Professional Organizer

Most organizers specialize in at least one of five areas: space planning (organizing office arrangement of furniture, traffic, lighting, noise, and leisure space); time management (setting goals, developing action plans, scheduling, and delegating tasks); paper management (organizing the steady ?ow of information materials by setting up filing and retrieval systems, sometimes with the aid of a computer); clutter control (finding the proper and efficient placement for things to keep clutter to a minimum); closet/storage design (organizing closet and storage space). Choose one or two and market your services accordingly. This business would thrive in highly urban areas with busy professionals who want their home life to run as smoothly as the office. And it’s much more fun to organize other people’s lives than to run our own!


You’ll spend at least $500 or so on business cards for networking, but that’s almost negligible considering that you’ll be charging $25 to $45 per hour for your expertise.


Look into the National Association of Professional Organizers for more information. Hook up with an organization that conducts seminars, and off er your services as an instructor. This can supplement the income of your consulting service rather nicely.

Approx. cost of start-up: $500 to $1,000


Approx. potential earnings: $25,000 to $45,000


Typical fees: $25 to $40 per hour


Where to promote: Write articles for your local newspapers on time management and/or organizing space; WelcomeWagon. com; direct mail coupons; conduct seminars through local community continuing education; network; a Web site with some free tips


Qualifications: You must be a highly organized person by nature, with drive for efficiency; knowledge of systems, furniture, products, supplies and accessories are a must


Things needed: Pager or cell phone, computer


Required staff: No


Hidden costs: Mileage, cell phone bills

Home Inspector

In this litigious society, home buyers, sellers, and Realtors are all looking for the best protection they can get. Learning the condition of a home up-front from a third-party professional insures that buyers will know just what kind of home they are purchasing before the sale is complete and, in some cases, even prevents them from making a poor investment. Unfortunately, home inspectors are often targets for litigation, too, so look into certification and licensing requirements in your area and protect yourself by either incorporating or affiliating yourself with a franchise organization. Whichever you choose, your work will change on a daily basis, as you’ll be moving from one home to another to inspect everything from the condition of the wiring to shingles on the roof. You’ll be checking off items in a large binder as you proceed, and this is what you will leave as a permanent record for the potential home owner. It’s a necessary service in this buyer beware kind of market.


Mostly, you’ll need the funds to either develop your own or secure permission to reprint the information contained in each binder you provide your customers. This business will be much easier to get up and running effectively, and in a shorter period of time, if you pay a franchise fee (anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000) to an already established company in this field. That way, you’re also protected legally.


Don’t underestimate the value of contact with real estate agents. Many of your best referrals will come from them. Likewise, thorough and honest inspections will result in satisfied home buyers, a valuable source of word-of-mouth advertising. You’ll have lots of face-to-face contact with them, so excellent communication and people skills are a must.

Approx. cost of start-up:$30,000 to $40,000


Approx. potential earnings:$50,000 to $75,000


Typical fees: $200 to $400 depending on size of home


Where to promote: Yellow Pages, real estate publications, local newspapers, networking with real estate agents, banner ads on Realtor and home-buying Web sites


Qualifications:Thorough knowledge of home construction and building codes or experience in contracting and building, license or permits in some areas Things needed: Electrical tracer; circuit tester; gas detector; basic tools such as screwdrivers, ?ashlights, and ladders; computer; fax; printer; cell phone


Required staff: No


Hidden costs: Insurance, telephone bills, association dues

Bridal Show Promoter

Bridal shows are popular in every town; there are always women who seek the best in wedding preparations. You should have no trouble securing an audience if you book in the right places (such as shopping malls, banquet halls, and hotels). Your biggest challenge will be to gain the attention, support, and dollars from participating vendors, who could be made up of businesses like caterers, ? orists, musicians, and cake decorators. You must be highly organized, however, to pull this one off convincingly. Lose sight of details and you’ll instantly lose credibility with your audience as well as your vendors. The best advice is to secure your financial support up front to avoid any out-of-pocket expenses; in the event of a no-show vendor, you’ll still have your cash.


The $5,000 to $10,000 you’ll need to get this business off the ground properly will mainly cover your advertising and promotional costs. Remember that you’ll need to have professional-looking promotional materials (brochures, videos, and a great Web site) to lure vendors in the first place, and then the ? yers and billboards to attract your audience. Do it all correctly and you’ll pull in between $20,000 to $40,000 yourself, depending on how many shows you run per year.


If you can’t get at least fifty vendors for your first show, maybe you ought to rethink your marketing strategy. Try a novel approach, or get a well-known spokesperson or local celebrity to appear. Collect testimonials and put them on your Web site. Offer lots of great contests and prizes. Do everything humanly possible to attract attention.

Approx. cost of start-up: $5,000 to $15,000


Approx. potential earnings: $20,000 to $40,000


Typical fees: $125 per booth rental space


Where to promote: Flyers, radio and newspaper ads, bridal shops, direct mail, billboards, Web site (on which you can sell banner ads as well as offer some useful wedding planning tips or articles), videotape of previous shows to encourage participants and sponsors


Qualifications: Exceptional organizational skills


Things needed: Cell phone, computer with mailing list program, and desktop publishing software (to help create a low-cost, yet tastefully designed event program)


Required staff:Not initially


Hidden costs: Expensive radio ads; try to secure sponsors early in the game or arrange to split costs with them