Organized Assistant » travel

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.

Professional Organizers Blog Carnival – July 2009 Edition

Janet — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:54:57 +0000

Welcome to this month's issue of the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival, a monthly collection of blog posts submitted by some of the organizing consultants who enjoy reading Your Organizing Business. Please visit their blogs, read their posts, and leave a comment or two. It's an awesome way to learn something new and grow your network at the same time! Beginning this month, each contributor's name is linked to her (or his) Twitter profile, so you can get connected that way too!

Here's this month's line-up: Anne Blumer shares a powerful video about Communicating Your Value to your clients, rather than focusing on your price. Tammy Burke offers some additional marketing strategies in her post Do Organizers Market Systematically? Tammy says, "Using a system for marketing is crucial to business success. It's not only important to know what and when you are going to market, it's also important to know that you are attracting exactly what you want. By following this 5-step plan, you'll feel more confident about your marketing efforts." In Where do I begin? How to set goals that matter, Margaret Lukens reminds us that whether you're helping an organizing client or building your own business, the pieces go together faster when we keep the goal in view. Julie Bestry is back this month with A Culinary Model for Successful Mobile Offices, and to prepare the car for that mobile office, Geralin Thomas shares some tips to get rid of the Junk in the trunk. I'm sending out a special welcome to our first contributor from New Zealand, Wendy Davie who offers advice on how to cope When it all gets too much! and Angela Esnouf, our first contributor from Australia, who brings us 21 Ways to Get Organised in Just 5 Minutes. Angela hopes you'll enjoy not only the content of her post, but also the fun layout, and that it will motivate you and your clients alike. Wrapping up this month's carnival is Jodi Granok with some Weight Loss Tips You May Not Know About. Thanks for visiting the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival! We'll do it again next month, so don't forget to get involved by submitting your post. Be sure to come back on August 10^th for the next edition.

Professional Organizers Blog Carnival – June 2009 Edition

Janet — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:28:38 +0000

Welcome to the first issue of the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival, a monthly collection of blog posts submitted by some of the organizing consultants who enjoy reading Your Organizing Business. Please visit their blogs, read their posts, and leave a comment or two. It's an awesome way to learn something new and grow your network at the same time!

One of my favorite organizing topics is Technology, so I was very interested in Krista Colvin's review of the ScanSnap scanner. Krista says that it's "easy to take with you when you go see clients," and you can read all about it in ScanSnap me Baby! Also in the Technology category, Lauren Halagarda has posted some great instructional videos that will benefit anyone who answers "yes" to the question Got PC Clutter? She tells us that "While the post is from 8/08, I still find it quite relevant. I find most of my clients don't use a search engine or even really understand its value. This gives them the opportunity to read about them and see them in action." Amy Tokos notes that "It is travel season for families. Here are a few tips to help with the packing and planning. Enjoy!" Read Amy's advice in Organized Packing for a Family Vacation. If your clients' travel plans (or your own) involve a road trip, be sure to check out Julie Bestry's trunkload of resources for Organizing Your Car Maintenance Records. Lelah Baker-Rabe shares tips on another theme that's especially important this time of year, Preparing for an emergency. On a related note, Jodi Granok provides some valuable Emergency Information Resources. Before closing, we'll take a look at time management, as Janice Russell explains the benefits of timing activities in hosed in three minutes. Alex Fayle says that "While often people suggest focusing on only a few tasks is the best way to get things done, I do much better working on a lot of projects a little at a time." Learn more about his strategy in Productivity Marathons: Dealing with Too Long To-Do Lists. That wraps up this month's Professional Organizers Blog Carnival; I hope you enjoyed it! We'll do it again next month, so don't forget to submit your post and join the party! Be sure to come back on July 10^th for the next edition.