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Client Introductions, Part 3

We’re at the end of a three part series where you’ll get to meet six of the incredible women I worked with this year, and you’ll hear about what their biggest business win was for the year, what their biggest lesson of the year was, and also about what it is that they do and how they serve their people well.

Last week we heard from Laken – a goals coach, and Erin a virtual assistant. Today, you’ll get to know Jennifer and Stephanie.

Jennifer Gregson is the Tarot Book Coach who helps writers get past blocks so they can start enjoying the process and actually finish their novels. Which means she uses Tarot readings to help fuel her own and her clients’ search for answers to the inevitable questions that arise as they write, edit, and publish their books. When not working with clients or writing her own Young Adult novels (currently on book #3), she’s chilling in Queens with her family and dreaming of her next Disney vacation.

Stephanie Deininger is an organizing and productivity pro and Founder of The Organized Flamingo. She began her career working in the hospitality industry in California before starting her first company as a professional organizer. She has also worked for large corporations as an organizer utilizing her range of skills. After 16 years of being in the industry, she went back to school to obtain her MBA and then opened The Organized Flamingo where she is able to focus on her passion of simplifying people’s lives with all things organizing and productivity. Stephanie lives in Colorado with her husband, son, and their furry pups.

I know you’re going to love both of these ladies, and what they have to share about their wins and lessons for 2022 is really insightful.

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Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Want to work with me too? Click here for more information about my 1:1 Content Marketing Strategy calls
• Are you looking to improve your content without spending a ton of time and mental energy doing so? Whether you’re looking for help knowing what to talk about, setting up content systems, or improving your launch strategy, the Chasing Simple Shop has something for you. From A Year of Content Prompts broken up by type of content, to my Launch Strategy Mini-Course – the Chasing Simple Shop is the quick and simple way to take your content to the next level. And you can get 10% off any item by using the code LISTENER at checkout! Just head to amandawarfield.com/shop/ and again, that code for 10% off is LISTENER!
• Episode 083: What Having a Plan for Your Year Can Do For Your Business
• Jennifer’s Youtube Channel
• Muddy Middle to Manuscript
• Jennifer’s latest book: Etta and Gina
• Stephanie’s Free template list
• Stephanie’s shop
• This week’s book recommendations: Storyteller by Dolly Parton

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Have a comment about today’s episode, or a topic you’d like to suggest for a future episode? Shoot me an email over at hello@amandawarfield.com!

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Rather Read? – Here’s the Transcript!

*Just a heads up – the provided transcript is likely to not be 100% accurate

[00:00:00] Amanda: You’re listening to episode 1 41 of The Chasing Simple Podcast, and I’m your host, Amanda Warfield. We are at the end of a three part series where you’ll get to meet six of the incredible women that I worked with this year, and you’ll hear about what their biggest business when was for the year, what their biggest lesson of the year was, and also about what it is that they do and how they serve their people.

Well, last week we heard from Laken a goals coach, and Erin, a virtual assistant, and today you’ll get to know Jennifer and Stephanie. Jennifer Gregson is a Tarot book coach who helps writers get past blocks so that they can start enjoying the process and actually finish their novels, which means she uses Tarot readings to help fuel her own, and her clients search for answers to the inevitable questions that arise as they write, edit, and publish their books when not working with clients or writing her own young adult novels.

Currently on book number three, she’s chilling in Queens with her family and dreaming of her next Disney vacation. Stephanie Deininger is an organizing and productivity pro and founder of the Organized Flamingo. She began her career working in the hospitality industry in California before starting her first company as a professional organizer.

She has also worked for large corporations as an organizer, utilizing her range of skills. After 16 years of being in the industry, she went back to school to obtain her MBA and then opened the organized flamingo where she’s able to focus on her passion of simplifying people’s lives with all things organizing and productivity.

Stephanie lives in California with her husband’s son and their furry pups. I know that you’re going to love both of these ladies and what they have to share about their wins and lessons for 2022. So insightful. So you’re listening to episode 141. Of the Chasing Summer podcast, and I’m your host, Amanda Warfield.

Let’s dive in.

[00:01:43] Amanda: Jennifer, welcome back. I’m so excited to have you on here. I’m excited too for anyone. I missed her last episode. If you go back and listen to episode 83, I believe it aired back in November, 2021, but it’s what having a plan for your year can do for your business. And I’m interviewing Jennifer and another client of mine that I had that year all about what having that annual content plan really did to help their business, and that’s what that one’s all about. But today we’re back to talk about something a little bit different. So Jennifer, can you introduce yourself really quickly for anyone who hasn’t listened to that episode yet? 

[00:02:20] Jennifer: Yeah, of course. Hi I’m Jennifer Gregson. I am a young adult author and a Tarot book coach.

[00:02:26] Jennifer: So with that, I help writers, especially those who are stuck in the middle basically get back on track and get to the end, but also while having fun during the grind.. 

[00:02:37] Amanda: And she’s also my incredible va. And so she’s my client and then I’m also her client. That’s very 

[00:02:44] Jennifer: fun. my, it’s a nice little yes, exactly. 

[00:02:47] Amanda: So I want know what your biggest accomplishment this year in business 

[00:02:54] Amanda: has been.

[00:02:55] Jennifer: Ok. I’m gonna cheat. I have two. So one is . Well, one was I started a YouTube channel. And I had been hearing for a while, you would be great on YouTube. And I’m like, no, thank you. No, thank you. Because that’s visual and you know, that was scary. But I did, I started in January and it has been a huge learning curve, but it has been so fun.

[00:03:18] Jennifer: Like I am actually really enjoying it. So I’m glad I finally listened and, and took the dive. And then my other one was I niche down even further. so before it was just writers of all kinds. I can help writers of all kinds. And then it was new writers. Okay, that’s great. And then I niche out even further to help writers who are specifically stuck, but mostly stuck in that middle part.

[00:03:42] Jennifer: So I kind of like went from big, big, broad to tiny, tiny, tiny niche. So that was fun. It helped me get a lot of clarity around. Not only what I could offer, but also how to talk about it. 

[00:03:57] Amanda: I love that you just said that because for anyone that listened to the episode two episodes ago, Amy happened to mention the exact same thing that she had niche down, and it brought her a ton of clarity and that it really helped improve her business.

[00:04:17] Amanda: Now, Amy also mentioned in that episode that she had been in business. Eight years. And Jennifer, you’ve been in business for how long? Two. Two. Okay. But years, multiple years. Two years. Yeah. And the same thing happened with me. It took me, I think, like three or four years to figure out what my niche was in business.

[00:04:36] Amanda: And I, I just wanna pause and take that, that moment there to show everyone that. It’s okay to not have it figured out. And so often we start our businesses, we, we feel like we have to know right away immediately what our niche is gonna be because we wanna have everything figured out. And as soon as we know our niche, then the business is gonna take off.

[00:04:56] Amanda: And while that is true, once you really do figure out what your niche is, you do see growth. You can’t force it either. It kind of takes playing around and working with different people and. Tweaking your messaging over and over and over again. Kind of throwing that spaghetti at the wall to really figure out what it is that you love doing and who it is that you love working with.

[00:05:15] Amanda: So I hope that’s encouraging. 

[00:05:16] Jennifer: I was just about to say that. Cuz I was about to say, it’s sort of finding that sweet spot of what I like to do and what I want to offer and what they, the writers, the clients need and want. I mean I could offer all sorts of things like right, as entrepreneurs we could, we could offer a bajillion different things, but it’s trying to figure out what you want to do and what you’re comfortable with, but also what they want.

[00:05:43] Jennifer: So, and I’m still not entirely sure I have it all figured out, you know what I’m saying? That’s the other thing, like I’m only two years into this, so like Amy’s eight years into it, you know, I think I’m still gonna be on a journey six years from now trying to figure certain things out. Cause. You never know where anything is going.

[00:06:03] Jennifer: The publishing world could change and then that would affect how I would work with writers. I could meet with more people and find out that they’re asking questions that I’m not answering. So, you know, it’s, it’s kind of a, it’s all exploration 

[00:06:16] Amanda: and I think that’s such an important note because it is, it never finishes.

[00:06:22] Amanda: Never. There’s never a destination with your niche. It’s always gonna be changing, but there is a moment as a business owner where it feels like things finally click. And even if it’s not the final destination, it does feel right and you do get that clarity from it finally. So if you haven’t reached that moment yet, that moment is coming.

[00:06:40] Amanda: But I hope this is encouraging to everyone because. Here’s the beauty of the online business space. You can literally be whatever you want. And I know like millennials, we all grew up here and you can do whatever you wanna do, blah, blah, blah. But truly with the online business space, you can there, there is a niche for everyone.

[00:06:59] Amanda: But it does take some time. It’s not as simple as taking one of those tests they made you take in high school and said, well, here’s the slice of the pie that you fit into the workforce with. It’s not that simple. You really have to dig in and play around and throw that spaghetti at the wall. And find how all of your various interests mesh together.

[00:07:21] Amanda: And that’s, that’s the hard part, but also the beautiful part where that clarity comes from once you reach that. So I’m really glad that you said that that was one of your biggest accomplishments this year. 

[00:07:30] Jennifer: Well, and and to go back to the YouTube channel, I was a theater major in college. I have a BFA in theater performance and a minor in voice cuz I wanted to do musical theater and it kinda, I get to lean on a lot of that for the YouTube channel.

[00:07:45] Jennifer: So it’s kind of fun cuz I get to bring more of that part of myself out that I haven’t been able to do in a while. So, I mean, I’m not acting on the YouTube channel, but it definitely is a performance sometimes. Absolutely. Yeah. 

[00:08:00] Amanda: And I think I wanted to bring this up earlier, but then I got distracted by the whole other conversation, but.

[00:08:05] Amanda: For two reasons. That’s one major reason why I think everyone was telling you that YouTube would be great for you, but I also think it’s because what you do is so visual. You’re a Tarot coach, and that is such a visual thing that you brought in with YouTube. You brought in your own interests. As far as the theater major stuff, and then you also brought in, okay, this is what works best for what I’m showcasing as well.

[00:08:31] Amanda: And a lot of times I get the question, well, what kind of what? What kind of content should I create? And it really comes down to where are you most comfortable? What fits your personality best and also what works best for your business. And you’ve done a nice job of finding that place, even though you were resistant to it, of finding that place where all three connect within YouTube.

[00:08:57] Jennifer: Yeah, that’s very true. It is funny though, for anyone that’s seen my YouTube channel, me trying to figure out where to hold the card. Is is always fun. There’s, I have outtakes where I’m just like, where, where did it, where should it go? . Oh, I love, but that’s fun. That’s fun. That’s why YouTube, that’s why YouTube is fun.

[00:09:13] Jennifer: I mean, live is fun, but that’s why YouTube is fun. Cause then I can always say, okay, cut. This goes right here. Let’s start over. And then you can kind of fix those things. the power of the edit. Right? Exactly. 

[00:09:25] Amanda: And we will link to Jennifer’s YouTube channel in the show notes so you guys can check it out and see what it is that she’s talking about.

[00:09:31] Amanda: And you can see the final product of the cards being placed beautifully. 

[00:09:35] Amanda: Now, my next question for you is, what is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned this 

[00:09:41] Jennifer: year in business? 

[00:09:42] Jennifer: Well, it’s funny that we were talking about the journey because I had a rough start to 2022. I had a little bit of a panic attack right at the beginning of the year, like right in January, and I realized that I had to sort of, so we were talking about kneeing down, which is great, but I had to sort of take a, a sort of bird’s eye view of the entire

[00:10:05] Jennifer: business and my life and realized I needed to add a little bit more fun and levity and more rest for me. I need a lot of downtime. So I was, or I was gonna keep burning out cause that’s exactly what happened. So it, I am not one of those people that enjoys the journey. Of any kind of destina, I wanna get to Disney.

[00:10:27] Jennifer: I don’t want, you know, I don’t wanna drive there. For one thing, I live in New York and I, I grew up in St. Louis and we used to drive to Disney, and I think that’s part of it, is that my dad would like wake us up at 3:00 AM get in the car, take a day and a half to get there. Like, I remember that and I didn’t like it.

[00:10:42] Jennifer: I just wanna be at Disney. But I’ve had to learn. Just like I tell my writers, it’s funny that we teach what we really need to learn ourselves to enjoy the journey. It’s part of the destination. And that’s been hard for me, but it’s been a, a fun lesson. Cause I’ve had to, I mean, the universe has been like, you wanted to learn this here.

[00:11:04] Jennifer: Here’s another example. Here’s another example, . And it’s like, okay, thanks, thanks, thanks universe. But I have had to learn to slow down and add. More fun to the business. So like the YouTube is fun for me. If I can remember to make it fun. Like it can be a drudgery if you want it to be. Any kind of business thing can be a drudgery.

[00:11:27] Jennifer: It’s, it’s how can you make it more fun for me? Of course, that’s adding Tarot and music. The two things I love most. In just general. So I always add music if I’m having a bad time and I need to like write a sales page, which is still not my strong suit, even as a writer cuz it’s a different kind of writing for me.

[00:11:45] Jennifer: I put on music, so Tarot cards out and music on and I have more fun. So I’ve had to learn to add fun to like every day, every week, every month, every quarter. How does that look? How does that work for me? Cause like you were saying, there’s never. And end, you know, you hit one goal, there’s more goals.

[00:12:06] Jennifer: That’s how life is. So I had to be okay with that as a new entrepreneur to, cause I was like, oh, well I’ll get to the goal. That will be the goal. And I had to realize, no, it’s more about the journey, which is just hard for me. So, 

[00:12:23] Amanda: and even once you hit the goal, then you’re like, what’s next? What’s the next?

[00:12:28] Amanda: Right. Or at least I do. And that it’s interesting because I also, I don’t love the journey as I’m going through it, but I really love looking back on the journey, which is kind of an interesting contradiction. I love looking back and being like, oh, that client taught me this lesson, which now I can utilize here, or, The preschool that I was a director for back in Washington, that ended terribly because there was some shady practices and it’s like, wow, that was really terrible.

[00:12:58] Amanda: Like I wish I’d never taken that job. But then in hindsight, that’s where I learned all of my marketing skills because I was trying to fill a way new preschool and it’s just, it’s so interesting. To look back on the journey, but I don’t like being in the journey. And I have realized over the last couple of weeks in particular that I dislike the journey specifically because I don’t like to slow down.

[00:13:21] Amanda: I don’t like to slow down and you know, Add in the fun, for example, like I’m really terrible. I just wanna keep pushing through so I can get through it. And I’m really bad at slowing down and saying, okay, time to add in the fun. Let’s add the music, let’s add the Tarot cards, let’s add in whatever that is.

[00:13:39] Amanda: So that’s, that’s something that I can learn from you for sure. To slow down. Right? And to just add the fun in because it’s, I mean, it’s meant to be fun, 

[00:13:48] Jennifer: right? And that’s what I always tell my writing clients, you know, writing. Not every aspect of writing, especially when we get to the publishing part and the marketing part for that.

[00:13:58] Jennifer: For a lot of us writers, that’s hard. But the writing itself should be fun most of the time. Yes, there are days where you just have to sit down and do the work. You know this, you wrote book. But it, you know, but it should be fun. . And I, I, I had to remind myself of that with the business. The business stuff should be fun.

[00:14:17] Jennifer: I didn’t decide to start this to give me drudgery and pain. I gave myself this because it was something I enjoyed doing and I wanted desperately to help other writers on their journey. So it’s not supposed to be painful. Well, and it’s supposed to enhance, right? Yeah.

[00:14:39] Amanda: And speaking of how you help other writers on their journey, tell us a little bit about your muddy middle to manuscript package.

[00:14:48] Jennifer: Of course. So it is a four session, one on one coaching package. It has a little bit of a structure, but I totally can customize it to where each writer is within their book project. So I start with asking them how they’re feeling. I always start with s ort of what’s on their heart. Like how are they feeling about their book itself, their writing?

[00:15:12] Jennifer: Because mostly when they get stuck in that muddy middle, they start to think, why bother? Do I just suck? Does this book, is this book just terrible? Should I just chuck everything and go be a doc worker? Like, you know, we always think crazy, crazy thoughts. So I always start there how they’re feeling. I make sure that they realize that those feelings are yes, valid, but they don’t need to play so much onto themselves like that.

[00:15:42] Jennifer: It’s mostly imposter syndrome and various fears. Then we move into either their characters or their outline, and those can be switched depending on what came out of session one, and then we work on like where they are and where they’re trying to go with their outline. So usually when you get stuck it’s because you’re totally off whatever plan you had in your head.

[00:16:02] Jennifer: So I help them get back onto track. And then with character work. They usually know their characters at a very surface level, which is great. That’s exactly where you need to start, and I help them deepen that relationship and actually become friends with their characters. I actually just filmed a YouTube video where I said, you have to get to know even the villains.

[00:16:23] Jennifer: So like if you’re writing a book about Jack the Ripper, you have to become friends with Jack the Ripper. And even though that sounds really silly and weird, you have to find out why you’re writing the villain even. Even if the thing you love about the. Is that they’re evil. That gives you enough to become friends with them, to write them in a real human way.

[00:16:44] Jennifer: And then our last session is really just making sure that they’re on track, making sure that they have a reasonable schedule set up, that they have rewards built in, because that’s part of the fun, is giving themselves time off, giving themselves things that make them happy and making sure that they know what they need to know

[00:17:06] Jennifer: to keep going.

[00:17:07] Amanda: I really love that you’ve taken that lesson that you’ve learned yourself this year in business and added that into that package. That’s that’s a super full circle moment that I just 

[00:17:17] Jennifer: love. Yeah, and it’s fully customizable. So like most people think, oh, four sessions right in a row, and we can do that, boom, boom, boom.

[00:17:25] Jennifer: But we can also do it so that I meet you week one and then meet again week four, like every month. Cuz it really, some writers write really quick and some writers need more time and I’m totally like flexible, which is nice. So it’s like, I have a structure for the session, but I’m also very, very flexible and, and I use Tarot cards.

[00:17:47] Jennifer: Forgot to mention that as a way to talk to the writers. If you are like, but I don’t do Tarot cards. Cool. I’m never gonna ask you to do Tarot if you don’t feel comfortable with Tarot. I use Tarot as a way to sort of, this sounds a little woo woo, but to get the universe to sort of like give me clues to pull things out of the writers that they’re too afraid to say sometimes.

[00:18:14] Jennifer: Sometimes I can see stuff in the card. I’m like, well, are you thinking of this? And they’re like, how did you know that? Yeah, that’s what I’m scared of. So it’s, it kind of just gives me a way to start a conversation and it’s, it’s very useful for me in particular. And also to facilitate a conversation around the characters.

[00:18:33] Jennifer: So those are kind of the two places I use Tarot. But again, if a writer comes to me and goes, I don’t use Tarot personally. Okay, that’s cool. As long as you’re open. To me using the cards, then I think we’re fine. If you are a writer that loves Tarot, then I can give you all sorts of spreads and worksheets and exercises so that you, you can go back and do Tarot all day long.

[00:18:56] Jennifer: I 

[00:18:56] Amanda: love it. I love it. Yeah. Well, for anyone that wants to check out that package, learn more about Jennifer. We’re gonna have all of her links in the show note, but before we close, you know, I need to ask for a book recommendation. So yes, tell us about your latest book. 

[00:19:11] Jennifer: I can. So it is a young adult coming of age novel and it is called Edna and Gina.

[00:19:18] Jennifer: And it’s about two best friends who get thrown onto very different pathways. And they sort of need to learn who they are in by themselves and in relationship to each other. And it’s kinda an interesting journey. I swear that word is gonna come up every day, now that I think about it, about how they manage high school friendships.

[00:19:44] Jennifer: I mean, it, it’s really, and it’s fun for me cuz it’s set in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. And it features the Cardinals a little bit. The one character wants to be the first professional female baseball player and it features musical theater because the other character tries out and gets into the musical Grease.

[00:20:02] Jennifer: So it’s, that was fun. And it features a lot of St. Louis Foods. So if you are from St. Louis or ever been to St. Louis, we have very distinct foods that you can’t really buy in too many other places. Toasted ravioli, which is not actually toasted. It is deep fried meat ravioli that you dip in marinara sauce. And we have Imo’s pizza, which is super, super, super cracker thin crust with a very strange ve cheese on top that I love.

[00:20:31] Jennifer: And John Ham love. John Ham is from St. Louis, and it is one of his favorite St. Louis Foods. That’s so 

[00:20:36] Amanda: fun. I love that you get to bring your personality into your books. 

[00:20:39] Jennifer: Yeah, it, this one was a really, really fun book to write. Like I got to write about the audition experience and about, you know, family dynamics, which is one of my big things to write about.

[00:20:52] Jennifer: Female friendships is huge for me to write. I think it’s just fun to discover and explore. Teenage girls and how they’re friends and what that means to different groups. Cause it’s, it’s interesting. It’s like being an anthropologist, like studying without being creepy. Studying teenagers. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:21:15] Jennifer: That’s 

[00:21:15] Amanda: great. Well, everyone that will have already. Been published, correct by the time this year airs. Perfect. Yeah, so we will link to that in the show notes as well. Highly recommend that you go check it out. I can’t wait to read it. It’s on sewer fun. Thank you so much for being here today, Jennifer.

[00:21:30] Jennifer: I had a blast, so thank you. 

[00:21:30] Amanda: Stephanie, I am so excited to have you on today and to really just get to share you with all of my listeners. I’m really excited for them to hear all that you have to share today. So can you just go ahead and introduce yourself and your business and who it is that you serve and how. 

[00:21:48] Stephanie: Yeah, thanks for having me.

[00:21:50] Stephanie: I’m so excited to be here, Amanda. And so, I’m Stephanie Deininger and I’m the founder of a company called The Organized Flamingo, and we help people get organized and more productive. I’m personally a certified professional organizer and speaker but myself and my team, our goal is just to help people feel good about the organizing process and letting go and keeping the things that are important to them. .

[00:22:14] Stephanie: And 

[00:22:15] Amanda: what does a certified personal? Is that the certified personal organizer? What? Professional organizer. Professional ha. What exactly does that mean? Explain that a little bit. 

[00:22:27] Stephanie: Yeah, so a cpo. So a CPO is in certification that you go through through npo, the National Association of Productivity and or professional organizers and productivity specialists.

[00:22:38] Stephanie: And so basically organizers and productivity people. And it’s an organization that is, One of the biggest, especially here in the US and what they do is they really try to empower and enrich and teach people about the power of organizing. That organizing is much more than the pretty bins that there’s the psychology piece, there’s the interior designer piece.

[00:23:01] Stephanie: There’s, there’s so many elements to organizing and being more productive, that this association has taken it upon themselves to certify individuals who. Do this for a living who do this as a career long term and who are serious about wanting to change and help people in this industry. So not just like the quick hacks.

[00:23:22] Stephanie: But you know, we, we want to make some positive long term change. So, again, we all come from different fields within the organizing world, but when you become a cpo, you have now established yourself with a certain amount of hours. You take a test that touches upon the different elements of organizing and and then you kinda prove that you’re serious about what you do.

[00:23:46] Stephanie: I’ve been doing this for. Now 20 years. But it was important for me to tell and show my clients and friends and people and and everyone that I take it serious. Like this is much more than just the daily hack that you might see somewhere. 

[00:24:02] Amanda: Yeah. I, I love that. And you clearly, I mean, 20 years of experience, you, I’m sure have had a ton of wins, and I’d love to know what your biggest accomplishment for this year, specifically, what that has.

[00:24:15] Stephanie: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay. So I, I know exactly what that is. That would be my online shop. It’s so ingrained right now in my head and in my lifestyle and in my brain, like my, my daily life. But it’s, it’s launching the online shop. I am an in-person local business that helps people get organized, you know, think closet,

[00:24:38] Stephanie: storage basement, you know, the pantry. And putting all of that into an online shop has been one of my biggest accomplishments business wise this year. 

[00:24:49] Amanda: And that is huge to have that not necessarily pivot because you’re still doing the in, in-person things, but the, the new branch of your business, that is super exciting.

[00:25:00] Amanda: Tell us a little bit more about what we could find inside your shop, because I will definitely be linking to it in the show notes. 

[00:25:05] Stephanie: Yeah, so on our online shop which is, it’s basically what we do now and in person, but now we’ve converted it into a digital format that you can do it yourself right at home.

[00:25:17] Stephanie: This is especially really a, a great way for those individuals who are actually organized. But they just don’t know where to start. So these templates offer people a starting point. They offer help along the way. Or maybe you started and you stopped because life, you know, life happened. Or you got unmotivated or whatever happened.

[00:25:36] Stephanie: So our templates are all centered around, okay, pick the one that. Where you are feeling stuck and this’ll help you keep the momentum going on your own without having to hire the full on crew to come to your house. And it’s especially really fun. It’s a fun way for people to know that it’s within them.

[00:25:56] Stephanie: They just need like a, just a little help, like just a little template, a little guide roadmap to help them finish their organizing.

[00:26:04] Amanda: And you say, pick the one, are they organized? Are they broken down by room? Are they broken down by like clothes versus books versus are they broken down by category? What does that 

[00:26:16] Stephanie: look like?

[00:26:17] Stephanie: Yeah. So funny you say that because this kind of relates to the question you just asked. What was, what has been my biggest accomplishment? The reason the online shop has been my biggest , accomplishment this year, excuse me, is because Categorizing it has been the most difficult part of creating an online shop.

[00:26:35] Stephanie: If no one out there, if, if somebody, I mean, I know the people out there in your audience who have brick and mortar or in person services, they know how hard, not how hard. It’s just different, how hard it is to convert all those things into. A digital format into the masses. So right now, as it stands, they are by room..

[00:26:56] Stephanie: Will that change? Maybe because again, this is my first time that I have digitized all of our information and services. I mean, we have plethora of information and systems that we use, but simplifying it in a digital format has been a challenge. So right now it’s by room, but We’re doing a lot of testing and with our, our clients who we currently have, we’re just kind of seeing what works best and what doesn’t.

[00:27:23] Stephanie: But as of right now, it’s by room type. 

[00:27:25] Amanda: Interesting. Okay. That’s super fascinating. So, on the opposite side of things, what has been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned 

[00:27:34] Stephanie: this year? ? Well, that goes, that goes with the same theme. I, the biggest lesson has been that no matter. How much, how long, how much you know, how long you’ve been doing it.

[00:27:47] Stephanie: You don’t know It all and not that I didn’t know that before, but it was a reminder this year, like I, I consider myself quite organized. I understand that the psychology behind it but implementing it myself to start to. To pivot the way that we offer our services has been really challenging and it really exercises my, my brain, my little brain.

[00:28:14] Stephanie: So, it humbles, it’s humbling and I love it. And it’s also really exciting because it’s almost like, it’s almost like it just something new, like you’re starting your business over again, which is really exciting. 

[00:28:24] Amanda: So if you had one piece of advice to share for someone who. Is in a similar position where they’re a in person type service and they want to move more so into the online space.

[00:28:38] Amanda: Would that be 

[00:28:39] Stephanie: Oh, great question. Good. Associate yourself. Get yourself a good coach, a good mentor, someone that either has already done it or is doing what you’re hoping to already do. So even if they didn’t have a brick and mortar before, but they’re doing what you’re doing, that’s close enough.

[00:29:00] Stephanie: So I would say when you’re pivoting some like your, your business in a different direction. I feel like that’s been my sanity associating myself and hiring coaches that are helping me along the way. They’re not giving me or gifting me any of the answers, but they’re challenging me to think of things in a different way.

[00:29:18] Stephanie: And and I feel supportive because it is a lonely, it can be very lonely. The journey of transferring all of what you already know into a digital format. It’s a different platform and. And it can be lonely because you feel the feeling of failure comes very quickly and often because you’re either not selling or you’re not releasing it on time, or the ideas are not, they’re not transferring to the digital format the way that you had envisioned them to be.

[00:29:45] Stephanie: And so, It just makes you feel a little down and when you’re, you know when you’re feeling down and when you have coaches or people or mentors or friends that have already been there, they’ll get it. They’ll get it, they’ll encourage you and give you some hard, tough love. 

[00:30:01] Amanda: Yeah, community is so important and it’s something that I greatly undervalued when I started my business, and now I think it’s the thing that I value most is I invest in opportunities that are going to build more community versus the other aspects of what the investment could be potentially.

[00:30:20] Amanda: So that, I love that that’s your answer. And I’m curious, you may not have. Anything different to say for this, but if someone was going in the opposite direction and they were going from more of the digital space and then hoping to open or start more of an in-person branch of their business, would you have any different advice for them?

[00:30:38] Stephanie: No. No. I would just get yourself, someone who is already doing the thing that you’re doing. So if you are doing it the other way around, Connect with the local community, connect with the local people that are doing more of the like in ground work. I will say that in today’s age, Of the digital and in-person brick, and either in-person services, brick and mortar, and digital, even though at the end of the day it’s still running a business.

[00:31:06] Stephanie: I will say that your resources, in addition to coaches and mentors, are going to be a little bit different. So look at what resources you have for both. For instance, your local chamber of commerces, your associations things like that, that they’re, they’re different for each. And Align yourself with people that are kind of in that space. I would just explore those options and those resources before you go too deep just so that you know what what’s out there. Yeah, 

[00:31:33] Amanda: absolutely. So, Okay. This is all great information for those of us as business owners that are just interested in your journey, but what about everyone who is interested in the organizational side of things?

[00:31:47] Amanda: I know you have your free templates list. Can you tell us a little bit more about that, what it is, and how we can get connected 

[00:31:53] Stephanie: with that? Yeah, so we offer monthly free templates to our community and they get delivered right into your inbox for free. And it’s just, you know, a simple, like a newsletter type of situation.

[00:32:07] Stephanie: And you can go to the organized flamingo.com/free templates, but basically it’s their. Templates to help you again, start the process or get you unstuck. So that’s what these are. So our biggest commitment to our community is to help them continue the process, to finish, to get to the end point of whatever organizing and productivity journey they’re trying to achieve.

[00:32:31] Stephanie: So if somebody is saying like, I know, you know, I need to get to my, to my basement, and it’s just been a hot mess express, I don’t wanna go under there. So if you go into any of our templates. Then that’ll allow you to like, get, give you some, some aha moments, if you will. Some eureka moments, as I like to say. So I’m like, oh, okay.

[00:32:50] Stephanie: I didn’t, I guess I didn’t look, think about it that way. Let me try this and let me finish my organizing journey. So the free templates are a great starting point if you’re not sure if you need. To buy it. You feel like, you know what, I, I think I can do it myself. Our free templates offer you a sneak peek into who we are.

[00:33:08] Stephanie: Some great informational quick bites of how to finish your, your journey, your checklist, things like that. So it’s like it’s, it’s just teasers into our community so that they can help you along the way. 

[00:33:20] Amanda: And what would be some examples of some that you’ve sent out in the 

[00:33:23] Stephanie: past? 

[00:33:24] Stephanie: Yeah. So we’ve done, for instance, our mobile office checklist.

[00:33:28] Stephanie: Especially during this time where people were working from home remotely and they had mobile offices. And what we refer to as mobile offices is when you are working from different places at any given moment. So you may have a stationary office somewhere, whether it’s your house or. In a building, but you tend to move around a lot.

[00:33:48] Stephanie: Real estate agents is, is an industry that moves around a lot. Contractors, architects, things like that, that yes, you have an office, but you move around. Again, professionals that or professionals that just like to move around, like creatives book writers, course creators, like they just want, they don’t wanna be stuck.

[00:34:05] Stephanie: So our office mobile checklist, for instance, that we sent out completely free, and it gives you a checklist of things that you may want to take with you and your kit at all times to keep you organized and productive. Things for you to think about so that every time you’re moving around you feel, you feel like you have everything, but you also don’t have like, you know, a whole suitcase for them.

[00:34:29] Stephanie: Stuff like it’s, yeah, it’s easy and simple. Love that. Love simple. 

[00:34:33] Amanda: So we end every episode with a book recommendation. So what would be one book that you would recommend that everyone either goes and reads or they pick up the audio book version or whatever the case may be. What would that book be for 

[00:34:46] Stephanie: you?

[00:34:46] Stephanie: Yeah. So, okay. Well, I, I, this was such a hard, this is always such a hard question for me because I, I can’t commit to just one. I will tell you what my one is in just a second, but it’s really hard for me to commit to one because I do think that it depends on what. What part of your life in season, in life you are, you know, you read a book and it hits you a little bit differently.

[00:35:06] Stephanie: So there’s books that I have read that were just, just like they, they moved, they rocked my world. And then I went back to read it, and then I thought, oh my gosh, this book is just so lame. Like, what was I thinking at the time? . So then I feel like why, why would I rec, I, I should not have recomme.

[00:35:25] Stephanie: Recommend that book, but it’s because at that time it was just so amazing. So I have a hard time with this, but I will say there is a storyteller. I have a couple, but one specific one is Dolly Parton storyteller. And the reason it’s a, it’s fairly recent and she talks about the, the behind the scenes of her music.

[00:35:43] Stephanie: And the reason that I love it, and I do think this is one of those timeless ones that I think we’ll keep, is because if you, we talk about an entrepreneur, first of all, and. She, I mean, she followed her passion and be very, not to be cheesy, but she followed her passion from the very get go, didn’t give up on her dreams.

[00:36:03] Stephanie: There were so many obstacles along the way, and she created and it, and, and so then she created music out of those obstacles, out of those moments in her life. And I admire people that are great storytellers. And so that’s for one and two. I just think in general, she’s just an amazing person that took some of her.

[00:36:22] Stephanie: Bumps along the way and created something really special. And again, it’s like, it’s through her music, through her storytelling. So I was really impressed with it. I also listened to it on audiobook, cause I got the book, the big book, and then on audio. And both were a really great read if you’re, if you’re a woman, if you’re an entrepreneur, if you’re a person who just admires the creative process in entrepreneurship.

[00:36:47] Stephanie: Her book was really inspiring. 

[00:36:49] Amanda: Perfect. We will link to that and the show notes. Everyone along with the link to get on Stephanie’s free templates list so that you can get those delivered to your inbox each month. Stephanie, thank you so much for being here, for taking the time to come on today and just share a little bit about where you’re at with your business and what you’ve been learning this year.

[00:37:07] Amanda: What would be the best place for people to find you if they wanna get connect? 

[00:37:11] Stephanie: Yeah, come hang out with me over on Instagram. That’s where I’m usually at on an everyday basis as of right now. But as we all know, the social media world changes every day. So, but you can find me at the Organized Flamingo over on Instagram.

[00:37:24] Stephanie: You can also find me on our online shop, which is www.theorganizedflamingo.shop. 

[00:37:32] Amanda: Perfect. And we’ll have all of that link in the show notes. Thank you again, Stephanie. 

[00:37:36] Stephanie: Yeah. Thank you. 

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