Getting Organized: Key Piece of the Small Business Puzzle

September 24, 2012 by bootstrapbusinessdevelopment 1 Comment

The other day as I sat down to go to work I took a quick look at my work area.  Like many small business owners and freelancers I work from home.  So, how organized (or not) my work area happens to be isn’t dictated by my “Boss.”

Which is kind of a perk I guess – until I have trouble finding something.

Years ago I worked for a property management company where we weren’t allowed to have anything on our desk except for the file we were working on at the time.  Even then you were to have only the document out directly related to what you were doing at any given moment – other docs were to be in the folder, and the folder was to be closed.

Sounds Draconian, but there was a reason for Management’s Madness – an organized, uncluttered desk would be translated by resident’s and prospective residents to mean our company, and the property they called home, was organized and well-run.

Being organized and working in an organized environment also leaves an impression on the person working in that environment as well.  As small business owners a self-image that includes the confidence that comes with being well-organized as well as how being organized helps us to better serve our customers and clients is central to growing a successful business.

Being organized is more profitable than being disorganized.

When our offices and work stations are organized we are more efficient and productive and time is an important resource.  Wasting time scrambling to find something isn’t good for business.

Thanks to working with a professional organizer years ago I’m happy to say that my act has remained relatively together to this day.  Being organized doesn’t mean “being perfect.”  I follow techniques my organizer taught me to this day – which make it SO much easier to stay organized.  Thanks to her, within 15 minutes I had everything in its place.

Which got me to thinking about sharing how working with a professional organizer helped me get it together – and then, as so often happens, I happened to hook up via LinkedIn with professional organizer Kathleen Green.  I contacted Kathleen and asked her if she’d be willing to share her expertise on my blog – and she kindly accepted.

Kathleen formerly worked for a number of years as a commercial lender – definitely a position that required organizational skills!  She’s taken those skills and translated them into a successful career helping business and homeowners get – and stay – organized.  Her skills are sought after and she’s written widely on the subject, including a great article on examiner.com.

One of Kathleen’s articles speaks to something that had held me back when it came to “getting organized” – letting go of my “stuff.”

But Kathleen’s got a pretty creative perspective on things:

“Whether it is your home, your office or even your lifestyle, think of it as a giant jigsaw puzzle. The more pieces that there are, then the harder it is to put it together and keep it together. By getting rid of all of those extra pieces, you can simplify the day-to-day management of all aspects of your life and find more time for the important things … like growing your business.”

Check out Kathleen’s complete article here.