About Lexi Nichols
Lexi Nichols was born and raised in Bismarck as the oldest in a four girl family.
“We are a very close group,” Nichols said. “My parents and sisters have always been my No. 1 fans and have always been supportive of my dreams and aspirations.”
Q: When did you realize you wanted to start your own business?
A: I graduated from The University of Mary as an Occupational Therapist in 2018. I worked in early Intervention as an OT and loved working with families and children in their homes. Our early intervention team evaluated kiddos ages 0-3 and helped families create and reach milestone and childhood development goals that mattered to them.
One day while at home, I was going through and decluttering some of my kitchen cabinets. It suddenly occurred to me that what I was doing was organizing. Not only was this something I enjoyed and was skilled at, but it was an opportunity for a business that would be helpful and transformative for clients. Little did I know it would quite literally be lifechanging for them!
That day, November 16, 2019, I created a website and started my business. I had no idea the joy, challenges, excitement, trials, friendships, experiences, ups/downs, that come with owning a business! And I would not change it for a second.
Q: Is there a specific mentor or role model who influenced your entrepreneurial journey?
A: I was never someone who envisioned myself as a business owner. From the moment I started my business, however, my dad has been a huge influence and source of inspiration and confidence. As a (multiple) business owner himself, he was a great resource for me at the very beginning stages and has continued to support me with ideas to grow and strengthen my organizing business.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for your business?
A: I have always been an organized person. I was the friend who sat on the floor folding and hanging up clothes in my best friend’s bedroom and the student whose desk and locker were always tidy. I did not know that these tendencies/skills would lead to owning an organizing business.
Q: What steps did you take to turn your idea into reality?
A: I started without really knowing what I was getting myself into. Starting an organizing business requires very little overhead as it is on-site and service-based. I created a website and social media pages and reached out to family and friends on those platforms. I invested in education and community specifically for professional organizers very early on and remain a member of that online group to this day. This was one of the best decisions I have made in my business. In addition, I hired someone to set up my website and workflows and systems that connect all inquiries, leads, follow-ups, etc. This has been another investment that has hugely paid off for me.
Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced when starting out, and how did you overcome it?
A: One of the biggest learning curves for me was figuring out how to accurately quote projects. This is something I can now do quite easily after a short consultation, but there were a lot of jobs that felt incomplete and rushed to me. I believe if you speak with any of my first few clients, they would be incredibly gracious and tell you otherwise. I owe so much to those first, lovely clients! How did I overcome this? With experience, and with experience came confidence in my business, our skills, our results, and what we could offer and how much time it would take. When organizing is done right, it takes time and a thoughtful party who is willing to go through it all—all of it—and take the time and care to create systems that make sense and stick.
Q: Did you have a clear business plan from the beginning or did your plan evolve over time?
A: I knew I wanted to organize for busy moms and families. I love making things feel functional and easy. When you are a busy mom, “easy” and “functional” are key. I realized that my ideal clients know that time is money. And they didn’t have the time or desire to spend their precious free time organizing. But they knew the value that our services would bring to their lives. I became their solution. Long story short I knew my skills, what I could offer, and my business plan followed suit.
Q: What was the most surprising thing you learned when starting your business?
A: People are not buying a service or a product—they want to work with someone/teams they can trust and who will show up for them.
Q: What strategies or decisions contributed the most to your business’s growth?
A: Investing in people who can do things better than I can. I am very good at connecting with others and organizing, but I am horrible at so many other things that are required of a business owner. Paying people who know what they are doing has been the only way I had enough time to do what I was good at in order to grow my business.
Q: What has been the biggest failure or setback you faced as an entrepreneur and how did you learn from it?
A: Second guessing myself ever and holding onto criticism and critique too tightly. I’ve gotten a lot better at this in the past six years.
Q: What’s your leadership philosophy?
A: No matter what you do, care the most! Be a servant leader. Communicate well. Be honest. Take care of others.
Q: How do you build and maintain a strong company culture?
A: Me and my team genuinely care about our clients. We get incredibly close to them. We are in their homes and in their messes. We are doing something wrong if we don’t know them very well by the end of our time together. With that being said, it comes with the territory— that we must be incredibly caring and non-judgmental. This is very much our baseline “culture” at Organize with Lexi: Care the Most and Be Kind.
Q: What’s the best piece of business advice you ever received?
A: “You are not in control.” This is an incredibly freeing belief. My faith in God is something that I hold dearly and is an integral part of my life and, therefore my business. Living my life and running my business with the understanding that everything I have been given is a gift—and ultimately out of my control—puts everything into perspective at the end of the day regarding what truly matters.
Q: Are there any resources you would recommend to other entrepreneurs out there?
A: If I’m not listening to True Crime I’m listening to one of the following podcasts:
I use the Notes app on my phone religiously. I have a daily, running note that essentially creates a place for to-do lists, and random ideas/thoughts, and then I organize that into categories each day or so.
The CRM I use is Dubsado. I run all of my inquiries, invoices, and workflows through this system and it is so helpful for organizing leads, and clients, following up with past clients, etc.
Organize with Lexi
organizewithlexi.com
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