“I’m not sure how many clients will be happy to give their names. I mean, it’s a bit of a personal thing, you know, having used a home organizer..."
“There’s only one way to make it professionally these days,” my sister-in-law, who works as a senior marketing strategist at some technology firm, told me. “And that’s by marketing, marketing, marketing.”
At first, I wasn’t so sure I agreed. “Of course you’d say that, you’re a marketer,” I told her playfully. “But c’mon, I’m a freelance home organizer working with women from our own community… what’s wrong with the good old word of mouth, and a couple of ads in the phone book? If people need me, they’ll find me.”
Yonina adamantly disagreed. “The world doesn’t work like that, honey,” she said, in that patronizing tone that made her sound like I was three decades younger than her, instead of three years. “You’ve got to tell people they need you. Sure, you’ll have customers who know they need help with keeping their homes organized. But think about how many people don’t even realize they could improve their housekeeping skills! How many people hate the way their closets look but have given up on changing it? How many people know they need help but don’t know where to find it?”
I wished I could argue, but the problem was, I had a niggling feeling she might be right.
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