Who doesn't love to be inspired?

For me, inspiration comes in many forms, sometimes it's a beautiful piece of creativity, while other times it might be admiring someone's leadership qualities. Recently, I have been participating in a series of tele-calls through  Succeeding Women. These five women have collaborated together to create a community to support women entrepenuers become more successful - - on their terms.

Ellen Martin, is one of the amazing leaders over at Succeeding Women and I was thrilled when she accepted my request in doing a little blog-view for me... Since 2003, Ellen has been setting the standards for our industry as an organizer, productivity trainer and coach. I have found (after reading her interview) that we have quite a lot in common, previous work experience and reasons why we love being an organizer. She's a great gal and someone that really inspires me...

Meet Ellen Martin of A New Leaf...

Tell me a little bit about your business and what you do?

A New Leaf helps individuals to clear clutter from their mental and physical environments.  We do this through one on one consultation and through workshops and training. I am also a co-founder of SucceedingWomen.com which is an online community dedicated to inspiring, educating, and supporting emerging female executive and entrepreneurs.

 

How and what made you decide on your business?

This is a long story so I’ll try to keep it short. I  learned about the organizing industry about 8 years ago while reading a book about Home Based Businesses.  As I read about what professional organizer do I realized that I had been doing this in my jobs as an Executive Assistant.  I didn’t start the business right away, but waited until 2003 after moving to New Orleans.  I started off the same way most of us do working with a few people to get practice.  One of my first experiences was helping a co-worker to organize her kitchen.  She confided to me that she and her family hadn’t shared a meal together in years in part due to the dining table being covered with papers.  After working with her for a few hours we had cleared the table and set up some systems to keep it from coming back.  She was in tears because she and her family would be able to enjoy dinner together that night at their newly cleared off dining room table.  Moments like that one are what make doing this work so satisfying.  Professional Organizers truly help people to change their lives.

 

What is most rewarding about what you do?

Helping people to reclaim the use of their homes or offices and to take back control of their lives is the most rewarding thing about this profession.  Certainly, I never felt that satisfaction in the corporate world.

 

What is your biggest organization challenge?

It is definitely overloading myself with projects.  I love to help everyone so it’s a challenge for me to say no to anything.  I am also a perfectionist and that causes some problems when I am writing or trying to get a project wrapped up. 

 

What is your favorite organization tool?

I don’t know if I have a favorite.  I like to advocate the use of one notebook or tool to capture all ideas.  Lots of people have the habit of writing on whatever is closest to them at a particular moment.  So, I like to suggest that they use one notebook or pad for all notes.  This way, if they are looking for a phone number or notes from a meeting, they only have to look in one place. 

I believe that what works for one person may not work for another, so I don’t like to make a general statement about best or favorite organizing tools.  So, my best advice is to try something and see if works for you.  If the tool or system doesn’t work for you, pay close attention to the reasons it’s not working and find something else that might address that.

 

If you could share one message about your business, what would it be?

There is hope for everyone who truly wants to be more organized and productive.  When you make a commitment to the process your life will change in wonderful ways.