We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Cunningham recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so one thing we think people don’t talk about nearly enough is investments – either time or money. What’s one of the best or worst investments you’ve made and what did you learned from the experience?

The best investment I’ve made to Everyday Organize is moving from working as a solo organizer to working with a team of organizers. The first (almost) two years of business, I did all of the organizing alone and really created the processes needed to be an efficient business. But as business grew, I found myself working 7 days a week and feeling exhausted.

At the beginning of 2022 I began to explore the idea of bringing on a team. I was shocked at the interest and depth of organizers that came my way! I quickly realized that having a team allowed me better margin as a business owner and allowed us to finish projects faster and with additional expertise on every project. It was a win:win! The client gets their space back much quicker and the combined organizing expertise on a project is invaluable.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello there! I’m Lauren Cunningham, owner + organizer at Everyday Organize in Kansas City (and virtually). I constantly get asked how I got started in organizing…very early on as a child I realized being organized was not a “normal” child trait, but something unique to me. And I carried those traits into the work world as a project manager and then event planner for years. I love logistics and details, and I love helping people. So during the quarantine, I did what seemed crazy at the time and I started an organizing business! And it’s been such a ride, initially helping clients figure out how to organize home offices and implement home school spaces. And now our primary focus is maximizing the potential of each space, and finding ways to make it beautiful, while also creating organizing systems that can easily be maintained long-term.

We focus primarily on home organizing – decluttering, unpacking, space planning, organizing and styling. We are experts at taking a space that isn’t working and showing you its possibilities. We are full-service, handling every aspect from the planning, shopping and implementation – and our clients can be involved as much or as little as they want after the decluttering is complete.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Let me first say, it looks easy to build a social meeting following. But I have learned, it’s WAY harder than it looks! Looking back now, I spent too much time looking at what others were doing and taking advice from influencers who had hundreds of thousands of followers. I posted while on vacation (out of fear of the algorithm) and I stressed about every word I wrote.

Here’s what I’ve learned:
1) Be yourself – stop looking at others. And if you see accounts that make you feel less-than (even if they aren’t trying to or even aware) just stop following them. When you stop looking at others, you can decide what your brand should be, and how you want to show up.
2) Regardless of what anyone says, you don’t have to post multiple times a day, or even every day. Create a regular schedule that you can maintain consistently and then do it.
3) If it doesn’t equate to sales, then what’s the point. In the beginning, every lead that came my way was from social media. So that’s where I put my marketing efforts. These days it’s Google, so I’ve transitioned my efforts accordingly.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Maintaining a relationship with our clients is one of our highest priorities. Call me old school, but I still send handwritten notes to each client following their organize. Because what adult doesn’t love getting mail that isn’t a bill?! I send referral cards where both the client and a friend they refer can get a free hour of organizing. And then I use a system called Dubsado to manage a workflow of email touch points at different points post-organize to check in. We are looking at taking the next step this month and starting a regular email marketing schedule and allowing clients to opt-in so we can keep in touch with them long-term.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://everydayorganize.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydayorganize/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayorganize
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/everyday-organize/

Image Credits:

Personal photo taken by Kelli Marie Photography