Paige Stuart, Neat Organizing

[00:00:00] Sanjay Parekh: Welcome to the Side Hustle to Small Business podcast, powered by Hiscox. I'm your host, Sanjay Parekh. Throughout my career, I've had side hustles, some of which have turned into real businesses. But first and foremost, I'm a serial technology entrepreneur. In the creator space, we hear plenty of advice on how to hustle harder and why you can sleep when you're dead.

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These entrepreneurs are pushing the envelope while keeping their values. Keep listening for conversation, context, and camaraderie.

Today's guest is Paige Stuart, the owner of Neat Organizing, an organization company based in Fairhope, Alabama. Paige has been in business for nearly three years and is dedicated to help you eliminate clutter and maximize space. She specializes in all areas of organization, including closets, garages, playrooms, and unpacking boxes after a move. Paige, welcome to the show.

[00:01:20] Paige Stuart: Thank you so much for having me.

[00:01:22] Sanjay Parekh: So, I probably needed your help a while ago because we had lots of boxes to unpack when we moved back into our house, but the point is gone now. At this point, it's okay. But I appreciate all that you do in organizing, because I think all of us have clutter.

But before we get into talking about the business, give us a little bit about your background and what got you to where you are today.

[00:01:47] Paige Stuart: I was born and raised in Fairhope, Alabama. I have a background in social services. I was a social worker, also a little marketing, a little real estate. But what brought me to this was almost three and a half years ago or so. I travel to Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida to organize, I'm a traveling organizer if needed, but my home base is definitely Fairhope, Alabama and the surrounding cities.

[00:02:16] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah, what drove you into going into organizing?

[00:02:21] Paige Stuart: During the pandemic I started organizing my own home. I had a storage unit that I was paying for 11 years and unloaded that storage unit. And it was like a ton had been lifted off my shoulders. And then I started with my attic and then I moved on to friends and family and that's where Neat was born.

[00:02:43] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. So, this is a passion project basically for your own. Okay. I'm going to ask you organizing questions later because I'm sure everybody that's listening is like, "Oh, I need help with this." But before you start talking about that, let's talk a little bit about starting this up. Was this your first time ever doing anything entrepreneurial?

[00:03:04] Paige Stuart: Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Never done anything before.

[00:03:08] Sanjay Parekh: What about as a kid, had you done anything entrepreneurial as a kid?

[00:03:12] Paige Stuart: No, but both of my parents were entrepreneurs and business owners. I was like a fish out of water. I didn't know anything. I didn't know how it was going to — the organizing, yes, I have, but I didn't know how it was going to run the business side of me — creating a website, all the social media, is so important for what I do because the before and after.

Hiring people and create the website and the business side of running Neat. I have learned a lot, a whole lot.

[00:03:45] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. And what kind of businesses were your parents running?

[00:03:48] Paige Stuart: My mom did real estate and she owned a retail store. And then my father was in real estate for 40 years.

[00:03:57] Sanjay Parekh: Did you ever work in the retail store as a kid?

[00:04:00] Paige Stuart: I worked in the retail store. It was an antique mall. And I also worked for my dad in real estate. So yeah.

[00:04:07] Sanjay Parekh: So antiques was the retail company?

[00:04:10] Paige Stuart: Yes. So she had booths that she rented out and there was, I think 15 individuals that rented booths from her. I loved it. Because we would go to Miami and Atlanta and different places shopping for antiques and thrifts. My mom was a great woman. So yeah, it was a lot of fun.

[00:04:29] Sanjay Parekh: What's the neatest antique that you ever had or laid your eyes on?

[00:04:34] Paige Stuart: I like retro stuff. Probably a, I don't know, chandelier that we paid 15 dollars for and my mom sold for $2,000. So that was a fun one. This is right when eBay started.

[00:04:54] Sanjay Parekh: So, yeah, that is an incredible markup. That is fascinating. Did your mom ever go on Antiques Roadshow or anything else?

[00:05:04] Paige Stuart: No.

[00:05:05] Sanjay Parekh: I'm such a fan of that show. Like some of the crazy things that people bring in. It's just unbelievable. Okay, so let's talk about you and starting the business.

So, you started off just organizing yourself and then had this epiphany of "Hey, I should do this for other people." So how did you kick that off? Because, how do you find customers? How do you like get those first few that are actually going to be willing to pay you?

[00:05:32] Paige Stuart: Social media. Social media. The company that created my website helped push. But a majority of my business now is referrals, and I get a lot of referrals, and then I network. I'm always, yesterday was at an expo for the Board of Realtors. Tomorrow I'm going to an expo for the Builders Association. I had a one on one with a senior living that just came to our area. And they want me to be in their referral program and the packaging for when people move into the independent living.

So, it's just networking is really how I got started going to be in, I'm in a BNI presenting my business to other companies, doing presentations at real estate offices. That type of stuff gets the word out that, that I'm an organizer. So, I love it. I absolutely love it.

[00:06:23] Sanjay Parekh: So, it sounds like a lot of the use cases is when people are moving or doing things like that, because you're dealing with realtors and stuff. How much of it is that people, changing their living situation versus, people that are just, "Okay let's get it done?"

[00:06:37] Paige Stuart: About 10%. It really is. I do a lot of transitioning from toddler to little children. Little children to teens. I do a lot of kitchens, pantries.

[00:06:49] Sanjay Parekh: So more, more is on that side? Is more on the moving side?

[00:06:51] Paige Stuart: Yes. Yeah. Okay. More is on that side. For sure.

[00:06:53] Sanjay Parekh: Okay. Oh, that's interesting. Okay. When you were starting this first time, even though you've got entrepreneurship in the family, was there anything that made you nervous about starting the business and how did you overcome it?

[00:07:08] Paige Stuart: I go into people's homes. It's very personal and I do a one on one in person consultation to start off and I see the area, whether it be the kitchen, the pantry, the closet, the garage. And I was a nervous wreck.

[00:07:26] Sanjay Parekh: Why? Because you were in somebody else's home?

[00:07:28] Paige Stuart: Because I was in somebody else's home. What if I can't do this? What if this job's too big? What if I don't, what if they're not happy? But all that's gone now. I'm very regimented, I feel like it's probably the best thing I've ever done. The best at is being an organizer. I love it, I'm very detail oriented, little OCD, ADD mixed in with that.

And it helps, when the client, sometimes the clients are there, sometimes they're not, sometimes I do purges, purge things. It's every single job is different. It is hard sometimes for me to describe what exactly I do. I just say, like the TV shows on Netflix or Maria Kondo, yeah, same, the same thing.

[00:08:15] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. So those first times that you were starting and you were nervous about it and were questioning, that classic imposter syndrome, I don't know if I can do this; how did you get over that? Was it just, push through it and do it? Or was it something else? Like, how did you do that?

[00:08:32] Paige Stuart: Experience. Also lots and lots of research. Instagram is a great platform for organizers. I studied other organizers. I looked at how they did things. I read books that organizers had come out with; this kind of honed in on my skill and now I've got my own little way of doing things. But at first, yes, it's very nerve wracking going into somebody's house, going through their stuff. It's their space. It's very personal.

[00:09:02] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. I was going to ask, there's an added level of stress there too, because you're going into somebody's space, they've invited you in, but then you're saying like, "Oh, you need to throw this, that, and the other away."

And they, they're holding onto it for some reason, like sentimental or whatever. How do you deal with that stress of, you're telling this hard news that somebody has to hear, even though they've invited the hard news. How do you manage that for yourself?

[00:09:32] Paige Stuart: A lot of people with children save everything because they feel like that when their children grow up, they're going to want that stuff.

They do not want that stuff when they grow up. A lot of the kids’ artwork, a lot of the stuff from school, I suggest taking photographs of a lot of that or taking photographs of that and making books out of it, like art books with their artwork instead of having all of their stuff.

I've worked with a lot of people who have lost parents. That's donate. I have a lot of resources that I donate to a lot of charities that I give stuff to. So I say, "Hey, don't you think that since you have 30 pair of white pants that maybe we could donate some of these to a women's shelter? So yeah, I coach them through it. The social worker background definitely helps with this job.

[00:10:24] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. Yeah. I can imagine. So, let's talk about another kind of aspect of this: balancing the demands of the business and your personal and family life. Because sometimes you probably have to work at times where you've got other things to do at home or whatever, right?

Because people aren't home or, I don't know if, do they just let you give you the keys of the house and let you run free?

[00:10:53] Paige Stuart: A lot of times, a lot of times they do. I work seven days a week sometimes, but what I do to balance is, I will work schedule everything and then I'll take five to seven days off. I'll work six to eight weeks straight, just nonstop jobs. And then I'll take a little bit of time off just to handle what's new in my home. I have a son in college, so yes.

[00:11:20] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. And so that's okay for you, like in terms of being able to handle the stress going forward, is that the cadence that works for you? Six weeks on, one week off kind of thing?

[00:11:32] Paige Stuart: Yes. Yes, it does. Definitely.

[00:11:35] Sanjay Parekh: And how did you figure that out for yourself? Because in the beginning, I'm sure probably 50 weeks on because you're like "I'm going to take all the jobs, everything." How did you figure that out?

[00:11:47] Paige Stuart: Exhaustion, getting tired, definitely. And I just don't ever want to get burned out or lose my zest for this career and this job because I love helping people and I love seeing the end result. So, whenever I book everything, I do the consultations, I book everything.

I have a great team of ladies who work with me and for me, and I just schedule accordingly. So, this month is very busy. Last month was very busy. I may go 12 weeks, hard worker because there are some times where it slows down, business slows down. So, I just work, work, and then take that time just to handle my business and take care of my house.

[00:12:36] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah, interesting. You made a comment there about, you have a team of folks when you started, it was just you.

[00:12:43] Paige Stuart: It was just me.

[00:12:44] Sanjay Parekh: How long did it take to figure out okay, I need to hire folks. And how did you find those folks?

[00:12:49] Paige Stuart: It took a very short time, about six weeks. About six weeks I decided and I have, what I'd like to do is let go of some of the control of thinking I have to work every single job, but I'm not there yet.

Put stuff on Facebook, friends, family, people that I know that are stay at home moms are in an industry where they need a second income. So it's all people I know that have worked with me and are working for me.

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[00:13:46] Sanjay Parekh: Okay, you've got these kind of schedules, you bring on a client and okay, I've got this many days to get it all done. Do you have any other routines that kind of fit in the day, like exercise or other things that you're like, "Okay, I need to make sure I do this to be good?"

[00:14:04] Paige Stuart: Absolutely. Absolutely. I love the beach. Some days, if I have a day off in between, especially this time of the year, I go to the beach, the Gulf of Mexico. It is my place. I love it. I like to go walking. I do yoga. Yes, exercise is extremely important. And socializing. I try to keep a social life and doing things outside of Neat, but I do a lot that has to do with Neat. A lot of functions that I go to are definitely business related.

[00:14:38] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. How do you fit, make sure you fit sleep and wellness into your schedule? Or do you?

[00:14:48] Paige Stuart: I schedule it accordingly. Work, right now comes first before anything else. Definitely. Definitely. Because I don't like telling people I can't do a job or I have to push a lot of jobs out six weeks or so, but, as long as everything's taken care of with Neat, then, I'm good. Everything's good.

[00:15:10] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. Was there anything, in the early days or even now, that surprised you about entrepreneurship or were things that you didn't realize about entrepreneurship that now, you know now, what were those?

[00:15:25] Paige Stuart: Accounting, the bookkeeping, the expenses, the spending. Definitely all of that you don't know, because a lot of the jobs, I provide containers, organizing products, baskets, bins for drawers, cabinets, closets. I wasn't sure how to do that. How to charge for that. How to price for that. How do I do that? How do I order that?

That's where I had the hardest at the beginning was, what about containers? What about organizing products? Where do I get them from? How do I charge this with the client? I had a business coach that's an organizer and she helped me through a lot of that.

I also go to an organizing conference with mDesign, which they make a lot of the containers and products that I use. And got a lot of advice, a network with organizers from across the country. So got lots of advice from them, but that was definitely the hardest; all the back end of running a business is hard. It's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot.

[00:16:34] Sanjay Parekh: How did you improve your skills in terms of accounting and all that stuff along the way?

[00:16:40] Paige Stuart: Hired an accountant.

[00:16:41] Sanjay Parekh: Okay. That's the best way probably. And have you like read any books and learned to make sure that you understand what they're telling you or are you just relying on them?

[00:16:51] Paige Stuart: Oh, no, I have QuickBooks. So I understand where everything goes.

[00:16:56] Sanjay Parekh: Okay. Yeah. So, you've been doing this for about three years now. You've learned a lot. If you could go back in time and do something differently based on what you know now, do something better so that the first time it would have been great; is there something that comes to mind?

[00:17:18] Paige Stuart: Like when I started Neat, something that I would do different?

[00:17:21] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. Yeah. Something that, now you're like, "Oh, this is the way to do it. And that, that first client or that fifth client, I should have done it this way."

[00:17:29] Paige Stuart: Yeah. Not take everything on, that I have to do everything, that I have to handle everything. The social media, the website, the accounting, the purchasing. Doing all the jobs. I would have delegated that a little bit differently from the beginning.

[00:17:48] Sanjay Parekh: Well, why do you think you didn't delegate in the beginning? You just thought, yeah. Well, what did you think?

[00:17:54] Paige Stuart: Type A personality.

[00:17:58] Sanjay Parekh: Very common among us entrepreneurs. Yeah. So you thought "Oh, I'm the best."

[00:18:05] Paige Stuart: I can do it all.

[00:18:06] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. And what made you realize that wasn't the case?

[00:18:08] Paige Stuart: Yeah. Exhaustion, just constantly not sleeping, waking up, not being able to go to bed because I'm worried about, "I got to do this, got to do that." You got to let some of that go.

So yeah, for sure. I'm still long ways from letting a lot of it go, which would be sending organizers on jobs without me. That is my goal for the next 18 months. I gave myself an 18 to the end of ‘25. That I've got to start letting people go on jobs because my business would definitely grow and expand if I wasn't in the homes trying to do everything.

[00:18:49] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. Yeah. So still to this day now, you're still going into the homes and doing work? You're not just supervising?

[00:18:56] Paige Stuart: Oh no. And I have tons of repeat clients. So that's another, they won't just want me to come back. So, I do a lot of maintenance, where I will organize something and then a year goes by and a family of five or a family of 10 for kids’ sports, they need me to go back in and reorganize their mud room, their laundry room, their pantry. I just did a house that I've worked with a lady since 2022. On Tuesday is a lady that I've worked with six times this year. So they'll break down. "Hey, let's do just the kitchen or let's just do the closet,” and then I come back and do other areas.

[00:19:35] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. So how do you think about that then for yourself? Because if your goal is in 18 months to be able to send people on jobs, yet people are like, no, I want you, Paige. How do you fix that problem for yourself? Well, it's not going to be me. It's going to be somebody else for my team.

[00:19:50] Paige Stuart: Well, I will never stop organizing because I love it. I love doing it. I love seeing the beginning, the middle and the end. Just have, find someone that, and I already have people that work for me that, I'm very particular about how I want things done and when I feel comfortable that I can just send, and I'm almost there, but I just set myself a goal for I need to do this by the end of ‘25.

And I also do a lot of networking with the other business owners. Like I had a breakfast on Wednesday with two women that, an interior designer and someone who owns a housekeeping place, a housekeeping business, who said, "You've got to let go; you've got to let other people, do it." So, I've got to, because I do want to grow and expand and add things to my portfolio for Neat.

[00:20:43] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. Last question for you. If you were talking to somebody who was thinking about taking the leap like you did and launching either a side hustle or full-time business, what advice would you give to them?

[00:21:03] Paige Stuart: To delegate and not try to do everything. You know what I mean?

It's just, to interact with as many people who are like minded that are doing the same thing as you, to have the same goals as you. To surround yourself with other entrepreneurs. Definitely. It's helped me tremendously.

[00:21:23] Sanjay Parekh: Yeah, that's great advice. Paige, this has been fantastic. Where can our listeners find and connect with you online?

[00:21:32] Paige Stuart: NeatWithPaige on Instagram, Neat Organizing on Facebook and gettingneat.com is my website. Which if you go to my website, it connects you to Facebook and Instagram.

[00:21:46] Sanjay Parekh: Awesome. Thanks so much for being on the show today.

[00:21:47] Paige Stuart: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. It was great.

[00:21:54] Sanjay Parekh: Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the Side Hustle to Small Business podcast, powered by Hiscox. To learn more about how Hiscox can help protect your small business through intelligent insurance solutions, visit Hiscox.com. And to hear more Side Hustle to Small Business stories, or share your own story, please visit Hiscox.com/side-hustle-to-small-business. I'm your host, Sanjay Parekh. You can find out more about me at my website, SanjayParekh.com.