Starting A Brand New Professional Organizing Business: Rewind with Kim Snodgrass of Rustic Home Organizing in Portland
“So I think for me, in my life experiences, I’ve been through some things in my life, as has everyone, but being able to not dwell on those things anymore and to be able to use them to bring light to somebody else’s life is the biggest reward outside of parenting and raising my three girls.
This month I get to help a lady that lost both her parents and is going through a divorce. And she said, I need this space better for my girls and we’re going in and we’re doing it. And that’s amazing. That was like my biggest reward job so far. So I’m, I’m so excited.”
This interview originally aired as an episode of the Pro Organizer Studio Podcast. If you would like to listen, You can INSERT PODCAST EPISODE HERE or find us on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you love to listen to podcasts!
I first met Kim Snodgrass of Rustic Home Organizing when she joined our Inspired Organizer® program as she was brand new and growing her organizing business a couple of years ago.
I wanted to interview her for the podcast and get her as she was brand new to the organizing industry. Then one year later, almost to the day, I interviewed her again to see how her first year was. Recently, I did interview 3, after she had finished two entire years of organizing—check the blog for that coming before the end of January, 2024—but I wanted to do a time capsule of all three of these interviews, to inspire people who are on their own starting journey or part way through their organizing careers.
This is the first interview I did with Kim as a rewind for us as we look through her first two years of organizing!
Kim Snodgrass 2022 Year 1 Pod Rewind
Melissa Klug: If you are sitting here thinking “Hey, I don't know if I could start a business. I don't know if I have what it takes.”
We want to be able to tell you about people who have made that leap. I did it, and I have never looked back. It's the best thing I ever did. And today I am very honored to have my guest, Kim Snodgrass, and Kim is going to tell us all about her journey, but Kim just became a professional organizer like four seconds ago, right? Yes.
Kim Snodgrass: About four seconds ago. Okay. Literally.
Melissa Klug: So one of the reasons that we wanted to talk to Kim is because some of you may be thinking like, oh my gosh, how would I even make that leap?
And Kim is in the middle of making the leap right now. We want to talk to her about all of her journey. So give us a little bit of your background. Because you've had an awesome life, but you've moved 20 times. You've had all sorts of craziness happen in your life. So give us a little detail.
Kim Snodgrass: I have, and as with most journeys, condensing them can be difficult, but I will do my best.
Yes, I have moved to 21 times in my life for various reasons. Childhood, we moved quite a bit. And then for about 17 years I moved around to some different states due to my family's job. And found my way back to Oregon about five years ago. And here I am, came back to the close to family and I have found myself in a space of trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.
I am going to be approaching 50 in about 18 months, so it was time to shift into gear and get this done.
Back in 2001, I was living in Florida and my daughter was in a Girl Scout troop. And this troop leader drove around in a car that had professional organizer written on the side. And it kind of intrigued me. I had a thing with organizing, but I didn't really realize I did. Organizing was a coping mechanism for me. So I would pull everything out of my garage and totally purge it all and then put it all back in. And I would do this to various things in my house, but garages was like, I don't know why maybe it was because I lived in Florida and it was nice outside, I don't know, but garages were kind of my thing anyway. I set up a meeting with this gal and she explained to me that yeah, I do organizing and you know, I help people get their papers in order and how systems with homework time with their kids and this and that.
Well, that was a zero interest to me. Organizing papers is definitely not going to be my niche. So I just kind of blew it off as that what I was enjoying doing, it wasn't the same kind of organizing. It was an actual business. So this is in 2001 as I am a stay at home Mom. I had two girls at the time, and ended up having another girl and just stayed home for 17 more. And then I reentered the workforce about five years ago, not knowing what I was going to do with my life. And back in October, I had some finger surgery, thinking I was going into the doctor's for a little in-office operation thing—but it turned into a full operating room thing.
I wasn't able to use my hands and I was just had to sit for three weeks and not get them wet and not do anything. It gave me a lot of time to think. And through those three weeks of sitting and thinking, I came to the discovery that I want to organize. I don't know if it's a thing, but I want to do it. So I did some digging and realized this is a thing, and there are courses you can take and there are groups you can join and there is support, and this all has taken place over now over the last two and a half months, and I'm thrilled. I've already been doing jobs and love it. And I've had such a great reception, and the people in my community are thrilled and excited. And yeah, I'm just ready to roll. I've learned a lot over the past two and a half months, but I am excited about it.
Melissa Klug: You've had a crash course. It's almost been like, you've gotten a master's degree in like three weeks kind of thing.
Kim Snodgrass: Yes, absolutely. Yes. At the university of life, for sure.
Melissa Klug: You've said a few things that I think people can probably connect to, especially if they're sitting there going like, Ooh, what do I do? Like, this is scary.
First of all, knowing that this has been a passion of yours for a long time—and that you can turn a passion into something you can make a living out of. And one of the reasons that I wanted to talk to you is because you are so brand new to organizing—yet, you are already seeing success with clients, you've had some experience right out of the gate. So tell us a little bit about you know, when you made that decision to make that leap.
Kim Snodgrass: You know, it was I, I wish so much I could remember the podcast I was listening to. Like I said, I couldn't do much with myself during that three week period of time, but I started listening to podcasts because I was sitting there going, what am I doing with my life?
I had my last kid off to college, I had just dropped her off at the University of Oregon. Like literally on that Friday. And I had surgery that Monday. I'm trying to figure out what am I doing here? I am literally an empty nest and I don't have a plan. I'm not a big TV watcher. So I started listening to podcasts. So, I was fishing through quite a few and nothing was intriguing. And this gal maybe like four episodes in, I thought, well, I'll give her a try. And it was a podcast about finding purpose, told yourself, ask yourself these three questions.
And I asked myself these three questions and I came to this.
What do I love? And I just kept coming to this organizing thing in the back of my head, but I couldn't get it out of the back of my head. Could not get it out of there. And my family has a group text, and I text them all. And I said, I want each of you to text me individually. What am I good at? And they all text me. You're a great mom. Well, I'm not going to get making money at being a mother.
That business cost way too much money! There is no ROI on that. Anyway, long story short, they all had another common factor in their answers and that was resources. and you're really good at organizing.
And then I texted my best friend in Florida who used to watch me take my garage apart numerous times. And I said, could you see me as a professional organizer? And her response brought me to tears. She said, you should have been doing this all these years.
And so that was kind of how I got to that point of I'm doing this and I am so excited about it. And I just dove in, I was on my computer nonstop for probably four days. Looking up all that came across Pro Organizer Studio and I reached out, got some more information, and I forced myself to think on it for a week or so But no, I have not had a moment of regretting any of the steps I've taken.
I have moments of, “where's everybody going to come from?” but I'm so excited and, and I truly believe and maybe it's my age and experiences I've been through. I truly believe when you find that. You just know it. You absolutely know it.
Melissa Klug: I posted about this the other day, but in my own journey to finding organizing as a career, I was trying to figure out same thing as you, what I wanted to be when I grew up. And I just kept coming back to, this is the only thing, other than what I had already been doing in my career, and I just kept coming back to like, I want to help other people organize their homes.
And so I think that you had that same thing. And I think that's just a message for the people who are listening, that if you have that idea—and by the way, you can already have an organizing service, but say I can't stop thinking about how I really want to organize people's papers.
Or people who are like, I am really passionate about organizing people's photographs, whatever that is. And these may sound like tiny examples, but if there's something about your business that you can't get out of your brain, that's something to think about too.
Kim Snodgrass: Absolutely. Yes. And, and I've had some of those thoughts too, and I'm playing around with some of those niches, you know, I live in a rural area, and one of my dreams is to organize shops. It's just like a a mansion of a garage and like, and I am going to ours is under construction. And once it's done, it's my goal to get that thing dialed in. I'm really excited about that.
So yes, there's lots of different niches to go along with organizing and you don't have to do it all.
Pinterest can be somewhat distracting and a little deceiving. And I thought that all organizing really was nowadays was making some pantries really pretty and some closets look like rainbows, and I was okay with that. I'll do that. But I quickly found out after reaching out to quite a few organizers throughout the country via private messaging, them, asking them some things that there's a lot more to it than making things look pretty.
There is so much more to it. And I think that was my biggest surprise and the best surprise that came out of all of this, because I get to actually be involved in people's lives and work through things with them. And that is so exciting.
Melissa Klug: But that's another thing that actually, some people are, I am very much, very much like you, I love getting into the people aspect and trying to figure out how to make their lives better. And some people don't love that. And that's one of the things that is so great about organizing is you and I are sitting here just the two of us and you don't like paper—I love paper. You're going to organize shops. I probably wouldn't be very good at that. We both love the psychology. Some people don't. The job of organizing can take so many different formats. So what do you particularly love about working with people and the, and the psychologists? Tell us a little bit about that.
Kim Snodgrass: So I think for me in my life experiences been through some things in my life as has everyone but being able to not dwell on those things anymore and to be able to use them. To bring light to somebody else's life is the biggest reward outside of parenting and raising my three girls, the biggest reward I have ever received.
And I hope I never lose that. I want to continue forward with that. Because. Not everybody wants to get a counselor and not everybody wants to have a psychologist or go to the doctor. Some, some people just want a human. And this is kind of a different avenue to get that human. When you're going through something that's not so fun.
Yeah. This month I get to help a lady that's lost both her parents and is going through a divorce. And she said, I need this space better for my girls and we're going in and we're doing it. And that's amazing. That was like my biggest reward job so far. So I'm, I'm so excited.
Melissa Klug: It doesn't matter what your life situation is. We have all been through things that can make us empathetic to other people and just showing up for them. I think that those difficult parts of their lives, it's truly a gift.
Kim Snodgrass: And cheerleading for people just being a cheerleader you know, Really struggle, letting things go.
I don't, I'm a pro— I mean, moving 21 times, how could I hold onto things? So getting, letting things go for me, that's like, how was that hard? But for some people that is like, that's a really big obstacle for them to overcome and being able to walk somebody through that and then seeing the freedom on their face is great. It's amazing.
Melissa Klug: So if there are people that are listening that are saying like, Ooh, I don't, I don't know that I have the skills to do that. Did you have anything that, like, is this just something innate that you have, or do you feel like you, because of your life experience, you've been able to help people get over that?
Kim Snodgrass: That's a little bit of a double-edged sword question because I believe anybody can organize. I believe anybody can figure it out. Now just like, I love tinkering around and making some jewelry. I don't want to do that all day long or for a profession or to have two people tell me what they like, and I have to make it for them. It's a hobby.
I think what new organizers need to decide is, do I enjoy this? Or do I want to share this skill with the world? Yes, for me, I'm not perfect. I will never file fold. I will roll all day long. I will not find it. You will have to, you will have to tie me up and do horrible things to me to get me to file fold.
I am the first person to admit that I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to my organizing. Organizing to me is more about function and not having a disaster at the end of every single day where you're spending your free time in the evening, clearing your space so that you can enjoy five minutes before you go to bed.
Let's enjoy two hours. Yeah. So I, I do think that you don't have to have skills. You can figure it out there. YouTube university can show you how to fold. It can show you how to make a bed, can show you how to do anything. Podcasts can teach you. I think you just, it's in your heart and it's in your bones that you want to help people. I think that's the bottom line.
Melissa Klug: You’re touching on something that I think is really important and we talk about it a lot, but, because we're organizers, we do like to have things, looking good and feeling good. And so perfectionism can be a lot in organizers’ brains, and I think you're touching on it doesn't have to be perfect.
And that includes your organizing inside someone else's house and it includes starting your business. It includes all those things, but letting go of that a little bit, and again, it's not about just throwing anything out there and being sloppy, but you can figure it out. You don't have to have it all lined up beforehand.
Kim Snodgrass: No, and I do think too. As a new organizer, I had to get over a little bit of a hurdle thinking that the only people that would need me are people that just wanted things to look pretty. I had to understand there was so much more depth to this than things looking pretty. And I think that's important for organizers, new organizers, especially to get across to their potential clients.
Is that it's not just about that. You don't have to have a brand new house that has this perfect walk-in pantry that I'm going to take pictures of and post all over Pinterest. It goes so far beyond that. And that's my biggest advice to new organizers is to understand that don't get lost in the Pinterest and Instagram world.
I lost a lot of sleep and I dipped down into a little bit of, Ooh, I don't know if I have what it takes. Absolutely you do. And those are fun to look at all those neat pictures, but it's really not total reality. I do believe there is a niche or those people that that is their target and that's fine, but there is a lot more to it.
Melissa Klug: Well, if you don't mind can you talk a little bit about that comparisonitis that you had to get off? Because I do think that's something that new organizers and not new organizers, looking at other people's stuff and being like, well, look what they're doing and look what they're doing and all like, can you talk a little bit about how you got out of that loop?
Kim Snodgrass: Totally. So overcoming the comparison trap right away. When I started doing all my research, I followed a hundred million organizers and just was obsessed with it. And I still, I still dip a little bit, but what I started to do instead is. I started reaching out to these organizers that I was following. I private message them. I gave them compliments and told them where I was at and what I appreciated that they were teaching me. And these women came back as humans. These are the same people as you and I, and it let me realize—they're doing the same thing I'm doing. These are just pictures they're putting up there.
This is not this big, perfect world they're living in that this is every single job, you know, they're doing exactly what they should be doing on Instagram. But my biggest advice is reach out to them. And whenever I heard went on a podcast, I would even if the podcast was two years old, I would immediately go on and reach out to them and say, Hey, I listened to a podcast number such and such from such and such date.
And this is how you impacted me. And I just wanted you to note that, you know, thank you. And I appreciate that. Now when I am on Instagram and I'm scrolling through, I'm like, oh, I remember chatting with her. And I remember chatting with her and I'll reach out and go, oh, that was great. And those come back with something sarcastic and funny or, yeah, it wasn't all that great.
You know, kind of just the realness to it. That's how I turned it around for me. I also had to stop going on other people's websites. That one too, if you're thinking about designing a website, which today I did launch, so that was really exciting. I had to shut those down. It is so hard to get in your own space. You end up obsessing over other people's spaces, and it's really important to be your own individual authentic person. You need to be authentic. And I had to reteach myself. It's not about everybody else's websites and Instagrams. It's okay to enjoy them, but you have got to stop comparing.
Melissa Klug: And you did a lot of work. I know that, I know you did a lot of work to get over that. And so I just think people can learn from you and say like, you can get down a rabbit hole and drive yourself bananas of like, I can't measure up to that. I can't measure up to that. Yes, you can. You can be your own yardstick, your own measuring tape.
And that's the most important thing is you have arrived at an absolutely stunningly gorgeous website and a brand name. That really means something to you and all these things you have arrived at that on your own, which I think is really, really important.
Kim Snodgrass: I do believe the other advice I can give to new organizers, even though I still am myself reading it—Atomic Habits.
Melissa Klug: eah. That book is so good.
Kim Snodgrass: The book is amazing. I'm almost done. I have just a few pages left, but there is one section in that, as a new solopreneur and new in my business is making sure you don't get stuck in motion. You've got to move to action and scrolling through Instagram, scrolling through Pinterest. Obsessing over other people's websites is motion. You've got to switch to action. And that hit me like a brick upside the head when I read that. And that's where I'm at right now—I am in an action mode. So really want other organizers that are new to the business. Don't get stuck in inaction.
Melissa Klug: The phrase I like that I use a lot as analysis paralysis, which is that same thing. As you get into this, you get into this like, well, there's this and this and this and this and this, there are 200 things you could consider for one thing, right? Like, what do I want my website to look like?
And you can get into that loop of nothing is actually moving forward and happening. So it's actually a way to procrastinate for some people. And so getting into that action and imperfect action is better than inaction. Absolutely is better than nothing.
Kim Snodgrass: I do have one other thing that's really important for some of the older hens out there. And I can say that because I'm almost, I most likely halfway through my life.
I thought for sure. About three months ago that I was just, I was done whatever, what happened, this is who I am. I'm going to be. And most people don't know, but I pour wine at a vineyard. But I'm going to be getting people drunk for the rest of my life. That's just what I'm going to do.
But at 48 there's so much time. And there were some that are going to struggle with the technology piece. There's people that will do it for you. We'll help you. Don't let that stop you. The ladies out there that maybe were the stay at home moms that are now, like, what am I going to do with my life?
And this is something that's intriguing to them.
Melissa Klug: There is plenty of time. I was 42. So I was not that far behind you when I figured out my life's purpose. And so, and I, but I think that's a good point as moms and it may be moms in their thirties, right? Like their kids maybe are off to kindergarten.
And then they're trying to figure out what to do. There are people you don't even have to have kids. It could be any phase of your life that you say like, Hey, this is really something that I'm drawn to. And you're exactly right. As you can absolutely reinvent yourself no matter what stage you’re in.
Kim Snodgrass: Yes, and I am so pleased when I see young 20 year olds hopping into this. They're so lucky. I love it.
Melissa Klug: I found it a lot earlier than you.
I do want to go back to something that you were talking about when we were talking about Instagram and, and it's I think it is very important to ask someone who has been organizing for a decent amount of time now.
There are definitely people who will reach out to you, but they will say, I want to be a professional organizer. Tell me how you became a professional organizer. And so I want to just say, when you're talking about reaching out to people, I love, love, love, love, love what you said your strategy, because don't ask them.
Right. And so, and, and so this is something that if you are listening and you are thinking about this as a career, take a page out of Kim's book and say the way to do it. And the way to connect with people is to authentically connect with them as a human in the same way they connect it back with you.
It's I listened to you on a podcast. Oh my gosh. I love this thing that you shared. I'm trying to start a professional organizing journey. You are super inspirational to me. You're not asking for anything. You're just delivering your compliment and you're starting that relationship.
Kim Snodgrass: Yes. And that's truly what I'm doing. I'm not doing it backhandedly to eventually ask them things.
But yeah, I think that is really important. I think about mine is all about complimenting them and letting them know how they impacted my life.
Melissa Klug: And it's a relationship that you develop with people and then you can, you do earn the right to ask those questions.
And but I just know, I get a lot of like, oh, I, I also want to do this. So how do you do it? And the one that I remember most distinctly was someone who sent me an email and she said, I have 10 questions and she put them in a document. She goes, I would appreciate a very quick response to this. And I'm like, yeah—No.
And I don't mean to sound mean, I love helping people more than I love like pretty much anything. That's why I work at Pro Organizer Studio, but it was just like, there's a way to do it. And the way that you reached out to people, I think is a really beautiful example that everyone should take.
Kim Snodgrass: Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Authentic. Yeah.
Melissa Klug: And that authenticity goes to everything that you're talking about. So it's not just reaching out to people on social media, but it is being who you are presenting yourself as it's your brand. I know that you, because you live in an Oregon, your business is, Rustic Home Organizing.
And so to you, you wanted to make it more of that authentic down-home feel all that kind of stuff. That authenticity really goes through your whole life as an organizer.
Kim Snodgrass: Absolutely.
Melissa Klug: What are you most looking forward to in your new career?
Kim Snodgrass: So I wrote down my 2022 goals, I don't even like calling them goals really.
I'm trying to figure out my perfect word for them. So first of all, I want to share my 2022 words okay. One of them is outsourcing. And one of them is fear. Oh, yes. And I plan to fiercely outsource.
Melissa Klug: We're going to talk about that in a minute.
Kim Snodgrass: This year I want to collaborate with., I have a couple in mind. I went to collaborate with somebody. And the main reason for collaboration is I do want to get a higher Instagram following. Not because that's going to help my business. It's more of a personal thing that I want. It's just something I've never had. And so I want to make it happen.
I want to make very crass t-shirts. I want to have my cute little, little chic logo on the front and something very sarcastic and crass on the back. And I want to do like different sayings. So if anybody out there has a really fun saying, I'll even have your name below it so you can own it. So like I said, no, there's never any clients, but I'm having fun with it. I I have a financial goal in mind. So of course I have that. There's just so many, there's so many thingd that I want to do. I want to get the shop organized and I have a company in mind. So out where I live farmlands products made in the USA are extremely important to some people. And there is a company I have found that is a little bit more rustic and I want to, I have reached out to them once. I will probably have to. 15 to 20 more times before I get their attention, but on to try and collaborate with them, to get our personal shop all up ship shape and make it look really pretty. So that I can start bringing in that niche that I think my heart really was.
Melissa Klug: Well, let's you, you said it earlier, but let's just be really clear. Like when you say shop, this is something that perhaps people on the coast do not understand, like you and I might understand like what we're talking like, you called it a mansion garage, but it is like legit. Yes. You were talking thousands of square feet.
Kim Snodgrass: We're talking systems, we're talking big equipment tools, so yes, this is going to be, this is like, Probably a month long kind of organizing project. That's going to require major systems, shelving, all that kind of stuff, but it's going to be beautiful when we're done,
Melissa Klug: but this is a great example of something that you can think about. You're like, oh my gosh, I never would have considered that before. Like we often think about organizing as it's in a house, typically you're working with a woman you're working with the mom or the wife and really thinking about, oh, no, there are places that need organization that might not come here.
And by the way that businesses restaurants are something that I know a few organizers have started to niche into like restaurant supplies and that type of thing, the huge shops that you're talking about. So if you live in Texas, we have tons of organizers in Texas. You know, there are parts of the country that you need to think about, Hey, what are some unique things about my part of the country?
Kim Snodgrass: Exactly. I think that's a really good point. The other thing I want to venture into is motor home trailers, getting those organized. Because there's a lot of that that goes around here too. A lot of camping you know, day trips, that sort of thing. And I am going to play around with that a little.
Melissa Klug: Well, and when you think about like the move, especially post COVID of people being kind of like van life stuff and RVs, that type of thing, like it's, these are all niches that are very legitimate and have clients out there.
Kim Snodgrass: There's so many avenues.
Melissa Klug: That's exciting. I want to talk to you a little bit about your two words. So fiercely outsourcing or outsourcing and fierce. You are very much a believer in making investments where they make sense. So for instance, you knew about yourself that you are not going to be a DIY website person.
It just was not in your wheelhouse. So can you talk a little bit about some of the, the investments that you've chosen?
Kim Snodgrass: Absolutely. First of all you don't have to invest in anything to, to organize, which is beautiful and amazing for $0.
But for me, that, that wasn't going to work and that's simply because of how my brain works and, and, and how I gained my confidence.
And so for me, I needed that website. I needed that storefront, almost that identity. That was very important to me. And I did try, I went on Wix for five minutes and just about chucked my computer across the room and correct. And so that, that brought me down another, you know, okay, what do I do then? And so, you know, I start reaching out to people.
What, how do I do this? Or who does that? Or what, how can I do that? And I, I just, you've gotta throw your feelers out there. Whatever is not. Connecting with you or causing you to get caught up and tied up. I've heard of women working on our websites for months, years, years you could have made organizing would have paid for that website.
Yes. Three months prior. So I chose not,
Melissa Klug: let's just stop and say that again, the amount, because it's really important because I have, I have worked with people who have done this, like, well, I don't want to pay someone to build my website, which I understand, but if it takes you nine months to make it, you have lost thousands of dollars.
Kim Snodgrass: But for me, it's not even that. Yes, but my website would have looked kindergarten. So what would that have done to people that went to my website? If things weren't connecting properly and it wasn't flowing easy as an organizer, it has to be accessing the simple.
Or they're not going to think you're organized. It's got a flow and I just knew I can't make it flow. So somebody else is going to have to do it for me. Trust me that, yeah, it's not inexpensive, but the ROI on that. Like I said, if you have the money to be able to do that, I wouldn't think twice about it. It's definitely worth it a hundred percent. So I outsourced my website. I also outsourced wording my website. I don't know how to write. I've never been a good writer. I can talk, but I can't write. So I outsourced an editor that can make anything sound before. And she did an amazing job. I outsourced the SEO integration.
So on the backend, everything that Google needs to be able to put me on that first page, I outsourced that I'm outsourcing. I decided for me, I wanted to immediately have a CRM. I don't need it at the moment, but I wanted it set up. I just need all in place. I need all my ducks in a row for me. That's how my brain works.
And so I hopped on Dubsado and I couldn't figure it out. And so I looked into it and found somebody that's setting up all of that for me and integrating it with my website and everything's going to flow. So I don't have to lose sleep. Yeah, like this morning, I woke up, I had an, a message from the gal that's doing the SEO on my website. And two hours later, I got an email that said it's all done. I mean, that would've, I would have spent months trying to figure that out.
Melissa Klug: What you're saying is super important because you have to know yourself. And so there are people who are like, Hey, you know what?
I find it a challenge to build a website, I'm going to learn how to do this. Great. Absolutely. But if you are not that person know that there are people to do anything, you can hire people to think for you, if you really need to. And in some cases it may not be the level of investment that you think it is either.
So I think sometimes people just assume that something is going to be out of their budget range. They assume that they are not going to be able to afford something. And so then they don't look in. And that is, is definitely something that at least know what you're working with, know how much it costs, and then you can decide this is something I can do, or this is something I may need to think about.
Kim Snodgrass: And, you know, I another one I didn't mention—coaching, a business coach.
For some might be what just turns their whole thought process around. And for me it did, it helped help me feel like I wasn't just solo. I actually was on a team. And that to me, honestly, a website is very important. I do believe that I don't think you have to have it right away.
I would almost say first that investment would be a business coach. A hundred percent. I think a business coach is a great person to bounce your ideas off and throw some truth out to you. Hey, what you just did, I probably wouldn't do it again.
Melissa Klug: The other thing too is you know, if this is going to be a random reference, but you know, on the, on the Sopranos, the psychiatrist on the soprano has a therapist, like therapists have therapists, right?
Doctors have doctors, business coaches, even the biggest business coaches that you can name, you know, the ones that we all know that we listen to their podcast and everything, those business coaches have business coaches and those business coaches have business coaches. We all need someone outside of ourselves to say, Hey, have you thought about this?
Have you thought about that? It is a really important investment. At least it has been for me and for my business.
Kim Snodgrass: Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. And I know that there are also the, the gal that did my website She also will go in and tweak things for you. So you don't have to have that initial full, do the whole thing, but you could do an hourly when you go in and just make sure everything's flowing.
Melissa Klug: That’s a great point—you can do a hybrid on somethings too, where you say I'm going to build it. And then I'm going to have someone come in and fix a few of the things..
So are your girls excited that you've taken this new path? I mean, your girls are like on your team,
Kim Snodgrass: Yeah, they are, well, my oldest daughter Nicole, she is 28. She is pregnant with my first grand baby. I'm super exciting. I didn't know that. She has a degree from university of Georgia in finance she is going to help me with all of my payment processes and getting all my books ready. And then I have my middle daughter Courtney. She graduated from Syracuse university with a degree in business and entrepreneurship of all things.
She works for a social media firm and works for some really big companies on the backend of social media. Which was super exciting for me, that was going to be a slam dunk, except it's not, not helping me. I want you all to know that. So when you see my Instagram, it is not her. When you see her Instagram,
Melissa Klug: it is her that's doing it.
So you need to, you need to tell her she is doing a great job.
Kim Snodgrass: I know. I always get the mom, I'm on a call. I can't help you. She lives in Boston, so she's not close by. And then I have my youngest daughter, Kaitlin, she's 18. She goes to university of Oregon. She is majoring in special education. She is a amazing writer.
So if you see something really pretty outside of my website that's been written, it is not me. It is my daughter Kaitlin. So yes, they are all trying to help me, my girls are excited for me and they see passion in my eyes. They see sparkle and the more I do things, the more they're like, oh, wow, you're actually good at this.
Melissa Klug: I think that years ago, If someone asked me, I used to travel a lot and you know, do you ever feel guilty?
And I said, yes, of course, every mom feels guilty. But I also like to believe that I'm teaching my girls that strong women are able to start, they're able to be business women. They're able to do these things. And I think that there's a value in that too, that they see their mom doing something hard, but that you're committed to and passionate about.
Kim Snodgrass: YYeah. They've, they've seen me in action a couple of times. I think they were kind of, they had to take back some of their words and like the, you actually know what you're doing, don't you? I do.
You know, I just think that finding purpose in your life, it's so important and, and you might not find it today. It might be 10 years down the road =-so be patient with yourself. And I think that life experiences bring us to our purpose. So there's a chance you haven't gotten all the way down the path, not to knock yourself out with it.
And don't beat yourself up about. Being in a certain place where you think you should be. I think it just happens when it happens.
Melissa Klug: You're absolutely right. Because I know I said, I wish I would have found organizing sooner, but I think you and I found it when we needed it the most, like we formed this as a career when we needed it the most at the time in our life, we needed the most.
Kim, where can people find you on the internet?
Kim Snodgrass: They can now find me at rhorganizing.com. You can also type in rustichomeorganizing.com. It gets you to the same site. I have a Facebook page, Rustic Home Organizing, and I also have Instagram @rustic_home_organizing with underscore in between each word.
Melissa Klug: Well, thank you for joining us,
Kim Snodgrass: Kim. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Melissa Klug: Good luck. I am so excited to be on this journey with you.
And as always, if you need anything, if you want more information about pro organizer studio, our coaching, our programs. Anything at all, please email me. Hello@proorganizerstudio.com. Have an awesome day, organizers!