Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kara Drew. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
For as long I can remember, I have enjoyed cleaning and organizing. I remember as a child waking up early morning to reorganize my closet and getting in trouble for making so much noise. My cousins would be so excited when I came over because they knew I would get their rooms in order!
Fast forward to 2018 after giving 10 years of my life to an organization only to be laid off the same year I gave birth to my beautiful identical twin girls, I decided that I wanted more for my family. My daughters not only motivate me to build a successful business that I can pass down to them, but they drive me to set an example that they can learn and flourish from. I want my girls to do what they love and not be content in a career that you give so much of yourself and could at any second let you go. As a result of my experience, I decided that since organizing spaces is literally my obsession I needed to bring my dream business to reality.
Kara, 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?
I am an United States Air Force veteran with over 21 years of experience in Business Administration / Management within the field of Information Technology where I served as a collaborative leader and facilitator amongst different facets. I have three graduate degrees: Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership with a specialization in Information Systems and Technology, Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Arts in Information Technology Management. I also currently serve as Adjunct Faculty in both the MBA and CIS programs at Park University and previously served as an Adjunct Instructor in the Business Administration undergraduate program for over 7 years at Virginia University of Lynchburg.
While I enjoyed my time in the military and working in in IT it just simply is not my passion. In life you have to love what you do to give your best self. With organizing there is no question about it as I know I am giving my best self all while enjoying what I do! Most importantly I am helping so many people who want and need my help.
Organizing With KD was founded on the principle of having a clear mind. My passion was driven by the psychological benefits of a well organized space. Having a well organized home not only allows you to focus on other aspects of your life but it frees up time and energy to improve your life in other areas.
What makes our offered service innovative is that we create a unique solution for every client unlike our competitors that apply the same method and techniques to every client.
What makes me most proud of my business is being able to bring clarity to our clients. Many of our clients are overwhelmed with their organization project and do not know where to start. What happens is it continues to get delayed resulting in further clutter in the space and stress on the client. One project that comes to mind was for a five bedroom home where the client did not know where to start. The client was medically impaired for over two years after having a stroke and expressed extreme feelings of being overwhelmed. The look of amazement on her face once the project was done solidified that we were making a difference to the lifestyle and mental well being of our clients.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I started my business with absolutely nothing. There honestly was not much needed to get started. However, I remember getting my first project and wanting to appear with a branded professional look. Since I had absolutely nothing in my business bank account, except for my own personal funds so I had to employ self-funding. I went to target purchased a colored shirt that just happen to be the exact color of my logo (also self-funded) and went to an embroidery shop to have my company name embroidered on the shirt. I never felt so proud. It was something about seeing my business name on my shirt that made it official for me.
Though my business didn’t really require a lot of startup funding the little things do add up. Obtaining my LLC by registering with the state, having a website and all the associated fees were costs I had to cover. Even so, if I had to do it again I would as there’s nothing more valuable than investing in yourself especially in something that you really want to. I did not do everything overnight and it took a little over a year to get everything in place where I could officially /legally start my business.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Reflecting back on each project that I have worked to date, I would say the biggest lesson I had to unlearn was to not become emotionally attached to my clients. In life we all have challenges that we face but much like doctors we cannot take on our clients issues or circumstances. It is important to remember what we are there to accomplish: why the client hired us. It is within human nature to have empathy for others and I absolutely believe having a good balance is key to having a successful business or you’ll find yourself devoting more time than what you were being compensated for which may feed our souls but not our business.
Another lesson that I had to unlearn was to understand that family members are clients when hired. This means limiting discounts and not devoting more time than compensated for.
In both scenarios, if made a pattern it will be difficult for a business to survive financially.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://organizingwithkd.com/
- Instagram: @OrganizingWithKD
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@organizingwithkd?si=tL2RjZQHfqc6gObd
Image Credits
Photo of me standing in from of the closet was taken by Damond Lockett. All others were taken by me.