I was talking with another organizer in our state and she mentioned that there is an organizer in her area, offering services for less than half of her hourly rate.\u00a0 We, as organizers, do not talk to each other about what we charge.\u00a0 Although I was in a similar situation early in my career \u2013 I spoke with a possible client who wanted some additional services I didn\u2019t provide.\u00a0 I shared the name of an organizer I knew of who would provide those services.\u00a0 When I made my follow-up call with this possible client, she shared that the other organizer was offering her services at about half of what I charge.\u00a0 This was disappointing as this was another NAPO organizer.<\/p>\n
So, why do professional organizers charge what they do?\u00a0 It\u2019s not about wanting to prove that they have expertise.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that they want to become rich.\u00a0 It\u2019s about the technical business side of things.<\/p>\n
First and foremost, this rate is before taxes.\u00a0 Professional organizers, like other independent business people, have to pay their own taxes \u2013 and this means that they are earning a fraction of what you are paying them.\u00a0 This is true as long as they are functioning as a legitimate business.\u00a0 When you think about what their rate is, do you consider what your mechanic\u2019s hourly rate is? Or your doctor\u2019s? Or other professional people you deal with?<\/p>\n
Second, when you are running an actual business you have other costs \u2013 like insurance and bonding.\u00a0 There are fees for being registered with the state and then the membership fees for organizations that educate and support the organizer.\u00a0 In all my years in business, I have only had one client ask if I was insured (that was a lawyer), although I\u2019ve mentioned it to a few clients.\u00a0 Insurance and bonding protect both the organizer and the client from any unpleasant accidents. Unfortunately, I know that there are NAPO organizers who do not carry insurance or bonding for themselves and their clients.\u00a0 Maybe this is the reason they might charge significantly less.<\/p>\n
Third, there are other expenses. Websites cost money, both to register and maintain \u2013 and in this day and time \u2013 a website is critical. Personally, I want to always expand my expertise and learn more \u2013 hence why I attend the national NAPO conference, read books, and listen to teleclasses and webinars.\u00a0 Since professional organizers travel to the client, their car needs gas and maintenance.\u00a0 These costs serve the client as well.<\/p>\n
I had a client once who asked this question \u2013 and I shared these answers with her. \u00a0Her response was that I should charge more since it is hard work.\u00a0 It\u2019s not hard work to me, I love what I do, and the amazing people I get to meet and work with.\u00a0 I\u2019ve even surprised myself by enjoying the business side of running an organizing business.\u00a0 What\u2019s unfortunate is how not many people realize what goes into setting one\u2019s price \u2013 whether you are a professional organizer or some other independent business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ever wonder why professional organizers, or even other small businesses, charge what they do? Here are some of the answers and some things to consider before hiring a professional organizer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[25,15],"class_list":["post-684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-organizing","tag-postaweek2011","tag-resources"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7p82c-b2","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":688,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions\/688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}