A Red Bench » NAPO

A Red Bench on Facebook

Angela — Mon, 09 May 2011 16:15:03 +0000

Did you know that A Red Bench is on Facebook? Check out our page to view photos from Conference, stay informed about our classes and guest speakers, and join us in ‘conversations that matter’.

Grid-It!

Angela — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:30:59 +0000

NAPO Conference 2011 is over, and this year’s winner of the Organizer’s Choice Award for Best Technology Product was the Grid-It system from Cocoon. Grid-It is a “a rubberized woven elastic object retention system for gadget organization” that comes in a variety of sizes–the smallest would fit easily in a purse, and the largest is meant as a luggage accessory–to accomodate whatever small items you need to carry around with you and don’t want getting lost in the depths of your bag.

As a thanks to everyone who attended (and especially those who didn’t receive a free sample at their booth) they are offering a 40% off coupon to fellow organizers. This offer expires next Monday, April 18th, so go check out their site soon! Just enter the code ‘NAPOWIN’ at checkout to redeem this offer.

Powerful Keynote Tim Sanders

Angela — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:17:05 +0000

Tim Sanders opening keynote was noteworthy to say the least. Tim brought true meaning to the phrase “givers gain”. He told vivid stories of how many business pioneers blazed the business trail by connecting other people first. Simply introduce three people who can benefit from each other each week, Tim challenged us, and see the magic unfold. When you help other people find the resources they need by introducing someone to a new business you will earn their trust and become a valuable resource. When you are a valuable resource you become the go-to person that people naturally turn to including when they need what you offer or when a friend of theirs needs what you offer.

Tim was full of incredible information and was very inspiring. You can learn more from Tim’s books Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends and The Likeability Factor at his web-site.

So…who are three people that you can introduce to each other? Maybe you have a client who is moving and you can introduce them to mover and a custom closet company. When you send the e-mail introducing everyone be sure to include the reasons why you thought they might be able to work with each other.

Here’s to your new habit!

NAPO Conference 2010

Angela — Fri, 14 May 2010 02:51:49 +0000

This year’s NAPO Conference delivered again! It’s Spring and if you’re a Professional Organizer you know that is a sure sign that it’s time for the NAPO Conference. There was lots of talk this year about the venue. Ohio??? “Who wants to go to Ohio?” I kept hearing. I DO! Columbus was beautiful and full of fabulous even swanky restaurants within walking distance.

This year’s conference was bitter sweet for me, okay, much more sweet than bitter, but bitter non-the-less. It was sad because my business partner Christa Wagner could not make it this year. Oh how I wish she could have been there. But it was exciting because this year I was going to be on the oh so famous Ask the Organizer Panel. This was a true treat as I was on the panel with five amazing women! New organizers and veterans alike asked some fantastic questions with many coming up about social media. Yes, social media was definitely a hot topic this year.

The Expo Hall had a mini face lift this year with the addition of the Market Place. This was exciting as A Red Bench was able to participate in this new venue.

There is so much to talk about I will be posting several blogs over the next few days with my conference highlights. Including highlights from the Ask the Organizer Panel, the Expo Hall, Opening Keynote with Tim Sanders, and more on trends I observed at conference including Social Media. So keep checking there’s more to come soon!

Angela

Attend NAPO San Fran Conference

Christa — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:47:07 +0000

The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of NAPO is holding its 20th regional conference on November 7 this year. Taking place at the Four Points Sheraton, San Rafael, CA, the theme is “Foundation. Evolution. Innovation.” Register here to attend keynote addresses and workshops on specialty areas of organizing, marketing strategies, and more.

We strongly recommend attending a conference. It’s so important to stay on top of industry trends. Conference is a great place to learn and share ideas with other organizers!

Christa a Golden Circle Member

Christa — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:35:32 +0000

Christa is proud to announce she is now a member of Golden Circle, a prestigious designation by NAPO denoting an elevated level of experience within the professional organizing industry. Golden Circle members possess at least five years of proven professional organizing work activity, and share vast cumulative experience, working on projects that strengthen the organizing profession and playing key roles in the leadership of NAPO and its network of chapters worldwide.

Thank you, NAPO!

A Red Bench Testimonial

Christa — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:26:48 +0000

We wanted to thank Lorrie Gazette for her very nice and much apprecaited testimonial. Lorrie purchase and listened to the Powerful Needs Assessment Teleclass. I had to write and let you know how great I thought it was. I’ve taken many Teleclasses since starting my business 3 years ago, and this was one of the most content-rich classes I’ve heard in a while.”

Lorrie is the owner of Creative Order & Design in Texas. She is a member of NAPO, a Certified Professional Organizer & Home Stager and Certified Relocation Transition Specialist

Thanks Lorrie. We hope to work with you again soon!

Attend 2010 NAPO Conference

A Red Bench — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:43:44 +0000

So a few weeks aga we were in Orlando for the NAPO Conference. I have been to four prior conferences and it’s always a fantastic week of learning, sharing ideas, collaborating, networking and fun. This year was no different, but this year is different with A Red Bench. We had a booth in the expo hall and it was like attending conference from a completely different perspective. I was a great week and I can’t wait to get back to the office and implement some new learning’s.

But, if you are not at conference this week, do yourself a favor and start saving now for next year. If you save $100 per month that should do it. As Standolyn Robertson said in the conference registration brochure. “Attending conference is not an indulgence – its and investment in your practice.” At conference, you can network with other organizers and learn how they are managing their businesses and learn, learn, learn from veteran organizer. Why re-create the wheel. Plan to attend NAPO Conference ‘10 in Columbus, Ohio.

NAPO Conference Recap Day #4

Christa — Sat, 02 May 2009 16:14:06 +0000

It’s Friday and we had a great day yesterday. It was so much fun hanging out with everyone last evening. The Expo is open most of the day today so Angela and I are spending much of our time at the booth. Response to A Red Bench has been fantastic. Thank you so much for stopping by our booth and we can’t wait to work with you.

I started off the day with the panel of organizers called “Business Dreams Do Come True!” There were six organizers on the panel and it was very interesting to hear how far they have come. We learned how the panelist created successful businesses by following their instincts, making mistakes (and learning from them), adjusting their work environments and marketing themselves. They also talked about the challenges with the economy.

My second session of the morning was “Become a Blogging and Podcast Genius.” I do love blogging; I was afraid of it at first, because I was concerned with the amount of time it would take and I was not sure what I would say. But hey, what do you know. I have a lot to say and really enjoy expressing myself in this way. Sara Bereika was the speaker and she was about 7 months pregnant. She was so cute and I give her a lot of credit for taking this on right now. Anyway, I definitely learned some nuggets of info that I can’t wait to add to use to enhance my blog.

I worked the expo in the afternoon and had some time to meet the other vendors. A few of my favorites were: The Container Store, Organized Greetings, Recipe Nest, Clearly Noted from Discover Organizing , Pixily and the Clutter Free Box. I am already anxious to get to learn more about these products and services.

The day ended with a reception in the exhibit hall for the Organizer Choice Awards and raffle prizes and giveaways. I can’t remember who won all of the awards, but I know we were in the category of best service. Many people told us they voted for us; thank you so much. The NSGCD won and we all know the reasons why. Congrats to you! We were so excited when our raffle winner was announced. We donated a free attendance to the Social Media TeleSummit on June 9 and 10. The winner was Debbie Bauman of Totally O in Portlant, OR and she was really excited. Its always good when someone is hoping to win your prize. We look forward to working with Debbie!

Another conference day has come to an end and I can honestly say I am exhausted, but inspired by the day. We are going to order a pizza and soak our feet in the hot tub. Can’t wait for that.

Conference Recap Day 3

A Red Bench — Fri, 01 May 2009 04:55:02 +0000

It’s Thursday and the conference has begun. It started with the opening of the Expo Hall so I was at our booth with bells on. We had such a super day in the booth. So many new faced and so many members introducing themselves from all over the world. We launched the Social Media TeleSummit and everyone is so excited about the line-up of experts. Thank you so much for your support!

Angela had a leadership meeting with the board members of each NAPO chapter and then off to the Ask The Organizers Panel. This panel is always fantastic; everyone has so many of the same questions and they get answered by veteran organizers who have paved the way and learned a great deal over the years. We are so proud of Lauren Halagarda, an A Red Bench member, who is a panelist and a NAPO Conference speaker this year. I was a panelist in 2005 and I can remember how nervous I was so be sitting in front of my peers. Lauren did and amazing job! You go girl!

Our opening keynote speaker was Scott McKain, author of “What Clients Really Want.” He was amazing and he actually brought me to tears in his presentation. One of the comments he made was “If you have not done everything you could possibly do to build your business, your problem is not the recession, its business development.” Wow!

I excitedly went to my first education session which was 7 Proven Steps To Designing Workshops Participants Will Love. It was outstanding. I got a few little nuggets I will be sure to use in my next workshop. When its not 1am, I will write more details, but its too late now and I have to be at the booth in a few hours.

After the session, it was back to the Expo Hall, a cocktail reception with all the CPO’s and then…. well…. yeah…. it was back to the bar. It’s Orlando and conference…… hey THE RICH BROOKS was in the house.

Good night!