Rising Stars: Meet Leigh Achenbach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leigh Achenbach.

Hi Leigh, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My husband was stationed in Los Angeles with the Air Force in 2016. It was the perfect time to really think about the direction I wanted to go with my career. I was an entrepreneurship major in college and have always been interested in owning my own business, even though I wasn’t quite sure what kind of business I would be in. When we got to LA, I took lots of online personality and career tests to see if I could get any direction and the same trait kept coming up – organized. I started researching how I could use that talent in a job, and that is when I discovered professional organizing. If I had known that you could get paid for organizing, I would have started a long time ago. It was the most perfect fit for me and I couldn’t believe I had never known about it! I decided that since our time in LA was short, I would focus on learning as much as I could, work for other organizers, and develop and business plan. So for two years, I worked as a subcontractor for different companies and developed my knowledge and my own methods of organizing. When we moved back home to Tennessee in 2018, I started Suddenly Simple Professional Organizing. I started out with two subcontractors of my own and grew to a team of ten in less than one year. Today, our team is made up of 4 employees, one of whom has been with me since day one!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My job is to calm chaos for my clients. So I am used to making things look easy while working like crazy behind the scenes. I want it to seem to the client like everything magically was taken care of. But along the way, there have been many struggles that no one knew about. This job requires a consistent flow of new clients, so the hard work starts way before I ever get to a job. Being a single-owner business can be very lonely while taking on the workload of about ten people – from marketing, accounting, product shopping, inventory, organizing, and client communication. I wouldn’t be where I am without my team, of course, but the long days and late nights working alone to make it look easy has been difficult.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We specialize in decluttering and organizing. So many of our clients are overwhelmed with stuff. We help them decide what items are important to them and set up systems so they can find and access all of their belongings. Our job is so rewarding. I love that in just a day, you can see such drastic results. We obviously create functionally beautiful spaces, but really it’s so much more than that. We help clients get the train back on track when it feels like life is getting away from them.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
If you aren’t local to the middle Tennessee area, there are others ways to connect with us. We offer personalized DIY plans where we walk you step by step on how to organize any area in your home, complete with a list of product recommendations. We also sell Keepsake File Boxes that help contain and organize all of your most precious memories. (These are so great for kids who have all kinds of art and schoolwork that you want to hold on to.) You can also follow us on social media for amazing before and after photos and all kinds of tips and tricks that you can implement in your own life. Visit our website at www.suddenlysimpleorganizing.com or on Facebook and Instagram @suddenlysimpleorganizing.

Pricing:

• In-Home Organizing: $50 an hour per organizer
• Keepsake File Boxes: Starting at $50
• Personalized DIY Plans: $250 per space

Contact Info:

• Email: leigh@suddenlysimpleorganizing.com
• Website: www.suddenlysimpleorganizing.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/suddenlysimpleorganizing
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/suddenlysimpleorganizing

Image Credits
Suddenly Simple Organizing