Organized Assistant » POC

Are You Active in Your Professional Association – or are you just a member?

Janet — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:00:37 +0000

People join professional associations for various reasons. Some join because they feel it gives them credibility. Others hope to attract new clients through the online directory. For many people, those are the only reasons to join, so they don’t see any benefit in actively participating in their association. I’ve even heard some people say

Why would I want to go to a meeting? It’s not like I’m going to get any business out of it.

Those people are missing out! Not only can you learn a lot from networking with your colleagues, active participation in a professional association can indeed bring in business. I became a member of Professional Organizers in Canada (POC) mainly for the reasons mentioned above, and although it was certainly worthwhile in both of these areas, my relationships with other members brought me far greater benefits than I could ever have imagined! Here are just a few examples:

I received referrals from members in other regions who received inquiries from prospective clients in my area.
I was hired by a member who specialized in home staging to organize her home office, and by a home organizer to help organize her email and computer files. Professional organizers don’t all have the same skills or offer the same services!
Several organizers offered me subcontracting opportunities on projects that were too large for one person to manage alone, or where they needed someone with expertise in office organization.
I was also able to bring in other organizers on my larger projects, or when I needed someone with expertise in home organization.
One member left the organizing field to pursue other interests. This led to my being interviewed for a local radio show as well as an article in our local newspaper, which directly brought in new business.

Those things didn’t just happen because I paid my membership fee and stuck a logo on my website! I was very active in the association, attending Chapter meetings regularly and even serving on the National Board as Director of Membership for three years. During that time, the organization grew from fewer than 100 members to over 500, so I got to know hundreds of members, even if our only contact was by email. Even though I haven’t been a professional organizer or a POC member for several years now, I attribute much of my business success to the knowledge I gained and the contacts I made during that time. If you’re new to the industry, I highly recommend you not only join, but actively participate in your professional association. If you are involved with your professional association, please leave a comment to let others know the benefits you’ve experienced! If you’ve decided professional association membership is not for you, please leave a comment to explain why.

Professional Organizers Blog Carnival for December 2011: 2011 Conference Highlights

Janet — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:59:37 +0000

In December, many of us take time to reflect on our activities over the past year. Since professional conferences often stand out as some of the best parts of the year, this month I invited my readers to share the highlights of the events which they attended. We’ll kick off this month’s Blog Carnival with posts about the Professional Organizers in Canada Conference, not because I attended myself, but because I want to welcome our newest participant, Linda Vanderkolk who blogged about Organizing For A Conference, and to congratulate our newest Star Blogger, Jane Veldhoven, who blogged about Key Areas of Your Business. The most blogged about conference was that put on by the Institute for Challenging Disorganization. Submissions included: Linda Samuels - Vibrancy & Success Ellen Delap - Institute for Challenging Disorganization and Motivational Interviewing Angela Esnouf - Why I flew half way around the world as well as Leslie Josel - The Power of Connection at Conference, whose post encompassed both the ICD and NAPO Conferences. Also blogging about the NAPO Conference were: Lelah Baker-Rabe - NAPO Conference Recap 2011 Julie Bestry - Rock Stars, Heartthrobs, Brainiacs and Organizing Innovators: NAPO 2011 In a Nutshell One participant chose to blog about another conference, not specific to the organizing industry: Tracy Hoth - SuccessPlus 2011 Event As always, I encourage you to read the above posts as you reminisce about the conference(s) you attended and learn what you missed at those you did not. Please leave a note to let us know what conferences you attended this year! This is the last Professional Organizers Blog Carnival for 2011, but we’ve got a full slate of new topics lined up for next year. Be sure to mark your calendar so you don’t miss a single one!

Meet Me in Montreal

Janet — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:51:16 +0000

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!

Using Facebook to Promote Your Organizing Business

Janet — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:09:20 +0000

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a seminar with social media business coach Mari Smith, as part of Social Media Success Summit 2010 (SMSS10). The timing was perfect, as it allowed me to learn about some of the latest developments on Facebook, and to include a few of Mari's tips in my presentation to the Halton-Peel Chapter of POC last night. Here are the highlights of my talk.

Facebook is the #1 social network and the 2^nd most popular website in the world, after Google. According to a study conducted in 2009, more than 50% of Canadians under age 45 and 30% of Canadians between 45 and 54 are on Facebook. The number of users has increased since then, and continues to grow on a daily basis. Mari referred to a study by eMarketer which revealed that 68% of US Facebook users are "more likely to buy on a positive Facebook friend referral." Therefore, it's becoming increasingly important to consider Facebook as one of your marketing strategies. There are basically three ways that you can have a presence on Facebook: personal profiles, business pages, and groups. Since you have to have a personal profile to participate on Facebook, we'll start there. Personal Profile One of the things that many people worry about is using their personal profile for business, but you can maximize your networking potential without sacrificing your privacy through the use of two features. The first step is to create a Friends List for your personal friends and family members. To do this, click on Friends on the left side of your home page. At the top of the page you'll see a button that says Create a List. Type in a name for this list and select the people who should be included in the list. When you're done, click on the Create List button at the bottom. People can be added to and removed from that list whenever you like. Next, go to your Privacy Settings. You'll find this under Account at the top right hand side of your screen. Now, you'll see a list of the various types of information on your profile. This is where you control who can see your Bio, Birthday, Interested In and Looking For statuses, Religious and Political Views, Photo Albums, Posts by You, Posts by Friends, as well as who can write on your Wall or comment on your Posts. Beside each one is a button with a picture of a lock on it. This is a dropdown menu. Click on it and choose Customize. Under Make Visible to... choose Specific People, then type in the name of the list you created in the previous step. This will prevent that type of information from being seen by anyone other than the people you've assigned to that group. It is a little bit of work to set up, but it's more effective than trying to manage multiple profiles (which is actually contrary to Facebook's Terms of Service) or figuring out how to handle it when you receive a friend request from a someone that you'd like to have in your network, but you don't necessarily want that person to see photos of your family vacation. Using your profile is a great way to keep your name in front of people you've met but aren't in regular contact with, whether it's past clients, prospective clients who haven't yet taken the step of doing business with you, people you've met at networking events, or others. Business Page In addition to your personal profile, you can take things up a notch by setting up a page for your business. There is value in opening up your personal profile to business contacts, but there are even more advantages to having a business page:

You are limited to 5000 friends, but you can have unlimited fans
You can send an update to all your fans but you can only send a message to 20 friends at one time
Pages are fully indexed by Google
Pages can be viewed by people who are not logged into Facebook
Pages can be customized to incorporate a special landing page, a sign-up box for your ezine

To set up your page, click on the Advertising link at the bottom of your screen, then click on Pages. There you'll find some information about creating and using your page as well as a Create a Page button. When you create a Facebook page, there are a few things that you will not be able to change later, so these should be chosen carefully. This includes:

The name of your page
The category – you should choose Brand, product, or organization rather than local business – this is more for bricks and mortar businesses who need to list location, hours of operation, parking, etc.
The primary administrator – you can have multiple administrators but the person who creates the page can never be removed as an admin, so it's probably best to do it through your own Facebook account, even if a VA or someone else is going to work on the page for you, because you'll never be able to take away their admin privileges

Once the page is set up, you can start adding content and applications to make it interesting for people so they will want to become fans. Once they are fans, things you add to your page will come up in their news feed. If you have a blog, you can use the Networked Blogs application to automatically import your new posts to both your personal profile and your business page. This will put a link to your posts in your friends' and fans' news feeds. It's a great way to add fresh content without having to log into your account. However, you should log in at least once a week to respond to comments, deal with friend requests, and comment on other people's posts. It is social networking after all, and not your own personal ad space. Stay away from the games and you shouldn't have to worry about it taking up too much of your time! Other popular applications include Videos, Discussions, and Reviews. There's even an application that will allow you to create customized pages, such as a Welcome Page, a newsletter sign-up box; really, the possibilities are nearly endless. Groups Because groups have been available longer than business pages, some people set up groups for their business as a way to communicate with their clients and others who might be interested in their area of expertise. Many of these businesses have now switched over to pages, because they are much more limited in what they can do.

Groups are not indexed on Google
Groups cannot be customized
Group activities don't come up on people's news feeds, so they tend to go unnoticed
Although groups can have unlimited members, once they exceed 5000, you can no longer send out blanket messages

Once you have your business page up and running, you should promote it on your website, your blog, your ezine, and anywhere else that makes sense, and of course you'll want to link your page back to your website and your blog. An integrated approach to online marketing will be most effective in helping you to achieve your goals. To learn more read Mari Smith's new book, Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day.

Learn About Organizing for Personality Types

Janet — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:48:14 +0000

Do your organizing systems work well for some clients, but not others? Organizing strategies are more likely to be effective when they take your client's personality type into account. You can therefore do your clients a great service by familiarizing yourself with the various personality types, the challenges they face in terms of organizing, and the solutions most likely to be helpful.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the most reputable personality assessments available. Based on the psychological theory of Carl Jung, it has been in use since 1942, and has been updated many times to keep up with changes in language and society. As a qualified MBTI consultant, I'm pleased to offer you a number of options for learning about this fascinating and important subject. If you live in Ontario, or will be visiting the area on Wednesday, March 24, you can catch my popular "Organizing Your Life, Your Way" presentation at the Southwestern Ontario Chapter meeting of Professional Organizers in Canada. Attendees will have the option of ordering my Organizing Your Life, Your Way e-book for a reduced price of $20.00 (including tax) instead of the regular price of $24.95 plus tax. For location and other details about this event, visit the POC website. If you're unable to attend, you can order a copy of my e-book right here.

If you're an auditory learner, you might appreciate a digital copy of a seminar I presented last year on The Power of Personality Type. Although the audience was virtual assistants rather than professional organizers, the principles of personality type are the same, and you're bound to find it informative. For $19.95, you will receive:

A 45-minute audio recording of the teleclass
A 28-page PDF of the accompanying PowerPoint presentation
7 pages of bonus notes, including Organizing Profiles for the 16 personality types and a reading resource list

This is the first time this presentation has been offered as a standalone product.

You can save $10.00 by ordering a bundle which includes the Organizing Your Life, Your Way e-book AND The Power of Personality Type!

Learning about personality type and the way it influences our relationship with time and space was one of the reasons I decided to become a professional organizer in the first place, and I'm sure you will find it fascinating too.

2010 Conference Schedule

Janet — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:19:43 +0000

Teleclasses, webinars, and live workshops take place throughout the year, but nothing can compare with a professional organizers conference. Spending entire days hearing expert speakers in the company of like-minded professionals is something you must experience, if at all possible, so grab your planner and decide which conference(s) you'll attend this year!

April 21 – 24, 2010 NAPO 2010 Annual Conference & Organizing Exposition Columbus, Ohio September 13 – 14, 2010 2010 Australasian Association of Professional Organisers (AAPO) Conference Christchurch, New Zealand September 23 – 25, 2010 NSGCD Fall 2010 Conference Austin, Texas October 1, 2010 Orvention 2010 Gelderland, The Netherlands Fall 2010 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference for Professional Organizers If you really like to plan ahead, mark these dates as well: April 6 - 9, 2011 NAPO 2011 Annual Conference San Diego, California March 21 – 24, 2012 NAPO 2012 Annual Conference Baltimore, Maryland List Planit posted some great tips this week about preparing to attend an out-of-town conference. Be sure to read right through to the end of the post, where you can download a free Conference ePlanner. I would love to go to all of these events so I can share the information with readers who aren't able to be there, but unfortunately, neither my schedule nor my budget will allow it. If you're attending a conference this year, and you'd like to be my eyes and ears in the field, please contact me about being a guest blogger. This list is not complete, but is all the information I was able to locate at this time. If you have details for this year's POC or POAA Conferences, or know of other events which should be listed here, please note them in the Comments section.

9th Annual POC Conference in Calgary

Janet — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:36:16 +0000

Over the last couple of months, we've heard about professional organizer conferences in Africa, Australia, Los Angeles and Washington DC, and today we wrap up this year's conference tour with the Professional Organizers in Canada Conference held in Calgary last month. It's only fitting that our guest blogger is Jacki Hollywood Brown, whom I first met at a POC Conference a few years ago.

For me, the annual POC Conference is three things: a place to network with colleagues, a place to learn new things and a vacation. I headed out to Calgary two days early. The hotel was fabulous with a gym, pool and water slide! Of course I took advantage of that as soon as I checked in. After travelling all day it was great to relax. Also, I don't often have the opportunity to take a vacation away from my family so yes, I DID take advantage of having time to myself. The day before conference I participated in POC's Trained Professional Organizer classes. All year long these classes are offered by POC via teleconference but it was nice to actually see the facilitator in person. The first official day of conference, the National Board was presented with white cowboy hats and they became honorary Calgarians. The conference committee pulled out all the stops making us feel welcome as they had the Calgary Stampede mascot running around "branding" people with a red inked stamp! The POC Chapter Executives seemed very enthused about this year's Leadership Forum. I didn't attend that session as I was a "mentor" in the First Timer's Forum. Seasoned conference attendees get introduced to POC's newest members and spend time answering their questions about the industry, the Association and the conference. I met some great people! The Vendor Expo took place all afternoon and there were some good vendors. Of course Taylor in Time products were there and I ended up buying "The Whole Enchilada" — all of the Taylor in Time products on a jump drive! That certainly made it easy to pack in my suitcase for the trip home. And as I said to Mr. Taylor, having that much information to go through will keep me out of trouble until next year! During the weekend I attended some great sessions. In the session on Canada's Privacy Legislation, I realized that I must update my privacy statement, delete a bunch of old client files on my computer, and shred a bunch of documents! The "Ask a Senior Organizer" Panel, chaired by Michelle Nichols. The senior organizers were Kristie Demke and Jane Woolsey. It was interesting hearing their perspectives on corporate organizing. They also described the training they felt was the most valuable for them and the marketing techniques which they felt worked best for their businesses. One of the sessions that I found interesting was a presentation by a CLIENT of an organizer. She shared the perspective of how clients felt when they have an organizer going through their stuff. While both of the keynote speakers were super, the one that stood out for me was Chris Flett who spoke about "What men don't tell women about business". He spoke about how women sabotage themselves in business and how they can re-work their presentation style to better communicate with men. What I loved most about conference was seeing people I hadn't seen in a year and learning about their businesses and what they were working on. It always reminds me that there is no ONE business model but as many different types as there are organizers. The learning portion of conference is great and I always come away with my brain full of new ideas but networking with my colleagues always fills my heart with joy and my soul with inspiration. The secret great part about conference? I got to go to Spruce Meadows, a world class show jumping facility. It has been on my list of places to visit since I was twelve. I took some pictures of the organizational tools they use to keep their operations running smoothly and hopefully I can use those ideas for my own equestrian clients! Jacki Hollywood Brown, the founder of J-organize, specializes in home organizing, office organizing and equestrian organizing.

Live Seminar in Toronto: Maximizing Your Internet Marketing

Janet — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:45:40 +0000

Internet Marketing is one of the most important tools in your business arsenal. Not only does it cost less than advertising in print and broadcast media, its interactive nature allows you to build relationships with clients and prospects without the need for time-consuming telephone or face-to-face meetings. Internet marketing is much more than just putting up a website! Your Internet marketing plan may include search engine optimization, email marketing, blogging, social networking, and other strategies.

There are lots of resources available to help you understand various aspects of online marketing, including this blog, but did you ever think it would be helpful to have that information neatly packaged into a 90-minute seminar? Do you prefer learning in a live group setting, rather than participating in a webinar or teleclass? Have I got news for you! I am really excited to announce that I've been invited to be the guest speaker at the POC Toronto Chapter meeting this month, where I'll be sharing some of my best Internet marketing tips to help you decide the best ways to market your organizing business. The meeting is being held upstairs at Loblaws - Forest Hill Market, which offers free parking and is right across from the St. Clair West subway station. Come at 6:00 for networking and refreshments; the seminar itself will start around 7:00, and there will be plenty of time allowed to ask questions after my formal presentation. There is no charge to members of Professional Organizers in Canada to attend, and guests pay only $15.00 at the door. I hope you will try to make it if you can, as it's such a great value, and I'd love to meet as many of my blog readers as possible! I'm especially looking forward to reconnecting with POC members that I haven't seen since I last went to Conference, in 2006.

Registration for the 9th Annual POC Conference is Now Open!

Janet — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:00:10 +0000

Did the NAPO Conference this spring leave you thirsting for more? Maybe you weren't able to make it because the timing or location didn't work for you. Or maybe you've never been to a conference and are a little intimidated about such a large gathering of professional organizers. If any of these apply to you, grab your calendar and block off November 6 to 8, 2009 - it's time for you to go to Calgary!

It's true! Professional Organizers in Canada (POC) are holding this year's conference in Calgary, Alberta. I've never been to Calgary myself, but I know many people who live there, including several who relocated there from Ontario, so I'm sure it's a great place. Of course, visiting a new city is not the main purpose of attending a conference. As Elaine Shannon explained in her guest post, The ROI of Attending a Conference, there are four great reasons to go:

To network with peers
To further your education
To make business connections
To learn about new products and services

With its Vendor Expo, gala dinner, and educational sessions for all levels of professional organizers, the POC Conference offers unique opportunities in all of these areas. The group size, while still large enough to allow for plenty of networking, is much smaller than the NAPO Conference, so it should be a little less overwhelming for first-timers. I've attended five POC Conferences and each and every one was an amazing experience in terms of fun as well as learning activities. This year's keynote speakers include Chris Flett on What Men Don't Tell Women about Business and Les Hewitt on The Power of Focus. Many of the session presenters are well known experts, some of whom have previously appeared on this blog, such as Wendy Davie, Janice Russell, and Christa Wagner of A Red Bench. For additional details, you can download a conference program. Be sure to register by October 2 to take advantage of the reduced early bird registration fee. Discounts are also available from Air Canada, WestJet, American Airlines, Budget Rent-a-Car, and the Sheraton Calgary Eau Claire Suites where the conference is being held.

2009 Harold Taylor Nominees

Janet — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:23:52 +0000

Professional Organizers in Canada (POC) recently announced the nominees for this year's Harold Taylor Award, which was created in 2001 to recognize outstanding individual contribution, guidance and direction to the organizing profession and the association.

Every year, POC members are invited to nominate the member whom they feel best exemplifies the mission of POC, and who by their actions has made a significant contribution to the field of organizing. The nominations are reviewed by a volunteer committee who then selects the winner. Past recipients are Harold Taylor, Margaret Miller, Karen Sencich & Laurene Livesey-Park, Hellen Buttigieg, Estelle Gee (pictured above), Morva Bowman, Debra Milne, and Donna Campbell. Having known every one of these individuals, I can testify as to the level of hard work and dedication that a member must put forth to receive this honor. I'm not familiar with all of this year's nominees, but I do know most of them, and I can see that the selection committee members will have their work cut out for them! Please join me in congratulating Carolyn Caldwell, Kerri Lewin, Linda Chu, Michelle Nichols, Kristie Demke, Colette Robichaud, Alex Fayle, Alexandra Ross, Joel-Marc Golberg, Christa Wagner, Steve Ilott, Jane Woolsey, and Soraiya Kara. The winner will be announced and the award presented at the POC Annual Conference Gala Dinner in Calgary this November.