We were lucky to catch up with Kinsley Roper recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kinsley, thanks for joining us today. Talk to us about building a team – did you hire quickly, how’d you recruit the first few team members? Any interesting lessons?

My Other Mother is my business baby. It was just myself, a free google website, and word of mouth – at free and discounted pricing – when I started. My first employee was actually the sister-in-law of my third client. Meg hired me to do some organizing of her children’s artwork. She then wanted me to tackle her parents’ home – where I met Meg’s precious parents and Ashley. Ashley was a natural. Eventually, Meg joined us as well. Talk about keeping it in the family. From there, the M.O.M family grew by friends and stay-at-home moms wanting to join in building this business one client at a time. I also recruited from my sorority sisters. I have been blessed with someone knowing someone. Two people reached out to me and submitted resumes. Whenever the company grew, God sent me an employee. We definitely faced feast and famine. Employees have come and gone, but I still check in on my former team because I am only here because of them. They helped me during growing pains. They definitely helped me learn about managing recruiting and retaining employees and structuring employee onboarding and training.

Kinsley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My Other Mother is a professional organizing and senior and specialty move management company located in Forest Acres, SC. Our clients are new moms who need help organizing a playroom or nursery, busy professionals who need help creating and maintaining systems for quick turnaround after work trips, families who might be experiencing a renovation or restoration who need packing during construction and then unpacking and organizing after the project is done, adult children who need to downsize their parents from fifty years of house to a senior living community or assisted living, or people moving to and from Columbia who rely on move managers to create a plan, help declutter, take donations, organize liquidation, pack, unpack, and resettle (down to making beds and arranging any other services needed such as mounting TVs or hanging artwork). Basically, if it needs to declutter.ed, tidied, organized, donated, or moved, we can handle it. We tackle any areas from pantries to closets to storage units and even commercial properties such as offices and warehouses. Many people have heard of professional organizers. We help clients make decisions about what to keep, toss, or donate. Then we take any measurements needed, order product, and organize the space. Most people, however, are not aware of move managers and how much easier, and actually more cost effective, our team can make one of the most stressful events (transitioning, moving, resettling) much smoother.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A very hard lesson to “unlearn” is letting go. and allowing people to see your vulnerability. I have always felt the need to control everything – partly because I do not want to bother anyone or be a burden and partly because I’m a control freak. I’m an only child from a divorced family and a pathological people-pleaser. I never thought of people-pleasing as a bad thing,. I helped others, and it helped me. I was a natural leader. I also felt like if someone asked then the answer was always “yes ma’am” or “yes sir”. I wanted everyone to be happy. I wanted people to like me. But people=pleasing quickly becomes an addictive drug with dangerous outcomes. Absorbing all the blame and never taking any credit. . .focusing on the tiniest mistake and missing out on the celebration of the outcome. . .From the outside, “Kinsley is so positive, She always shows up with handwritten notes and homemade cookies.” If I had to say “no” or ask for help, I felt like a failure. And while I knew I was drained and overwhelmed, I had no clue how to ask for help. And it broke me. Literally. In 2023, after passing out and having get staples in my head, after failing multiple EKGs, and seeing so many “-ologists”, I was ready to quit (my body finally manifesting outwardly what it had been carrying inwardly), I was diagnosed with lupus, told I most likely had the itty bittiest heart attack, and failing a tilt table test and immediately receiving a loop band monitor in my heart, I had to seriously evaluate my mindset and work ethic. I have never been good at work-life balance or having boundaries. After much, much therapy, health scares, oh and a surprise baby at forty-one, I’ve been forced to learn that saying “no” is okay (it’s also a complete sentence) and realized that I cannot continue to fill everyone else from my metaphorical “empty pitcher”, Who thought it would be so physically upsetting to have to learn to say “no” and also ask for help. So, now it’s public – it’s hard for me to be vulnerable. But I cannot be a good business owner if I”m not willing to delegate and trust others with my business baby.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Without a doubt, word of mouth is still the most effective source for business – and it’s free! My clients are amazing! As a business owner, you always want to know where your marketing is making a difference. I always ask, “so, how did you hear about me?” Eighty percent of the time, it’s from a previous or current client. The other twenty percent is a google search – where I pull up first because my clients are so kind with their glowing five star reviews. Social media marketing with before and after pictures and flash sales have also been effective.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.meetmyothermother.com
• Instagram: @myothermother2018
• Facebook: My Other Mother
• Other: Tik Tok – Meetmyothermother