Meet Birdie Brennan

We were lucky to catch up with Birdie Brennan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Birdie, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
I like this question because I felt that I suffered from imposter syndrome in the beginning. I was thinking about starting a professional organizing business in 2000 in Ohio. There was no “Professional Organizer” class or school. I would share my ideas with friends and acquaintances and get blank stares back. In the Mid-West, the idea of paying someone to get organized was a foreign concept. I did find that there was the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). I signed up to go to their annual conference in early spring in 2001 in Austin, Texas. I realized I had made the correct choice. I loved every moment and gained a lot of information about the business. I did not get that “real” life experience. Coming home, I wasn’t confident about how it would go working with a client. I organized for a couple of friends to gain some of that experience. Walking to the door of that first paid client, I wondered if I was ready. I have heard actors and athletes talk about how nervous they are before the “game”, but as soon as the game starts that goes away. That was the same for me. When I’m with the client and we start talking and working, I am in the zone. Organizing comes naturally to me that sometimes I forget that it doesn’t come naturally to others. I remind myself that I’m the expert and I can teach them what I know. I think the biggest thing to remember is the feeling you get after a work session. It is always a high for me. I have the best job! I love what I do, get paid, and usually get a hug!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
It’s a cliché but it is true~ a place for everything and everything in its place. This is my mantra. I have lived by it, started a business with it, trained a team by it. The team believes that being organized simply means being able to find what you want when you want it. We are not judgmental or the decision makers with our clients. We know that every client is different. We work with our clients to make the process work for them. We know that being organized can look different to different people. We take the time with our clients to know their goals and then help them reach them. What sets us apart from other organizers is our great customer service and attention to detail. I am very proud of the work we do. We can see relief in our clients when they gain control over their space and time. We love it when we can transfer skills and teach them how to tackle projects on their own.
Our work is very personal and we create a great relationship with our clients. It is from those relationships that the business grew to other services. They trust us to have their best interest in mind. One service that naturally grew out of the organizing business is designing and installing custom storage solutions/closets for our clients. We love this part of the business, so we made a concentrated effort to grow it. With that, my husband joined the team and later my nephew to make it a real family business. I think what sets us apart from the other closet companies is we are looking at spaces with the “eyes of a professional organizer”.
Another part of the business that has grown is relocation work. Moving is stress full and hard work and we can help. We have a program called Discard and Donate. It helps homeowners eliminate items from their homes before moving away. It is a win, win for everyone. The homeowner saves money on the move and it makes the home set up at the new location easier. We find good homes for everything we can, so charities win.
We also help people moving into the area. We can customize solutions for everyone. We can do as little as the client wants or unpack, organize the entire home, get rid of the moving clutter, and hang pictures. We can make that new house a home!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The first quality or skill that was impactful to my journey is that I’m an organized person inherently. I have a passion for it. I say I have made a living on my OCD. When I was little, I enjoyed organizing Barbie’s clothes more than playing Barbies. Someone gave me a Barbie suitcase as a gift. As soon as I saw it, I knew that it would fit perfectly in my purse and hold my chewing gum. I loved organizing my mom’s sewing room, my crafts, my schoolwork, just about anything! Being organized also helped with running a business. When I started my business, what I wanted to do was help people get organized. I wasn’t thinking about all the time and projects that I was also responsible for. Being organized, helped me keep everything straight. It was easier in the beginning, there were no websites, just a business phone number and a listing in the yellow pages, but I still had to be a bookkeeper, accountant, marketing specialist, etc.

The second quality I have is that I love to learn. I enjoy taking classes for organizing as well as Quick Books, social media, and creating websites. This ties in the first skill, in the beginning it was necessary to handle those chores myself. There wasn’t money to hire professionals. I would advise someone starting a business, to create a business plan. This allows you to see all the parts of the business. There is so much more behind the scenes that need to get done to run a successful business. With the business plan, you also see the costs involved with those activities. Then you can make good decisions about the budget, what you are going to do, and what you will need to pay to get done. I would suggest that they read books, take classes, and seek experts in the field to talk to.

The third quality I have is patience. Patience is helpful when your business doesn’t grow as fast as you’d like. Patience also is a necessity for organizing. I work fast and efficiently but learned quickly that I had to use my patience during organizing sessions. Some clients will get anxious if I am moving too quickly. I have to listen to my clients, be intuitive to their body language, and mirror their energy. It is sometimes the hardest part of my job. I realized that sometimes success looks different to my clients than to me and that success to my clients is what is important!
My suggestion to the people early in their journey is to be patient and listen. Take the time to reflect on your business, your business growth, your day to day, and your life balance. I would suggest spending money on a business coach when it is appropriate and again talking to experts in the field who have been where you are.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
NAPO has been the most helpful to my business in every aspect. In 2001 at the NAPO conference, I sat in exceptional classes, but what I found out is I learned as much in the hallways, in between classes, at lunch, sitting in the lobby, and at the bar in the evening. NAPO members are very sharing and most are passionate like me. In 2007, I was a founding member of the Ohio NAPO chapter and attended those meetings with the same result. During my time in NAPO, I volunteered for several National positions to give back, but again I was always able to learn a nugget of great information to use in my business or my life. Out of my organizer friends that I met across the country, we created a mastermind group. We had monthly calls to talk about everything and anything with our organizing businesses. It was a place where we could ask questions, get opinions, or share our latest success. I believe that I am as successful as I am in part due to NAPO.

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