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Fall 2014 - APPO's magazine for Photo Organizers
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FALL 2014
KNOW THYCUSTOMERHow to attract and keep the PERFECT client
RIPEFOR THE TAKINGPhotographer Nick Kelsh offers four tips for capturing stunning photos this fallTAKE CHARGE
OF YOUR EMAIL Make your inbox work FOR you
inFOCUS
PERFECT PITCH
How to get the media to listen to YOU!
www.appo.org
APPO’S MAGAZINE FOR PHOTO ORGANIZERS
NAVIGATING THE REFERRAL PROCESS
inFOCUS Lisa Kurtz PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Sara Anastasia EDITOR
Janet Blunt CREATIVE DESIGN
CONTRIBUTORSCathi Nelson, Karen Harmsworth, Evan Carrell, Deena Coutant, Tammy Smith, Daina Makinson, Helen Schutz, Bonnie Hillman Shay, Mollie Bartelt, Jennifer Lee, Nick Kelsh
FOR INQUIRIES, please visit www.appo.org or call (860) 904-5365 ext. 101
APPO’S MAGAZINE FOR PHOTO ORGANIZERS
2 inFOCUS FALL 2014
WELCOMEWelcome to the first edition of our quarterly APPO magazine - InFocus!
This publication is the result of the brainstorming session Lisa and I held together this past spring. We locked ourselves away in a hotel room in Toronto for a few days and thought of all the ways we could improve your experience as an APPO member. Timely and relevant communication was high on our list.
Because too many emails lead to frustration for everyone we came up with a solution for a weekly Friday email called “Happy Friday, That’s a
Wrap” to let you know of important and timely information. You have been getting those for a few weeks now, yet there is so much more we want to
communicate. We realized we needed to provide in-depth articles relevant to your business written by experts within and outside our community that
include: best practices, new products, success stories and real-life examples that you can refer back to time and time again.
With that as our goal… drum roll please… here it is!
Every quarter you will receive an electronic edition filled with pertinent articles on subjects that matter to you. You can keep your editions on your iPad and tablet or you can print a PDF version to read and refer back to when needed. Every quarter you will receive our latest edition. What do you think? I hope you are as proud and excited as we are! Please take your time, read the articles, note our advertisers and share your thoughts with us.
Cathi Nelson Lisa KurtzFounder Director of Operations
PS: This was just one of many ideas Lisa and will be introducing over the coming months. Plus, we hope to have a new brainstorming meeting in early 2015. You never know what could be next!
“A goal is a dream with a deadline” -NAPOLEAN HILL
3inFOCUS FALL 2014
14
Contents
16
24
10
features8 Never Underestimate the Power of an Idea How a
dream to give back became a reality. By Cathi Nelson
10 Why Attend Conference A non-negotiable direct link
to success. By Karen Harmsworth
14 Digital Estate Planning The top ten things you
should know. By Evan Carrell
16 Discover Your Family History The journey to learn
about your family’s history starts here. By Deena Coutant
20 New Member Spotlight: Photo organizer Tammy
Smith shares her story with our APPO community.
tips & training24 Know Thy Customer One lesson I learned to attract
and keep the perfect client. By Daina Makinson
26 Navigating the Referral Process Five best
practices to navigate the referral process behind the
scenes. By Helen Schutz.
28 Take Charge of Your Inbox Un-clutter your inbox and
make it work for you. By Bonnie Hillman Shay
30 Planning the Perfect Pitch Writing purposeful press
releases. By Mollie Bartelt
32 Dominating Social Media One simple idea to lever-
age social media for your business. By Coach Jenn Lee.
32 Ripe for the Taking Four techniques that will
enhance your fall photos. By Photographer Nick Kelsh.
28
Issue 1, Fall 2014
34
6
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7inFOCUS FALL 2014
8 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Never Underestimate the Power of an Idea
Photo Preparedness.
Workshop attendees register before the start of a Save Your
Photos Day event in Connecticut.
How an idea to give back became a reality BY CATHI NELSON
9inFOCUS FALL 2014
Pioneer of the Photo-Life Management Industry,
CATHI NELSON is the founder of the Association of
Personal Photo Organizers, an association that trains
individuals who specialize in helping consumers
and businesses rescue their irreplaceable film and
digital photos, organizing them in a way that makes
it simple to share their memories, lives and tradi-
tions. Since its inception, APPO has grown to include
hundreds of members throughout the United States,
Canada, Australia and United Kingdom.
OVER THE YEARS, I have learned that there is power in an idea even if it takes time to come to fruition. International Save Your Photos Day is a perfect example of that. When I first started APPO, I had a dream that we would find ways to give back in our communities. I couldn’t envision how that would happen, but I always believed it would. Then a year ago, as I read about the volunteer efforts to reunite people with their family photos after disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, the Joplin tornados and the Calgary floods, I started thinking. What if we dedicated a day to educate people so they could be prepared before disaster strikes? However, my doubts crept in. What would we call such a day, would people really care, how would we promote it? Not knowing the answers I let it go, but it was lingering in the back of my mind.
Fast forward to the APPO conference and the amazing panel discussion we held called, “Rescuing Photos During a National Disaster”. From those conversations in February, we formed a committee to start exploring ideas and suddenly an idea from years ago began to take shape. Soon we had a name and a plan and the idea became a reality. At the time I wrote this article, there were 55 events registered at SaveYourPhotos.org and that
list is growing each day. During September, our mission was carried out in 27 states and 2 countries and I can only imagine what the future will bring. It gives me great joy knowing we are responsible for helping families reconnect with the family photos that tell their story!
One of our earliest event hosts was APPO member, Penny Andler. I was excited to hear about her great results and community exposure and wanted to share her experience with you: So many of us living in this digital age need help or guidance with the technology that’s intended to simplify our life. One of my pleasures as a photo organizer is community education, so when I learned that Cary Memorial Library was offering a series of educational talks on the digital age, I knew that photo and memory keeping needed to be part of this. Then I learned of the first Save Your Photos Day and was thrilled to participate, because it afforded me the opportunity to bring to the public another level of awareness. Safeguarding our memories is no longer optional—it’s absolutely necessary for preventing unforeseen loss—from both increasingly occurring natural disasters AND computer crashes.
I live in New England and my September 10 audience commonly experiences hurricanes. But this year we had a tornado. A tornado in New England! I am certain my presentation in association with SYPD motivated people to a greater degree than from my presentations in the past—more than two thirds of the library patrons stayed for questions. In fact, there were so many questions on digitizing, organizing, and safeguarding to the cloud that I took questions for an hour after the presentation! We simply don’t have the luxury of delaying our photo & memory preservation—it needs immediate attention. SYPD is a welcome vehicle for bringing awareness and preparedness to our communities. Thank you, Save Your Photos Day Alliance! - Penny Andler
“We simply don’t have
the luxury of delaying
our photo and memory
preservation - it needs
immediate attention.
SYPD is a welcome vehicle
for bringing awareness
and preparedness to our
communities.”
A non-negotiable direct link to success BY KAREN HARMSWORTH
10 inFOCUS FALL 2014
realize that I don’t get a very good “bang for my buck” with those. The excitement and “pump-ups” from those conventions only provides about a week of momentum and that’s only if I leave the convention and immediately get to work. So instead, I look for opportunities to expand my expertise in the field that I’m working in as well as opportunities to build strategic relationships.
I set aside time and money for three professional development opportunities
each year and make them a priority even if I have to pay for them outside of my business profits.
One of the opportunities that has become a priority for me is the annual APPO conference. As a professional photo organizer, I wouldn’t miss this conference, particularly the intensive portion which I have attended the past two years. This is a non-negotiable for me because it is where I learn from others in the industry who are seriously pursuing
IT’S BEEN 37 years since I started my first business and I have been blessed with many successes, as well as the opportunity to learn from my mistakes. One of the things that I have learned from analyzing the rise and fall of my businesses is that there is a direct link to success with professional development.
I define professional development as learning something new that will propel my business towards my long or short-term goals. It does not include “motivational” conventions as I
2014 Conference
Cathi Nelson addresses conference
attendees during a general session.
Why Attend Conference?
11inFOCUS FALL 2014
their businesses, as well as our partners who provide the tools and services to help me become more profitable. What I have learned during the intensives has propelled my business forward in ways that I couldn’t have imagined.
Attending this conference, along with a few other professional development opportunities, has proven time and time again to be directly linked to the success of my business.
As an experienced entrepreneur, I know this to be true: the market is always changing. If I am not willing to learn and change with it, I will get left behind and my success will be fleeting. If there is one thing you can do for your business, it is to continue to educate yourself and apply what you’ve learned. If you don’t…someone else will.
KAREN HARMSWORTH lives on beautiful Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. She and her husband have been married for 32 years and have two adult sons. Karen started her first business in 1977 and developed extensive experience in both traditional and direct sales businesses that are still going strong today. She started mentoring small business owners in 1999 and has an associate degree in business. Karen owns YourPhotoOrganizers.com.
“This is non-negotiable for me
because this is where I learn
from others in the industry
that are seriously pursuing
their business as well as our
partners that provide the tools
and services to help me be
more profitable.”
12 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Expert Advice.
Julie Kessler, owner of Picture This Organized, walks APPO members
through the process of organizing printed
photos .
Ready to Connect.
Representatives from E-Z Photo Scan are ready to answer
questions .
Fearless Leaders.
Lisa and Cathi pose for a photo during the evening trade show.
13inFOCUS FALL 2014
Tools of the Trade.
Member takes advantage of the
opportunity to ask questions and learn from APPO Partners.
Rockin’ the Conference.
Coach Jenn Lee keeps the conference on track as our emcee.
Learn. Grow.
(middle) Intensive attendee meets one-on-one with accounting expert, Dawn Brolin, for some business advice.
(left) Conference speaker inspires and challenges attendees during general session.
Digital Dialogue.
The conference draws exciting new companies anxious to explore how they can meet the needs of APPO members and their clients.
14 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Digital Estate Planning
AMID RAPIDLY CHANGING LAWS, policies
and best practices, digital estate planning has
become an increasingly complex process. Use
these ten tips to plan your own digital estate
or advise your clients as they protect their
most important personal memories.
10. Email accounts matter. When consider-
ing the fate of email accounts, many quickly
dismiss them as too personal or insignifi-
cant. While that can be the case, email is
also a treasure trove of information about
digital assets. Not only can access to an
email account help your heirs understand
what online accounts you had, the account
serves as a master key to your other online
accounts. Ever reset a password by clicking a
link emailed to you? Your heirs could do the
same thing to gain access to many of your
other digital assets.
The top ten things you should know BY EVAN CARRELL
15inFOCUS FALL 2014
A leader in the developing digital legacy and perso-
nal archiving arena, EVAN CARRELL is author and
co-founder at The Digital Beyond, a site dedicated
to exploring the digital afterlife. Evan is the author of
the book Your Digital Afterlife: When Facebook, Flickr
and Twitter Are Your Estate, What’s Your Legacy? He
has appeared in numerous media outlets inclu-
ding The New York Times, CNN and The Atlantic. A
frequent speaker, Evan has presented to audiences
at SXSW Interactive (2010-2012, 2014), the Library of
Congress, and the Internet Archive, among others.
Evan holds MS and BS degrees from UNC-Chapel
Hill’s School of Information and Library Science.
9. Account policies vary. We live in the
early days of digital inheritance and while
most companies agree that heirs should be
able to access your online content, they all
differ in what they allow. Google provides a
procedure for heirs to gain access to your ac-
count, while Yahoo’s terms of service strictly
prevent it. Facebook offers a way to memori-
alize accounts and Twitter offers to leave the
account online or deactivate it. Brush up on
these policies as you provide advice to your
clients.
8. Digital assets have value. A common
opposition to preparing your digital estate is a
belief that digital assets don’t have value and
that’s simply not true. Many writings, images
and videos have deep sentimental value to the
family and friends of the deceased. Moreover,
many online accounts, like eBay, PayPal and
Etsy, have real financial value to the estate. Be
sure you fully consider an asset’s value before
you dismiss it as insignificant.
7. New laws are emerging. Presently
seven states have laws related to digital as-
sets. Connecticut and Rhode Island allow
executors to access the email accounts of
the deceased. Virginia allows parents of de-
ceased minors to access their child’s social
media accounts. Indiana, Oklahoma, Idaho
and most recently Delaware have laws
more broadly affording executors access
to digital assets. The recently approved
Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
from the Uniform Laws Commission, upon
which the Delaware law is based, suggests
that more states will have related laws in
the near future. Following the legal advance-
ments in your state, and around the country
is essential as you advise your clients
6. Curation is essential. With rapidly
expanding storage space, keeping digital files
is easy. In fact, keeping digital information is
often easier than deleting it. When thinking
about your digital legacy, keeping everything
would create a significant burden for your
heirs. As you craft your own digital legacy, de-
ciding what not to keep is just as important as
deciding what you will keep.
5. Online services can help. Various tools
exist to help plan your digital afterlife. Google
offers an Inactive Account Manager, which
allows you to specify who should gain ac-
cess to your Google data when your account
becomes inactive. You can even set up an
auto-responder to let friends know you’re no
longer checking your email account.
4. Make a thorough inventory. As you
create a digital estate plan, documenting
most, if not all, of your digital accounts is
helpful. Your email and web browsing history
can provide good reminders about the digital
accounts you have. If you’re helping to settle
the affairs of somebody else, or want a view
into what digital accounts you may have for-
gotten, WebCease is a service that will provide
you a report of digital accounts registered to
your email address.
3. Digital executors are a good idea. While
you’re working on your will, also consider in-
cluding a digital executor. A digital executor is
somebody you designate to handle your digi-
tal affairs once you’re gone. By authorizing the
executor of your estate to engage the help of
someone with technical expertise, you can be
certain that your wishes are carried out pro-
perly.
2. Passwords shouldn’t appear in wills. A very common idea is to list digital as-
sets in your will, and while that sounds like
a great idea, you have to do so carefully.
Wills are public documents, so listing out
your accounts and passwords would be un-
wise. Instead, work with your attorney to
incorporate general language about digital
assets into your will and reference a detailed
memo with your usernames, passwords and
wishes.
1. Doing nothing doesn’t mean nothing will happen. The most common miscon-
ception of digital assets is that by doing no
planning, your digital assets will simply fade
away. Unfortunately, that’s simply not the
case. If you choose to do nothing, chances
are good that things you’d rather be deleted
might remain and things you treasure might
be deleted. If you want a say in what happens,
planning ahead isn’t your best option—it’s
your only option.
“The most common
misconception of
digital assets is that by
doing no planning, your
digital assets will simply
fade away. Unfortunately,
that’s simply not the
case.”
16 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Discover Your Family
History
HAVE YOU EVER thought about tracing
your family’s history? Many people are now
researching their roots due to the popularity
of TV shows like Who Do You Think You Are?
and the explosion of available records online
at mega-sites such as Ancestry.com and Fa-
milySearch.org.
Although the initial spark of interest in genea-
logy can vary, often times it begins when a
person inherits heritage photos and becomes
curious about the lives of the individuals de-
picted in those old black and white images—
whether identified or not. Who were they?
Where did they live? Why were they there?
How did they experience everyday life? What
stories did they leave behind?
Fortunately, many clues about our ancestors
may have been passed down through the
generations in the form of oral histories, let-
ters, inscriptions on the backs of photographs,
or even memorabilia with special significance.
Heritage Photo.
A desire to learn more about one’s family often starts when a person inherits a collection of heritage photos.
BY DEENA COUNTANT
17inFOCUS FALL 2014
These clues are probably under your own
roof—either in plain sight or perhaps tucked
away in the attic or basement.
Consider what home sources you might have
that may provide clues about life aspects
of various family members, such as school
attendance, religious activity, marriage or
divorce, birth or adoption of children, mili-
tary service, employment, land or proper-
ty ownership, health and medical issue,
citizenship, legal activity, death or funerals,
and other life events.
The journey to learn about your family’s his-
tory starts with yourself. Although it sounds
glamorous to jump straight back to the
Mayflower or kings and queens in Europe, a
well-researched family history must make
solid connections from each generation to
the next as you progress backward in time.
To get started, capture details of
everything you know about your own ori-
gins, documenting the birth, marriage and
death dates and places of your parents,
grandparents, and so forth. Using a genea-
logy software program such as Family Tree
Maker, or constructing an online family tree
on a website like Ancestry.com are great
ways to keep everything organized. For those
who prefer to work on paper, blank pedigree
charts and family group sheets can be down-
loaded from various genealogy websites.
Even though you may only be interested in
your direct bloodline, it is good practice to
document each family unit, including all
siblings or stepparents for each generation.
Clues about your family can be located in
many places, and if your direct ancestor
didn’t leave a robust paper trail, perhaps one
of his or her siblings left behind the missing
puzzle pieces that you seek.
Ancestry Tree.
Constructing an online family tree on a website like Ancestry.
com are great ways to keep everything
organized.
“Clues about your family can be located in many places...”
18 inFOCUS FALL 2014
19inFOCUS FALL 2014
Finding Clues.
Consider all the evidence you have gathered when researching your family history.
DEENA COUTANT is a professional genealogist
and photo organizer specializing in the use of tech-
nology to facilitate successful search, storage and
sharing strategies for family historians in the digital
age. Through her company, DigiDeena Consulting,
she provides educational services via group training
sessions and individual coaching, conducts client
research and review, and offers photo organization
and digitization services. For more information visit
www.digideena.com.
After documenting everything you can find
within your available home sources, it is time
to start seeking historical records to fill in the
gaps or extend the family lines. The best type
of records that can reconstruct family groups
are census records. They provide the con-
text of the whole family, not just individual
names that might be confused with other
same-named individuals. Censuses were
taken every 10 years by the U.S. government
beginning in 1790, although the returns from
1850 to 1940 will be the most useful for genea-
logical research.
Keep an open mind when conducting
research, because you may discover variation
in things like name spellings or inconsistently
reported ages. Remember, our ancestors may
not have been as concerned with spelling as
we are, and if they were not literate, they were
at the mercy of the clerks who phonetically re-
corded their names in various records. Consi-
der all the evidence you have gathered before
making a hasty decision on which version of
the facts is correct.
Much initial research can be conducted online
for free. FamilySearch.org has billions of histo-
rical images online, with more being digitized
and indexed each week. Ancestry.com offers
billions of records for a monthly or annual
subscription fee, but the same world content
can be accessed for free from many public li-
braries who provide an in-library institutional
subscription to Ancestry Library Edition. Be-
yond these mega-sites, there are many other
online resources that might focus on a certain
type of records, such as Find A Grave for ceme-
tery transcriptions, or state library or archive
sites that catalog the holdings of a particular
geographic area. And Google searches can be
a genealogist’s best friend!
Not all historical records have been digitized
or placed online, so research may eventually
require traveling or corresponding for re-
cords, or hiring a professional genealogist
to retrieve them from faraway reposito-
ries or courthouses. The time and financial
investments in these genealogical pursuits
are certainly worth the interesting informa-
tion you will discover about your family and
origins. Maybe you’ll even discover names for
some of those unidentified photos that have
perplexed you.
So go ahead…let the genealogy bug bite you
and start exploring your family history today!
20 inFOCUS FALL 2014
TAMMY SMITH is the owner of Your Shapshot Story, a business that specializes in helping busy people organize their photo history and tell their story for future generations to enjoy. She has been a flight attendant with American Airlines for 27 years. Tammy holds a commercial multi-engine pilot license. She is also currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Utah Valley University. Tammy and her husband enjoy training and competing in triathlons in their free time.
Tammy Smiththose photos that are the legacy we leave our children and grandchildren,” she said. “This is why I’m so passionate about helping people tell their story and preserving their legacy.”
APPO: Tammy, what inspired you to become a photo organizer?
Tammy Smith has always loved helping family and friends create photo albums and collages. She never imagined she could help people tell their story and make money too... until she came across APPO.
When her sister passed away at age 21, the only thing Tammy’s family had left were a few precious photos and memories. “It’s
New Member Spotlight:
21inFOCUS FALL 2014
TAMMY: I had been looking to start a busi-ness for quite some time. Originally I looked into starting a professional organizing busi-ness. I was really excited because I enjoy orga-nizing and I love helping others get organized. It seemed like the perfect match. As I was re-searching NAPO and some of the other orga-nizing associations I came across APPO. That is when I realized photo organizing was an even better match for me. I love photos and I enjoy listening to peoples’ stories. I truly feel everyone has a story, but not everyone has the time to tell their story. I want to help peo-ple tell their stories. Photo organizing gives me the opportunity to do just that.
APPO: What has been your greatest chal-lenge starting your business and how have you overcome it?
TAMMY: I have never owned a business, so my greatest challenge was figuring out where to begin. You can become so overwhelmed in the beginning that you never get started. After a few months of frustration, I finally decided to hire a business coach. Sherra Humphreys, owner of Big Picture Coaching, helped me create a plan and gave me a direction. Within a month, my website was up and running and all of the administrative tasks were complet-ed.
Without the guidance of a coach I would still be sitting around trying to figure it all out (and getting even more frustrated). I would highly recommend that if you are just getting start-ed to either find a mentor or hire a business coach. It will save you many hours of frustra-tion.
APPO: What has been the greatest success in your business so far, and what steps did you take to achieve this result?
TAMMY: My greatest success so far was the 80th birthday slideshow I created for my girl-friend’s mother. When my girlfriend called
me and said that she and her sister had just watched the slideshow and they both were in tears - that feedback was the most amazing feeling. It was at that point that I realized I had found the perfect business for me.
I was also honored when my friend, a profes-sional photographer, recommended me for the job of creating a photo album from the photos she took at a class reunion. What a privilege to be working side by side with such an amazing photographer.
These are good examples of why it is so im-portant to tell everyone you know about your business, especially photographers. This par-ticular photographer has recommended me for three new jobs. Talk to everyone about your business, you never know what might come out of a simple conversation.
APPO: What tips or advice would you give other new photo organizers as they get start-ed?
TAMMY: As I mentioned earlier, the first and most important thing is to talk to everyone about your business. My first lead came from the very first person I told about my business. When you are passionate about what you are doing people will be attracted to that. They will want to know more about it.
Make sure to also educate yourself. APPO has so many powerful resources. Their webinars, training, forums, and Facebook page are won-derful tools to get started. They are there to help you and the best part is…they’re free!
Lastly, hire a business coach or find a mentor to guide you in the right direction. A business coach will help you create a strategy for your business. This will also save you many hours of frustration.
“...my girlfriend called me
and said that she and her
sister had just watched the
slideshow and they both
were in tears..”
“Make sure to also educate yourself. APPO has so many
powerful resources. Their webinars, training, forums, and
Facebook page are wonderful tools to get started.”
Tammy Smith and her sister.
22 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Know Thy Customer
Daina Makinson is the founder of Snap Shot Solutions and a certified pho-
to organizer. After qualifying for the Ontario Self Employment Benefit Pro-
gram, she launched her business in September 2012 with the help of the
Guelph-Wellington Business Centre. Since then she has been recognized for
delivering excellent customer service with the 2013 Guelph-Wellington Business En-
terprise Centre Awards for Outstanding Customer Service and Outstanding Consul-
ting Business, as well as the 2013 Guelph Tribune’s Readers Choice Diamond Award,
Most Attentive Owner. Recently Snap Shot Solutions was featured in The Globe and
Mail in the Report on Business Section. Daina will also be on CBC TV’s national prime
time show Doc Zone later in 2014.
I HAVE 3,000 petal ink flower pens in my
garage and alongside them are almost 10,000
brochures for Moving Mum, a seniors move
management company. Both are businesses
I tried to start.
They were both good ideas. The flower pens
were actually quite beautiful, looking like a
vase of orchids from a distance. Even more
so, with the billowing population of seniors,
a business helping them downsize seemed
very timely.
“I went all the way:
what postal code she
lives in, where she shops,
what brands she buys, the
family income, what she
likes to do for fun, how
many kids she has and
what school they go to...
get the picture?”
The one lesson I learned to attract and keep the perfect client by daina makinson
23inFOCUS FALL 2014
SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND.
“I knew that if I could see her, I could find her and I would know how
to reach her. “
I had a few good ideas…cool brands. I hung
up the sign and let everyone know.
So what went wrong? I didn’t have any clients
and it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out
that no clients equals no business.
With the “third time a charm,” I began my pho-
to organizing business, Snap Shot Solutions,
in September 2012. It has boomed into a thri-
ving and successful enterprise with a long list
of perfect clients who keep coming back over
and over again.
What was different this time? Why was this bu-
siness succeeding?
First, with the help of my local small business
center, I first created an extensive business
plan for Snap Shot Solutions. One of the most
important sections that completely changed
my business was this: take my perfect custo-mer and define her, yes, her - completely.
Right down to what her husband does for a
living.
Then, I went all the way to define her: what
postal code she lives in, where she shops,
what brands she buys, the family income,
what she likes to do for fun, how many kids
she has and what school they go to.... get the
picture?
In fact, a picture was exactly what I wanted. I
knew that if I could see her, then I could find
her and I would know how to reach her. With
this information, I would also know what mar-
keting tools would be successful.
For example, what newspaper she reads…
One of my own clients recommended me as a
story to a national newspaper. When the story
ran I was inundated with requests. Were they
all my target customer? No. However, most
of them were. Why? Because my client reads
that newspaper - as do her friends who sha-
red the article with her with their subject line
reading: “YOU NEED THIS!”
Plus I know what makes her tick. The better
you know someone, the more you under-
stand how they feel and what is important
to them. Because I have such a clear picture
of my perfect client and I know what pushes
her buttons, I can customize my approach to
reach into her heart and speak to her in a lan-
guage that she feels and understands.
Having a clear, specific understanding of
exactly who your clients are will help you
find them. You will then be able to create
an effective marketing approach, offering
them what they are actually looking for and
treating them the way they want to be trea-
ted. This will translate into clients who keep
coming back for more... and, in my case, an
empty garage!
24 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Navigating the Referral Process
Helen Schutz was born and raised in Houston, Texas. One of eight children, she acquired
the “organizing gene” in her family. She launched her professional organizing business,
HBS Organizing, in 2007 with an emphasis on bookkeeping, paper & digital file mana-
gement, and photo organizing. Helen is a certified professional organizer, Golden Circle
member of NAPO , and certified member of APPO. She is also a member of the Institute for
Challenging Disorganization. She was named Volunteer of the Year for the NAPO Houston
Chapter in 2011. In her spare time, Helen enjoys Pilates, reading, gluten-free eating and
the never-ending search for the perfect Pinot Noir. Her website is www.hbsorganizing.com.
REFERRALS ARE THE LIFEBLOOD of many
organizing businesses. Some of our best
clients come to us as the result of referrals
from our colleagues. So how do you handle a
referral from another organizer once it comes
your way? Here are five “best practice” tips
to help you navigate the referral process to
ensure everyone involved is happy.
“If you think you can work
with the client, let the
referring organizer know
you look forward to work-
ing with him or her and
keep the organizer posted
on the initial sessions.”
Five best practices to navigate the referral process behind the scenes BY HELEN SCHUTZ
25inFOCUS FALL 2014
1. Assess - Ask yourself if you are the best
fit for the client if you get a referral from
another organizer. Sometimes you will
not know very much about the potential
client. Therefore, it is in your best inter-
est to find out as much as you can about
the client before making contact with
him or her. Once you do make contact,
do a thorough phone assessment to see
if the client will be a good fit for you. Re-
member, always honor the client – if it’s
a job you don’t want or can’t handle, be
professional enough to decline it and re-
fer it to another organizer.
2. Acknowledge – If you think you can
work with the client, let the referring
organizer know you look forward to
working with him or her and keep the
organizer posted on the initial sessions.
If you don’t think you can work with the
client, let the organizer know right away.
Especially if you gave the client a list of
other organizers to contact. As profes-
sionals, we must treat each other with
respect and courtesy.
3. Ask – Be forthright and ask the referring
organizer if she or he wants a referral
fee. Some do and some don’t. There
is no one-size-fits-all organizing fee. If
the organizer wants a referral fee, they
will usually let you know up front, but
it doesn’t hurt to ask. A few organizers
might want a percentage of the first ses-
sion or a flat fee; other organizers don’t
want one at all. You may be doing them
a favor by taking on the client that they
are unable to assist.
4. Appreciate – Show appreciation for
the referral if there is not a fee involved.
Some examples include giving the refer-
ring organizer a gift card to a restaurant
or coffee shop. Use your imagination,
especially if you know the organizer and
his or her tastes and interests. It doesn’t
have to break the bank, but doing this
shows appreciation and gratitude.
5. Follow-up – After you have started
working with the client, let the referring
organizer know how things are going.
This can be a text message, voice mail
message or short email. Just something
to say that you enjoy working with the
client and that there is progress. Use this
time to thank them again. A little some-
thing extra, like sending a thank you card
or an email, is always appreciated.
While I’m no expert, I’ve found these tactics
are very helpful. As your business grows, you
will undoubtedly learn more techniques for
deal-ing with referrals. Most importantly, re-
member to put the client’s needs first. Don’t
forget that some of your best clients could be
referrals. Adhere to these tips so that everyo-
ne involved comes out on top. That’s what I
call a win-win-win situation!
Un-clutter your inbox and make it work for you BY BONNIE HILLMAN SHAY
26 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Take Charge of Your Email Inbox
Professional organizer and foun-
der of Mariposa Creative Solutions,
Bonnie Hillman Shay, knows she
is wired for the work that she does as
she aims to create order out of disor-
der. She specializes in office organi-
zing (home or professional), residen-
tial organizing, and photo organizing.
Bonnie is also the author of the book
Take Charge of Your Email Inbox. For
more information, visit her website
www.mariposacreativesolutions.com.
27inFOCUS FALL 2014
How did our inboxes get to be over-flowing?
• We get more and more emails each day.
• We fear deleting something because we
think we might need it someday.
• We fear missing out on something good.
• We don’t make decisions or we don’t
make good decisions.
• We have multiple email addresses and
multiple devices to manage.
• We are inundated with many modes of
communication and infinite distractions.
How to un-clutter your inbox and make it work for you.
Inbox goal: Your inbox should only contain
those emails that are truly important and
need your attention.
Consider an overflowing inbox as a collection
of decisions not made. Either you don’t take
the time to decide where the email needs to
go or you don’t know where it needs to go.
Vow to make decisions about where emails
should go so that your inbox remains unclut-
tered. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Unsubscribe from emails that are no
longer relevant to your life.
2. Automatically divert emails that you
don’t need to see immediately to appro-
priate folders for later reading.
3. Delete emails you don’t really need to
keep.
4. File emails that you need for future refe-
rence in appropriate folders.
5. Act on emails that need your attention
and then delete or file the email.
It is all about making decisions and being de-
termined to maintain an uncluttered inbox so
that email once again becomes a tool to work
for you instead of being a full time job in and
of itself. You can do it!
To explore these concepts and much more,
please watch my webinar recorded Thursday,
September 18th and archived under Member
Resources at www.appo.org.
EMAIL HAS BECOME a full-time challenge to
manage, both personally and professional-
ly. People have become inundated with the
quantity of emails that find their way into
their inboxes, and before they know it, 3,000
emails have taken up residence there. As a
result, they become overwhelmed, stuck, and
don’t know what to do. Are you one of these
people?
How would you feel …
• If your inbox had less than one screen’s
worth of email in it?
• If you could find any email you were
looking for in a few seconds?
• If you didn’t miss important items be-
cause they weren’t buried in your inbox
with 2,999 other emails?
• If you felt peaceful and calm because
you had regained control of your email?
This is all possible and it can be your reality
if you want!
“Your inbox should only
contain those emails that
are truly important and
need your attention.”
28 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Planning the Perfect Pitch
Mollie Bartelt is the co-founder of Pixologie, Inc., a photo organization and management company. She and co-founder Ann Matuszak have been helping people bring their photos out of chaos and into their lives to be celebrated and shared, for nearly twenty years.
BE PREPARED.
Have a few topics ready to go for when a timely or a national
news story hits. For the upcoming holiday season, a good pitch
might be “Three Gift Ideas to Build a Child’s
Self-Esteem and Celebrate Family”.
1. Have a few topics ready to go for when a timely or a national news story hits. You will be prepared to capitalize on the breaking news and pitch your expertise to the local media. For example:
• Past news: In July, news floated around that Shutterfly was being put up for sale – your pitch could be “Make Sure Your Online Photos are Not Going To Be Lost Forever” or something similar.
• Current news: News breaking about private photos being hacked into and shared – your pitch could be “How to Organize Your Photos To Protect Your Privacy” or, even more alarming, “Four
MEDIA COVERAGE offers credibility and authenticity to our message as photo organizers. APPO and its members have been covered by a variety of media sources, garnering much attention, while attributing to the growth of the organization and the industry.
In order to get media exposure, it is not about pitching our services to reporters; it is about pitching the story behind the services, as well as being purposeful about our pitch, that will get a reporter’s attention. If you are wondering how you might obtain some media coverage in your area, here are some tips we use in our own photo organizing business:
Writing purposeful press releases BY MOLLIE BARTELT
29inFOCUS FALL 2014
PIXOLOGIE PRESS.
Mollie and partner, co-founder Ann Matuszak, share their photo management knowledge with viewers.
“ ..it is about pitching the story
behind the services, as well
as being purposeful about our
pitch, that will get a reporter’s
attention.”
Things to Teach Your Teenager About Taking Smartphone Photos.”
• Future news: For holiday gifts, a good pitch might be “Three Gift Ideas to Build a Child’s Self-Esteem and Celebrate Family,” or another unique title of the same sort.
2. When writing your press release, choose your topics and tips based on your experience and what you are passionate about. Also make sure your tips and focus in the press release benefit the audience you are addressing. Include a short bio about yourself and why/how you are an expert.
3. Research the reporters and stations you are going to contact and pick ten to twelve local media outlets to contact. Adjust your pitch according to the outlet, whether television, newspaper, radio, etc. Send the pitch as soon as possible if it is related to something currently occurring nationally; or four to six weeks in advance of the holiday/event.
4. When you do get a reporter to contact you, do NOT overwhelm them with all the ways you can help a person with their photos. Keep your responses SIMPLE and relevant to the press release you sent. Plant seeds for another time.
Whenever any one of us has press coverage, whether local or on a larger level, it helps to build the photo organization field as a whole - something that will benefit us all as we continue to help people get their photos out of chaos and back into life to be celebrated and shared!
If you have questions or would like to see our format for press releases, don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected].
30 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Dominating Social Media
Coach Jenn Lee rocks the entrepreneur’s world
through marketing madness, high-energy speeches
and money-mindset maneuvers! Small business
owners are booming from her insight shared on
Fox Business News and local stations across the
country, and national publications, like Success
Magazine. Get more @coachjennlee.
because they are overwhelmed with the idea
of creating the amount of content needed
to make an indent in this very noisy space.
Content is king, no doubt – however, there is
a way to leverage a thought, an opinion, an
observation or new passion into killer con-
tent that can be shared across all platforms
effectively… without resolving to throwing
your computer out the window.
IT’S NO SECRET, keeping up with social me-
dia can make you want to pull your hair out
and chuck your computer out the window
while screaming, “I’m mad as hell and not
going to take it anymore.” Please tell me you
remember the movie Network, it’s a classic.
“Free marketing,” a.k.a. social media, is the
chief complaint from my clients, mainly
How one simple idea allows you to dominate social media BY COACH JENN LEE
31inFOCUS FALL 2014
“There is a way to
leverage a thought, an
opinion, an observation
or new passion into
killer content that
can be shared across all
platforms effectively...
without throwing
your computer out the
window.”
Promote Passion – My good friend
Tory Johnson posted this Facebook share-
able quoting Beyonce in reference to the
“Ban Bossy” campaign. We loved it and…
vroom, vroom…away we went. Here’s how
you can too.
Share It - Start by “sharing” it on Facebook
(1) and Instagram (2). Make sure to use appro-
priate hashtags – if it is trending, you want to
be part of it.
Write About It – Take your shareable a step
further by writing a blog (3) on the topic and
posting it on your website. Make sure to crea-
te a catchy title, preferably with 5-7 words,
asking a question, quoting a statistic, or
laying out steps. We went the question route
and chose this title: “Are You a Boss or Just
Bossy?”
Promote Your Blog – Post your blog using
a fresh, original picture on LinkedIn (4),
Google+ (5), and in a kick-ass e-newsletter (6).
HINT: We try to use our own pics, if not, make
sure you BUY pictures. We use 123rf.com.
Local Media Pitch – It’s not as scary as you
think. What’s really not scary is the buzz you
will create from posting your segment on
Facebook afterwards. Identify the local station
that has live guest segments as part of their
regular programming. You know the one that
makes you scream, “Why am I not on this?!”
every morning. Well, it’s because you didn’t
pitch to them! Take that blog and create a
smart pitch (7). It’s really just a shorter version
of your blog with value for their audience. If
you need help with this call me!
National Media Pitch – Leverage that seg-
ment! There’s no reason to hold back from
submitting that same pitch (especially if you
were featured locally) to a national coverage
team (8). My “Boss or Bossy” segment was
rejected, but after reading my pitch and
watching the segment, they knew I had the
goods to deliver on a similar topic. BOOM!
Booked the next week on Fox Business.
Speak About It – I turned this blog idea into
a speaking topic for an upcoming conference
(9), but if speaking is not your gig, create a
video and post on YouTube (10). If that’s not
your thing either then use your birdie voice
(Twitter) to voice your opinion, share strate-
gies, give tips, or promote your topic.
Post on Pinterest – The key to this step is
making sure you link the picture to your blog
(11). This is another type of shareable and
you’ll be stimulating interest with a new au-
dience for years to come. Those re-pins add
up to clicks to your website! HINT: Don’t do
this step the same week you create the blog.
Posting the same thing on every platform will
bore your audience who is most likely clicking
between Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter win-
dows simultaneously. You do it, right?
Ongoing Tweets – Now you can tweet, tweet
away! Reposting your blog (12) with different
tweet verbiage keeps it fresh and will attract
new peeps every time. HINT: Use a bitly link to
keep it short and easily trackable.
Google+ Post – Every smart and savvy profes-
sional uses Google+ for connecting to people
and increasing their SEO. Posting your blog
with a link to the original blog is the best way
to go and include that rockin’ original picture.
LinkedIn Post – This is different than “shar-
ing” your blog on LinkedIn like you did when
you first wrote your blog. Wait a week then
create a “post” of your blog (13). This will
be viewed by more people and suggested
to people you aren’t connected with in the
Pulse feature. “Are You a Boss or Just Bossy?”
generated over 2,000 views, 300 likes, and 150
shares and most importantly three phone
calls from potential coaching clients.
Whew, see it’s not that hard, right?
A shareable here, a blog there, combined with
well-timed posts and you’ll be dominating
social media before you know it!
And if this entire blog has left you even more
confused than you were before, call me. You
can’t let this stop you from letting the world
know how fabulous you are. Let my cracker
jack team plan and execute a social media
strategy for you that will have your notifica-
tions panel pinning non-stop.
How one simple idea allows you to dominate social media BY COACH JENN LEE
32 inFOCUS FALL 2014
Ripe forthe Taking
NICK KELSH is a nationally renowned photogra-
pher and the author of nine books, including the
bestselling Naked Babies and Siblings. He has ap-
peared numerours times on Oprah and The Today
Show. Nick lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Anne,
and is the father of three sons. For more information
visit www.howtophotographyourlife.com.
Photo by Michelle Hammer
I REMEMBER driving home from upstate New
York from Grandma and Grandpa’s house
in late August admiring the beauty of the
changing colors in the trees. If you’re lucky,
one of nature’s most wondrous shows will be
happening in your neighborhood, too.
This time of year is a gift of color - some of
the best color you will ever see. Go for a walk
alone in the woods with your camera and
make something beautiful. It’s good for your
soul. However, before you start capturing this
magical change in time, consider these four
techniques for taking better photos:
1. Use a long lens. One of the most useful
tools when photographing fall color is a
long lens—a telephoto lens. If you use
a large aperture (that’s a small number)
it will help put the background beauti-
fully out of focus. By doing so, you can
then put emphasis on single leaves or
BY PHOTOGRAPHER NICK KELSH
Four techniques that will enhance your fall photos
33inFOCUS FALL 2014
1. Use a long lense.
It is one of the most useful tools when
photographing fall color.
Photo by Michelle Hammer
a couple of branches hanging down in
front of another colored background.
The closer you get to individual leaves
the more the background will go out of
focus.
2. Zoom in. A telephoto lens—that’s
zooming in to make things seem
closer—also compresses the scene like
this one by Tom Reese in Aspen, Colora-
do. Everything seems to pile up and get
closer to itself creating a pattern of color
and vertical lines. A telephoto lens may
be the most useful piece of equipment
you could take with you into the woods
for fall color photography.
3. The ground is your canvas. I think I’ve
taken some of my nicest fall color photos
by pointing my camera at the ground.
I’ve often found beautiful pictures of
leaves laying at the base of trees or I’ve
even arranged my favorite leaves in a
specific pattern.
4. Wear one spot of bright color. If you go
for a walk with a child this fall it’s worth
having them wear a spot of bright color.
It’s a little compulsive I know, but you will
never regret photographing someone
wearing red in the woods—it makes all
the difference. They can be very small in
the frame and still pop if they are wea-
ring something colorful.
Try using these techniques and you’ll have
vivid memories to last you a lifetime!
“This time of year is a gift of color - some of the best COLOR you
will ever see. Go for a walk alone in the woods with your camera and
make something BEAUTIFUL.” BY PHOTOGRAPHER NICK KELSH
34 inFOCUS FALL 2014
3. The ground is your canvas.
Some of Nick’s nicest fall color photos
have been taken by pointing his camera at
the ground.
Photo by Nick Kelsh.
35inFOCUS FALL 2014
You’ll often find beautiful pictures of leaves laying at the
base of trees. Try arranging your favorite
leaves in a specific pattern.
Photo by Nick Kelsh.
4. Wear one spot of bright color.
You will never regret photographing someone wearing red in the woods.
Photo by Nick Kelsh.
2. Zoom In.
Everything seems to pile up and get closer to itself creating a pattern of color and vertical lines.
Photo by Tom Reese.