We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Griffin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I have had 14 jobs in my life. Yes, you read that right…14. I worked at McDonald’s for 1 day. I have worked at Joe’s Crab Shack, Target, Wal-Mart… all the majors. I even had two jobs at once for 6 months. I have always been a hustler. I was young and didn’t know what I really wanted to do but always was in a service oriented job. Never a career. There is a distinct difference between a career and a job. I left the corporate world in 2014 to have my first child and never went back, it was my last and final job.

I went to school for psychology with a minor in sociology. I knew I was a good listener and I wanted to help people navigate the inner workings of the mind to create a more peaceful life for them.

If you know my story about Organized Creative Design, you know it started from humble beginnings with family and friends being our first clients before word of mouth became the norm. I started Organized Creative Design on a whim and suggestion. I never expected a hobby and something that came natural to me to be a business that is growing.

I love being a business owner and being my own boss. To state it clearly I have never wondered what it would be like to go back to the corporate world and have a ‘regular job’. Never!

This is a dream come true for me. I genuinely get to help people transform their lives by simply helping them organize their spaces. Every single client has become a part of my family and many are friends that I get to enjoy the company of regularly.

I personally believe that when you find the thing that you love to do the most, it no longer becomes work to you. To rise every day knowing I get to join someone in their home along their journey of becoming more organized, its just a dream. Why would I ever want to leave that?

Rachel, 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?

HI! My name is Rachel Griffin and I am a professional organizer. Full time mother to two children who are 17 months apart and a wife to a business owner in the oil industry chasing down our dreams in West Texas.

Organized Creative Design is mainly based in Kingwood which is where we have lived our entire lives. We love it here and couldn’t imagine raising our kids anywhere else.

Organizing has always been something that I was naturally good at. When I was younger I remember creating a library in my closet that my sisters would be required to check books in/out of via a spreadsheet that I had cataloging them all. Yes, I knew EXCEL (thanks Mom) and yes, there are still some books missing to this day. Organizing is soothing to me. Its a habit that creates peace and order which I thrive on so naturally when the opportunity arose in 2016 to start organizing the spaces my friends and family needed I took full advantage to see if this was something I could do to have a little extra jingle in my pocket.

I remember going on a trip to the beach and Googling information on how to become a ‘professional organizer’. I was thrilled to know this was even a thing you could actually do to make money. This was the starting point that pushed me to where I am today. I took cues from other organizers and I learned from them what I implement today into my own business. As with everything, it takes time to hone your skills and really make your style show through. Learning is something you can never really stop doing.

When I walk away from a clients house I want them to be able to maintain their newly organized space. Sure it may look pretty on Instagram and it may go viral for being so outstandingly beautiful but beauty means nothing if the client can’t maintain the space. To marry the beauty with function, now that is something to be revered.

When you decide to work with Organized Creative Design whether it is one space or multiple, you are treated as family. We don’t simply organize. We want to get to know each and every client. As you can imagine most of our clients are women, however, we want to get to know the husband as well. He too will get to enjoy this space and should be a part of the conversation.

A lot of people like to clean before we come. We tend to hear, “Let me get it organized before you come over.” My response is always, “Please don’t do that!” The reason we don’t want you clean or organize is because we genuinely want to see how you use your space everyday. We want to help you and everyone in the home be able to love and use the space as intended so we take our time and really get to know you.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I am a big believer in supporting women owned businesses, small businesses and businesses within your community. I have lived in Kingwood my whole life and although Kingwood feels so small, we have a lot of people who live here, and we are growing.

Focusing on Kingwood and building up the small businesses here has been a game changer. I have seen total reciprocation of services from business to business and that doesn’t waver. Its always a good idea to support a small business in your community.

Let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter if you are a business owner or not, people talk. Eventually your name will get tossed around. Give them something good to talk about. Be bold. I love being that girl that’s bold, a little wild and in your face at times but making an impression is key. I never want to leave the room and have somebody say, “What was her name?”

Make a lasting impression!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Oh, social media. How I loathe thee.

The relationship strain with social media is palatable. I find the more reels I see the more I am not the only one who feels this way.

Lets rewind for a second back to when reels weren’t even a thing. I met a social media influencer who I had somehow been following on Instagram. We connected and started working together. She used Organized Creative Design and I got to ask her questions about how to do the whole “Instagram Thing”
Great relationship. We are good friends to this day.

Instagram has come a long way since then, and thankfully because now you can duel post to Facebook and Instagram. Its magic. Take full advantage of that.

Social media didn’t come natural to me at all and honestly it was something I resisted for as long as I could. I wasn’t interested in lining Mark Zuckerbergs’ pockets anymore than necessary; however, the time came where I had to jump on the bandwagon or risk loosing out on potential clients. I had to learn everything from scratch. Thankfully I had my friend but Youtube can be a great source of learning.

As time has gone along I, like everyone else on social media, tend to obsess over followers, likes and the necessary elements of social that integrate you into feeling oh so good about yourself. After, several conversations with social media experts I have learned to no longer obsess over these numbers. The key is not followers or likes, the key is: DO YOU HAVE CLIENTS? The answer was always YES, and honestly I was busier than I wanted to be so I stopped looking at the numbers and started focusing on my brand.

I rebranded with a new, modern logo and started looking at making my feed prettier and more eye catching. I started posting regularly and planning out my content. I resisted this for a long time because who has hours to spend on a Sunday planning out content and making posts? Not me! So instead I learned how to use Canva to my advantage and how to create content that is current and necessary.

The followers will come in time. Work on your brand

Contact Info:

• Website: ocdforyourhome.com
• Instagram: organizedcreativedesign
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ocdforyourhome

Image Credits
B.Marie Photography