We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Meghan Cocchiaro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Meghan, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.
In 2019 I reached burnout. I was a corporate accountant who was working a lot of hours, climbing the proverbial ladder, raising two sons under 5 years old, trying to manage a household with some renovations, and had a husband who also worked a lot, with a lot of business travel as well. We also had two pets at the time. I became physically ill and mentally overloaded – I even forgot to pick up my son from kindergarten one day because I got distracted by a work call. To overcome this, I started seeing a therapist and made plans to quit my job to be with my kids more and rethink how I was living my life, then followed through with those plans. I had been thinking for awhile about stepping back to a more part time role with work, but since I experienced such burnout, a bigger break was needed and on an accelerated timeline. I had also been thinking about my passion for helping others organize their homes, so I took this time to also try out some jobs on my friend who was in the market for these services and it quickly turned into a business from there. While being an entrepreneur has been hard, it has been so different from the corporate world in that I get to make my own schedule and rules. I can plan my work around my life (more or less) and take it so many directions if I choose. The cherry on top is that I really love what I do on a daily basis and I’m able to pursue this fulfilling career and also have the family time and free time that I want. I am really busy in a whole new, satisfying way and I get to make a difference in other people’s lives.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
At this point in my life, I am super focused on my small business and my family. I left the corporate world to take a break and pursue my passion for home organizing. I help busy women and moms (just like me) declutter and organize their homes. They don’t have enough patience or time to do it themselves and are overwhelmed by clutter and chaos. My job is special because it is a task and a service that I sell, that I love, but I am selling them so much more than beautiful organizational systems in their homes. They are getting peace of mind and a relaxed feeling back in their homes – they are becoming less stressful places to be. I am so proud to be part of helping them achieve that feeling. I currently work one-on -one in client’s homes but in the future I would love to add digital products to help reach more people who are not local, or do not want to pay for in person services. I truly believe that everyone can live a more organized life and that having a peaceful, organized home helps achieve that.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
One quality of mine that has been impactful on my business journey is that I do everything at 100%. If I have an idea about something, I will do all my research and go all in on it. I don’t do anything half-assed. One skill of mine that has also been impactful is my knack for organization. My mind just works in many ways that my client’s minds don’t work – how to systematically work through their stuff, decide how much of something they should keep, where it should go, and how it should be stored or displayed. It has taken me awhile to realize that this does not come naturally to many people and therefore is a true skill that I have and can capitalize on. One area of knowledge that has been very impactful is my background in business economics and accounting. It has really helped me in starting my own small business and making it profitable. My advice for others on their journeys is to look back at your childhood and young adulthood and try to pinpoint the things that you did for fun, and would do for free now if you could. That is a great way to identify a passion. You can also look back at what people have told you you are really good at or how you made them feel or something they admire about you, and it may not have even registered as special to you, but that can help you identify a natural skill and a quality about yourself. From there, the possibilities of what you can develop those into will start coming to you.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
When I was in college, my parents urged me to study abroad. I was the first person in my family to attend a 4 year college and the first person to do some serious traveling because of this. I didn’t listen to them at first, not wanting to leave my friends at school, but when I finally realized I should go, I traveled as much as I could with the time I had left at school. Those experiences taught me so much about myself at a young age – the biggest take away being that if you don’t take yourself out of your comfort zone, you won’t grow. Since then, I actively try to do things that may not be comfortable for me, because I know that I will learn something from it and maybe even change my perspective on it. And of course, I developed a love for traveling. I love to explore and see new places.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.organizedbymeg.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/organizedbymeg/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/meghancocchiarodenvercoloradoprofessionalorganizer
Image Credits
https://www.amandaevansphoto.com
