This month, I’m exploring the field of Professional Organizers to help answer your most common questions! Today, I’ll discuss the most common complaint out there about POs and it sounds something like this:
“I desperately need you but I can’t afford you!” a.k.a “You charge “WHAT”?”
Imagine that you are having a heart attack. You clutch your chest, fall to the floor, but manage to grab your portable phone on the way down. You dial 911 and the operator asks you all the specific details so emergency help can arrive to assist you as quickly as possible. Then, you ask… “How much will this cost”? If you found out… would you “buy” it, or lay there on the ground figuring out how to help yourself. After all, it’s much cheaper to do it on your own.
So, if you really need help to accomplish your goals, why wouldn’t you do whatever it took to get you the help you needed? After many years in the business of helping others, I’ve realized that clients fall into two camps:
- Those whose life situations have gotten the best of them and taken over. These are the folks that need to be “re-booted” so to speak. They need help digging out of whatever life has thrown their way. In the field we refer to these clients as “Situationally Disorganized”. In other words, life’s situations have taken over their ability to know what they have, have what they need, and find things when they need them.
- The second camp is made up of those for whom repeated life-long self-attempts have failed. These folks know who they are instantly, and often don’t know why they’re the ones who can never seem to get it together. They often secretly lust over “organized” people’s spaces, and seem to never stop comparing themselves. They often have a life-time’s worth of self-deprecating statements, fueled by the not-good-enough exasperated responses from parents, siblings, partners, bosses, co-workers and friends. These folks know that without the help, guidance and accountability that partnership provides, they’ll fail again… like they have so many times before. These folks are often referred to as “Chronically Disorganized” – that, despite numerous attempts, their homeostasis = disorganized.
In either situation, these are the client groups best-served by a professional. Whether you need to dig out and reset, or you need systemic change from a life-time of struggles – YOU are the folks who will work best with a Professional Organizer.
My Situationally Disorganized clients have ranged from: new moms, newly divorced, life-changes, down-sizers, retirees, those recovering from life-threatening illnesses, those who’ve lost parents and on-boarded home-fulls of stuff to the Chronic camp: those with ADHD, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, traumatic brain injury, and even addiction recovery. The saying goes: “It’s never just the stuff…”
So, although MANY people would love to have help, guidance and support, most realize that getting organized is NOT an end in and of itself… Getting organized is a step on the path to LIVE YOUR LIFE in the way you want! Getting clear, systemized and reliable help in your space and systems – results in them not inhibiting you any longer. When you know what you have, have what you need, and know where to find it, you can get onto being and doing, and living your best life. So, how much would you pay if I told you that a Professional Organizer would be a critical care provider on your path to living your life?
Yeah, about those rates… You’re kidding right?
Realize that a PO who bills hourly is only charging you for the portion of the hours she actually works. That in no way represents the amount of time she’s spent behind the scenes. (I’m using the universal ‘she’ here, not to trigger, only to represent the 95% female business owners in this profession.)
Most POs are solo entrepreneurs, and have businesses to run behind the scenes while helping clients. Typically, fewer than half the hours spent on a client are actually hours in front of a client. There are phone calls, scheduling, paperwork, books to manage, blog posts to write, websites, finding and marketing to the right people…. yadda, yadda, yadda. Every time something happens on your job, or a schedule shifts, it affects your organizer’s business and their bottom line.
POs also pay for electricity, office space, marketing materials, web sites, professional dues, computers, software, phone bills, and everything else that a storefront business has to. A basic office setup that a PO needs to do their job can easily cost more than 4k just for hardware and communications services. In addition, most reputable POs belong to anywhere from one to ten professional associations that support the industry – each charging between $200 and $1,500 annually for membership dues. Rolling annual expenses before advertising costs can easily run a PO in excess of $7,500. This means that even the best PO’s have to engage at least enough clients to cover expenses and probably want to do a lot more than they are physically capable of.
If you need to work with a PO who specializes in specific areas such as physical impairments or disabilities or with people who have mental conditions such as ADHD, Traumatic Brain Injury, Aging, Dementia, OCD, depression, or anxiety, you will likely pay extra for their education, certifications, and expertise. Because it is NEVER about the stuff. Therefore, PO pricing must cover operating expenses and have enough extra to put food on the table, every week.
So, now, the question is if you need a service to live your life, how much would you pay for it? That is up to you…
Stay tuned for the next post where I’ll discuss this common question about Professional Organizers:
“How will I know if a Professional Organizer is a good match for me?”
Cena Block is the Founder of Sane Spaces, LLC is a Productivity Consulting firm that offers training, coaching, and motivational speaking to individuals and organizations. We help clients increase productivity and minimize wasted time by achieving clarity within their spaces, systems, selves and support. Clarity + Action = Results. Get unstuck by releasing the areas where you are blocked. Our clients are high performers who want to see dramatic results. We are committed to partnering with you to create a work environment and a life you love.
Cena is a NAPO National Member, the President of the NAPO-NNJ Chapter. For more information visit www(dot)sanespaces(dot)com
Want a FREE DIY 12 Week Organizing Program? Check out: Get Organized and Keep Your Family Sane. For a limited time, I'm offering this DIY Program for FREE!! Go here to get started! http://eepurl.com/cvoCL !
More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook