Start Your Own Business: Office Organizer

Start your own business as an office organizer the same way you'd start any business. Start with a mission, a vision, and a plan. Having an organized office is integral to the smooth operations of any business, and you'll need to be super organized if you want to sell your organizing services to any business. Most businesses will not be interested in paying you just to come into their office to organize it unless you can show them the value in your service. To sell your value, you'll need to draw up your plan.

Mission Statement

You should draft a mission statement for yourself and even for your clients. Your statement will explain who your customer is, what your purpose is, and how you'll achieve your purpose. A sample mission statement for a small office organizing business might be:

Wise Office Organizing aims to foster the local economy of Flagler County through streamlining the office structure of small businesses and nonprofit agencies in the county. Wise Office Organizing will employ the latest technology innovations as well as time honored office organizing techniques tailored to each business's own mission.

Your mission statement may change as your business becomes more successful, but it is imperative you know the nature of your business mission before you begin any of the operational tasks, including the strategic planning of your business.

Vision Statement

You should write a vision statement as a way to set a long term goal. Do you see yourself expanding and employing people? Do you see your business expanding geographically or commercially? You might want your business to evolve into something more comprehensive. Whatever the case, your vision will envelope all that you do in your business so that you are perpetually moving upward.

Planning

You will need to plan your business. Even if you only plan to target a few businesses to offer your services so that you make a few extra bucks a month, you should write a business plan as well as a strategic plan. Begin with determining how big you want to be and what your startup costs will be (and where you'll get your capital for this venture). Before you begin any formally drafted plans, brainstorm for ideas. If you see yourself organizing offices of a small number of people each week, how will you advertise? What will you charge? What specific services will you offer?

Begin with the simplest plan you can before adding more complicated information. You can contact your local small business administration to find a SCORE counselor who can help you draft a business plan and help you determine some of the best ways to go about getting your business started.

As part of your plan, determine how your business will function for your clients. Will you offer one time organizing or do you offer some type of monthly monitoring? How you structure your services will be important in your planning the logistics of your business.

Basic Office Organizing

Office organization hinges on inter-departmental cohesion and overall smooth communication. Each business will have a different flavor; however, you can help an office achieve its goals by observing its mission, employee job descriptions, and nature of the office. Determine how information goes up and down the chain of command, from employee to employee, and from client/customer to employee and vise versa. Then, you can look for ways to improve that stream of communication.

Some factors that may influence bad organization can be:

* Poor office orientation

* Lack of Standard Operating Procedures for job functions
* Poor understanding among employees of interrelated job functions
* Over reliance on technological communication (email)
* Outdated or nonexistent organizational office aids (door file holders, Etc)
* No official contingency plans for power outages or communication outages

* Undesignated message receptacles and devices

As an office organizer, determine what type of equipment you will employ with your clients and how you will deliver them. Partner with other service providers or retailers to provide low cost software and office supplies to the office, or learn what budget your client has for office furniture and other organizational supplies.

Getting Noticed

Start getting a name for your business through low cost and free avenues. Have some business cards made and hand deliver them to some of your target clients. Proposition a nonprofit office or a small, family owned business and offer your service for free. Ask them to refer your services to others and ask them to review your service honestly. It is very important that you ask them to be honest with you. If they give you any criticism, consider it and work on it if it is reasonable. You might offer to assist the agency again once you feel you've corrected any deficiencies. Ask for a second review, and if it is glowing, ask if you can use it in advertisement materials for your business.

Become a volunteer in your community to network with many businesses and agencies so that people know who you are and what your business offers. Don't blatantly advertise everywhere you go. You will subtly advertise for your business simply by being available in the community through community involvement. In this business, in particular, volunteering on advisory boards and other boards will expose you to a great deal of potential clients who will learn about you through your self introduction.

You can offer free seminars to give people a taste of how helpful a well-organized office is to profits and goal acquisitions. Give useful information, and distribute your card.