We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Quan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael below.
Michael, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
While doing a quick search for Professional Organizer services in almost all markets, you’ll notice one thing – the majority are female owned and operated! I am one of the few males in this industry and it took some honest soul searching to figure out who my ideal clients were and how I would find them. I specialize in the Marie Kondo KonMari method and worldwide there are about 5 active male consultants at any given time out of around 600 certified.
I started my journey in the professional organization industry back in 2019 after experiencing a horrific house fire at my childhood home that wiped out the majority of my past possessions and really made me reevaluate my relationship with everything I owned. After reading Marie Kondo’s book and watching her Netflix series, I performed her KonMari Method on my own home and it was truly life changing. On a whim thinking it was a great idea I decided to sign up for the Marie Kondo certification course without actually knowing what I was getting myself into. When I showed up for the course in Los Angeles, I realized that 95%+ of the room was female. There was an initial shell shock moment for me but after having multiple conversations with people from different backgrounds, we each had a different reason for being in that room that weekend and the gender barrier was never an issue. When networking within the KonMari community and other traditional organizers, I’ve found everyone also welcomes me as a colleague with open arms.
However, when it came to launching my business after becoming certified, the gender and background situation came more to light. The majority of clients searching for a professional organization service are females with families who interact with other families through parent groups, school groups, etc. It would be difficult for me to break into and relate with these groups since I’m a male with no children and a background in engineering and technology working 9 to 5 pm dayjobs. After working with a business mentor, I realized that the “family demographic” was not my ideal client! My ideal client was in a different pool, the busy working professional (that may also have a family) who I could relate with in terms of lifestyle and working hours for accomplishing household tasks – late nights and weekends. Once I figured that out I was off to the races in successfully tailoring my website and offering towards that audience. I’ve had to learn to think outside of the box and not follow similar models as many other organizers within the industry.
After serving many different clients over the past few years (both male and female), some have told me that they were originally only considering hiring a female to perform the work but after having an initial consultation, their mind was changed as I ended up being the right person to cater to their organization needs. I do understand that gender bias may exist in many fields including professional organizing leading me to wonder how many clients found me but chose not to reach out due to gender and not necessarily skillset. This potential client gender bias idea did bother me for a while as I was starting out but after conversations with other male organizers I came to the conclusion that I just needed to be myself, be honest, and put myself out there to the world and the right clients would end up finding me. After establishing this new found mindset a few years ago, everything has been smooth sailing where the right clients always seem to find their way to me and I no longer consider what I’m missing out on.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I help busy working professionals and their families declutter and organize their homes so they can have a more peaceful household and spend quality time with the people and activities they care about! I have been operating my business Fulfilling Your Future since 2019 and have served numerous clients in San Diego County. I specialize in 1 on 1 decluttering with clients and storing items with intention to create their ideal lifestyle. On occasion, I may bring some help along for larger or time constrained projects.
One of the best feelings in the world for me is to finish a session and the client is full of joy and relief of how much we got through. It’s a mentally draining but rewarding process for both of us and I give everything I have to ensure they achieve their organization goals.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I always believe in leading by example and always progressing in knowledge. Getting trained in the Marie Kondo KonMari method gave me the initial jump start to become a professional organizer but that on its own did not lead to my success. Taking additional 3rd party organization and business courses had the most impact on me going from lost to being confident and knowing the inside and out of my business offering.
Another quality that has helped me quite a bit is constant networking with other Professional Organizers from around the world. I just threw myself out there when first getting started and have taken part in many smaller groups that meet on a consistent basis and talk about organizing and business topics specific to our industry. It’s a very good support network since many of us are individual business owners.
Finally, the best takeaway is to draw the best methods and traits from prior experiences and careers – whether it be customer service, engineering, or event/project management. Almost all organizers have backgrounds in various industries and they are all building blocks that can be incorporated into organizing. From my project management background I emphasize coming up with an ideal lifestyle in order to have a finish line of how we are defining success whether it’s a single session or an entire house since it’s easy to get lost in the weeds. I also utilize my engineering background and logic skills to help guide the client along and give them the push they need when they are stuck in the decision making process or are unsure what object subcategory to tackle next.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
Time management skills have been very important in running my business in the past year – knowing when to put the foot on the gas pedal or slow down a bit when other priorities in life need attention. When I was first starting out, I put lots of my time into building the backend to help generate business such as marketing/ads, website, SEO, networking. After the initial push, I kept it up for another year or so until I was getting clients on a more regular basis. In the past year I have let off the gas in marketing and am letting my SEO backend do the heavy lifting to generate web traffic that helps get clients or other opportunities. I am able to spend the time I previously spent on marketing exploring new hobbies or existing passion projects!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fulfillingyourfuture.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fulfillingyourfuture/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FulfillingYourFuture/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-quan-a2a03b7/
- Other: Google Reviews: https://g.page/r/CS6JUGaw_ev7EAI/
Image Credits
Carly Topazio Photography
