Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Seirra Hamilton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Seirra, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I’m a Professional Organizer, who launched my business, Nicely Placed Organizing, in October 2021. This started as an idea during the pandemic when I saw my cousin getting her closet organized by her best friend. In that moment, a light bulb clicked for me, to start a business in order to share my gift of organizing with those who need these services in their homes, offices, and workspaces in the area where I live and surrounding areas. From the beginning, I was sure of executing on this idea because I’ve always loved organizing from a young age and have wanted to start a business since high school. To get the process started, I spent the next few months diving into the research of what was necessary to start a business beyond passion – the legal documents with the state, choosing the best business structure to start with, whether there was a market need for organizing services, and more. I also spent time brainstorming potential business names and polling a few of my closest family and friends to ask which name they liked most. Once I decided on the name, I checked to make sure it was available to use and began putting together a strategy for what I wanted launch day to look like. Before solidifying my business with a launch, I had to take some time away for personal reasons, but this time away played an important role in what my business represents today. When I was ready to get restarted, I completed the filing of an Articles of Organization form and supporting documents with the state and officially launched my business by sharing it with people around me and hosting a giveaway to gain a greater reach and continue to build a community.

Seirra, 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?

My name is Seirra Hamilton, and I’ve loved organizing since I was younger. I’ve noticed some people are unaware of what organizing is, so to define it in my own words, organizing is the decluttering and structuring of a physical space that at one point had some level of clutter. This skill allows us to function in life less stressed, less overwhelmed, and with more efficiency. Alongside organizing, I have a background in Biology and Public Health, and some of my hobbies include running, cooking, and sightseeing. I vividly remember organizing the room I shared with my sister every few weeks when I was younger and the difference it made in my ability to live in the space with a clearer mind, so choosing to create a business within the professional organizing industry wasn’t much of a challenging decision for me. When I first started my business, I researched the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and began accumulating hours organizing with my clients to become certified as a Professional Organizer. Operating within the professional organizing industry has allowed me to impact the lives of many on a daily basis, and I enjoy what I do.

Within my business, I provide one time and repeat in-person home, workspace, and office organizing services to first time homebuyers, executives, and full-time artists with art studios/workspaces to get them out of the house on time, release them of their overwhelming feelings caused by clutter, and ensure they meet project deadlines without compromising their work. Virtual organizing services are also provided for clients who are confident in completing organizing projects on their own but stuck in figuring out what first step to take when starting. Within these virtual sessions, we work one on one to create a plan together during our call, and afterwards, each client receives a step-by-step outline to guide them towards achieving their organizing goals within the timeframe we agreed on. They also receive the opportunity to have monthly check ins that help track their progress and provide them with an accountability partner (us) along their journey.

My business’ vision is to elevate our clients’ personalities and lifestyles through organizing services centered around high stress prevention and functionality. As someone with a background in Biology and Public Health, I’m aware of the serious effects stress can have on our mind, body, and physical space and the importance of preventing the onset of chronic conditions/illnesses where possible. For this reason, I value working with my clients during the earliest stages of stress or before the stress starts to affect their ability to function on a daily basis.

I’m most proud of my persistence and intentionality in building relationships as a business owner. Being a business owner and entrepreneur has its challenges, and every day presents me with a choice to keep going or to call it quits. I choose to persist because I strive to keep my “why” at the forefront. Every day is a new opportunity to make a huge impact on my clients and the opportunity for me to create a life of wealth and flexibility for myself and my family. The intentionality behind the relationships I build means a lot to me because at times, I believe that business owners and entrepreneurs, myself included, can get caught up in a cycle of networking to meet new people. While making new connections is always an important aspect of business, I believe there comes a time where taking those connections further into the stage of building relationships is more important because there is a greater value in having enriching, lasting, and trustworthy relationships with people we surround ourselves with. Our relationships, in my opinion, can also open doors that money and a simple connection sometimes can’t.

Lastly, if you don’t remember anything else from what I’ve shared here, I want potential clients and followers to remember my business’ values of trust, authenticity, and community. Welcoming someone into your home and into your thoughts around organizing your physical spaces takes time and trust, and I strive to create authentic, honest connections with those I encounter to build this trust. I also strive to create a community where there’s no judgement but rather encouragement, friendship, and healthy accountability for living an organized life. I plan to continue growing a sustainable business centered around these important values.

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

When I first launched my business, I knew I wanted to establish a community built on authenticity, trust, and a stern sense of honesty; one that would move people towards being active within the community and lead them to becoming clients over time and/or referring people to my business for services. I started building my audience by choosing the social media platform I felt the most comfortable with (Instagram), and I created a business page and showed up consistently, even by reposting my business’ posts on my personal page’s Instagram stories. Over time, I’ve provided engaging content, valuable organizing tips, and incorporated polls that allow my community to feel seen/heard. I’ve included my community in the process of choosing what type of content I post by asking for their feedback, analyzing weekly insights, and then posting more of what my audience likes to see. Something else I’ve done is share information about my business’ services alongside stories of the transformations my clients have experienced within their homes and offices after they’ve worked with Nicely Placed Organizing. I still post these, in order to make my community aware of the services they can purchase and the results they are bound to receive as well. When clients share their reviews of working with my business, I’ve been intentional about asking for their permission to reshare it with my social media community, and when they give their consent, I’ve posted their reviews on social media, even the areas of improvement clients have listed. I’ve shown evidence of my follow up with clients who shared ways we could improve services provided to them, on social media and how I’ve worked with these clients to determine how to meet/exceed their needs.

Once I felt comfortable with this strategy on Instagram, I launched my business page on Facebook with a giveaway, and now I’m creating community built on the same values on Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok, in ways that cater to those platforms and the type of people who frequent those platforms. This has allowed me to gain clients/customers from social media and new followers from people who already follow my page or from my page being placed in front of new people through the algorithm’s placement. This is a strategy I’m extremely grateful I implemented from the start, and as a result, my advice is to be yourself, choose a platform you’re comfortable with, and implement a strategy that not only serves you but also the people you’ll be reaching. This type of return is one that is sure to sustain you going forward.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I believe there’s so much to learn from books, videos, successful business owners/entrepreneurs who have surpassed the level I’m at currently, and small business resources provided through government level programs. A few of the books that have significantly impacted me in this journey so far are Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma, and The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington. Rich Dad, Poor Dad focuses on the development of your mindset around money, and Kiyosaki gives his life lessons as guidance for how to navigate building financial wealth. I mention this book a lot to people who ask for books to read because it reveals that it’s not as difficult as we think it is to create financial wealth. Within the book, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, the focus is mainly on finding peace and gratitude within the journey of life and what we do rather than creating a life built around seeking after material possessions. It holds valuable life lessons that I find are helpful to revisit, and it’s a book that can be helpful to read more than once. The last book I mentioned, The 12 Week Year, has been a more recent read, focused on improving productivity and execution skills by condensing yearly goals into 12-week periods. This has led to me having a huge mindset shift around my goals, thus contributing to me accomplishing them within a shorter period of time but also carving out time to thoroughly celebrate wins and evaluate my plan overall before starting new goals. Overall, I’m recognizing that this book has allowed me to get more done in life.

In order to reach new levels, outside of reading books and watching videos, I strive to surround myself with other business owners/entrepreneurs who have already conquered levels I have yet to reach. These individuals usually say it’s better for people coming after them to learn from their mistakes than to repeat them in our own lives, so some communities I take pride in staying close to and within are Donni Wiggins’ Actionable CEO mentorship community, Earn Your Leisure YouTube channel and platform, and Melanin Money Podcast, to name a few. My city’s Office of Economic Development team has also been a pivotal piece of my journey, providing me with opportunities to expand my network, scale my business, funding opportunities, business coaching and so much more that’s important to build, grow, and scale a business. While the resources are helpful for learning purposes, there comes a time where we also have to take action on what we learn, and I’m glad the resources I surround myself with remind me of the importance of stepping out of the accumulation phase and into acting on the things that I learn as well. I’m excited to keep learning and taking action going forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nicelyplacedorganizing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicelyplacedorganizing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicelyplacedorganizing
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seirra-hamilton
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nicelyplacedorganizing
• Other: Virtual Organizing Community Coming Soon! Visit this link to read more information and sign up for updates: https://nicelyplacedorganizing.com/coming-soon-our-virtual-organizing-community/

Image Credits

Mo.ment Visuals & Jo Hayes Images