In 2008, I started Cure the Clutter. I wanted to start a year earlier but couldn’t think of a name. Clear the Clutter and Clutter Curer were some possible names but then a dear friend called me and told me that in the middle of the night she wrote down this name, it was Cure the Clutter. My business name was chosen, and I was finally ready to go. With excitement, a fictitious name certificate, and some insurance, I was ready to take on my first client.
As the years progressed, I educated myself in the professional organizing field. I read books, watched videos of Julie Morgenstern, where she shared about some people being 10 minutes late and explaining that a reason could be that they didn’t want to waste the 10 minutes. So instead of being late you could bring something to do with you if you arrived early. What a brilliant thought, that I have adopted.
I have grown as a business owner, as a professional, and as a mama. My desire originally was to help provide for my family and use the gifts I have been blessed with to serve my community. I have always loved to organize spaces from a young age. I got my start organizing my barbies then moved to organizing my family’s refrigerator, then into dressers and closets, and any other space I could get my hands on. My husband jokingly shares that he was my first client and it’s true.
I absolutely love organizing and never thought it was something I could do until I was a grown up and saw the opportunity to fill a need and serve people. With the blessing of my husband and his support we launched my organizing business. Now 15 years later, it’s tremendously rewarding and can also be so hard some weeks.
Last week was a week with 5 sessions that resulted in:
1 No show appointment.
1 cancelation with a strongly worded email saying they don’t need us anymore.
1 rescheduled appointment
2 clients that kept their appointments.
Being a small business owner isn’t for the faint of heart. Rejection is part of running a business or doing anything for that matter. You can ask for the appointment and get rejected. You can reach out to an editor and get rejected. You can have a calendar full of clients and still feel frustrated with the one cancelation. There have been so many moments where I wanted to quit. There have been times where I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing. There have been moments I felt taken advantage of. There have been occasions where I thought, if I stopped, would it even matter.
When I started this business 15 years ago, I didn’t know what would be awaiting me.
Had I given up, I would have missed out on helping hundreds of people.
Had I given up, I would have missed out on working many hours doing something I love.
Had I given up, I would have missed out on joyful work that doesn't feel like work.
Had I given up, I would have missed out on the opportunity to be watched by millions on TV.
Had I given up, I would have missed out on the opportunity to hear some amazing stories and meet some wonderful people.
I am optimistic, I am an encourager, I seek the Lord for guidance but…. there are moments where I do feel frustrated, sad and disappointed. I know that the daily grind impacts the weekly and monthly outcomes so that is why I haven’t given up just because of one person, one event, or one incident. I do see the bigger picture but sometimes the bigger picture isn’t revealed to you from the onset or even after years of labor.
So, what did I do to keep going in the hardest of times. I would pray for guidance. I would reach out to people to ask them if they needed help. I would focus on other aspects of my business, like my website (I’m on my 3rd update), work on social media ideas (this wasn’t around when I started) or preparing speeches or workshops to do with the public. I used the off time to be productive. It can be discouraging but then I get this wonderful text from a friend of encouragement or a text from a client that accomplished their to-do list and it puts things into perspective.
I am so grateful for this journey of 15 years. I am ready for the next 15 full of new clients, old clients, wonderful memories, and the hardships that come with creating, failing, and working. Happy 15th birthday to my 4th baby, Cure the Clutter!
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