Thirty years ago on a mid-July evening, I made a life-altering move: I boarded an Amtrak train in Penn Station en route to California. Thus began my chapter as a San Franciscan.
Fifteen years ago around the same time, I launched a business. What began as spark-inducing conversations a few months prior morphed into what has become my second somewhat unconventional career as a life organizer. (I was a photo editor in my first career and that was back when film was all the rage.)
It would be a few years until “liberated spaces” came to be born out of an e-mail exchange with a client. The visceral resonance that occurred when my fingertips tapped out those words for the first time was transformational. The journey continues to be transformational.
Although most aspects of the business – on site and virtual client work, writing, marketing, bookkeeping, research, maintenance, donation drop-offs, trademark enforcement, and whatever else I’m forgetting – are done by me, there are so many others who are indispensable to this endeavor.
Sven, the man behind the scenes
First and foremost is Sven, my partner in all things life, love, creativity, and adventure. He is instrumental behind the scenes as webmaster, designer, occasional copy editor, sounding board, creative collaborator, extra muscle, laundry lugger, hugger extraordinaire, and so much more. His encouragement and emotional support have been essential to keeping this whole thing humming along from day one.
The core of the business and the people for whom I wish to scribe glowing testimonials time again are my brave and inspiring clients. They are the teachers and sources of incalculable wisdom that no book, seminar, or certification can ever match. I am grateful to and for those who continue to invite me to be witness, facilitator, and helper for the wide array of needs and moments in their lives.
Along the way there have been and continue to be colleagues in various industries – including fellow organizers – who have provided nods of confidence through their wisdom, referrals, and awesomeness.
The San Francisco Green Business Program has been a source of motivation since the early days. Last month I was recertified as an Innovator level Green Business by the California Green Business Network.
As strange as it is to admit, I started this business with a “plan” that was as simple as the desire to work in alignment with my values and to help people make positive change in their lives. The rest has been (and continues to be) an improvised journey in being true to causes and curiosities that lead me on an array of interconnected tangents. By trusting the process, I am doing what I love with people who inspire me.
Arriving at such a milestone brings on new levels of wonder and reflection. Where the business goes in the next 5, 10, or another (gulp) 15 years is all part of the continuing story.
