Community Highlights: Meet Shawna Childers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawna Childers.

Hi Shawna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I have always loved organizing and teaching. I grew up in an organized household where my mom required that we each clean up after ourselves. I was the kid who would help my friends clean their rooms and try to teach them how to make a home for each item. I’ve just always enjoyed that light, post-organized feeling.

I worked as a nanny in college. Parents would often thank me for organizing the kids’ clothes or resetting the pantry. I then started working as a personal assistant and household manager and kept hearing people say “you should be a professional organizer”. Finally, I took the leap and created a website with the before and after pictures I had been collecting. I started booking clients right away and was surprised by how fast the business started growing. I was so busy that I did not end up re-enrolling in classes and soon I was enlisting organizing assistants to help with jobs.

A couple of years later, due to the high demand for organizing services, I ended up creating a complete training program to help others to become professional organizers to who I could then refer my clients. Creating the program has been one of the most rewarding projects I’ve ever worked on. It’s been amazing to see other women come to me with no formal organizing experience and yet bloom into successful entrepreneurs who are able to access and leverage their own unique skill set.

The past few years I have focused on training other organizers, teaching workshops, and speaking to local groups and organizations while I homeschool my two girls and work on my soon-to-be-published book about organizing and household management. I continue to look forward to helping more people get their homes and lives organized!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. Owning and managing a business means that one person will wear many hats and the first few years of starting any business come with a pretty steep learning curve (i.e. lots of opportunities to fail and learn).

There were long periods of time where I was working over 70 hours a week and trying to manage all of the different variables that come along with managing organizers and interfacing with clients. It hasn’t always been a smooth road now that I’m in my 11th year of business but over time I have learned to adapt to the stretch of road I’m on and to utilize outside tools and resources to mitigate the bumps. Having a good support system and being a part of a community of like-minded business owners were key in navigating those bumps.

As you know, we’re big fans of Organizing KC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Organizing KC organizers specialize in comprehensive, whole-home consultations with action-oriented goals in mind and providing easy-to-use task checklists.

We can help you organize just about anything but one of my favorite types of sessions is helping families with their Household Flow and weekly/daily routines, meal planning, chore schedule, etc. As a mama of two rambunctious kiddos, I know how important it is to optimize and simplify the systems that help keep the home running smoothly.

I’m also really excited about the upcoming Organizer Training Program that will start in August!

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My advice for finding a mentor would first be to join an online community in your industry. Start conversations and really listen to what people have to say. Be open about what kind of help or direction you need. Seek out like-minded people who support your mission and values.

If you don’t have a mentor, read books about your industry and watch youtube videos by creators like you. Join forums and groups of people in similar positions. Above all – define your mission and regularly review how you’re getting there.

Pricing:

• Initial Consultation – $100

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.organizingkc.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/organizingkc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/organizingkc
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/3gTqPb0EX91T6i9wvX65am?si=c9ae854bccb940e1