SORT is my COVID baby

SORT is my COVID baby.

Like many of you, the past two years have been a cluster…BUT, I have been trying to focus on silver linings. One of the best things to come out of COVID was so much time of reflection. For me, this reflection was majorly about my professional career. What have I accomplished? What am I good at? What do I want to be when I grow up?

The majority of my career has been focused on Event Planning. First, for a local college admission office and then for a private events firm in the non-profit sector, and in-between I spent some time at home raising my three babies. My oldest can make his own sandwich and my youngest can wipe her own butt, so naturally it was time for me to move forward and focus on my professional goals.

I have always liked the idea of being my own boss and hope to have curated some of that entrepreneurial spirit from my Babson College days. Also, I was born left-brained and organizing and creating functional spaces for myself always made me happy, more productive, and calm.

Cue the 2020 boom of Marie Kondo, The Home Edit, and many others like it, while we were all stuck at home tripping over our stuff. I immediately thought, “Wow, I could get paid to do this for others!” With a little research I found out there was a professional organization, the National Association of Productivity and Organizing (NAPO), and many local chapters and resources for people out there that wanted to do the same type of work as me. I have always been told that organizing is my superpower and was excited about the idea of starting my own shop.

I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I hemmed and hawed over this decision for quite some time. Starting a business took me out of my comfort zone! But, back to the self-reflection days of early COVID, I convinced myself that I was brave enough.

So, I bought a few books about organizing, followed fellow organizers on social media and started to formulate my plan. I spent some time getting the nuts & bolts ready: incorporating my business as an LLC, purchasing insurance, building a website (best money I spent on Fiverr!!), having a logo designed, and opening a business bank account.

The second part of my plan included getting some projects under my belt. I overhauled a friend’s basement/craft/workshop (more to come on that), and started to spread the word – to friends, neighbors, and even a few small businesses.

I spent the rest of 2021 following through with a previous event commitment, as well as another event job I was able to land locally. I took some time with my family over the holidays and here I am on February 1, 2022. SORT is now, officially, open for business.

I always wanted to have 4 kids, but after my 3rd little darling, I realized that 3 kids was JUST FINE. However, in the spirit of my metaphor, my final baby, SORT, will close that loop for me.

Now, let’s get started!