First-Class Honours To Home Organiser: Why I Left My Stable Corporate Job | On The Red Dot

Key Concepts

• Professional Organizing
• Decluttering
• Mental Health and Clutter
• Career Switch
• Entrepreneurship (Orderly)
• Influencer Marketing
• Hanger Hack
• Work-Life Balance
• Lifestyle Switch

Introduction to Professional Organizing The video introduces the profession of a professional organizer, which involves decluttering and organizing people's homes. The speaker emphasizes that the job is "quite physically demanding," likening it to "doing spring cleaning on a daily basis." Many people initially react with a "blank face" when told about the profession, often asking, "You mean people will pay you to do that?" or mistakenly thinking professional organizers clean houses.

The Founder's Journey and Motivation The speaker's career path was driven by a search for satisfaction and impact. She initially pursued a clinical dietician role, a passion "kickstarted" by her own childhood struggles with weight and body image, where she was called names like "Jung Fi" and developed an "unhealthy relationship with food and nutrition" (e.g., eating "four to five apples a day and not have a proper meal"). Despite receiving a scholarship for her degree, she found the dietician role unfulfilling because she was "not able to like witness the impact of my work." This lack of visible impact contrasted sharply with the immediate and profound effects she later experienced in professional organizing, which ultimately led her to make a significant career switch from a corporate job.

The Impact of Professional Organizing: A Case Study A particularly memorable job from her first year in 2021 highlighted the deep impact of her work. A client struggling with "mental health issues" had turned to shopping for comfort, accumulating "a lot of things in her home that she didn't really need," leading to significant stress from the clutter. After "four to five sessions," the client's house became "less and less visually cluttered." The client expressed profound gratitude, stating that the organizer "did not just help to declutter her physical environment, but I also helped to declutter her mind and her heart." This feedback gave the speaker "goosebumps" and provided the "satisfaction that I felt was lacking in the previous corporate job."

Building the Business: Orderly's Strategy The speaker co-founded "Orderly" with Allesa. Their initial client acquisition strategy involved "reaching out to like um influencers," organizing their spaces for free in exchange for social media posts. This helped them gain initial clients and build their brand. They also developed a website, allowing people to find them through Google, and built their portfolio by volunteering to organize "my neighbor's house, my cousin's house," and using "my own home also as practice." This hands-on approach helped them gather "before after photos for our website" and "gain experience," recognizing that "it's very different organizing for other people and organizing for yourself." The business launch was approached cautiously, with the speaker's husband, who is "risk averse" and "quite cautious about finances," suggesting a "6-month limit." If the business didn't succeed within that timeframe, she would return to corporate, providing a financial safety net.

Practical Organizing Methodologies and Tips The video showcases practical aspects of organizing, including client consultations where accessibility (e.g., for kids' craft work, Lego) and willingness to make structural changes (e.g., "drilling stuff on the wall") are discussed. A specific "useful hack" shared is the "hanger hack": instead of hanging hangers with the head pointing in, reverse them to point out. Once clothes are washed and ready to be put back, they are hung the usual way (head pointing in). This method helps identify unworn items; for example, the speaker notes her husband's clothes with outward-pointing hangers indicate they "has not worn them in the last 6 months or so," prompting a discussion about "letting these ones go" during decluttering.

Challenges and Rewards of the Profession Despite the emotional rewards, the job is physically demanding. The speaker recounts experiencing a "back sprain" and "a few hives attack like a full body hives attack" during weeks when her "body got too tired" and she "wasn't resting enough." However, the emotional satisfaction far outweighs these challenges. After a full day of work, she feels "physically tired but emotionally very satisfied," especially when receiving positive client feedback, which reinforces that she has "helped the client improve their lives in one way or another." The "very clear physical transformation that everybody can witness" is a key motivator.

A Client Transformation Example The video features a two-session project for a client's living space (TV console, house shelf) and study room.

• Session 1: Focused on decluttering and categorizing items.
• Session 2: Involved organizing the categorized items into "new organizing boxes" and applying "permanent nicer labels." The transformation resulted in "so much more walking area," a brighter space because "the windows are not blocked," and designated "space for every family member and of course the baby that will be coming as well." The client expressed immense satisfaction, stating, "Yes, for sure. Thank you so much."

Conclusion: A Lifestyle Switch The speaker reflects on the broader impact of her career change, emphasizing that she gained "quite a lot," primarily "the flexibility of time." This flexibility allows her to achieve a "good balance of work while being a good mother to the children." Initially, she "unknowingly compared the amount of money I was earning now to the amount of money I was earning when I was working in the hospital," subconsciously justifying her decision. However, she eventually realized that financial comparison "is actually not important at all" because "being present with the children or witnessing them growing up is priceless." She concludes that her career switch was not just a professional change but "actually a lifestyle switch for me."