We were lucky to catch up with Cathy King recently and have shared our conversation below.

Cathy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

I take a sustainability approach to organizing to deliver peace and well-being to women and their families. Sustainability starts with taking care of yourself and your environment. I work to ensure sustainability with an aim of not buying more products to get yourself organized, as I believe that we already own all that we need in our home to deliver home organization. I help clients put processes in place to help prevent disorganization from reoccurring, making it sustainable. I work hard to ensure that as many products as possible that do get displaced make it back into the cycle by reusing, recycling, or rehoming the items. This is a win for clients and a win for the environment.

Cathy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Why I started

I decided when the pandemic started in 2020 that now was the time to implement the vote for me. I had been thinking about my own business for such a long time and felt like I was going to run out of time to help women feel control and a sense of peace in their environment. When I turned 50, I completed my MBA in Sustainability and knew that I needed to start making changes. So as I turn 60 in 2022, I want to own and manage a business that I can be proud of, that can help as many people as possible feel empowered to make incremental environmental improvements without feeling overwhelmed or like the small changes can’t make a difference.  I want to make sure that clients do not let perfection stand in the way of taking action no matter how big or small.

What I did before this

I worked for 30+ years as a corporate finance executive managing teams around the world. I traveled all over the world helping groups implement and manage their businesses and teams. I have worked and experienced all levels of business transitions: Downsizing, upsizing, rightsizing, outsourcing, closing, and consolidating. All of these transitions, while business oriented, are not dissimilar to what happens in our households. I managed and worked with teams in manufacturing, IT, and finance to achieve business goals and financial success. All these years of work required discipline, process, and organization to deliver success.  This is the same skill set I use to help clients prepare their daily living and working environment with understanding of the goals they are trying to meet whether it is to get in and out of the house faster, find lost items, or just sit in peace.

What my credentials mean

NAPO-certified business – National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals
This means that my business and I follow the NAPO code of compliance, which includes serving my clients with integrity, competence, and objectivity, and will treat them with respect and courtesy.

ICD (Institute for Challenging Disorganization) Level I Certification CD

Northeastern MBS in Sustainability – I will seek the best environmental solutions where possible for organizing and consulting with clients.

What I hope to provide the women I help

I hope to provide them with a sense of peace within their homes and environments as they face their many transitions. To leave them with tools that will help them not only maintain their environments but improve them. I want to encourage healthy behavior and functioning that will enable a healthier and more positive environment. I hope to find time in schedules that will allow women and their families to spend more time on enjoyment and less time on organizing and fighting with “stuff” that they just aren’t sure what to do with.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I grew up in rural New England in a household where working and earning a paycheck was valued higher than education and as such, I went to work full-time doing assembly work as soon as I graduated from High School. As I worked and looked around, I knew that I needed to do something more so I went to night school and pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Accounting from Franklin Pierce University while simultaneously beginning my climb on the corporate ladder. While climbing the corporate ladder I got married and started a family and had two sons and decided as I approached 50 that something was missing and with the help of the company I worked for, I went back to school and earned my MBA in Sustainability from Northeastern University. I wanted to educate myself in something that I thought would be bigger than just a paycheck. And once again as I approached 60 I felt the need to define myself and my need to serve, I decided to take the bold move to become an entrepreneur and start my own business “The Sustainable Organizer” A business born to serve women and their families as well as the environment.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After climbing the corporate ladder for 30-plus years, jumping into the water of small business ownership was a huge pivot. I knew I wanted to serve but I also knew that I wanted to work hard to be a part of the solution to help the world begin to repair the environment that also so badly needs us to be better stewards. I am a person that is not afraid of working too hard and my fear of failure pushes me to continue to refine my future as well as serve as a model to my boys that it is never too late to define yourself and leave your mark. I believe that every baby step we take in the pursuit of doing better and staying true to ourselves will result in goodness. While being an entrepreneur is not an easy journey as you have to serve so many disciplines, I also believe that when you look hard enough there are so many great organizations that hold their arms open to help. I have leaned on CWE (Center for Women and Enterprise), SCORE (the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, is dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals.) as well as my family and network to start a business that can deliver goodness a bite at a time.

Contact Info:

• Website: HTTPS://www.thesustainableorganizer.com
• Instagram: HTTPS://www.instagram.com/thesustainableorganizer/
• Facebook: HTTPS://www.facebook.com/thesustainableorganizer
• Linkedin: HTTPS://LinkedIn.com/in/thesustainableorganizer/

Image Credits
Photography https://www.jessicarphotography.com