Professional Organizers in Canada Conference goes Virtual

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virtual conference

Professional Organizers in Canada went virtual for our annual conference this year with the theme The Power of Professional Organizing. We are usually together for 2½ days, but this year’s one-day event gave us the opportunity to network, meditate, attend five sessions, and a trade show.

The entertainment lead, Clare Cluff organized an opportunity to chat with Organizers from England, across Canada and the United States. In addition, she arranged for Billi-Lynn, spiritual therapist and meditation teacher from Gaia Wellness Retreat, to lead us through yoga and a meditation after our lunch break.

Presentations

The program lead, Georgina Forrest planned a diverse program to satisfy productivity specialists, organizers and coaches.

Jan Lehman is the CEO of CTC Productivity and a productivity expert. Her superpower is her ability to understand business issues and clearly communicate how to leverage technology to solve them. In her session, Maintaining Productivity in a Virtual World, she taught us how to maintain team engagement and maximize productivity by communicating and collaborating effectively. She also shared ideas on how to fully leverage the benefits of the Microsoft 365 Suite of tools to help us be more agile in this ever-changing world.

Barry Gordon, CEO and Partner at Gordon’s Downsizing and Estate Services and founder of MaxSold, spoke about Selling Safety: Adapting to the Changes and Trends in the Post-COVID Marketplace. COVID-19 has changed the way many of us do business. People still need help, but there is a whole new set of questions and concerns before they hire an organizer to help. He helped us to learn how to adapt our business to the new normal.

Caroline Rogers, founder of Room to Think in London, England, is a member of the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers. Her topic was What can Professional Organizers Learn from Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology. We learned the benefit of exploring personal character strengths and virtues to help us to be better Professional Organizers and how we can use positive psychology in supporting our clients’ goal setting and motivation.

Michelle Tresemer from Group Marketing Method coaches small businesses through the complex world of digital marketing tools, tactics, and strategies. In her session, Pivot to Digital: Growing Your Presence Online, she talked about how we can use each tool in our digital tool box and gave us some ideas on what we can do now to move our business forward.

Lauren Mang is the owner of Let Me Organize It LLC. She focuses on holistic organization and helps clients discover the FUN in the fundamentals of organizing. Laurie’s topic was Managing Difficult Clients with Clear Boundaries. Using case studies, she helped us to learn how to deal with difficult clients in a kind but firm manner. We talked about identifying, setting, and maintaining clear boundaries.

Thanks to all the presenters for their time and thought-provoking sessions.

Trade Show

Sponsor/Exhibitor Lead, Crystal de Nobrega, set up a trade show with the following sponsors:

  • MaxSold
  • A-Z Organizing
  • PFU, a Fujitsu company
  • Transition Squad
  • Transition Realty
  • TraumaCare Cleaning Services

Thanks to all the participants and sponsors, and to Communications Lead, Debbie White, for keeping us informed.

Tips for Attending a Virtual Conference

Virtual conferences are fun and educational, but they’re not easy to attend.

Make sure to get outside before the conference starts. If possible, change your location for watching each session. I was in my office, outside on the porch and used a treadmill desk.

If breaks are offered between sessions, get up and move around, go outside, get off the computer/screen, or stretch.

Use the conference time to wholly focus on your learning and business so you can serve your clients better.

Professional Organizing in Canada will be having another virtual conference in 2021. Join us!

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Photo by AllaSerebrina / DepositPhotos

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Julie Stobbe

Julie Stobbe is the owner of Mind over Clutter in Beamsville, Ontario, Canada. She is a Silver Leaf member of Professional Organizers of Canada and POC Trained Professional Organizer, has earned the Level 1 certificate in Chronic Disorganization from the Institute for Challenging Disorganization, and a Competent Communicator certificate from Toastmasters. She has served POC as Secretary of the Halton-Peel Chapter, Membership Coordinator and Treasurer for the Cyber Chapter, Chairperson for the POC Niagara Networking Group, Chairperson of the National Education Committee and a member of the National Conference Committee.

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7 Comments

  1. Avatar Seana Turner on November 25, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    I’m glad that POC was able to shift and go virtual. I know we had a great time at NERCPO, so it is possible. Taking a break is critical, and is having some fun. Thanks to Julie for this summary:)

    • Avatar Janet Barclay on November 26, 2020 at 12:44 pm

      I’m so glad to see so many organizations and individuals finding alternative ways to connect. I can’t imagine this year without the technology we have today.

  2. Avatar Diane N Quintana on November 30, 2020 at 9:29 am

    Very interesting review of the conference. I will plan to attend next year – Thank you!

  3. Linda Samuels Linda Samuels on November 30, 2020 at 10:23 am

    I’ve had the pleasure of attending several POC conferences over the years. I am always impressed by the quality of the presenters and the warmth of the POC members. I remember attending a POC session you presented, Janet, about blogging. You always teach me something new.

    • Avatar Janet Barclay on December 3, 2020 at 6:37 am

      It was so nice having you there, Linda, and meeting you face-to-face for the second time. I hope there will be a third time some day!

  4. Avatar Sabrina Quairoli on November 30, 2020 at 10:31 am

    It sounds like a well-rounded conference. It’s lovely to hear about what other conferences do in our industry. Thank you for sharing.

  5. Avatar Adrian on December 16, 2020 at 6:59 am

    Wow, thank for sharing this post!

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