Business At A Glance
Startup Costs: Under $2,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Online Operation? No
Business Overview
If you’re a neat-a-holic, then this could be the business for you. As apersonal organizer, you’ll bust clutter in your clients’ homes, neatlyarranging kitchens, closets, file drawers, garages and attics, andteaching them to keep things tidy for easier, less stressful lives.
Most personal organizers take on tasks in the corporate world as well,straightening out executive messes–you can wear this hat if you likeor stick to home work.
The advantages to this business are that you canstart part-time on a shoestring, it’s creative and gives you the chanceto peek into lots of people’s lives, and if you’re a natural neatnikyou get the satisfaction of helping others become one, too.
You’ll needa healthy dose of organizational ability, which you must be able toapply to other people’s homes and situations. You’ll also need to be anorganization-oriented shopper, with a keen knowledge of what homefurnishings and accessories are in the marketplace so you can makerecommendations.
You should have good people skills because you’ll beworking with clients in their most intimate surroundings. You’ll needto make suggestions in a tactful manner and deal with junk that mightbest be tossed.
The Market
Your clients can be homeowners and apartment dwellers who are tired ofliving with clutter and losing time looking for things that should beunder their noses. Your best bets for attracting clients are placingads in your local paper and writing articles for local publications.
Give talks to women’s groups, place ads offering discounts in couponmailers, and donate a free makeover to a local charity in exchange forpublicity.
Needed Equipment
All you really need to get started is that creatively organized brainand a planning book, although as you grow you’ll want to invest in acomputer, a printer, a fax machine and all the usual software.