September 2, 2025 • 26 mins
Ever wonder how entrepreneurs turn their skills into digital products that actually sell? In this episode, Samantha Brown shares her journey from professional organizer to founder of the Pro Organizers Academy, where she helps women build their own organizing businesses.
Samantha explains how she transformed her hands-on service business into a digital product ecosystem with online courses, membership programs, and coaching, all without overwhelming her audience. She focuses on simplicity, authenticity, and community, showing how the right messaging and real connections can make all the difference.
If you’ve been thinking about creating a course, membership, or coaching program, Samantha drops practical tips for turning your expertise into a digital product business, avoiding comparison traps, and starting right where you are. Tune in to discover how your zone of genius could be the foundation for your next big business idea.
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Samantha (00:00):
always come from a place of service, in my opinion,
so it can connect to thatperson.
The more authentic I get withmy messaging and the more
authentic I show up, the morepeople are drawn to me.
Alyssa (00:14):
Welcome to Brilliant Ideas, the podcast that takes
you behind the scenes of some ofthe most inspiring digital
products created by solopreneursjust like you.
I'm your host, alyssa, adigital product strategist who
helps subject matter expertsgrow their business with online
courses, memberships, coachingprograms and eBooks.
If you're a solopreneur withdreams of packaging your
expertise into a profitabledigital product, then this is
(00:36):
the podcast for you.
Expect honest conversations ofhow they started, the obstacles
they overcame, lessons learnedthe hard way and who faced the
same fears, doubts andchallenges you're experiencing,
from unexpected surprises tobreakthrough moments and
everything in between.
Tune in, get inspired and let'sspark your next big, brilliant
idea.
What if your zone of geniuswasn't just something you're
(00:58):
good at, but the foundation of athriving business?
This week on Brilliant Ideas,I'm joined by Samantha Brown,
business coach, professionalorganizer and host of the Pro
Organizers Coach podcast.
Samantha took her passion fororganizing and turning it into a
scalable brand, complete withcourses, coaching programs and a
vibrant community of women whowant to build organizing
(01:18):
businesses of their own.
In this episode, we talk abouthow she turned her hands-on
service into digital offeringsthat continue to grow her impact
and her income.
If you've been thinking aboutturning your own process into a
program or building a coachingbrand from your real life
experience.
Samantha's story will show youjust how possible that can be.
Let's dive in.
(01:39):
Welcome to the show, samantha.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Thank you for having me.
It's great that you're here.
You know you've built a reallysuccessful niche business where
you're one of like the topleaders in helping people create
a professional organizingbusiness, and so I want to talk
about this for a hot minute,because you have a course called
the Pro Organizers Academy.
Can you tell me what inspiredyou to create it or like the
(02:03):
other courses you have, and howdid you know that this was what
your audience exactly needed?
Samantha (02:09):
A lot of work and a lot of taking it one step at a
time.
So a little bit of backgroundabout me.
I was a caregiver.
I worked with autistic kids forover a decade and then I
started my own organizingbusiness based on my own need.
So I had to learn how to do itfor myself and you know, then I
(02:29):
started down the path of tryingto figure out, like, where and
how to create my own organizingbusiness.
Well, back then I had to kindof piece together all of the
pieces from different people,because the information was very
scattered or the informationthat was out there was so
expensive it wasn't even anoption.
(02:50):
And so I started realizing I'mlike, if I'm having trouble
doing this, then I know thatother women that are wanting to
start their organizingbusinesses are having trouble as
well.
So I started my organizingbusiness and I thought it was
just going to be like Pinterestperfect pantries all the time
and all the things right.
And it actually ended up notbeing that at all.
(03:14):
A lot of what I was doing wasactually more decluttering and I
ended up getting certified as alife coach because I needed
more tools.
So as I was going through thatprocess, I realized there were a
lot more of the everyday womenthat needed help in their homes,
more so than just not the rich,but you know the people that
(03:37):
could afford $5,000 or whatever.
So I started doing sessions.
I kind of created my own way ofdoing things and I realized no
one else was teaching that andI'm like, oh okay, so long story
short, I created my own stuffand, kind of taking it one step
at a time, I was like I want tostart sharing with people what
(03:58):
I've learned and when youpartner the coaching with the
organizing, how you can actuallyhelp people, and if you do it
by sessions, then the everydayperson can afford you and
there's a lot more people thatneed organizers to help them
create systems in their home.
And so one thing led to anotherand I started the podcast and it
(04:20):
just kind of took off fromthere and I created the Academy
because I wanted.
It just kind of took off fromthere and I created the Academy
because I wanted I'm very big onlike one step at a time,
whether I'm working with myclients, my coaching clients,
whoever and so I wanted tocreate what I call the Academy,
but it has multiple courses init based on the step that the
(04:40):
person coming to me is at, sothey can take it one step at a
time and not get overwhelmedwith too much information all at
once.
Alyssa (04:48):
That makes sense, I love that.
That's amazing that it took offfor you, and also what I found
interesting is that you alsohave a community right around
the academy as well.
Samantha (04:59):
Yeah, so I've got I call it a group coaching
membership.
We meet every Tuesday and we dogroup coaching and then once a
month, I bring in like a guestexpert to help us specifically
as professional organizers.
And the reason I did that isbecause when I first started the
podcast podcasts are a lot ofwork and yeah, and so trying to
(05:21):
do all of that, I knew it wasgoing to take me time to create
the courses and to have moneycoming in that way, but I still
wanted to be able to meet mywomen where they were and
actually help them, and so amembership seemed like the best
of both worlds to start off with, and then I was able to get
information back from them doingthe coaching every week to make
(05:42):
sure my courses were actuallygoing to help them.
Alyssa (05:46):
Yes, that makes sense.
The idea of validation beforeyou, you know, improve your
course or you know.
You know, if you want to createsomething new, you want to know
if it's actually going to beworthwhile for you to put tons
of time and energy into creatingit.
Yes, absolutely yeah, andthat's what I talk a lot about,
about validating an idea.
You know, making sure that youraudience this is what they want
(06:11):
, because you're not going tojust create some half ass course
.
That's not no, like that.
You want to put 110% ineverything that you do, and so I
feel like, don't be creatingjust these Mickey Mouse courses.
You want to create somethingthat's comprehensive, that's
actually going to move theneedle for your audience, and
it's not just going to be someinformation based course that
(06:33):
they take it and then they neveruse in the future.
So my question what advicewould you give to someone who's
thinking about turning theirexpertise into a digital product
, like you know, of course, likeyou did with the Academy, but
they feel kind of overwhelmed byit.
Samantha (06:48):
Honestly, a couple of things.
One is definitely to take itone step at a time.
That's huge.
Like start where you are rightnow with what you have and then
kind of figure out, okay, whatpieces do I need?
Like, where do I want to go?
Maybe kind of work backwards towhere you are now, but figure
out what you're needing inbetween, because that's where I
(07:11):
kept getting stuck.
I had, you know, I wanted theacademy, I wanted all the steps,
I wanted this big thing, andthen I'd get so overwhelmed that
I almost wouldn't do anything.
But once I brought it back to,okay, where am I right now?
What do I have?
What do I already know?
And now let me figure out kindof what else I need or, you know
(07:32):
, start asking the rightquestions to my audience and
different things like that tofill in the gap.
That's when it started to kindof show itself to where I could
take those next steps, insteadof feeling like I had to have
all the answers before I evengot started.
Alyssa (07:48):
Yeah, I like the idea of the one step at a time.
Start where you are what piecesdo I need?
Like when I was certified as anonline business manager years
ago like back in 2021.
And before that, I was like,what do I need to become an
online business manager?
And I was like, you know maybeyou know you don't have to
become certified, but you know,I feel like this would make me
(08:09):
more, have more credibility.
So I went to go get thecertification and then after
that I was like, well, I have towork with some starting clients
.
So then I asked my friends andfamily to see if I could, you
know, do a project on them andsee if I'm getting some
experience.
So I did it in very baby stepsand then at some point then you
kind of build momentum fromthere, because then you're like
you have more confidence aboutwhat you're talking about and
(08:31):
you know people respond reallywell to your work and your
results and so, but I feel likewe're we're so much focused on
the end goal, but really it'slike the journey to getting to
the end.
Samantha (08:47):
Yeah, and and I I talk to my ladies about this all the
time that are starting theirorganizing businesses, because
it's very similar.
You know, they go to start andthey've never worked with a
client before, they've neverowned a business before, so
there's all this new informationcoming at them and a lot of
them will start with, like thefriends and family discount
right, or like even start intheir own home to start creating
content, like what are thoselittle steps that you can start
(09:08):
taking today that are going toget you to that bigger goal?
Alyssa (09:13):
Yeah, and I you know, I know I understand how
overwhelming can feel, though,like you know, for many creators
, you know business owners, theyget stuck in this mental loop
of like overthinking, like whatif no one buys my products or my
services?
What if it's not good enough?
And then it starts to feel kindof paralyzing.
I have been through this likemultiple times, but I find that
(09:33):
the pressure to make it perfectcan be such a trap within itself
, like you're carrying the wholeweight of, like this final
service or final product beforeyou even built the foundation.
Samantha (09:46):
Absolutely.
And then we get in that loop oflike not enough, or imposter
syndrome or we're comparingourselves to someone else.
That's the other piece ofadvice.
Stop looking at your quote,unquote competition, just stop.
You know you can look forinspiration, but even in my
course I tell my ladies I'm like, listen, if you want
(10:07):
inspiration, great.
But like, put a time limit onwhat you allow yourself to look
at, whether it's an hour,whatever.
Get the inspiration of what youlike, what you don't like,
whatever it is, but then quitlooking at their stuff because
all of a sudden you're going tofeel like you don't know enough,
especially when you're firststarting out.
Every time I would go and lookat the people that are doing
(10:28):
something similar to what I'mdoing.
I'd get paralyzed with thislike, well, I don't know enough
and I'm not good enough, or I'mnot whatever.
And it would set me back so farwhere, if I just focused on my
next thing or what what I wasdoing, it always got me so much
farther faster.
Alyssa (10:46):
It's so true Comparison kills motivation.
I have done that so many timesin my business, like in the
early days, where I was likelooking at other creators and
seeing what content they createdand then trying to adopt that
same framework or what they'redoing, and it actually made it
worse because it prolonged thisidea that I was adopting someone
(11:08):
else's brand and the way thatthey act and it wasn't me
Exactly.
It's like, well, what about me?
But this begs the question oflike do you need to do a little
bit of branding, personalbranding to figure out what
makes you different?
So do you have something likethat in your core in your
academy?
Samantha (11:29):
So I do inside of the course.
We do definitely go intobranding because as a business
owner like you've got to figureout what draws you and what
feels natural to you.
But again it goes back to metelling them give yourself a
time limit, like allow yourselfto look at other people's stuff
and be like, ooh, I can't, Ilike that kind of fun, or I like
(11:49):
more light and bright, or youknow.
And then looking at your values, like what is important to you
when it comes to your messaging,what do you want to convey, but
again putting a limit on it.
So then that way you don't godown the rabbit trail and now
it's a month later and you'restill looking at everybody
else's, everything you know.
Alyssa (12:11):
Yeah, and not working on .
The one thing that you need todo is your business.
Samantha (12:15):
Yeah, and honestly, a lot of times when it comes to
because for me, branding isn'tjust like the colors and the
aesthetic, it's also yourmessaging, it's how you show up
in the world, and I think weforget that piece of it where,
if we would just look at youknow, think of one person that
you're talking to and the wholeidea of speaking to one person,
(12:39):
if you would just keep focusingon your ideal avatar and the
person that you know you'remeant to help and you're coming
from a place of service, you'regoing to figure those things out
for yourself, and I don't knowhow many times I've rebranded,
like you.
Sometimes you just have to gowith what you've got in the
moment and then you'll figure itout as you go and it'll become
(12:59):
more authentic to you.
But you have to start where youare and you have to always come
from a place of service, in myopinion, so it can connect to
that person.
The more authentic I get withmy messaging and the more
authentic I show up, the morepeople are drawn to me.
Alyssa (13:20):
It is so true.
I mean, when, back when Istarted, I used these like baby
pink color palette and and itwas just, it was so cringy, like
I made so many cringe reels andlike content I mean I showed up
with, like I was like soconfident and it's great, you
know.
But it's like you're going togo through those stages where
(13:42):
you're going to be like, why didI show up in that way with that
branding?
Or though, you know, but it'sbecause you're evolving, like
I've evolved.
My business has evolved overfive years, you know, it's not
like a big company where they'rethey're kind of the same every
single year.
I think, individually, youevolve as a person.
If you know, I just recently,you know, I became a mom, you
(14:03):
know, a couple of years ago, andthat shifted my identity, and
so I'm having to put that kindof into my whole personal brand,
because I cannot ignore thewhole big piece that I am a
mother.
So it's like it's like there'sdifferent things that happen in
your life that you can slowlyweed into, you know, put into
your business, and that's justwhat makes you you business and
(14:26):
that's just what makes you youyeah and so.
So let's kind of go back into.
I want to talk about launchingor even just like courses, your
course and your in yourmembership.
Here, what would you say iskind of like the most surprising
thing that you've learned sincelaunching your courses and
membership?
Samantha (14:46):
Where do I start?
So, honestly, a lot of it it'snot what you think it is.
So when I first started mymembership probably the biggest
thing so I know that I'm apeople pleaser.
I like very much to pleaseothers and I've had to work on
that over the years.
But when I first started mymembership I was like, okay,
well, everyone's in differenttime zones, so I'll offer
(15:08):
Mondays at nine and Wednesdaysat five and Fridays at two.
And like it was a lot, I wasoffering way too much and no one
was showing up.
I'm like, where are all mymembers?
Or I'd have like one personshow up this day and maybe two
the next.
And and I kept trying to almostcreate this bigger thing than
it needed to be because I wasoverthinking it.
And maybe to the next and and Ikept trying to almost create
(15:29):
this bigger thing than it neededto be because I was
overthinking it and trying toplease every single person that
was in the membership at thetime.
And when I finally was like youknow what, what works for me?
Let me just pick one day, onetime that works best for me and
my life and, honestly, thesecond, I did that and I was
like all right ladies, everyTuesday at 6 pm Eastern Standard
(15:52):
Time, that's our time.
All of a sudden, everyonestarted showing up because they
knew what to expect.
They knew when to expect it,and so the biggest thing I've
learned is keeping it simple isactually the key to success.
Keeping it simple is actuallythe key to success, especially
when it comes to memberships orhaving to do any kind of like
meetings and different thingslike that, because the more
(16:15):
options you offer, the moreyou're just going to overwhelm
them and then they're not goingto show up to anything.
Alyssa (16:22):
Yeah, I agree with this.
I was part of a membershipwhere there was like many
courses in the membership andthey would release it every
single month and I got sooverwhelmed, so quickly, that I
didn't even access the materialfor that course for that month
because I was still working onthe previous month's course.
Yeah, and it didn't work out.
I had to cancel because I wasjust I can't, I didn't even know
(16:46):
where to begin.
It was so overwhelming.
I am so against the you know,put everything you know into a
membership.
If you have anything you know.
What they do recommend is, youknow, create like a success path
or some kind of journey thatyou take your members through so
that they know where to beginand where to access your
(17:08):
materials.
And then you know, maybethey're at the beginning, not
advanced, you know, and so andmaybe make it clear if your
membership is geared towardsadvanced or beginner, beginner
entrepreneurs, so that you knowwould be helpful.
Samantha (17:23):
Yeah well, and what I found too is I actually don't
put any content in themembership.
I mean I do like there's contentthere, but for me I've kept the
courses kind of separate.
So when they're ready to takeeach of those steps and purchase
the course, they can, and whenthey do purchase the course, at
(17:44):
whatever level they're at orwhatever step they're needing,
it comes with a few months freeof the membership, so that kind
of funnels them into themembership and then they're able
to continue on if they want tostay.
But I keep the membership moreabout coaching and about
building relationships with eachother, and then I just put
everything in a replay vault.
(18:04):
So if they want to go accessthat, they can.
But it's more about having likean app where they can support
each other and you know groupcoaching each week where we can
support one another more so thanit is about all this content
coming at you and then you cango to the courses or you can go
to the podcast or whatever forthe content piece.
But the membership is moreabout the coaching and the
(18:29):
connection than it is aboutcontent, because I didn't want
to overwhelm them with too much.
Alyssa (18:34):
And then overwhelm yourself because you know they
have a deadline to put thiscontent in.
Oh, that sounds like onenightmare after another.
I could not.
It's a lot of work.
You know it's hard enoughbecause with your podcast even
like you're kind of on adeadline when things are, when
episodes are released to geteverything prepared.
So I can, you know, for methat's enough of a deadline
(18:58):
because there's so much involvedthere I couldn't imagine doing
that and a membership as welland putting content there.
Samantha (19:05):
Yeah, yeah, there's no way.
Alyssa (19:07):
No, so then.
So then, with your coaching, so, um, is it like, is it group?
So you have a group coaching,and then what is kind of the
structure of your coaching?
Is it just, they ask?
Samantha (19:20):
Yeah, it's kind of like and that's evolved over
time too right, like when Ifirst started it it was just
kind of a free for all in a wayof like you know, whatever kind
of happened, because thereweren't a ton of people and I
was very open to like what wouldwork best for them and just
trying to figure it out as Iwent.
And now it's evolved into, youknow, I kind of ask who wants to
(19:46):
be coached that day or who hasquestions, and then we kind of
do almost like hot seat coachingin a way, depending on how many
people show up, because if youonly have an hour, you learn
very quickly.
You can only get through somany people in an hour, and so
there's some times that everyperson I check in with them
there's other times that youknow check in with them.
There's other times that youknow only half of them get
checked in with or, and thenthey're in the chat talking to
(20:08):
each other while I'm coaching.
And then, like I said, once amonth I bring in what I call a
guest expert, someone that maybeteaches on email marketing or
maybe teaches, and it's normallysomeone I've interviewed on the
podcast.
It's kind of part two.
I'll have them come into themembership and do a workshop and
so once a month they're gettingalmost that like expert you
(20:31):
know, and then with the Q&A theyget to talk to the person I did
the podcast interview with.
So it helps them grow or beable to ask questions to people
I've interviewed on the podcastas well.
Alyssa (20:42):
No, that's great.
I think that makes sense tohave, like the guest expert
that's related to the podcast,because then they have two
different resources they canaccess at the same time.
That's kind of nice.
I like that and.
Samantha (20:52):
I feel like they already know them, because I
make sure to go ahead and putthe podcast episode out, like
normally, a few weeks to a monthbefore they're coming into the
membership, so then that waythey have time to listen to that
episode before we do ourworkshop.
Alyssa (21:06):
Okay, and you know, just you know.
One last question about thismembership.
So do you have a retentionstrategy or something to how do
you keep your members reallyengaged in your membership?
Samantha (21:19):
So part of it is the fact that they get to start
helping each other.
That was my goal from thebeginning was at first.
It was a lot of work and timefor me building those
relationships one-on-one, but Iknew over time they would start
to help each other, and sothat's why having the app for me
was huge, because I wanted them, in between group coaching
(21:40):
sessions, to be able to talk toeach other, and so I did Mighty
Networks and they have, like youknow, your own app that you can
download, and so everyone isinside of the app talking to
each other, asking questions.
If they're getting stuck with aclient, then I can answer or
other people can reply, and so,but I based it mostly on
(22:01):
community Like to me, thecommunity is what matters and us
supporting each other, nomatter what stage of the journey
you're on.
And so it's this beautifulthing, because the new people
come in with this excitement andthis energy that kind of
revitalizes the people that havebeen there for a while.
But then the people that havebeen there for a while or are
already working with clients,they have all this wisdom to
(22:23):
give to the new people, and so,honestly, the connection has
been the biggest piece ofretention for me.
Alyssa (22:31):
I love the community aspect I've been along to.
I had a few memberships thatthere was zero community.
It was just like you know, aFacebook group, but it was like
it didn't really connect,because I find that Facebook
groups are so oversaturated andmy networks like when I was
looking at your um, your website, you like you had the app and I
was like that is so creativeand it's like it's off Facebook.
(22:54):
So if you don't have Facebookit's not a big deal.
Um, I know some people use liketelegram and they thought, you
know, they think that that'sanother way and that could be
another way, but I find that youhave to use your phone number,
so it's not totally great.
But Money Network sounds like agreat place because then it's
like your own separate app thatyou can just have.
Samantha (23:12):
And my other thing was I don't overwhelm them with a
ton of notifications, but Iwanted them to get the
notifications, and when you'rein a Facebook group, it gets
lost in all of the notifications, of everyone else's
notifications.
And I have a Facebook group.
It's my free Facebook group,but it's dead in there.
I mean, I post all the time,but it's so hard to get people
(23:36):
to interact and all of thesethings.
And so for me, what I loveabout it is it has that aspect
of it's our own spot, our ownplace.
You know, it's the app on yourphone that you're going to
specifically for our communityversus.
Oh, I'm on Facebook Now, Imaybe saw a notification, maybe
(23:56):
I didn't, and so that's why Ipulled it off of Facebook
specifically.
Alyssa (24:01):
Yeah, you're just so much more distracted if it's on
Facebook versus like.
It's a different app.
That's great.
So many great takeaways here.
So, as we conclude today'sepisode, where can my listeners
find you?
Samantha (24:11):
online.
Everything's under ProOrganizers Coach, so you know
ProOrganizersCoachcom.
You can Google Pro OrganizersCoach.
The podcast is called ProOrganizers Coach.
I try to keep it very simple.
Alyssa (24:25):
Awesome, well, thanks so much, samantha, for sharing so
many wonderful wisdom andinsights into the story, your
strategies, everything youshared today.
Thank you so much.
Samantha (24:34):
Absolutely, and I would love for your listeners to
come listen.
I know it's, even if they'renot starting an organizing
business.
90% of my content is just aboutbusiness in general, and so I
feel like it's very helpful, nomatter what business you're
starting.
Alyssa (24:49):
And also because you have a really niche business.
So someone else who might alsohave a niche business can really
relate, even if it's not.
You know an organizing business.
You know how.
You know some people are moregeneral in their marketing but
you have a very niche market andso you can.
You know they can relate to alot of what you're saying as
well.
Samantha (25:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you so much for having meOf course, and for everyone
else listening.
Alyssa (25:13):
Thanks so much for tuning in.
If you loved this episode,please message me on Instagram
my handle is AlyssaBelserioOBM.
It's in the show notes as welland tell me what you loved about
this episode and what you foundreally helpful, and I'll share
it back with you, samantha, aswell, and so this is great.
Thanks so much for coming ontoday.
Thank you for having me.
(25:35):
No worries, all right, everyoneTake care, and thanks again for
listening, and I'll see younext time on another Brilliant
Idea.
Thanks for tuning into thisepisode of Brilliant Ideas If
you love the show.
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you next time on
another brilliant idea.
Thanks for tuning into thisepisode of Brilliant Ideas.
If you love the show, be sureto leave a review and follow me
on Instagram for even moreinsider tips and inspiration.
Ready to bring your next big,brilliant idea to life?
(25:56):
Visit alissavelsercom forresources, guidance and
everything you need to startcreating something amazing.
always come from a place of service, in my opinion,
so it can connect to thatperson.
The more authentic I get withmy messaging and the more
authentic I show up, the morepeople are drawn to me.
Alyssa (00:14):
Welcome to Brilliant Ideas, the podcast that takes
you behind the scenes of some ofthe most inspiring digital
products created by solopreneursjust like you.
I'm your host, alyssa, adigital product strategist who
helps subject matter expertsgrow their business with online
courses, memberships, coachingprograms and eBooks.
If you're a solopreneur withdreams of packaging your
expertise into a profitabledigital product, then this is
(00:36):
the podcast for you.
Expect honest conversations ofhow they started, the obstacles
they overcame, lessons learnedthe hard way and who faced the
same fears, doubts andchallenges you're experiencing,
from unexpected surprises tobreakthrough moments and
everything in between.
Tune in, get inspired and let'sspark your next big, brilliant
idea.
What if your zone of geniuswasn't just something you're
(00:58):
good at, but the foundation of athriving business?
This week on Brilliant Ideas,I'm joined by Samantha Brown,
business coach, professionalorganizer and host of the Pro
Organizers Coach podcast.
Samantha took her passion fororganizing and turning it into a
scalable brand, complete withcourses, coaching programs and a
vibrant community of women whowant to build organizing
(01:18):
businesses of their own.
In this episode, we talk abouthow she turned her hands-on
service into digital offeringsthat continue to grow her impact
and her income.
If you've been thinking aboutturning your own process into a
program or building a coachingbrand from your real life
experience.
Samantha's story will show youjust how possible that can be.
Let's dive in.
(01:39):
Welcome to the show, samantha.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Thank you for having me.
It's great that you're here.
You know you've built a reallysuccessful niche business where
you're one of like the topleaders in helping people create
a professional organizingbusiness, and so I want to talk
about this for a hot minute,because you have a course called
the Pro Organizers Academy.
Can you tell me what inspiredyou to create it or like the
(02:03):
other courses you have, and howdid you know that this was what
your audience exactly needed?
Samantha (02:09):
A lot of work and a lot of taking it one step at a
time.
So a little bit of backgroundabout me.
I was a caregiver.
I worked with autistic kids forover a decade and then I
started my own organizingbusiness based on my own need.
So I had to learn how to do itfor myself and you know, then I
(02:29):
started down the path of tryingto figure out, like, where and
how to create my own organizingbusiness.
Well, back then I had to kindof piece together all of the
pieces from different people,because the information was very
scattered or the informationthat was out there was so
expensive it wasn't even anoption.
(02:50):
And so I started realizing I'mlike, if I'm having trouble
doing this, then I know thatother women that are wanting to
start their organizingbusinesses are having trouble as
well.
So I started my organizingbusiness and I thought it was
just going to be like Pinterestperfect pantries all the time
and all the things right.
And it actually ended up notbeing that at all.
(03:14):
A lot of what I was doing wasactually more decluttering and I
ended up getting certified as alife coach because I needed
more tools.
So as I was going through thatprocess, I realized there were a
lot more of the everyday womenthat needed help in their homes,
more so than just not the rich,but you know the people that
(03:37):
could afford $5,000 or whatever.
So I started doing sessions.
I kind of created my own way ofdoing things and I realized no
one else was teaching that andI'm like, oh okay, so long story
short, I created my own stuffand, kind of taking it one step
at a time, I was like I want tostart sharing with people what
(03:58):
I've learned and when youpartner the coaching with the
organizing, how you can actuallyhelp people, and if you do it
by sessions, then the everydayperson can afford you and
there's a lot more people thatneed organizers to help them
create systems in their home.
And so one thing led to anotherand I started the podcast and it
(04:20):
just kind of took off fromthere and I created the Academy
because I wanted.
It just kind of took off fromthere and I created the Academy
because I wanted I'm very big onlike one step at a time,
whether I'm working with myclients, my coaching clients,
whoever and so I wanted tocreate what I call the Academy,
but it has multiple courses init based on the step that the
(04:40):
person coming to me is at, sothey can take it one step at a
time and not get overwhelmedwith too much information all at
once.
Alyssa (04:48):
That makes sense, I love that.
That's amazing that it took offfor you, and also what I found
interesting is that you alsohave a community right around
the academy as well.
Samantha (04:59):
Yeah, so I've got I call it a group coaching
membership.
We meet every Tuesday and we dogroup coaching and then once a
month, I bring in like a guestexpert to help us specifically
as professional organizers.
And the reason I did that isbecause when I first started the
podcast podcasts are a lot ofwork and yeah, and so trying to
(05:21):
do all of that, I knew it wasgoing to take me time to create
the courses and to have moneycoming in that way, but I still
wanted to be able to meet mywomen where they were and
actually help them, and so amembership seemed like the best
of both worlds to start off with, and then I was able to get
information back from them doingthe coaching every week to make
(05:42):
sure my courses were actuallygoing to help them.
Alyssa (05:46):
Yes, that makes sense.
The idea of validation beforeyou, you know, improve your
course or you know.
You know, if you want to createsomething new, you want to know
if it's actually going to beworthwhile for you to put tons
of time and energy into creatingit.
Yes, absolutely yeah, andthat's what I talk a lot about,
about validating an idea.
You know, making sure that youraudience this is what they want
(06:11):
, because you're not going tojust create some half ass course
.
That's not no, like that.
You want to put 110% ineverything that you do, and so I
feel like, don't be creatingjust these Mickey Mouse courses.
You want to create somethingthat's comprehensive, that's
actually going to move theneedle for your audience, and
it's not just going to be someinformation based course that
(06:33):
they take it and then they neveruse in the future.
So my question what advicewould you give to someone who's
thinking about turning theirexpertise into a digital product
, like you know, of course, likeyou did with the Academy, but
they feel kind of overwhelmed byit.
Samantha (06:48):
Honestly, a couple of things.
One is definitely to take itone step at a time.
That's huge.
Like start where you are rightnow with what you have and then
kind of figure out, okay, whatpieces do I need?
Like, where do I want to go?
Maybe kind of work backwards towhere you are now, but figure
out what you're needing inbetween, because that's where I
(07:11):
kept getting stuck.
I had, you know, I wanted theacademy, I wanted all the steps,
I wanted this big thing, andthen I'd get so overwhelmed that
I almost wouldn't do anything.
But once I brought it back to,okay, where am I right now?
What do I have?
What do I already know?
And now let me figure out kindof what else I need or, you know
(07:32):
, start asking the rightquestions to my audience and
different things like that tofill in the gap.
That's when it started to kindof show itself to where I could
take those next steps, insteadof feeling like I had to have
all the answers before I evengot started.
Alyssa (07:48):
Yeah, I like the idea of the one step at a time.
Start where you are what piecesdo I need?
Like when I was certified as anonline business manager years
ago like back in 2021.
And before that, I was like,what do I need to become an
online business manager?
And I was like, you know maybeyou know you don't have to
become certified, but you know,I feel like this would make me
(08:09):
more, have more credibility.
So I went to go get thecertification and then after
that I was like, well, I have towork with some starting clients
.
So then I asked my friends andfamily to see if I could, you
know, do a project on them andsee if I'm getting some
experience.
So I did it in very baby stepsand then at some point then you
kind of build momentum fromthere, because then you're like
you have more confidence aboutwhat you're talking about and
(08:31):
you know people respond reallywell to your work and your
results and so, but I feel likewe're we're so much focused on
the end goal, but really it'slike the journey to getting to
the end.
Samantha (08:47):
Yeah, and and I I talk to my ladies about this all the
time that are starting theirorganizing businesses, because
it's very similar.
You know, they go to start andthey've never worked with a
client before, they've neverowned a business before, so
there's all this new informationcoming at them and a lot of
them will start with, like thefriends and family discount
right, or like even start intheir own home to start creating
content, like what are thoselittle steps that you can start
(09:08):
taking today that are going toget you to that bigger goal?
Alyssa (09:13):
Yeah, and I you know, I know I understand how
overwhelming can feel, though,like you know, for many creators
, you know business owners, theyget stuck in this mental loop
of like overthinking, like whatif no one buys my products or my
services?
What if it's not good enough?
And then it starts to feel kindof paralyzing.
I have been through this likemultiple times, but I find that
(09:33):
the pressure to make it perfectcan be such a trap within itself
, like you're carrying the wholeweight of, like this final
service or final product beforeyou even built the foundation.
Samantha (09:46):
Absolutely.
And then we get in that loop oflike not enough, or imposter
syndrome or we're comparingourselves to someone else.
That's the other piece ofadvice.
Stop looking at your quote,unquote competition, just stop.
You know you can look forinspiration, but even in my
course I tell my ladies I'm like, listen, if you want
(10:07):
inspiration, great.
But like, put a time limit onwhat you allow yourself to look
at, whether it's an hour,whatever.
Get the inspiration of what youlike, what you don't like,
whatever it is, but then quitlooking at their stuff because
all of a sudden you're going tofeel like you don't know enough,
especially when you're firststarting out.
Every time I would go and lookat the people that are doing
(10:28):
something similar to what I'mdoing.
I'd get paralyzed with thislike, well, I don't know enough
and I'm not good enough, or I'mnot whatever.
And it would set me back so farwhere, if I just focused on my
next thing or what what I wasdoing, it always got me so much
farther faster.
Alyssa (10:46):
It's so true Comparison kills motivation.
I have done that so many timesin my business, like in the
early days, where I was likelooking at other creators and
seeing what content they createdand then trying to adopt that
same framework or what they'redoing, and it actually made it
worse because it prolonged thisidea that I was adopting someone
(11:08):
else's brand and the way thatthey act and it wasn't me
Exactly.
It's like, well, what about me?
But this begs the question oflike do you need to do a little
bit of branding, personalbranding to figure out what
makes you different?
So do you have something likethat in your core in your
academy?
Samantha (11:29):
So I do inside of the course.
We do definitely go intobranding because as a business
owner like you've got to figureout what draws you and what
feels natural to you.
But again it goes back to metelling them give yourself a
time limit, like allow yourselfto look at other people's stuff
and be like, ooh, I can't, Ilike that kind of fun, or I like
(11:49):
more light and bright, or youknow.
And then looking at your values, like what is important to you
when it comes to your messaging,what do you want to convey, but
again putting a limit on it.
So then that way you don't godown the rabbit trail and now
it's a month later and you'restill looking at everybody
else's, everything you know.
Alyssa (12:11):
Yeah, and not working on .
The one thing that you need todo is your business.
Samantha (12:15):
Yeah, and honestly, a lot of times when it comes to
because for me, branding isn'tjust like the colors and the
aesthetic, it's also yourmessaging, it's how you show up
in the world, and I think weforget that piece of it where,
if we would just look at youknow, think of one person that
you're talking to and the wholeidea of speaking to one person,
(12:39):
if you would just keep focusingon your ideal avatar and the
person that you know you'remeant to help and you're coming
from a place of service, you'regoing to figure those things out
for yourself, and I don't knowhow many times I've rebranded,
like you.
Sometimes you just have to gowith what you've got in the
moment and then you'll figure itout as you go and it'll become
(12:59):
more authentic to you.
But you have to start where youare and you have to always come
from a place of service, in myopinion, so it can connect to
that person.
The more authentic I get withmy messaging and the more
authentic I show up, the morepeople are drawn to me.
Alyssa (13:20):
It is so true.
I mean, when, back when Istarted, I used these like baby
pink color palette and and itwas just, it was so cringy, like
I made so many cringe reels andlike content I mean I showed up
with, like I was like soconfident and it's great, you
know.
But it's like you're going togo through those stages where
(13:42):
you're going to be like, why didI show up in that way with that
branding?
Or though, you know, but it'sbecause you're evolving, like
I've evolved.
My business has evolved overfive years, you know, it's not
like a big company where they'rethey're kind of the same every
single year.
I think, individually, youevolve as a person.
If you know, I just recently,you know, I became a mom, you
(14:03):
know, a couple of years ago, andthat shifted my identity, and
so I'm having to put that kindof into my whole personal brand,
because I cannot ignore thewhole big piece that I am a
mother.
So it's like it's like there'sdifferent things that happen in
your life that you can slowlyweed into, you know, put into
your business, and that's justwhat makes you you business and
(14:26):
that's just what makes you youyeah and so.
So let's kind of go back into.
I want to talk about launchingor even just like courses, your
course and your in yourmembership.
Here, what would you say iskind of like the most surprising
thing that you've learned sincelaunching your courses and
membership?
Samantha (14:46):
Where do I start?
So, honestly, a lot of it it'snot what you think it is.
So when I first started mymembership probably the biggest
thing so I know that I'm apeople pleaser.
I like very much to pleaseothers and I've had to work on
that over the years.
But when I first started mymembership I was like, okay,
well, everyone's in differenttime zones, so I'll offer
(15:08):
Mondays at nine and Wednesdaysat five and Fridays at two.
And like it was a lot, I wasoffering way too much and no one
was showing up.
I'm like, where are all mymembers?
Or I'd have like one personshow up this day and maybe two
the next.
And and I kept trying to almostcreate this bigger thing than
it needed to be because I wasoverthinking it.
And maybe to the next and and Ikept trying to almost create
(15:29):
this bigger thing than it neededto be because I was
overthinking it and trying toplease every single person that
was in the membership at thetime.
And when I finally was like youknow what, what works for me?
Let me just pick one day, onetime that works best for me and
my life and, honestly, thesecond, I did that and I was
like all right ladies, everyTuesday at 6 pm Eastern Standard
(15:52):
Time, that's our time.
All of a sudden, everyonestarted showing up because they
knew what to expect.
They knew when to expect it,and so the biggest thing I've
learned is keeping it simple isactually the key to success.
Keeping it simple is actuallythe key to success, especially
when it comes to memberships orhaving to do any kind of like
meetings and different thingslike that, because the more
(16:15):
options you offer, the moreyou're just going to overwhelm
them and then they're not goingto show up to anything.
Alyssa (16:22):
Yeah, I agree with this.
I was part of a membershipwhere there was like many
courses in the membership andthey would release it every
single month and I got sooverwhelmed, so quickly, that I
didn't even access the materialfor that course for that month
because I was still working onthe previous month's course.
Yeah, and it didn't work out.
I had to cancel because I wasjust I can't, I didn't even know
(16:46):
where to begin.
It was so overwhelming.
I am so against the you know,put everything you know into a
membership.
If you have anything you know.
What they do recommend is, youknow, create like a success path
or some kind of journey thatyou take your members through so
that they know where to beginand where to access your
(17:08):
materials.
And then you know, maybethey're at the beginning, not
advanced, you know, and so andmaybe make it clear if your
membership is geared towardsadvanced or beginner, beginner
entrepreneurs, so that you knowwould be helpful.
Samantha (17:23):
Yeah well, and what I found too is I actually don't
put any content in themembership.
I mean I do like there's contentthere, but for me I've kept the
courses kind of separate.
So when they're ready to takeeach of those steps and purchase
the course, they can, and whenthey do purchase the course, at
(17:44):
whatever level they're at orwhatever step they're needing,
it comes with a few months freeof the membership, so that kind
of funnels them into themembership and then they're able
to continue on if they want tostay.
But I keep the membership moreabout coaching and about
building relationships with eachother, and then I just put
everything in a replay vault.
(18:04):
So if they want to go accessthat, they can.
But it's more about having likean app where they can support
each other and you know groupcoaching each week where we can
support one another more so thanit is about all this content
coming at you and then you cango to the courses or you can go
to the podcast or whatever forthe content piece.
But the membership is moreabout the coaching and the
(18:29):
connection than it is aboutcontent, because I didn't want
to overwhelm them with too much.
Alyssa (18:34):
And then overwhelm yourself because you know they
have a deadline to put thiscontent in.
Oh, that sounds like onenightmare after another.
I could not.
It's a lot of work.
You know it's hard enoughbecause with your podcast even
like you're kind of on adeadline when things are, when
episodes are released to geteverything prepared.
So I can, you know, for methat's enough of a deadline
(18:58):
because there's so much involvedthere I couldn't imagine doing
that and a membership as welland putting content there.
Samantha (19:05):
Yeah, yeah, there's no way.
Alyssa (19:07):
No, so then.
So then, with your coaching, so, um, is it like, is it group?
So you have a group coaching,and then what is kind of the
structure of your coaching?
Is it just, they ask?
Samantha (19:20):
Yeah, it's kind of like and that's evolved over
time too right, like when Ifirst started it it was just
kind of a free for all in a wayof like you know, whatever kind
of happened, because thereweren't a ton of people and I
was very open to like what wouldwork best for them and just
trying to figure it out as Iwent.
And now it's evolved into, youknow, I kind of ask who wants to
(19:46):
be coached that day or who hasquestions, and then we kind of
do almost like hot seat coachingin a way, depending on how many
people show up, because if youonly have an hour, you learn
very quickly.
You can only get through somany people in an hour, and so
there's some times that everyperson I check in with them
there's other times that youknow check in with them.
There's other times that youknow only half of them get
checked in with or, and thenthey're in the chat talking to
(20:08):
each other while I'm coaching.
And then, like I said, once amonth I bring in what I call a
guest expert, someone that maybeteaches on email marketing or
maybe teaches, and it's normallysomeone I've interviewed on the
podcast.
It's kind of part two.
I'll have them come into themembership and do a workshop and
so once a month they're gettingalmost that like expert you
(20:31):
know, and then with the Q&A theyget to talk to the person I did
the podcast interview with.
So it helps them grow or beable to ask questions to people
I've interviewed on the podcastas well.
Alyssa (20:42):
No, that's great.
I think that makes sense tohave, like the guest expert
that's related to the podcast,because then they have two
different resources they canaccess at the same time.
That's kind of nice.
I like that and.
Samantha (20:52):
I feel like they already know them, because I
make sure to go ahead and putthe podcast episode out, like
normally, a few weeks to a monthbefore they're coming into the
membership, so then that waythey have time to listen to that
episode before we do ourworkshop.
Alyssa (21:06):
Okay, and you know, just you know.
One last question about thismembership.
So do you have a retentionstrategy or something to how do
you keep your members reallyengaged in your membership?
Samantha (21:19):
So part of it is the fact that they get to start
helping each other.
That was my goal from thebeginning was at first.
It was a lot of work and timefor me building those
relationships one-on-one, but Iknew over time they would start
to help each other, and sothat's why having the app for me
was huge, because I wanted them, in between group coaching
(21:40):
sessions, to be able to talk toeach other, and so I did Mighty
Networks and they have, like youknow, your own app that you can
download, and so everyone isinside of the app talking to
each other, asking questions.
If they're getting stuck with aclient, then I can answer or
other people can reply, and so,but I based it mostly on
(22:01):
community Like to me, thecommunity is what matters and us
supporting each other, nomatter what stage of the journey
you're on.
And so it's this beautifulthing, because the new people
come in with this excitement andthis energy that kind of
revitalizes the people that havebeen there for a while.
But then the people that havebeen there for a while or are
already working with clients,they have all this wisdom to
(22:23):
give to the new people, and so,honestly, the connection has
been the biggest piece ofretention for me.
Alyssa (22:31):
I love the community aspect I've been along to.
I had a few memberships thatthere was zero community.
It was just like you know, aFacebook group, but it was like
it didn't really connect,because I find that Facebook
groups are so oversaturated andmy networks like when I was
looking at your um, your website, you like you had the app and I
was like that is so creativeand it's like it's off Facebook.
(22:54):
So if you don't have Facebookit's not a big deal.
Um, I know some people use liketelegram and they thought, you
know, they think that that'sanother way and that could be
another way, but I find that youhave to use your phone number,
so it's not totally great.
But Money Network sounds like agreat place because then it's
like your own separate app thatyou can just have.
Samantha (23:12):
And my other thing was I don't overwhelm them with a
ton of notifications, but Iwanted them to get the
notifications, and when you'rein a Facebook group, it gets
lost in all of the notifications, of everyone else's
notifications.
And I have a Facebook group.
It's my free Facebook group,but it's dead in there.
I mean, I post all the time,but it's so hard to get people
(23:36):
to interact and all of thesethings.
And so for me, what I loveabout it is it has that aspect
of it's our own spot, our ownplace.
You know, it's the app on yourphone that you're going to
specifically for our communityversus.
Oh, I'm on Facebook Now, Imaybe saw a notification, maybe
(23:56):
I didn't, and so that's why Ipulled it off of Facebook
specifically.
Alyssa (24:01):
Yeah, you're just so much more distracted if it's on
Facebook versus like.
It's a different app.
That's great.
So many great takeaways here.
So, as we conclude today'sepisode, where can my listeners
find you?
Samantha (24:11):
online.
Everything's under ProOrganizers Coach, so you know
ProOrganizersCoachcom.
You can Google Pro OrganizersCoach.
The podcast is called ProOrganizers Coach.
I try to keep it very simple.
Alyssa (24:25):
Awesome, well, thanks so much, samantha, for sharing so
many wonderful wisdom andinsights into the story, your
strategies, everything youshared today.
Thank you so much.
Samantha (24:34):
Absolutely, and I would love for your listeners to
come listen.
I know it's, even if they'renot starting an organizing
business.
90% of my content is just aboutbusiness in general, and so I
feel like it's very helpful, nomatter what business you're
starting.
Alyssa (24:49):
And also because you have a really niche business.
So someone else who might alsohave a niche business can really
relate, even if it's not.
You know an organizing business.
You know how.
You know some people are moregeneral in their marketing but
you have a very niche market andso you can.
You know they can relate to alot of what you're saying as
well.
Samantha (25:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you so much for having meOf course, and for everyone
else listening.
Alyssa (25:13):
Thanks so much for tuning in.
If you loved this episode,please message me on Instagram
my handle is AlyssaBelserioOBM.
It's in the show notes as welland tell me what you loved about
this episode and what you foundreally helpful, and I'll share
it back with you, samantha, aswell, and so this is great.
Thanks so much for coming ontoday.
Thank you for having me.
(25:35):
No worries, all right, everyoneTake care, and thanks again for
listening, and I'll see younext time on another Brilliant
Idea.
Thanks for tuning into thisepisode of Brilliant Ideas If
you love the show.
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you next time on
another brilliant idea.
Thanks for tuning into thisepisode of Brilliant Ideas.
If you love the show, be sureto leave a review and follow me
on Instagram for even moreinsider tips and inspiration.
Ready to bring your next big,brilliant idea to life?
(25:56):
Visit alissavelsercom forresources, guidance and
everything you need to startcreating something amazing.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
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