We’re back for Episode 2 of this mini “Behind the Scenes” Vlog-like series all about building a professional organizing business from scratch in 30 Days! I’m building my home organizing business from the ground up in a new state and rural town with zero friends, family, or connections here. This has been such a fun experiment to put all my business knowledge to use, and at rapid speed in just 30 days! When I first started my organizing business in California in 2011, it took me a SUPER long time to learn all these things (which I now teach in my Pro Organizer Bootcamp course). Consider this your fast track to the front of the line! My course is available at proorganizerbootcamp.com/course if you’d like to check it out- it’s all about How to Start a Professional Organizing Business in 30 Days.
To recap, last week was the first week of my journey to starting this business from SCRATCH.
-created my LLC in my new state here in the us
-grabbed the new web domain for my organizing site
-created my new logo
-re-upped my membership to Honeybook for client contracts and invoicing
-did a branded photoshoot
-got my website up and live
-created my free business profiles on FMO, Y, GMB, and N
Alright, so let’s dive into what I did this week, here in week 2, to grow this budding organizing biz!
Day 8 - I needed a local area code for my business phone line and I also want to separate my business calls from personal calls, so I selected a free phone number through Google Voice, installed the app on my phone, and updated my voicemail greeting. While I was in the Google mood, I also installed Google Analytics on my website (for easy tracking of where people are coming from!) AND updated my header tags/alt text on site for SEO, so that Google can start doing its thing with web crawls and my site can get ranked on the first page of Google for people that are searching for local organizers! I’m all about Local Search! I cover this in a whole module in my course on Udemy… if you want to check out the $99 course, you can head HERE.
Day 9 - I created a mockup of my car decal for free advertising while driving around town and paid $90 to have it put on by a local sign shop. Now I basically have free marketing just by running errands around town every day! I had so much fun posting about this in our Pro Organizer Facebook group this week and seeing all of your creative car designs too - if you’re not already in the group head HERE and join us!
Day 10 - My business cards came in! Only $11 for 50 cards through my fave, Canva. What I love about Canva is that you can create your card designs all in one central spot. Chances are, you already have your logo in there (and if you’re OCD like me, you've also created your own Brand Kit in there with all your brand colors and their corresponding hex codes, plus the fonts you use for your brand). If you want to try out Canva Pro, you can use my link and head HERE.
Day 11 - I got set up on Thumbtack! I added all my biz photos, projects, hours, pricing, description, logo, and more. From there, I set my budget for $40 per week to start getting leads and laying the foundation in my new business. If you want to become a Thumbtack Pro, head HERE to learn more!
Day 12 - My screen printing is almost done! Earlier this week I dropped off 2 black tank tops, 2 gray tank tops, and 2 black v-neck shirts at a local print shop. I’m excited to have new “uniforms” to wear on jobs as they start coming in! I’ll go pick up the 6 shirts (one for every day of the week) and I’ll be all set.
So there’s your week 2 recap… This process has honestly been SO FUN. Like surprisingly fun! I feel like when I did all this years ago, I had no idea where to start, where to go, what to do first. And now I’m following my own Pro Organizer Blueprint to the tee and seeing results already. It’s pretty cool to know exactly what to do and in what order.
Join me next week for a new episode of this mini series as I continue this journey of creating my new residential decluttering biz from scratch. Be sure to watch the video version of this blog post on the Pro Organizer Bootcamp YouTube Channel HERE and **subscribe** so that you get notified each time I put a new video out!
RESOURCES:
► FREE Get New Organizing Clients Fast Guide https://bit.ly/getclientsfastguide
► Course & Coaching: https://www.proorganizerbootcamp.com
► HoneyBook Contracts & Invoicing Software for Pro Organizers - get 20% off with Melisa’s link at http://share.honeybook.com/melisa823
► MELISA'S BOOK ON AMAZON: https://bit.ly/pivotingbook
► MELISA'S FAVE TOOLS: https://linktr.ee/proorg
► PRO ORGANIZER BOOTCAMP PODCAST SERIES: https://www.proorganizerbootcamp.com/podcast
► PRO ORGANIZER BOOTCAMP ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/proorganizerbootcamp
► PRO ORGANIZER BOOTCAMP ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/proorganizerbootcamp
► PRO ORGANIZER BOOTCAMP ON PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/proorganizerbootcamp