Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Christian.
Hi Kristen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It all started as best friends since junior high. We are the yin and the yang, Mutt and Jeff, Thelma and Louise…you get the picture. As life moved forward with new spouses, new houses and kids, we did our best to support each other and navigate life.
Kristen, a self-proclaimed “hot mess,” earnestly struggling to organize, simplify, and sustain a household that was constantly expanding with family, furniture, and the tchotchkes of life that naturally accumulate.
And Lisa, already gifted in the art and science of space organizing, knew exactly what needed to be done — with kindness and compassion — and made it FUN!
That was us — Kristen and Lisa. Helping each other. With patience and trust. Clarity and calm. Grace and humor. That was the beginning of Bee Organized.
Simplifying and organizing our own homes brought out the BEST in each of us. We were happier. We actually felt better about ourselves, and more grateful and present in our daily lives.
That feeling sparked a crazy idea in us, “Why couldn’t we do this for others?” “What if we took our passion for organizing and love for helping others and turned it into something bigger?”
So, built on the shoulders of this friendship, trust, and support, we began offering our services. The affirmations from our family, friends and complete strangers were overwhelming. We were humbled. We saw the despair of some clients turn into hope. We saw procrastination turn into productivity. We watched clients happily move on with the next chapter of their lives, and we watched others fall in love with their homes all over again.
We launched Bee Organized in 2015, with the sole desire and purpose of helping people get organized and teaching them how to “Simplify their Hives” and lives. We knew that if people could get a glimpse of how organization could change their lives…they’d be hooked!
We started small, worked hard, and with grit and humility, we built a national brand from the ground up. As our Buzz quickly spread, our purpose became bigger than just organizing. We now realize that we’re transforming lives…one Hive at a time. We are beyond proud that a family culture has organically developed in our company, not unlike that of a beehive –- everyone Buzzing together with the same goal.
We originally created Bee Organized to help our friends and neighbors locally. Little did we know that we were building a road map for organizing enthusiasts around the country to build a business for themselves, but not by themselves. Scott Sjoberg, Kristen’s big brother and an entrepreneur and franchise owner himself, saw something in Bee Organized and put a little BUZZ in their ear to help create Bee Organized as a franchise model. And just like that, Bee Organized Enterprises was born!
Today, Kristen, Lisa and Scott together own Bee Organized Enterprises and boasts 46 locations nationwide with continued growth on the horizon. Their purpose remains the same, to provide customized and sustainable organizing solutions to their clients while supporting and guiding their Franchise Owners in building the business of their dreams.
Through the years a lot has changed. Our business has grown into a successful franchise company with Bees pollinating in major cities from the West Coast to the East Coast. But one thing has remained constant. Our three Bee-liefs, the foundation we built our company on:
Compassion.
We meet you where you are and come alongside you to listen, talk, and sometimes cry together.
Confidentiality.
It’s our privilege to be in your home, and you’re the only one who ever needs to know we were there.
Judgment-Free.
We respect your courage and conviction to seek our help. We’re impartial, accepting, and focused on progress, not perfection.
We continue to thrive because of this embedded foundation.
Through our Bee-liefs, we attract Bees nationwide who embrace these same core values. That’s why our Bee’s superpowers go way beyond organizing, and set us apart from the crowd.
At Bee Organized our mission is simple…we make spaces more usable, homes more livable, and lives more enjoyable. We do this because (we love making new friends) and we’re certain that simplified, clutter-free and orderly spaces make it easier to breathe, think, work and live.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Building, growing and scaling a business is hard work. At Bee Organized we often say, “we don’t know what we don’t know” and aim to fail forward when obstacles or challenges appear. Essentially we have built two very different companies: the flagship location, Bee Organized Kansas City and the franchising arm of it all, Bee Organized Enterprises. In building these two companies somewhat simultaneously, we wore lots of hats and dropped a lot of balls. We learned that you cannot do it alone and that you have to figure out what your skillset is, where your time is best spent and delegate the rest.
As you know, we’re big fans of Bee Organized. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Bee Organized is a professional Home and Business organizing company that provides customized and sustainable solutions. Additionally, we offer life transitions services which include packing, staging, move management, unpacking and more!
Organization is a Journey…
We remind ourselves and our clients that Organization is a Journey, Not a Destination. No one ever got all organized and washed their hands and walked away and that was that. Organization takes time, maintenance and constant tweaks as life changes, families grow and needs change. Everyone is at different life stages each with unique organizational challenges. We hope this quote is a message of hope and a reminder to all to give yourself grace as you are on this journey called life.
It’s An HONOR
We believe that being Compassionate, Confidential and Judgement Free are way more important than one’s ability to organize. These core Bee-Liefs are what make us stand out and separate us from our competition, while reinforcing our genuine approach to every project.
While working alongside our clients, our work becomes intimate. We learn and see things that even their closest friends don’t know about them. Our clients open their homes and hearts to us, which can make them feel exposed and vulnerable – we do not take this honor lightly. Our greatest reward comes from our client’s trust in us, their gratitude and emotional responses, and to that we say… “it’s an HONOR”.
What matters most to you? Why?
Doing the right thing and being authentic. Showing up as my best self everyday to guide and grow these businesses. In business it can be tempting to “posture” or act like you know it all. I have found that the more I approach business as a lifetime student and position myself to be open to meet, connect with, learn from and pour into everyone, the better we all are!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beeorganized.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beeorganizedkc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/169LQn5G9g/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beeorganized-com/
