DBA client spotlight - From teacher to decluttering coach.

Michelle: Welcome to the empowered entrepreneur podcast. My name is Michelle Smit, and I am an ex-teacher turned online business coach for Edupreneurs, the owner of Digiteach and a six-figure entrepreneur. I am in love with empowering educators, just like you to create freedom filled online businesses and lives they love.

If you are looking to uplevel your skills, your finances, your mindset, and change the trajectory of your life as an educator in business then you are in the right place. Think of this podcast as your weekly dose of business and mindset development to help unlock the infinite potential within you to play bigger with your life and go after your dreams.

We are going to have so much fun together. Thank you so much for pushing play today. Now let's dive in.

Hello. Hello everybody. I'm so happy to be chatting to you today again. I'm happy to have you here listening in. And today I've got something exciting for you. I actually have a special guest who is a past DBA student and a coaching client of mine. And we've been working together for I don't know, over a year or so, and it's been amazing to work with her.

It's been amazing to see her transformation as well. And yeah, Jess, it's so good to have you here. Thanks for being on my show.

Jessica: Of course, thank you. Wow. I'm excited.

Michelle: It is exciting. It's wonderful. Yeah, I feel like let's just dive in. I'm going to ask you some questions. I really want to showcase the people listening what's possible for them and show what you've done and how amazing the things that you have done in your business and how you've grown essentially. So let's start off with where were you before you joined DBA? What were you doing and all of that jazz?

Jessica: Yeah, that's a great question. So I'll make it quick, but I had been living in Japan for about 13 years, I moved to the US with my husband back to the US. We started completely over and right when we got back here, I hit some big health issues, which really impacted my life, my life goals, what I was doing.

And I just literally was scrolling online, and I saw your ad and I should back up. I was teaching English online as an English tutor. So I was doing like those one on ones for $15 an hour, basically at that point. And I saw your ad and I was like, Oh, hello, what's this? It was for, I think your Educators Income Booster Bootcamp.

And I just thought, well, I'll try this out. And I did the boot camp and then I just immediately jumped into DBA and yeah, so before DBA, I was aimlessly trying to make my life work in the US. I had medical bills. I wasn't confident. I was just really lost, I would say. And then I joined DBA.

So that's what happened.

Michelle: Cool, awesome. I remember that. Was it like two, a year and a half ago, two years ago?

Jessica: It was 2022. So, okay. Yeah,

Michelle: about a year and a half, two years. Okay.

Jessica: I think I can't remember exactly, but it was about two years. Yeah.

Michelle: Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

Yeah. I remember those days. That's why I can remember where you were and where you are now and to see how much you've grown is awesome. So let's talk about. What you are doing now. It's been one and a half two years. Where are you at right now? What are you doing now?

Jessica: I started my business thanks to you, and I decided, so I am still doing some, I actually have two businesses.

You and I have talked about this. My main business though, that I'm going to talk about today is my decluttering and organizing business, which I started after DBA. And I did my course on that. So what I've done now is I have developed the course. We're working on that and I'm also doing in person and online consultations with people to help them basically get their spaces in order.

So declutter properly organize home, your items. And the most important is maintaining that space when you're done. Which is what I really like to talk about because all that other stuff at the beginning is quote, unquote, the hard work and after that, you're just home free, basically,

Michelle: Totally, totally.

I absolutely agree with that. It's like the hardest part I find. Actually, there's a lot of hard parts to decluttering, but maintenance is really, it's so easy to just go back and just keep decluttering and things like that. But it sounds, pretty epic that you have two businesses going from teaching online to having two of your own businesses.

And what have you learned? What are the skills you've learned? What are you able to do now? Since learning all of this stuff?

Jessica: That's a great question. So I can launch. I've launched 3 times and I think we're going to work on another launch coming up soon.

So I can do that. I am able to market online. I am confident at selling. Which is crazy because when I started, I literally had a minty bee break down after my first sales, that was insane. And now I'm kind of like, Yeah, I was bad. No, I'm not like, I'm not going to say I'm a hundred percent like miss sales lady, but I'm definitely more comfortable.

I sell every day on my Instagram stories. I'm pretty confident in my social media. So yeah, I think it's a whole new person. Oh my gosh, yeah.

Michelle: I'm just from the outside world. Knowing where you were, knowing where you're now, it's pretty wild. The confidence, the way you show up, the way you talk about your stuff, everything has just been amazing.

And you've been able to increase your prices and have really, in person clients that, and do really amazing things with these people and really help them change their life in some way. And so tell me what, in terms of your business who do you help in your decluttering business?

Who's that person who, you know you can help.

Jessica: Yeah. I think the person that I can help is a person who is empowered, who knows what they're doing and who has their shit together. But even though we all have our stuff together, doesn't mean we have it together in every single capacity.

Doesn't mean we have it together in every capacity. Like when I started my decluttering journey, I was a go getter. I was living in Japan. I had a full-time job. I was doing theatre. I was doing a lot of stuff, but my space was just one of those places that could really use help.

You know what I mean? And I went in, and I was like, hey, let's do this. It was challenging. I'm not going to lie, but I knew that I could do it. And it changed my entire perspective on everything. So I would say that my person is one of those people. They just need help in this particular aspect.

Just like I needed help with business. Just like somebody might need help with finances. You're a badass, but badassery can sometimes needs a boost in certain areas, if that makes sense.

Michelle: Yeah, and what do you find when working with people in the decluttering space, what do you see is the biggest challenge for them?

Jessica: I think that it's probably getting started. Is the biggest challenge and getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff that they may need to do. So that's one thing that I bring is that I'm not afraid of a bunch of stuff. Like when I see a pile of stuff, I'm excited to start getting rid of it and categorizing it, and I'm like, yes.

Big pile of stuff. Let's go. So I think that that helps people when they approach their piles of stuff that they're like, oh dear God, what is this mess? And I'm like, let's do this.

Michelle: I love that, there's not many people that I know who feel like that about stuff. When I look at a big pile, I'm like, oh, I just like those drawers, those drawers where you shove everything into the drawers.

That's one of my things, which is not good at all. And I like run away. I just can't deal with it, but it's amazing that you can do that and help people with that. Because I think getting started is huge. And also, I feel personally when it comes to decluttering, sentimental items is so difficult.

And especially if you've got a partner and you're living in the house with them, and then you've got both of your sides of clutter and also the whole thing of people like your parents and your grandparents, they always give their stuff to you, right? And then suddenly, you're like 40 years old or 50 years old or whatever, and you've got all this stuff.

And then you've got sentimentality attached to it, so it actually goes a lot deeper than just letting go of stuff. And that is why people struggle so much.

Jessica: Yes, that's a good point as well that the sentimental stuff can really get people as well. So that's something I help people work through. I have a master class in my course, Tidy Transformations Academy where I go through that gift, guilt and sentimental items kind of training. It's all about boundaries and thinking about what you want.

And what you need and setting boundaries with others about their own things. And I always tell people things are not people just because you have all your grandma's things and she's passed away. This happened to me. I had a lot of things that she'd given me, and I honestly wasn't attached to all of them.

You know what I mean? So I ended up, going through them and keeping the ones that were the most special to me and I did release the rest of them and I was able to do that without guilt because I had worked through all of those boundary issues and just because you keep something of somebody's or get rid of it doesn't really have a meaning actually.

And I know that some people may not agree with that, but you keep the things that are the most special that help you remember that person the most. But just because you get rid of something does not mean that their memory is gone. Nobody can take that away from you.

Michelle: Yeah, no, that's a good, it's a good perspective to have.

And it's quite a freeing perspective because then you can feel like you can let go of that stuff and that is really important in the decluttering journey, right?

Jessica: Yeah.

Michelle: And tell me what transformations, like, how have you helped some of your clients? Tell me about that, because that's the best stuff.

Jessica: Yeah, so I think my, one of my most dramatic ones was my client, Lori. I don't think she'll mind me using her name. She had an office that was quite a lot, she would admit it to, I think. And She just couldn't find anything. She's a university professor. She just had piles of papers everywhere.

If you go on my Instagram, you can see some examples of the space in my before and after story highlights, but she just and she really struggled letting go. She wanted to keep every single paper and at first, we would sit down, and we would go through each thing individually, but she got better and better at it and was finally able to start decluttering by herself.

And then we just completely transformed her office. It was amazing. She told before she was actually embarrassed to have people come in her office. She didn't want prospective students in there. She didn't want to have meetings. So she'd like book a meeting room and now she can actually walk in there and be like, oh, this is my beautiful space. Have a seat.

 So decluttering and organizing goes deep. It's not just about your stuff. It's also about shame. People have shame. People are overwhelmed. People may struggle to get rid of things. And that's all that stuff I help people with. That was a big one.

Michelle: It's so much deeper than what we think. I always find that it's quite cathartic and cleansing in terms of an energetic perspective. When I declutter, I always feel lighter. I always feel lighter myself. My space around me feels light. I can breathe better. And I found just from an energy standpoint, and even business standpoint, I use decluttering as part of releasing like creating space. So releasing the old and creating space for the new and that new can come in as, abundance in any way.

It could be money more sales, this, this, this, this, this I mean, over launches and things like that. Decluttering is actually from an energy standpoint, a really good idea because you're letting go of the old and you're creating actual space for new to come into your life.

And I've seen it work, like I've literally seen it work like that.

Jessica: It does.

Michelle: So you can really look at it from so many different ways. And that's why it's, I feel like it is really transformational. So I was wondering. How do you know when you have like a decluttering problem, and you need to get someone to help you?

Because it's kind of tough.

Jessica: Yeah, that's a great question. Hmm. I would say that anytime you have clutter that you are not taking care of, no matter how much it is, could be a time to reach out. For example, I had a client actually we worked online, and she had an office and she just, it was a lot like her coffee table in her office, you couldn't see the surface.

This would be a more extreme example, but like she couldn't find her things. She just a lot, it was this kind of the same situation as my other client, Laurie. And I think that when you start not being able to find your stuff stressing out, because of your space feeling overwhelming. When your desk is full of stuff or when you're surrounded by things, you're going to feel more stressed out.

And I think that people know that. I don't want to make assumptions, but I think that anytime you have the urge to do something with your decluttering and you're just not doing it because of whatever block that is. Either it's that you just don't have the bandwidth and you need that accountability or it's deeper issues that you struggle with things like ADHD or getting rid of sentimental items.

These are all roadblocks where I can help. I don't know if that was a clear answer, but there's a lot of different ways to know. If you're like me. I don't really need help because I'm a declutter coach, but to be honest, I have hired somebody to come to my house next week.

She's actually a stylist. And she does closet clean outs. And I'm very excited to work with her because I do need to go through my clothes. And it's not dire. My space is neat and clean. I'm a pretty minimalistic person, but I just was like, I really want to go through my stuff and get rid. And I know that she can help me choose the best things for my style, for my body shape. So I've actually hired her to help me. And I'm a declutter coach.

So that's what I mean.

Yeah. And I'm a big, obviously a big fan of coaching. I am a coach. I get coaching. So I would say, yeah, for all those reasons you can get help.

Michelle: Yeah, I think that that would resonate with a lot of people. And maybe they haven't figured out yet that they need that help. But if you are feeling overwhelmed, if you are feeling like you can't find stuff, all of this, and you're unable to action on creating that organization and that space, which I think for many people is very hard, then you are the person to go to. You can help them overcome their blocks and hold their hand walking that journey with them.

Because it can be an emotional one. It can be a daunting one. And getting the thing done and having someone live in a beautiful place that makes them happy. How does that affect every area of their life? If you look at their work or their friends, how does that affect that?

Jessica: Yeah, well, I can speak to myself.

When I decluttered, I hate to put labels on it. I wasn't horrible, I guess. I don't even want to say that my clutter situation was, I think, medium when I started off. Let's call it that. But when I started getting rid of that extra extraneous stuff that was just sitting around and stuffed in places.

And I realized how deep it was and how I was able to sit with some things that I hadn't known that I needed to sit with, and it was all related to anxiety. I was almost like, weighted blanket of stuff. It's like, as long as stuffs around me, I'm fine is crazy.

And so when I got rid of that, I actually was able to be okay with being just me. The stuff wasn't me; the stuff wasn't actually doing anything for me. So I was able to take action on a lot of goals that I hadn't been taking action on which is quite deep.

Michelle: That's also when you obviously started your business journey. I mean, it was, it was later.

Jessica: Yeah. But I think I told you; I looked back in my journals, and I had written, I think I want to work online. It was almost seven, eight years ago. And it was after I declutter, I was like I don't know what I want to do, but I want to be my own boss and I want to work online, and I want to do something like this.

I'm not sure. And that all started because of the decluttering.

Michelle: Wow. That's amazing.

Jessica: I know. In addition, like perks are you save money because I stopped shopping. I actually just wrote a post about this. It's going up this week on Instagram and decluttering will stop your shopping habit.

It sounds crazy, but actually getting rid of your stuff will help you stop spending as much money. Because you're going to stop and think, do I really need that? Does that go in my nice space now? And sometimes it does, but often it doesn't.

Michelle: Wow. So it's like being intentional, like that intentionality saves you money, saves you time.

Because you're not looking for stuff the entire time. You can invite family and friends over and feel proud about your space.

Jessica: Yeah.

Michelle: You can sit in your space and not feel that added level of anxiety and stress that you would have if you are in clutter or if you're surrounded by a lot of stuff.

I know personally, since I've seen the magic of decluttering. I've become a huge fan of it, but I know it's difficult. I'm quite ruthless but Mike, he's a bit more attached to his stuff. So I have to manage that. And that's a whole different ball game that you can also help your clients with is just how to manage that situation as well.

So yeah, it's pretty amazing. And tell us how you work with people at the moment. How do you help people declutter and create beautiful spaces.

Jessica: So I have my in-person service, which I know is quite a limited area. I'm in the Lincoln, Nebraska area in the US. So I will go over and help people in person.

But it's not just about that for me. It's also about coaching, which can be done anywhere. So I also do virtual coaching. I told you about my client, she actually lived in Japan. I was coaching her from the US to Japan. And I helped her through that process online. She was able to do it herself.

And one advantage about me helping you do it is that you're learning to do it. And you're going to be able to maintain it. So I'm a teacher at heart, so I love teaching. And that's one thing I love to do is help people learn how to do something so it can be done in person or online.

And I also have my online course Study Transformations Academy. I also do Voxer coaching. So if you want to add a coaching element where we just have communication with each other. I think five days a week you message me, I get back to you. You send me photos, I give you, my opinion. I have that.

And we're in the works for a membership. So stay tuned for that.

Michelle: Exciting, exciting. Yes. And tell us, in terms of online support and coaching, when it comes to decluttering and organizing. Do you feel it can be as effective in getting that transformation for that client?

Jessica: I do. yeah, I really do.

Now I'm not going to lie. It's work for the clients. It's challenging I'll call it. But I think that again, being able to do it yourself is very empowering. And I think that the transformations can be just as effective as if I come in and do it for you. And the advantage to being doing it yourself is that, again, you are more familiar with the process and probably it's going to be easier for you to maintain. That's just my opinion, but I've seen it work both ways, obviously.

Michelle: Yeah, you can't have a decluttering coach by your side, helping you declutter for the rest of your life. That's not going to make sense. So they have to learn the process and the method. And you have a very particular method.

Jessica: I do.

Michelle: And it works, and it helps with the maintenance.

It helps with the whole process, and it can be taught online very effectively. Getting your clients really amazing results, which we have seen and transmissions which is amazing. Yeah, it's really just been so cool to watch you grow, and I don't know if we mentioned this in the beginning, but you were a teacher, right?

Jessica: Yes.

Michelle: You went from literally being a teacher, to being like, hey, I'm actually quite passionate about decluttering and I want to be a decluttering coach. And then you just went on that journey, and you forged that path. You created this business from thin air, from your mind.

Jessica: I know.

Michelle: It's insane.

Jessica: I know because I did gold. And I was debating, should I do English teaching? Should I do decluttering? And I just was like, let's do it. And that's the decision. I was like, okay, now I'm an organizer.

Michelle: Yeah, and I always say when it comes to choosing a niche for your business, you have to choose a thing that you're most passionate about that you see in the long term, because this is a long-term thing that you're building.

And it's not like a short-term thing. So don't think the next year or whatever, think long term. And I remember asking you that question, I remember your immediate gut response was like, no, it'd be decluttering.

And even though that was the scarier path at that point, maybe to go for. Which is often the case, often the thing that's most in alignment often tends to be like the scarier thing to do. It's just really cool to see that you went for it you've been helping people create beautiful spaces and making their lives better. That's the gift that keeps on giving and I'm sure creates a lot of meaning for you as well.

Jessica: Yes, yes, it does. And I love, I mean, I get the same feeling when I throw a bunch of stuff in the recycling for someone else as I do for myself. I was working with my client the other day and whenever she says, okay, let's get rid of it.

I'm like, yes. And I always say love to hear it because I'm so excited to clear spaces and make them, not empty, don't get me wrong, but they breathe when they're done.

Michelle: And they are intentional, and they make you happy. And that happiness seeps into every area of your life, making your life better.

It's not a small thing. It's a big thing. It goes pretty deep and it's pretty awesome to see how far you've come. Could you tell us how those who are listening who maybe feel, oh my gosh, I would love to have support in this. I would love to reach out to you how they can reach out to you.

Jessica: Yeah, you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook. I'm mostly on Instagram though. My name is underscore Kaizenhome underscore. I can spell that, it's K A I Z E N home H O M E. Unfortunately, I had to get two underscores there.

Michelle: I'll put it in the links. I'll put it in. Thank you. For sure.

Jessica: And also, I think you're going to drop a link to book a call with me. I have my in-person slash online help. It's called serene space experience and hopefully we'll have a link to book a call with me. If you want to talk with me, that's a free call. It's a console call just to talk about how I can help you set up a plan and we can talk more details.

But also feel free to DM me if that's more comfortable on Instagram. Don't be shy. I love DMS. I love talking to people. So yeah.

Michelle: Awesome. Oh, wow. So it's been so good to have you on the podcast. And I am super proud of you for all that you have done, and I know how difficult the business building journey is. But you definitely have the grit and the character, and you've just done so much.

And it's really been amazing to watch. And I hope it inspires those of you who are listening who are in the business building journey, or maybe you're very early on and you're like, oh should I go for the thing that's makes me really happy. Use this as like testament to that it's possible for you to do it as well.

And those of you who need decluttering help, organizing help to create really beautiful spaces that make you really happy. You now know who to find, who to call, who to speak to.

Jessica: Yes. Thank you.

Michelle: Thanks so much, Jessica. And we'll chat to you soon.

Jessica: Okay. Bye.

Michelle: Bye.

Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode.

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I appreciate you so much and I can't wait to connect with you in the next episode. In the meantime, go create a business and life you love.