Get Rich Organizing: The Professional Organizer Survival Guide to Launch, Manage, and Grow a Profitable Business Order your signed copy now ! Listen to my book interview with Susan Creal www.freeconferencecall.com Login: access code 220447 phone 6054754875 subscriber pin 401106

I just completed a three-day training program and launched three new professional organizers. Meet (from left to right) Tonya, Sharon, and Tami. I love, love, love to train new organizers!! See Sharon, Tonya and Tami in action at their client practicum . If you are interested in becoming a Professional Organizer or know of someone who would be a great Professional Organizer we have another seminar in November. Or if you prefer distance learning we are starting our webinar series in September. My book, Get Rich Organizing: The Professional Organizer Survival Guide to Launch, Manage, and Grow a Profitable Business is now available. Order your copy now !

If you have attended my Professional Organizer Training and Education Program webinar or seminar you know the underlying message I repeat over and over is the importance and impact of communicating your value to your client. I came across this video of Don Hutson on the subject of selling your value. It reiterates what I say and more. Bottom line, if you clearly communicate your value, your client will pay your price. Your client's perceived value of your service must be equal to or greater than your price. For example here is what a client of mine said after working with me, "It’s amazing; my desk is no longer a catchall. Nobody touches this space except me now—before I was the only one who didn’t use this space. I can find any piece of paper I am looking for and I know where to file paper when I receive it. I am so appreciative of Anne, I can’t say that enough. She coached me through the entire process. I feel so much calmer now that I can make decisions and manage...

NAPO Presentation from todd v on Vimeo . If you have been wondering whether or not you need to obtain liability insurance for your professional organizing business, this video will answer that question and why. It's a must see and hear for anyone engaged in the professional organizer business or considering it as a business.

I came across the "Elephant's Walk" story [not sure where now] and I think it sums up the difference between advertising, marketing, public relations: "If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus coming to the Fairground Saturday,” that’s advertising . If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk him into town, that’s promotion . If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flowerbed, that’s publicity . If you can get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations . And if you actually planned the elephant’s walk, that’s marketing ." Want to learn how to market your professional organizing business and more? Here's how .

Rich Brooks was a speaker at the NAPO 2009 conference. He shares his thoughts and marketing tips for organizing professionals: I thought a lot about some of the unique challenges professional organizers face, and so here's my list of 10 things professional organizers can do to better market themselves. 1. Get listed in local search. Your business is local. That should drive a lot of your marketing choices. Improve your visibility in local search by visiting GetListed.org, which will walk you through the process of getting listed in the four most important engines for local search. 2. Don't use an AOL, Yahoo, Cox.net, Comcast or even Gmail address on your business card (or anywhere else.) It reeks of amateurism, and you're no amateurs. You're professional organizers, and your email address should be promoting your brand, not AOL's. 3. Where are you? Your business is local. Include your address on your business card. On the 100 or so business cards I got ...

Question: Hi Anne- I just picked up a new customer-someone in my networking group. She has already told me that her house is very bad. And others in the group, when they found out she hired me, rolled their eyes and said, "Good luck!". I'm afraid she is most likely a chronically disorganized and maybe a hoarder. Her plan is to sell her house, but right now she's looking to rent somewhere and weed through the stuff in the empty house. She'll probably make a mess in the new place too. I'm a little nervous about this; I have an appointment on Monday. She seems willing to purge and wants to change and get rid of stuff; I guess I'm a little anxious that if she DOES have a problem, it may be more than I can handle. I've already told myself not to feel bad if we only get so far; it won't be my fault if we take a step forward and 2 back, right? Any wise advice from a seasoned pro? Answer: My initial reaction is to say, “no” because you don’t have the ...