infocus by appo

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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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.”


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.


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.”


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...”

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!


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.


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!


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


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.”


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].


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


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


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.


4. Wear one spot of bright color.

You will never regret photographing someone wearing red in the woods.


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.

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