, but they will also remember how they felt, the connections they made, and they will remember to come back next year.

The MARCPO 2010 team wanted to create a conference that was positive, energizing, and filled with diverse programming that would appeal to both new and experienced organizers. We wanted attendees to walk away with an excitement level so high that when coupled with relevant information, they would be better equipped to serve their clients.

“Planning early allowed us lots of time to work a little at a time.”

–Cris Sgrott-Wheedleton, Program Chair

Plan

This is where the people, purpose, and plan all come together. It’s time to get into the nooks and crannies and figure out who’s going to do what and when.  This means creating a timeline with specific dates of completion.  Did you remember the Save the Date cards?  What about the conference logo?  Who will contact the graphic designer?  Did the Tweet Up stickers get printed?  What time will the Pre-Conference session start?

At the risk of making your head explode, here are other things to consider (not a comprehensive list, nor in any particular order, but a good starting point):

• Budget, Contract
• Social Media, Press Releases, Website Updates, Media Coverage
• Venue (rooms, food, parking, point person)
• Audio/Visual, Photographer
• Sponsors, Vendors, Exhibitors, Door Prizes
• Signs, Banners, Easels, Stickers, Ribbons, Buttons
• Speakers (gifts, accommodations)
• Registration, Name Tags, Conference Bags, Binders
• Length of Event & Logistics
• Thank You Notes/Cards
• Conference Debrief (lessons learned)
• Next Conference

Cris Sgrott-Wheedleton, Program Chair & conference attendees

As you can see, there are a myriad of things to think about and do.  Map out the plan, assign the people, and give them deadlines.

And, don’t forget to check in on a regular basis.  The MARCPO 2010 crew had a standing call once a month from March to July which increased to once every three weeks and then once a week as the conference drew near.  Having frequent calls kept everyone accountable, allowed for reassignments, and gave everyone a chance to ask questions.  Was it easy to carve out time for the high frequency of calls? No…but, ultimately, it was well worth it.

The Ancillary “P”

Once you’ve taken care of the 3 P’s, you’ll be well prepared for the big day.  But, wait! There is one more thing to think about.  You need a back-up plan. What happens if things don’t go as planned, like say a speaker doesn’t show up?  Two MARCPO speakers arrived later than we anticipated, and in the moments before they actually got there, we decided that if they were not present within five minutes, we’d assemble an expert panel.  The good news is that both speakers arrived on time and we didn’t need our back up plan. But, it was great knowing we had a “Plan B” to fall back on.

Dorothy Breininger, Closing Keynote Speaker with Deb Lee, Marketing Chair

The Final Word

Planning well in advance with a committed team focused on the same goals is essential.  Just remember that it’s your conference, too. Attend sessions, connect with friends, meet new ones, and eat.

If you’re like me, you’ll remember to have fun!

“This year’s conference was filled with ideas that challenged me to move my business ahead. I most enjoyed meeting new people and seeing friends.”

–Janet Schiesl, Speaker Chair

About Deb

Deb Lee is a Certified Professional Organizer® and the founder of D. Allison Lee LLC, a professional organizing company that helps residential and business clients realize their goals of getting organized, increasing productivity, and reducing stress. For more information, visit www.dallisonlee.com or follow Deb on Twitter.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on MARCPO 2010: The Making of a Great Conference.

Time sure is funny sometimes. It seems like POC just announced their 10th Annual Conference was being held in Montreal from November 5 to 7, 2010, but in reality, it was several months ago, and the Conference is now only six weeks away!

This year’s theme is Communication, and there will be two inspiring keynote speakers as well as a wide selection of breakout sessions for professional organizers at all levels.

At 3:30 PM on Friday, November 5, I’ll be conducting a workshop on Social Media Strategies for Professional Organizers, which I’m very excited about. It’s a huge topic to cover in only 75 minutes, so I’ve prepared some great worksheets you’ll be able to take away and work on after the Conference.

If you go to Montreal early, you can also take the Professional Organizers.com Comprehensive Training Program, attend some POC Trained Professional Organizer Credit Courses, and write your POC Trained Professional Organizer or NSGCD Exams – not to mention a chance to explore one of Canada’s most exciting cities!

I’m really looking forward to the Gala Dinner on Saturday night for networking, a great meal, comedian Franco Taddeo, and finding out who will receive this year’s Harold Taylor Award.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out all the details on the POC website, where you can also download a complete Conference Program. Members of NAPO and NSGCD get to pay the same reduced rate as POC members, and early bird registration rates are in effect until October 3. That’s just around the corner, so don’t wait too long!

I can’t wait to meet some of my readers for the first time, and to reconnect with people I haven’t seen since I last attended a POC Conference in 2006. If you’re going, please leave me a comment below or contact me personally so we don’t miss each other in the crowd!

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Meet Me in Montreal.

A few weeks ago, I participated in a blogging competition sponsored by Blog Energizer. Thank you very much for your votes – I’m excited to announce that I came in second, winning a lifetime membership to Contentrix Better Content, and especially pleased that it’s something that will help me make this blog an even better resource for you.

Let me tell you a bit about my prize! Contentrix is an interactive program that helps you create content for your blog or website, generate traffic to your site and, most importantly, convert that traffic to sales.

As a student, I receive weekly lessons, complete with homework assignments, focused on a specific aspect of content marketing, such as idea generation, copywriting fundamentals, creating winning headlines, branding your content, repurposing your material, developing information products, and lots more.

Each lesson includes both a PDF and an audio file, to accommodate both visual and auditory learners, and I can interact with the course developer any time I have questions or comments.

To see what type of information this course provides, you can download a free Content Marketing Copy Swipe File.

I would really love to have someone take the program with me! If you’re interested in joining me, you can get a trial membership for only $1.00.

Photo: vistamommy

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Learn to Write Content that Works.

The major earthquake which struck Christchurch, New Zealand, early Saturday morning has been one of the biggest news stories of the past week. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but because of the extensive damage, the AAPO Conference scheduled to take place in Christchurch has been postponed until February 2011.

On a more positive note, this gives you another chance to go if you weren’t able to make it this month.

If you’re wondering what you can do to help those who have been affected by this disaster, consider purchasing a copy of The Accidental Organiser by Wendy Davie. Wendy has generously offered to donate $10.00 from the proceeds of each book sold to the Christchurch City Mission Fund. The cost is only $29.99 NZD (approximately $21 USD) and includes shipping, so this is really a great deal and a great opportunity to make a contribution.

If you’re undecided, read Angela’s Esnouf review of The Accidental Organiser before placing your order.

Photo: Schwede66

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Earthquake Delays AAPO Conference – and what you can do to help.