My first interview of the year is with Lisa Griffith of Griffith Productivity Solutions. Lisa has been offering productivity coaching and consulting as well as business and home office organizing in the greater metro Providence, RI area and southeastern Massachusetts since 2008. She also works virtually with people anywhere. As one of our Productivity & Organizing Blog Carnival Superstar Bloggers, I’m pleased to feature her here today.

Lisa, you’ve been in business quite a while! How has your business changed since you first started out?

I began doing solely residential organizing and some student organizing (my previous career was teaching). However, after a few years, I realized the work that interested me most was organizing offices, paperwork, and digital stuff. That led quite naturally to time management and productivity coaching and consulting. I limit my business these days to working with professional folks in their work spaces – home or business.

What other services or products do you offer?

I do a substantial amount of speaking to corporate, academic and community organizations, as well as training in business settings.

How do you approach a new organizing project?

I start with a very thorough discovery call so that I can clearly identify what the issues are. The first session, whether virtual or on-site, involves finding out what my client’s goals are, what their strengths are, what’s working and what’s not. Then we create an action plan. It’s not an elaborate plan – just sketches out what areas we need to tackle and what the most urgent area/issue is to begin with, especially when it comes to productivity coaching. Learning about my client’s strengths, learning style, and expectations happens early on, but reveals itself even more as time goes on and our work progresses.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve discovered about running an organizing business?

Marketing. Ugh. Especially social media. Before starting my own business, I had no idea how much time and energy would be consumed by that! My previous career was teaching, and someone else gave me my paycheck and did the “marketing”, so it was all very new to me.

At what moment did you consider yourself successful?

Two moments – after my third year in business, my income exceeded my expenses! After about my fifth year in business, I was also invited to speak at a local university and a prominent women’s conference. I had not sought them out – they had found me. That to me meant that I was finally becoming recognized as an expert in my field.

What is the biggest challenge you currently face in your business?

Time management. It’s challenging to make sure I’m not just keeping track of all of my clients’ needs, but making sure I’m working ON my business as well as IN my business. Ongoing professional development is also a priority for me – I’m currently working on becoming certified in the Coach Approach method – and I need to make sure I set aside time to prioritize that work. I also enjoy the challenge of learning new things, and working on expanding my knowledge and horizons, so in addition to working on becoming a better coach, I am finishing up an ebook and working on developing an online course. Figuring out how it all fits in is the biggest challenge for me!

How did you come up with your business name?

When I started my business 17 years ago, I was brainstorming names with my family, and one of my daughters said, “Mom – you should call your business The Organized Way, because that’s what you always say to us. ‘If you’re going to do it, do it the organized way?'” Later on, when I rebranded to reflect my productivity work, I wanted a name unique to me and wanted to use my own name. Griffith, productivity, etc. I alighted on Griffith Productivity Solutions because the initials were GPS – and I felt that supported what I offer my clients – a guidance system to help them out of chaos and disorder.

What would you do differently if you were starting your business today?

I would have hired a business coach much earlier on. When I finally did so in my third year of business, I learned so much about how to run a successful business I regretted not doing it sooner!

What’s your favorite organizing product? Why?

I always like to say that my favorite organizing TOOL is my brain! But I’m also a fan of the Levenger Circa planners, because they can be customized to a person’s needs. Digitally, I’m a huge fan of keeping things simple, so my Google Workspace tools – especially tasks, calendar and scheduling – are my favorite.

What professional associations or other organizations do you belong to?

NAPO, NAPO-New England, and the Central RI Chamber of Commerce

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

I enjoy spending time with my family, especially my grandchildren. I’m a Pilates convert – I’ve found joy in strengthening my body as I get older. To keep my brain strong, I sing with a rather challenging church choir (have always been a musician and this is an ongoing joy), and volunteer at my church in a few capacities.

What else should we know about you?

After raising two children and putting other peoples’ needs ahead of my own for most of my adult life, I’ve really enjoyed deepening friendships with several women of varying ages, prioritizing those connections for the first time in a very long time!

Thank you, Lisa, for sharing your story with my readers and followers!

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