cash, stock options and or real estate !
Really, this would be a job I would love to help people with. I have only received pay once...and that was from my sister!!
The satisfying feeling of order is what drives me to dig through piles of junk. When I was still a teenager, I even sent away for information from the National Association of Professional Organizers. Well, college got in the way and I earned a degree in finance.
Now, I'm a stay at home mom with a finance degree with time on my hands to help others declutter and organize. Has anyone ever hired one? How much did they charge?
I really think this would be a flexible and fun way to earn some cash. Any ideas on how to promote such a thing? What would you pay someone to help you clean up and organize a room?
Will Declutter for...
June 26th, 2008 at 06:34 pm
June 26th, 2008 at 06:46 pm 1214506017
June 26th, 2008 at 06:47 pm 1214506048
June 26th, 2008 at 07:11 pm 1214507499
June 26th, 2008 at 08:08 pm 1214510880
If I were you I'd charge between 10-20 dollars and hour at the minimum, but I don't know what the going rate is. Just don't undervalue your own time...you're providing a service that will transform people's lives :-)
June 26th, 2008 at 08:20 pm 1214511633
Sounds like it would be similar to interior decorating... and people pay for that. I have no idea how much you could charge, but maybe a flat fee for each "project" instead of hourly?
Also - maybe there's some inspiration in that TV show about decluttering? The name slips my mind, but they go in and really help people clean everything out, decide what stays and goes, and then organize what does stay. Good luck if you do it!
June 26th, 2008 at 08:20 pm 1214511655
Sometimes I just offer to come back every few months to help them move stuff around and shred papers and so on. It can be the same for spring cleaning for them as they cannot reach the dusty refrigerator top or window treatment. But I do admit I have done most of the above as favors as most people on disabilities are on a limited income.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:24 am 1214526281
Members of our industry come from a wide variety of fields: corporate America, finance, elementary education, law, engineering, mommyhood and daddyhood and more. (For example, I was a television executive, which especially helps me to coach clients on paper organizing and time management.) The key, however, isn't solely an ability to organize, per se, but to transfer skills to and create systems for the client. After all, they need to know how to maintain the organization after you are involved in their lives. :-)
It is not necessary to live in a high socioeconomic area (though, as with any service profession, it helps), and though the recession is tough on solopreneurs, someone willing to invest time and effort into running a business (rather than having a hobby) should find this a rewarding career. Indeed, given that judiciously organizing a client will help them save money in the long run, once people understand exactly what services are available, they come from many different socioeconomic strata. It's much harder to run a business in a rural area or an severely economically depressed one, but you need not live/work in a wealthy community.
As for DisneySteve's comment, I understand why one might think as he does, but NAPO includes 4000+ North American professional organizers, and there are many others in Professional Organizers of Canada and in organizations worldwide. We work with clients with a wide range of organizing issues, everything from hoarding and chronic disorganization to decluttering closets to organizing households to deal with major change issues like new babies, blended families or caregiving for an elderly relative. We also work with clients with specialized needs or in special populations (seniors, students, ADD/ADHD, traumatic brain injury); professional organizers may be generalists, or specialize in one particular field. I work with residential clients and home-based or small businesses, but I have colleagues who only do time management coaching for executives, or paper management organizing for non-profits...niches are manifold.
Just as one would hire a certified financial planner, a fitness coach, and ADD coach or any of a wide variety of professionals to help you evaluate your obstacles, teach you the right skills, help you develop the right systems and provide you with motivation and accountability to reach your goals, one would hire a professional organizer. I should note, however, given your comment about rates to "organize and clean" a room, two things. First, organizing and cleaning are two very different fields. Organizing depends on customizing systems for a client's intellectual and emotional (and other) needs; cleaning is obviously a valid and important profession, but it is unrelated to professional organizing. A house or office cleaner goes in and does the work FOR the client; a professional organizer works with the client, in an active as well as coaching capacity, side-by-side.
Finally, if you have a finance degree, you might want to check out a related field, that of Daily Money Managers or DMMs. These people are often also professional organizers who specialize in finance, helping elderly clients (as well as those with household staffs, or ADD/ADHD, or traumatic brain injury, or just too much life activity) to organize and handle their finances. If that might appeal to you, check out [url]www.aadmm.com[/url. Given technology, more and more DMMs are working virtually, so that might be helpful, given your at-home status. Your finance background might also serve you well if you chose to organize for small (or large) businesses.
Wow, sorry to take up so much comment space. :-) Good luck!