A Professional Organizer that specializes in helping small businesses is an overlooked resource for growing your company.
When you hear the term “Professional Organizer,” you may have a mental image of neatly arranged closets in a beautiful subdivision home. However professional organizers are a diverse group that provides more services than just cleaning up the clutter in residential dwellings.
All small business owners know the pain of trying to improve their operations while meeting the demands of customer expectations. Consequently, they become caught in a cycle where working ON the business takes a back seat to working IN the business. Being able to work on your business is a vital part of growth. This is where a professional organizer can undoubtedly help.
Professional Organizers help take your business from its current state to what you imagine it can become.
Some of the services they provide include:
- Organizing processes like receiving & shipping.
- Creating systems for ordering
- Developing procedure manuals for critical activities
- Streamlining internal communications
- Helping to implement LEAN processes in your organization
- Data or paper-file organization systems
- Improving bookkeeping systems
- Accounts payable & accounts receivable improvements.
- Inventory management improvements
- Physical Inventory organization systems
- Service department improvements
- Area design and de-cluttering
- Time Management for you and your employees
- And many more…
How a Professional Organizer works
A professional organizer’s job is to help you clarify what you want to accomplish. They Help you develop and implement a plan to get from your current state to your desired improved state. Professional organizers will never tell you to make a particular change. On the contrary, they will help you see logical options for improvement and then assist with developing systems to implement the action you choose.
The critical point is they are acting on your wants and goals, not their own. Professional organizers work as a counselor, an advisor, a teacher, a consultant, and an accountability partner.
They work to help you create a roadmap to reach your goals. Additionally, they are helping you find systems that work for you. Ultimately, being organized is having strategies to follow that make you more productive and save you time. It is the foundation on which to build a better business.
This doesn’t mean that they won’t roll their sleeves up and get to work if you want them to. Read on…
Tool of the business focused Professional Organizer
- Needs assessments
- Workflow analysis
- Root cause analysis
- Developing standardized work procedures
- Developing organizational systems
- Developing implementation plans
- Plans for maintaining any improvements
- Continuous improvement programs
- And many others…
Do Professional Organizers physically clean things up?
Yes, most will do that. However, it ultimately is up to you how much you want their direct involvement with the physical work to be done.
For example, it may be cost-effective for your professional organizer to personally help you sort your data into categories. They may create file systems and organize them in a way that you understand. Imagine how much time you will save if you intuitively know where to look for the information you need and moreover find it quickly.
On the other hand, it may be more cost-effective for your team to re-organizing a workspace or relocate inventory bins themselves. In this case, the professional organizer can develop the plan of action and your team will implement it. Of course, in this scenario, the professional organizer will undoubtedly be available to provide guidance during the project.
How can you find a reputable Professional Organizer?
Reputable professional organizers work under a code of ethics. They will discuss different ways to accomplish your goal, clearly explain the costs involved, and discuss the amount of time they expect the project to take.
- Many professional organizers offer an initial free consultation. That can be extremely helpful to let you size up the person and see if they are a good fit with your personality. Finding someone you can work well with is vital to a successful project. If it’s not a good fit, most professional organizers will be more than willing to make a referral to someone that may be more in tune with who you are.
- Personal referrals from a trusted friend or business acquaintance is always a good way to find someone who is trustworthy.
- The best way to get a reputable professional organizer is to see if they belong to NAPO. NAPO is the National Association of Productivity & Organizing. It is the business association of professional organizers, and each member must meet a minimum training standard & agree to a specific code of conduct to become a member. You can check to see if your organizer is a member HERE. Furthermore, you can also search by zip code to find someone in your area on the NAPO site.
How much does it cost to work with a Professional Organizer?
That is a challenging question to answer in the context of this article. Every business owner has particular challenges that they want to solve. In some cases, it could be a minor problem resolved by decluttering an area in the span of a morning. In other cases, it may be an ongoing relationship that lasts for months or years.
If a professional organizer offers a free consultation, you have nothing to lose. It won’t cost you anything to talk with them and see what the cost of your project may be. If they are nearby, they may be able to meet you in person. If they are further away a free video conference call can get your questions answered. In addition, many organizers certainly offer online consulting beyond the initial free consultation.
The value of organization for small business.
Most professional organizers have a passion for organizing but also for helping people. I speak from personal experience as both a business owner and a current professional organizer. Learning the systems that save you time, make you more efficient, and make your life easier is decidedly valuable.
For this reason, if you are struggling with parts of your business or looking to improve a particular process in your company, take the time to get in touch with a professional organizer. The benefit of organization touches so many areas of our lives, and life is too short to spin your wheels, wasting valuable time.
A professional organizer can surely help you improve your business. They help you with perspective, support, and bring a passion for improving systems in your organization.
Mark Higgins
Professional Organizer
