Professional decluttering expert Beks Holmes on why “I have been my own worst customer!”

Women to Watch

18 Jan

After battling burnout and a downturn in the economy, professional declutterer Beks Holmes has learnt to implement boundaries in her business.

She loves supporting women to create spaces they enjoy, and meeting other businesswomen in her journey!

What’s your biz?

I help people declutter and organise their homes!

Who do you work with?

My ideal customer is a working mum. She's seen her kids through several ages and stages and is at the point where she wants to reclaim some space in her own home.

We work on decluttering first, moving along those things that are no longer wanted or needed. Then we move onto organising - we create household systems that EVERYONE can take responsibility for maintaining, so the load doesn't just fall on mum's shoulders.

Our sessions are fun, energising, and effective. We are an "iron fist in a velvet glove" - this means we keep things moving even when the going gets tough, but we do this with empathy, kindness and absolutely zero judgement.

What sparked the idea behind your business?

I'm not naturally an organised person, but over the years have developed a bunch of strategies to keep myself in check so my home and life don't descend into (too much!) chaos.

I left a successful career in comms and marketing to have my son, and realised I didn't want to go back to the corporate world. It seemed like a great idea to give this professional organising business idea a go, when he was 6 months old. That was 7.5 years ago!

What does a typical day look like for you as a business owner?

I've gotten MUCH better at creating a clear delineation between business and personal life. The majority of my working hours are spent on client work, which means that emails etc happen during home / family time.

I won't say that I've cracked the system, but I'm proud to say that my days of working late into the night are behind me.

I've gotten more discerning about what is important and requires action, and lowered the demands I place on myself. In the past I have been my own worst customer!

What are some of the key milestones in your business journey so far?

I think surviving in business for almost 7.5 years in quite a small niche is an achievement!

I'm super proud of myself for launching an off-shoot business called Clutter Collect - when I launched there was nothing like it anywhere in the world.

To conceive of something completely new, create a business model, launch it, get customers and then repeat customers is pretty epic. In turn, Clutter Collect has also been at the heart of one of my greatest challenges, and is definitely the business model I have learned the most from.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced so far?

I signed a commercial lease at the peak of business busy-ness; that lease became a millstone around my neck as the economy started to go down the drain. My natural tendency towards optimism kept me from cutting my losses sooner, and the toll my overheads took on me was immense.

I came VERY close to shutting down my entire business. I'm still standing but I've dialled business operations right back to try and regain some sense of self. The lesson I've learned in this (I hope) is to fail faster and not let my ego / results / stubbornness get in the way of sensible business decisions..

What are you most excited about in your business right now?

It sounds silly, but I'm excited to get back to basics and start having fun with my business again.

I've danced with burnout for more than a year now whilst in business survival mode, and have really lost momentum when it comes to visibility and sharing my ideas.

I'm looking forward to regaining that mojo and momentum, and getting back "out there" in a more sustainable way.

What’s worked best for you to build brand awareness and get customers?

In person networking and social media were critical in the early days. I had a lot of fun on my social media especially and really enjoyed the content creation side of things.

Other than that, being bloody good at what I do means that I get a lot of referrals from my customers.

What is one of the important lessons you've learnt as a business owner? What advice would you share to someone starting out?

Take the time to understand your accounts. As a person who has always struggled with numbers, I resisted this for too long.

Despite having the best coaches showing me the ropes, I didn't really dive deep and understand until last year when I realised that despite earning more than ever, my finances were not in a good way.

Oh and keep it simple! In every possible way. This is always good advice!

How does being a part of She Owns It help you in your business journey?

The connections I've made in She Owns It have been amazing. I've made friends, met providers, attracted clients and given referrals to the wāhine in this community. Even though I've largely lurked for the last 12 months, it's still a community that I love. The directory is still the first place I look if I need a new service or product - the talent pool there is incredible.

⚡️ FAST 5:

1. One thing you’d tell your younger self starting out?
Always keep a buffer in your bank account for the lean months.

2. Your favourite biz or personal development books or podcasts?
How I Work by Dr. Amantha Imber, Got Marketing with Mia Fileman, and Sell With Confidence by Natalie Tolhopf.

3. How many tabs do you have open right now?
OMG. 14!! And those are mission critical... I closed another 10+ tabs just before I started this!

4. What's your go-to power song?
"What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes

5. A quote you love and why?
If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sun beams and you will always look lovely." Roald Dahl