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Q. What is a Professional Organizer?
A. A professional organizer is someone who provides information and a customized approach to organizing. Professional organizers guide, encourage and educate clients about basic principles of organizing by offering support, focus and direction. They help clients to "rethink" their work or home environment. Q. How can I find a Professional Organizer in my area? A. You can find one in the yellow pages, by contacting your local Chamber of Commerce, or by searching on the web. Two useful sites are www.napo.net for professional organizers nation-wide or around the world, and www.napogreatermanchesternh.com for professional organizers who live and work in New Hampshire, Maine or Vermont. Q: What can a professional organizer do for me? A: A professional organizer can provide ideas, information, structure, solutions, and systems, which can increase productivity, reduce stress, and create a newfound freedom and sense of being in control. Q: Why would I want to hire a NAPO organizer versus a non-NAPO organizer? A: The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) is recognized as the organizing authority. NAPO offers organizers opportunities to sharpen their skills through ongoing education and professional development. NAPO has a Code of Ethics by which members are expected to abide. A professional organizer who is a NAPO member has made a commitment to their business and thus to you, the client. Q. What type of areas do professional organizers work in and who do you serve? A. We offer both business and residential organizing services. We support the needs of people where they work (office, home office or mobile office) and where they live. Our business services include: analyzing the business process (work and paper flow), computer consulting, customized filing and information management systems, corporate office, home office, and mobile office design and organizing, ergonomics, time management and goal setting, and public speaking and educational workshops. For our residential clients, we offer services that include optimizing their space and storage which can include kitchen and closet design and organizing. We also help our residential clients to downsize from a larger home to a smaller home or condo, or into assisted living. Residential clients may also need help with: estate organizing and estate sales, collections/photographs, and personal shopping and wardrobe consulting. There are other areas that could fall into either business or residential organizing. These include: event planning, finances, and bookkeeping. Q. What types of clients do professional organizers seek? A. They work with professional in corporations and small businesses, legal offices, and medical offices. They also work with "stay-at-home" moms, children and teens, students, seniors, and people with ADD and the chronically disorganized. Q. Do you sell products or conduct workshops? A. We do not sell products; we create customized solutions. We also offer a wide variety of educational workshops that we customize to your needs. Q. What would be your approach to selecting a professional organizer? A. Prospective clients should do their homework and interview many professional organizers before hiring one. They should think through what they need an organizer to do for them in their particular situation. They should visit the NAPO site to find out more about professional organizers. If we were hiring a professional organizer, we would ask about their specialties, how long they have been in business, how they will work with us as their client, and we would always ask for references. Q. Do you have different fee rates depending on the nature of the work? A. We generally charge by the hour or by the session but will offer a contract price for larger corporate projects. We have special prices for non-profits. Q. Do you have a minimum or maximum number of hours per session? A. Yes, we offer a minimum of four hours. Generally, the client wants to work in multiple sessions each about 4 - 5 hours long in order to meet his/her needs and timeframe. Q. Do you offer a contract? A. Yes, we offer a contract or letter of agreement to all clients. After all, we are in business to provide a service. We ask for a signed contract or agreement before starting a project. Q. When do you require payment? A. We require payment at the time of service or, if we are working with a corporation, we will invoice them. We require a deposit for large organizing jobs and for all speaking engagements and educational workshops. Q. What, if anything, do you ask new (or established) clients to do in preparation for an organizing session? A. We start with a set of questions to analyze the client's particular needs and timeframe. We talk about expectations and the desired outcome. We generally purchase all necessary supplies. While clients are billed for our time, supplies are billed at the actual retail cost. Of course, any supplies purchased in New Hampshire are sales tax free. As a member of an industry organization, we know what products are available and can research specific solutions to meet our client's needs. Q. What do you wish new clients knew or understood about working with an organizer? A. Clients need to know that we form a partnership with them. We need their attention and need them to be available to answer our questions. Most clients want to conduct "business as usual" as if we are not even there working in their space. We generally ask our clients to block out the time we will be working together and if there are tasks we can do on our own and the client needs to return telephone calls or check email or take a break, we will continue working usually within ear shot. Q. Is the cost of your service tax deductible? A. Surprisingly, it is a service that may be tax deductible. Please check with your tax accountant for specific rules. Q. What complaints, if any, have you heard about organizers or the organizing profession? A. The organizing industry has recently benefited by the variety of shows that promote space and clutter clearing. While most people do not understand our business, they are grateful that we exist once they have found us. The work we do immediately and positively impacts our client's lives. Truthfully, we have not heard any complaints. |
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about us | services | benefits | testimonials | events faqs | article list | workshops | contact us | home Organizational Solutions | Deering, NH 03244 | Phone: 603.464.3080 |
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