Military families need to be organized. There is no room for extra stuff on a cross-country PCS move. Who better to help families who struggle with this process than an Army spouse and daughter?
Dannyel Smith loves to organize. Her own home is immaculately labeled with everything in its space. She volunteers to organize the hundreds of cans of food at her local Food Bank.
And for her clients, this professional organizer can re-arrange just about anything they need.
“I get such personal satisfaction out of the tedious process and the end result,” Smith said.
Smith got her start as a teen when her family lived in Hawaii. Her mother operated a cleaning business and when clients asked for help with organization projects, Smith jumped at the chance to tackle the piles of books, toys and papers. She cleaned garages. She organized households to prepare for cross-Pacific moves and neatly put away the kitchen-stuff of families new to the area.
Those side jobs turned into a business opportunity for Smith who now works as a professional organizer.
As a military spouse, Smith has to keep her business mobile, and organized, for each PCS move. With each move she spends time hitting the pavement and advertising in the local community. The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) estimates that individuals who own their organizing business will spend 80 percent of their first year’s income on marketing costs.
Smith has found that her best marketing can often be to live what she teaches.
“It’s funny though, many of my clients come from people seeing my house, since I’m so organized,” Smith said.
Smith said she has no formal training as a professional organizer and has instead “grown up” in the business.
The NAPO offers an education program for organizers and individuals can become certified in the industry. The certification is not required to operate a business and is not considered an endorsement for those who earn it, according to the NAPO website.
Smith has to keep her business extra organized as her family makes a PCS move every few years. Her number one suggestion is to use networking to grow your business in each location. When her family recently moved to Fort Bragg, N.C., she even passed out business cards to the movers who unloaded her household goods.
“Reach out and get to know your community as soon as you get to your new location,” she said. “I do so much word of mouth business because there is such a trust in the military communities.”
