My guest today is Sabrina Quairoli of Sabrina’s Organizing and Admin Services, who provides virtual administrative support to small business owners in the United States and is one of our Megastar Bloggers.

Sabrina, what services do you offer?

My areas of expertise are online marketing (social media marketing and PPC advertising), website help and maintenance, bookkeeping (bank account management in QuickBooks Desktop and Online, Accounts Payable, and Accounts Receivable), and virtual consultation services.

What is your specialty?

I specialize in small business administrative tasks. I’ve been helping small business owners for over 25 years and love supporting them. They are the unsung heroes of our world. They hire people and are so brave. I love helping them to get to where they want to be in their businesses.

What other services or products do you offer?

In Eastern Pennsylvania, US where I live, I also support small business owners with local services, like Procedure Evaluations and Refinement Services and office organizing consultations.

Do you offer any products or services for other organizers?

Absolutely! I love to help other organizers with their bookkeeping, social media marketing and PPC advertising tasks. These services take these tasks off their hands and give them more time to generate new clients and work with existing clients.

How did you come up with your business name?

My name is pretty straight forward. You see, I started doing home organizing consultations and called my business, Sabrina’s Organizing. Then, when I expanded my business to support small businesses, I was still doing the home organizing services. So, I added on “Admin Services” to my existing name. Everyone knew me as Sabrina’s Organizing so adding on the Admin Services completed the picture of what I did for a living.

How has your business changed since you first started out?

I started in the home organizing services with consultations and hands-on organizing help. My business evolved when my dad and mom passed away, and I found myself handling their small businesses. I realized that small business owners love to do things on their own and can get very bogged down on all the administrative tasks, which usually they don’t like to do. They didn’t realize doing something they loved also meant doing something they hate. And, fortunately for me, the tasks they didn’t like to do was administrative. I then took on some of mom’s bookkeeping clients and started working with marketing agencies to help them with their clients. And, as they say, the rest is history.

At what moment did you consider yourself successful?

That is an interesting question. I guess I realized I was successful when I started being known as the go-to person to help them organize their processes and figure out solutions to their business issues. Supporting other businesses is my passion, and I love to help as much as I can.

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

I would make my business plan more specific and do more research (searching for the right keywords online) to describe what my business would offer others. Not just the basic stuff like, who I am marketing to and what I am selling. I would also add things like how I can engage others to move forward in their own lives and businesses.

When I started, I did some research and then started doing it. I didn’t think of where I wanted the business to go or evolve into in the future, which would have given me direction and a goal to shoot for.

What’s the biggest challenge you currently face in your business?

My biggest challenge right now is getting my administrative support business services out, so others know about me. I recently reduced work with a client and have room for more clients but haven’t found a great place to share my services.

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

I’m surprised at how much time flies when I enjoy what I do. A lot of people work for the weekends off. I love to work because I love giving back to others. So, if I have to work on weekends or in the evening, I usually don’t mind. I do find that I need to limit myself when I’m tired and need to stop.

How do you approach a new organizing project?

I am very detail-oriented and I break things down into easy step-by-step tasks. Each organizing process starts with me breaking down the tasks into manageable ones. I like to ask myself, “what is next?” when writing down each task to guide me. I then create a task to-do list in Microsoft OneNote to share with others or have it with me when I’m out and about.

What’s your favorite organizing product?

My favorite organizing product is the Microsoft OneNote app. It came free with my Microsoft Office package, and I use it for everything. It not only allows me to share with others, but it also allows me to create different client binders and store important information from clients without having to print things out.

What professional associations or other organizations do you belong to?

I’m a long-time member of NAPO (National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals), IVAA (International Virtual Assistants Association), and AIPB (American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers).

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

When I’m not working, I love to hike on various trails in the area. I also like to ride my bike and walk my dog. I am a nature girl and love to be outside moving when I’m not supporting my clients. All these things relax me after a day of work.

What impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on your business?

It is an unprecedented time, and this pandemic impacted about 30% of my monthly income. So I reduced my overhead costs to help reduce the loss.

Many professional organizers are struggling right now because they’re unable to work with clients in person. Do you have any advice to help them get through this, and to help them hit the ground running when the world opens up again?

My advice to Professional Organizers is to revisit, modify, and connect!

First, reduce costs and update tasks you haven’t done in a while. Revisit your expenses to see if there are any you can reduce or eliminate. Update tasks you left behind, like reconciling your credit card accounts and your bank statements.

Second, make sure to visit your “Services” and “About Us” pages on your website. New Professional Organizers are continually modifying their services and need to keep their website updated to current business policies. Janet has excellent posts that will guide you through these tasks. On my blog, I also share 10 important areas to visit when auditing your business blog.

Now, start blogging! Pick a few of your favorite services and blog about them. It makes it more fun when you love to write about what you enjoy organizing. That’s how I started. Doing these tasks and blogging at least once a week will show improvements on your site. Google bots love to see improvements on a website!

And, share your services to new prospects. Make it a habit to share daily on social media. If you need inspiration, on my small business blog, I shared 30 engaging Professional Organizing Industry social media post ideas.

Lastly, stay connected with your clients, communicate via email, giving them the next steps on what they can do at home while you’re not there. You can even call them or see them on Zoom and discuss frustrations and anxieties they are dealing with. It could be a new service for you.

Hopefully, when your area starts up again, you will be ahead of the game.

Thanks so much for sharing your story and your insights! What else should we know about you?

I have two great college-age kids, a dog, and a wonderful husband who support me always. I love to laugh and to share the things that make me laugh. I love to take nature photos, especially sunsets, rivers, streams, and waterfalls.

Who’s next?

If you’d like to be interviewed for Your Organizing Business, simply fill out the questionnaire.