Stand Out

Sometimes skills are invisible to their owners. It takes someone saying to us, “Wow! You’re really good at that,” before we realize that not everyone can do what we can do. In this episode of Stand Out: Growing Your Organizing and Productivity Business, host Sarah Karakaian talks with Jan Lehman. Jan found out early in her career that not everyone has the same level of problem-solving skills. She puts those skills to work and encourages others in the field of productivity consulting to embrace these skills and take them to the bank. Your ability to see where workflow can improve, the tools you have developed and learned to maximize your time and help clients maximize theirs – that amounts to some golden opportunities. In this episode, Jan shares her best ideas on growing a productivity consultancy. Jan is an executive coach, productivity consultant and speaker. She is the founder and CEO of CTC Productivity. CTC is a Twin Cities-based, woman-owned and operated business. With over 20 years of corporate consult

Every day, we are gaining more expertise as organizers and productivity specialists. And we would not be in this business if we didn’t have a passion for it. Well, that’s all you need to add a whole new revenue stream into your business! That’s right, you could become a paid public speaker. That idea might be a little scary for some of us, but it doesn’t have to be. On this episode of Stand Out, Sarah talks with guest David Newman about tons of marketing tips, and then they get down to the business of public speaking; how to get started, what to charge, how to stay sharp as a speaker. So if the idea of adding thousands of dollars to your monthly revenue sounds interesting, check out this episode. David Newman is the author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Do It! Marketing: 77 Instant-Action Ideas to Boost Sales, Maximize Profits and Crush Your Competition. David works with executives and entrepreneurs who want to position themselves as thought-leaders and generate MORE leads, BETTER prospects and BIGGER sales. Dav

Time is one of those resources that you can’t get back once you use it. Helping our clients with productivity is great, but what about our own productivity? Running a business can feel like running in circles sometimes. On our 22nd episode of Stand Out: Growing Your Organizing and Productivity Business, host Sarah Karakaian talks with guest Amy Tokos. Amy has a background in Lean Engineering, which she has translated very nicely into helping people lead what she calls “lean living” – which is not a diet plan! It does take into account the preciousness of time in all that we do. Amy Tokos is the owner of Freshly Organized. Her mission is to help others make their lives more streamlined and organized. Amy’s background is in engineering. Her work focused on making manufacturing processes simpler and more efficient, also known as lean manufacturing. Her lean thinking maximizes time and space. Because of this background and her passion for time management, Amy helps clients be more strategic instead of reactive. S

You know you are an expert organizer or productivity specialist, but does the world know? Blogging in 2018 is still a great way to tell people who you are, how you can help, and your unique point of view as an expert. Maybe you started a blog a few years ago and have let it slide down the priority list. Maybe you’ve been thinking about it and just don’t know how to get started. On this episode, Sarah talks with Brittany Bailey of prettyhandygirl.com about how to start and maintain a blog or any content creation platform. Brittany started blogging nearly 10 years ago, and has built up a great reputation in the DIY space. She specializes in “how-to” posts that walk people step-by-step through simple to complex home improvement project. She does all of this with the message (about blogging and DIY) “You can do it!” Brittany is a licensed general contractor, artist, graphic designer, web designer, photographer and lover of doing everything herself. Through her renovation projects, blogging, and social media posts

There is no one way to be a productivity and organization professional. The opportunities and potential niche markets in the field are vast. Standolyn Robertson has found her niche in residential organizing. Funny and engaging, she shares in our 20th podcast episode of Stand Out how education, certification as a CPO®, volunteering and connecting with peers has been invaluable in helping her find her way, and encouraging others to find their unique fit. Standolyn Robertson is an organizing expert, speaker and writer. She founded her business, Things in Place in the year 2000. She has been featured in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Women's Day, USA Today, the Boston Globe, CBS, Boston, NPR, and the Emmy-nominated show, Hoarders. What You’ll Learn on this Episode: The value of attending conferences with industry peers How volunteering on boards and committees opens doors and develops relationships Why understanding your expenses and not just your gross revenue is so important The importance of d

People can be frustrating. You can even frustrate yourself when you try to do things you’re not good at and it comes back to bite you. Knowing and understanding ourselves better and understanding our clients will only enhance our business, and ease up on our frustration levels! In our 19th episode of Stand Out: Growing Your Organizing and Productivity Business, host Sarah Karakaian talks with guest Jessica Butts about understanding personality types, strengths, weaknesses, and how to use this information to make your business stronger. Jessica is all about motivating, educating, and inspiring people to live their life in the front seat, using their innate abilities. Jessica was once living a life that was chosen for her instead of a life she had chosen for herself. She was working in corporate human resources, totally uninspired when a life changing event in her marriage finally got her to take control of her life and go back to graduate school and pursue her dreams of becoming a therapist. She now teaches co

Engaging with potential customers and sharing your expertise on social media is smart business. As a productivity and organization professional, you want to showcase your work, and be an active part of that online community of people who share your interests and appreciate what you do. For many, including our guest Samantha Pregenzer, Instagram is a natural fit for showcasing organization projects and sharing tips and demonstrating your expertise. She currently has 450,000 Instagram followers, so she has a lot to teach us about best practices and building your brand through social media. Samantha is the founder of Simply Organized. She is a residential professional organizer, Evernote community leader, blogger, keynote speaker, Better Homes and Garden style maker for 2016 and 2017 and has been featured in Family Circle magazine, Redbook magazine, Oprah.com, Huffington Post, Good Housekeeping, Buzzfeed and Apartment Therapy. What You’ll Learn in this Episode: How to use Instagram to gain credibility in the

Do you ever feel like your life has been something of a crooked path? It is safe to say we have all been there. My guest is very familiar with curves in the road, and she has learned how to navigate them well. Her latest life turn is as a career and life coach. In this episode, my guest Allison Task and I discuss the power of believing that dreams can come true. Allison has made a career out of guiding people through their thought processes and into the answers they already know. She likes to say, “You have answers, I have questions.” Those questions have served her and her clients well. Allison Task is a career and life coach who has helped hundreds of people transform their lives. By actively pursuing meaningful personal and career goals, Allison’s clients have changed careers, launched companies, retired early, moved their families across the country — and around the world. Prior to coaching, Allison was an on-camera cooking host, cookbook author, and marketing executive. She was the host of Yahoo’s Blue R

Many of us work with individuals on organizing in the home. Maybe you’ve thought about working on a larger scale – with an individual or department in a big company. And maybe that feels a bit overwhelming! It definitely does not have to. Guest Heather Cocozza worked in the corporate setting for several years before starting out as a productivity and organizing professional. She started out working in homes – like many of us – but has found a nice niche in assisting corporate clients. And there’s no reason you can’t enter this space as well. Heather Cocozza is the owner of Cocozza Organizing & Design, LLC which serves business and residential clients. She has been organizing for 12 years, and her clients include large establishments such as the Smithsonian Institution and National Institute of Health (NIH). She is a Certified Professional Organizer® (CPO®) and a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Cocozza has participated in the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professional

Effortless productivity might sound like a big contradiction. But that’s how our guest, Rachel Henke, has learned to function, and she wants to share the art of effortless productivity, of being present – of living fearlessly. Rachel Henke is the founder of Living Fearlessly, a best-selling author, Certified Transformative Coach and speaker. Breaking free of the 9-5 job world upon relocating to a sleepy village in the UK, Rachel started her first business in 2003 working from the breakfast bar around her two young daughters. Rachel shares a transformative understanding of the mind which shows how we’re already fully equipped to be fearless. After 30 years of self-improvement, she has finally found the secret of a happy, productive life. Combined with her extensive business and transformative coaching expertise, she’s able to guide her clients and readers to be more productive and achieve their dreams and goals without stress. Rachel is the author of Living Fearlessly and The Living Fearlessly Guide To Product

Dr. Regina Lark is the founder and owner of A Clear Path: Professional Organizing and Productivity. Dr. Lark earned a Ph.D. in U.S. Women’s History from the University of Southern California then worked with the UCLA Women’s Studies program. In 2008 she left higher education to start A Clear Path. Regina is a Certified Professional Organizer (CPO) and a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization (CPO-CD). She is a graduate of the Organizer Coach Foundation Training Program, serves as the Member Director of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), and is a member of the National Speakers’ Association. Regina specializes in working with chronic disorganization, ADHD, and hoarding, and is a relocation expert, helping families upsize or downsize from one home to the next. She is a speaker and trainer on issues ranging from hoarding, time management and productivity, women’s leadership, and the power of positive thinking. In 2017, Dr. Lark released the 3rd edition of first book,

Is selling an activity that is a “necessary evil” in your business? It doesn’t have to be that way. Today we have an expert who knows that selling is not about arm twisting, but about helping people solve problems – and that’s what your organizing and productivity business is all about, right? Guest David Fisher puts your fears to rest about selling, about networking, and presenting yourself as a professional out there in real life and online. David J.P. Fisher (also known as D. Fish) is a speaker, coach, and author of 7 books, including Hyper-Connected Selling. Building on 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and sales professional, he combines nuanced strategy and real-world tactics to help professionals become more effective, efficient, and happy. David’s goal is to help them understand the new landscape of Hyper-Connected Selling, where social media, networking, and old-school sales and communication skills are the key to providing value and staying relevant. He lives in Evanston, IL – next to a huge

Joshua Zerkel, CPO® is Head of Global Community, Asana, the easiest way for teams to track their work and get results. He is responsible for growing and engaging the Asana community around the world. For over a decade, he has focused his career on helping people and businesses get more organized and increase their productivity. Before joining Asana, Josh was Evernote’s Director of Global Customer Education and Community. He is the author of the books Evernote @ Work and Integrate: Evernote. Joshua has been featured in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, National Public Radio, CBS News, ABC News, the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, Online Organizing, among many others. He’s also an inaugural Certified Professional Organizer® and is a two-term past president of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals, San Francisco Bay Area chapter. Although he doesn’t consider himself freakishly organized, Josh does admit to spending some of his free time alphabetizing his comic books. What you’ll lea

We’re all stretched a little thin – we see it in our clients and we see it in ourselves. As a productivity and organization professional, adding virtual assistant services could just be a natural next step. Maybe you are wondering if taking your own business to the next level means outsourcing some business tasks. Hiring a virtual assistant just might be a game changer for you. Guest Molly Rose Speed is the creator of the Academy for Virtual Assistants. After years as a corporate accountant cubicle dweller, Molly Rose decided to live out her mission to live a life owning her time and her unique service to the world. By helping passionate, mission driven entrepreneurs implement their ideas online through flawless tech execution, she has not only freed herself but the hundreds of entrepreneurs she's automated and streamlined. Through The Academy for Virtual Assistants, she trains others on starting successful virtual support businesses. What you’ll learn about in this episode: How to find trustworthy virtual

If the legal aspect of starting or growing your business has you intimidated, lost or overwhelmed, we have got the expert for you. From legal documents to the ins and outs of everyday business, today's expert has us covered. With a background as an attorney, mediator and trainer of entrepreneurs, Lisa Montanaro is a sought after business expert. She is the owner of Lisa Montanaro Global Enterprises, the umbrella organization under which she offers productivity consulting, success coaching, business strategizing and speaking to individuals and organizations. Lisa is an inaugural certified professional organizer and a member of the Golden Circle of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Transitioning from another career into professional organizing Pros and cons of subcontracting under established organizers when you are just starting out Great PR starts with believing in what you do, then letting media and other influencers know about

Online video expert Brighton West has honed his skills not just in video production, but in the best ways to leverage various online video platforms and formats. Brighton started out behind the camera, making narrative and documentary videos. He soon learned that being on camera was more influential, beneficial and profitable than being behind it. So he overcame his on camera jitters and now helps his clients turn the camera on themselves. Brighton has built his business by creating YouTube tutorials about using YouTube in business. Through his channel, he's positioned himself as the expert for coaches, authors and speakers who want to grow their global audience with YouTube. Brighton works with clients around the world, handling the technical and strategic side of online video and teaching them to record their own. His team then edits, uploads and optimizes the videos, then gets them ready for promotion, to position the coach as an expert in their niche. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why video

Shawndra Holmberg, CPO-CD, is the owner of Dhucks. She signs her emails with the title: Primary Instigator of Productivity & Organization for Writers, Creatives, & Dreamers. Holmberg understands the challenges and triumphs of being a writer. Her fourth book, 31 Small Steps to Organize for Emergencies, was just published in February. Shawndra has been in business for 12 years and has lately turned her passion to guiding, mentoring, and coaching fellow writers with a new business, HYH Book Coach. She’ll inspire you to share your message and get your book(s) into the hands of readers everywhere On her journey to becoming an organizing & productivity consultant, author, and book coach, Shawndra Holmberg tackled jobs as varied as bioterrorism preparedness planner for the Hawaii State Department of Health on the Big Island, coordinated environmental and safety training on Johnston Atoll (approximately 850 miles southwest of Hawaii), and handled health and safety issues for a year at the South Pole stati

John Hunt is the senior manager of digital marketing content and e-commerce for Smead Manufacturing. Mr. Hunt has over 25-years of experience in both traditional and non-traditional media including digital strategy content creation and new product development. He also is the host of Keeping You Organized, the weekly webcast that often features NAPO organizers and is now in its fifth season. Produced by Smead a leader in office filing products and records management systems for over 100 years that has had a long term relationship with NAPO. Through Hunt’s leadership, Smead focuses on creating solutions-based content creation that builds goodwill with professional organizer and productivity consultant communities. John is going to help us understand how organizers and productivity consultants can take this model and apply it to their own businesses. What you’ll learn about in this episode: How to build on marketing assets you already have Ways in which NAPO partners with companies large and small The benefit

Eric Levenhagen is a CPA and owner of Prowise Financial Coaching. Eric’s mission is to empower entrepreneurial abundance. To that end he leads small business owners through a proven process to drive permanent profits into their business, minimize their personal income taxes and maximize their after-tax wealth. Early on in his career, Eric identified that most of the financial services industry is broken and not built to get entrepreneurs the best results. Outside of the office, Eric enjoys spending time with his wife and kids. His hobbies include reading, following college and professional football, and music. What You’ll Learn in This Episode The difference between tax preparation and tax strategy How forward thinking can help you prepare for the next tax cycle Avoiding letting the new tax laws just “happen” to you The tools you may be using already to get proactive about tax savings, and some tools to be aware of Advantages of different types of corporate entity designations – should you be a sole propriet

Liz Jenkins has a knack not just for organizing other people’s stuff, but putting the time and effort into organizing her own business for sustained growth. Jenkins is a certified professional organizer, and started her business A Fresh Space in 2005 in Franklin, Tennessee. Yes, she was a solopreneur at the time. Over the last 13 years, Liz has grown her business into a successful 12-person company, focusing on residential organizing, move management and business consulting. They have recently added a handyman division. Her National Association of Productivity and Organizing professionals contributions include chairing the 2015 NAPO conference in L.A, speaking at several NAPO conferences including the Ask The Organizer panel and a breakout session, nearly every board position in NAPO Nashville, and is currently the chair of the special interest groups. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Insights on growing your business from solopreneur to multi-person company How staffing frees you up to improve proc