Meet Tonia Tomlin

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tonia Tomlin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tonia below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Tonia with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

Growing up in a small town in Wyoming, from the age of 14 years old I was taught that if you work hard & dedicate yourself to something you’re passionate about or really love, you strive for a goal. My goal was to get a job & earn the other half of what I needed in order to purchase a car. My parents told me that if I worked hard & earned half, they would pay the other half of what I needed to buy one. I started working at Bazel’s, as the milkshake girl/busser & after having saved a $1000 after a year of working, hard my parents took me to buy a car. I realized that if I put my mind to something, was consistent & worked hard, I can work towards the things that I really wanted. Working there also offered me the opportunity to see how people owned their businesses & managed a team. That really taught me how to manage my own team & own my own business all these years later, along with the importance of having a goal.

Sadly, after a year the diner shut down, so I had to find another job, which landed me at a video store. My friends were all hanging out after school & having fun, whereas I had to work to keep up with the new car I had, such as insurance, gas, etc. I learned that I had to continue having a good work ethic to maintain the things that I wanted & work towards more of what I wanted.

For the past 20 years, I do see a work ethic discrepancy. Instilling great work ethic in our children is so important, to teach them to work for the things that they want. A great work ethic is also something that can’t be taken away. Drive, dedication & work ethic will always be yours. It something that’s taught & not just given to you. I can see it in my own children now. They’ve seen me work hard & want to do the same for themselves. They are now being rewarded with the things they love, due to their own hard work & dedication. It makes me very proud to see that I’ve instilled that in my children & they are working hard to reach their own goals that they’ve set.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am the owner & founder of a Professional Organizing company called Sorted Out, that started in 2004. We work in homes & businesses, developing & establishing organizational processes to improve functionality & maintainability, increase productivity & improve on time management. We hold multiple certificates through the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD), including ADHD, and are a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO).

Specializing in ADHD is something that really sets us apart & is something that makes even more of difference, because those who have ADHD lack the executive functioning ability to develop & maintain processes. It was important to me for myself & my team to have the education & understanding of the ADHD mind, to be able to truly help those affected by it & create something that works specifically for them. Not just creating a space that is beautiful, but one that is maintainable & functional for them.

The most exciting part is being able to see people so happy after you’re in their home or business, & how much of a difference you’ve made. Releasing the stress & bringing calm back into their lives after being so overwhelmed & stressed out. Knowing that you’re helping people with the gift that I have, being able to help hundreds of people & having a team of people who can do the same, is truly so rewarding. Seeing the before & after images of projects, the true transformation of our work, how visually things have changed in even a short amount of time & how we can really make such a difference is so amazing.

In 2024 I have big plans to launch in the Houston/Woodlands area. It is also my 20th year anniversary which makes for a great time to kick off a new territory, after having expanded to the Raleigh, NC area this past year.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the most impactful was my networking abilities & the relationships I developed through the Plano Chamber of Commerce. I believe without those skills I wouldn’t be where I am at today. It’s now turned into connecting clients with organizers on my team, along with other resources they need. It helps them to check things off their list. You have to set yourself apart & people remember me because of it, which I am now seeing the fruits of my labor. I don’t think people put enough time & effort in networking or building relationships. They end up giving up too soon. I’ve had times I’ve wanted to give up not seeing the leads or referrals, but I’ve learned that if you give it time, it will happen. It won’t happen overnight but will be so worth it in the long run.

My advice to others starting their journey is to get out there. I know it’s hard & you may not want to get up & go because you aren’t seeing the return just yet, but you will eventually. Join those groups, do those one on ones. Meet with people & learn what they do and how you can help each other. I promise it will be all worth it one day, even if you aren’t seeing it right away. You never know who people know & one day it may just be the connection you needed to completely change your life & your business for the better.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
In broad terms, our ideal clients are anyone who could benefit from organizational processes but struggles being able to establish them on their own, whether it’s due to lacking the time to do so because of their busy work/life schedules, or have other things limiting their ability to be able to get these tasks done on their own. Our largest demographic of clients though, I would say, are people who are going through a life transition (death, divorce, downsizing, having a baby, etc.), along with those who struggle with ADD/ADHD, because executive functioning is a challenge. These clients regularly need maintenance & some may be able to do it on their own but don’t have the necessary tools to develop a proper organizational system that is functional for them. Also, those who value their time & struggle with Time Management whether at work or with their home/family schedules. You can be organized & do it yourself, but some need to outsource it because they are just too busy.

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