There have been a number of exciting changes since last year when I blogged about The Comprehensive Training Program for Professional Organizers! I’ve known about the changes for several weeks, but was waiting for a few details before I could share them with you.

There is a ton of information online, including this blog, to help you start or grow a professional organizing business, but spending time researching various topics and sifting through all the search results can be very time-consuming. Even if you have lots of time on your hands, if you don’t know that you need to learn about a particular subject, how can you even begin to explore it?

A reader sent me the following question: There are a decent number of people in my town with good income, but the majority are low income, and I am concerned with getting paid. How do you go about getting a deposit up front? Is there some way to ensure that you get paid for your services?

One of the hardest decisions you have to make as a professional organizer is how much to charge for your services. The biggest mistake you can make is to base your hourly rate on what you earned in your last job. After all, as an employee, you were paid for every hour you worked, you weren’t responsible for covering such expenses as your office furniture or computer, and your employer may have borne the costs of training and health benefits. Furthermore, it wasn’t up to you to pay for business cards or other marketing materials!
