We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Birdie Brennan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Birdie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?
I knew I was on to something at the end of 2000. I was and had always been an organized person. I knew that others struggled with being organized, being on time, finding their belongings, wasting time and money buying replacements. It was a nugget of an idea, but I didn’t know where it would go. Paying someone in the Midwest to help get organized was unheard of. My Dad even said, they are going to pay you to do what??
I found the National Association of Professional Organizers, signed up to be a member, went to their annual conference, and the rest is history. I found the place I belonged. Before I went to the conference, I installed a business phone, put an ad in the yellow pages, created a brochure and business card. I went to conference with everything but a client!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
It’s a cliché but it is true~ a place for everything and everything in its place. This is my mantra. I have lived by it, started a business with it, trained a team by it. The team believes that being organized simply means being able to find what you want when you want it. We are not judgmental or the decision makers with our clients. We also know that every client is different. We work with our clients to make the process work for them. We know that being organized can look different to different people. We take the time with our clients to know their goals and then help them reach them. What sets us apart from other organizers is our great customer service and attention to detail. I am very proud of the work we do. We can see relief in our clients when they gain control over their space and time. We love it when we can transfer skill and teach them how to tackle projects on their own.
Our work is very personal and we create a great relationship with our clients. It is from those relationships that the business grew to other services. They trust us to have their best interest in mind. One service that naturally grew out of the organizing business is designing and installing custom storage solutions/closets for our clients. We love this part of the business, so we made a concentrated effort to grow it. With that, my husband joined the team and later my nephew to make it a real family business. I think what sets us apart from the other closet company is looking at spaces with the “eyes of a professional organizer”.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I work fast and efficiently in my life and for my clients. I had to learn to slow down and mirror their energy. My thought was that I wanted to give them as much “bang for their buck” and that wasn’t the right thing to do for some. It is one of the hardest things for me, but I realized I was making some clients nervous. I had to become aware of their speed, their comfort, and their body language to make sure the process was comfortable and progressing like they wanted. I remember working with a hoarder and not making much progress with each visit. I went one day with the thought of firing her as a client because I didn’t see as much progress as I wanted, and I didn’t want to waste her money. That visit she said to me “You are the bright spot in my week, and I love what we accomplish.” For me that was a huge light bulb moment.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
There are multiple factors in building my reputation. The first is longevity. I’ve started my business in 2001, so I’ve been around a while. I started my business when most people said, “you do what?” It was when the organizational shows started on cable that my phone started to ring. The funny thing is that 1 out of every 3 calls was from someone who wanted to be an organizer. I helped found the Ohio Chapter of The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). In 2007, NAPO started a certification process. I sat for the test and became the first “Certified Professional Organizer” in Central Ohio. I was building a business with impeccable customer service and also being a mentor to other organizers starting their businesses. That added to an already good reputation.
While serving on some volunteer service committees in Columbus, I was in the company of their PR people. When the media was looking for an organization expert, they called me. I was in the fortunate place and time to become the local NBC organizing expert.
I held multiple volunteer positions in NAPO National, so it followed when the television shows, Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive came to town, I was able to help with both shows.
I believe my service to my clients, serving NAPO locally and nationally, and being available to other organizers was the secret to building a great reputation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.getorganizedcolumbus.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birdiebrennancloset_org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BirdieBrennanCustomClosets
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdiebrennan/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/birdiebrennan
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/BirdieBrennan
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=4uM2QOslq6MmVTZB9yJf8A
- Other: welcome on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ8EllvF8LI