If you happen to be one of those deluded souls who think "professional organizer" is something "Desperate Housewives" do in retirement, think again. Demand for professional organizing services has been booming since the early 1990s, growing at the rate of 40% a year through that decade and currently climbing about 20% annually, according to the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).

NAPO itself is testament to the industry's vibrancy. Founded in 1995, it now counts some 2,500 professional organizers among its membership, up 40% over the past year alone. U.S. News & World Report recently designated professional organizer as one of its picks for "Best Jobs for the Future," and Entrepreneur's Business Start-Ups magazine ranks it as one of its "10 Top Businesses."

For Duggan, professional organizing is a business that's all about creativity. "I like to think about creativity as inventiveness," she says. "Each client is different, each situation is different. Whether you're a dentist, a plumber or an accountant, you need to listen to each person and develop a plan for that person-that's where the creativity and inventiveness come in."

Successful organizing at the professional level starts with asking the right questions, Duggan says. She tries to zero-in on the room or area of the house or office that is giving a client "the biggest stomachache." Eliminating that stomachache frees up the client to shift energies formerly focused on sorting through piles of paper or searching for car keys to more creative and productive pursuits.

Demand for organizing services is climbing at a rate of about 20% a year.

First, she sorted through her neighbor's jumbled morass of papers, finding records for home and business randomly intermixed with each other. She sorted them out and created separate filing systems for the neighbor's home and business.

Noting that it's crucial for a business owner to stay on top of cash flow, expenses, the effectiveness of various marketing tactics and similar matters, Duggan computerized those things for her neighbor's business with an off-the-shelf software program.

COLOR-CODED SYSTEM

"I had no idea organizing was even a profession," she recalls. But the friend told her about NAPO, and Duggan attended one of the group's seminars early in 2002. She continued working with her neighbor for about a year-and-a-half and then began picking up other clients. She joined NAPO and got involved with the Chicago chapter, which numbered about 80 members at the time. In retrospect, she sees that as one of the best things she could have done for her budding enterprise.

"I surrounded myself with organizers who had been in business for several years, almost like a sounding board," she relates. "I was able to run ideas past them and get their input; those women really helped me and continue to do so. They helped me realize that professional organizing is a career, and that professional organizers can, indeed, be successful."

That offhand remark by Duggan's friend was just one of several incidents occurring in her life about the same time. Collectively, they provided the critical mass necessary to prod her into taking the plunge into starting a business.

One incident was a phone call from her accountant telling her she should open a SEP-IRA, a specialized kind of retirement account available only to the self-employed. "That phone call was such an eye-opener for me," Duggan recalls. "I hung up the phone and literally jumped around the room, laughing. I realized for the first time that I was-and am-self-employed."

Successful organizing at the professional level starts with asking the right questions.

The final development in the conspiracy of coincidences leading to Duggan's aha moment was her decision to hire a life coach. It was a decision she today believes changed her life for the better, boosting her confidence, making her more goal-oriented and energizing her to take the actions needed to achieve those goals.

KARMA FACTOR

Duggan loves what she does, and her business is growing. But make no mistake about it: It is a business, and she has encountered challenges, made mistakes and learned from all of it along the way.

One of the biggest challenges she and other professional organizers face is educating clients that they're not housekeepers or maids. "You really need to be firm" on this point, she emphasizes. It's critical that expectations on both sides of the transaction be clarified up front, something Duggan says she first learned from her former boss while working in the corporate world.

Marketing is also a concern. Duggan is meticulous about tracking the results of every ad she runs, every presentation she gives at a library or community center. "You need to track all your leads and quantify them, so you know how you gain business," she advises.

Dealing with feelings of isolation when she first started the business was difficult, but having the support of like-minded associates through NAPO and her informal advisory board was a big help. "That support has really buoyed me up when I needed it most," she says, adding that she now tries to give something back by offering the same kind of support to newcomers in her profession.

Getting a handle on the proper way to price her projects was a trial-and-error process, Duggan admits. In the beginning, she had a tendency to "give it all away" at the first session, but she soon developed a more balanced approach. An eye-opener was when a client asked what her rate was. When Duggan told her, the client's response was, "I thought it would be three times as much!"

That made Duggan realize she was under-pricing her services. "If you offer a professional, important service to others, you need to charge properly," she says today. "Don't sell yourself short." She also counsels maintaining boundaries between your business and personal life: "Avoid doing work for family or friends; refer them to your colleagues instead."

You need to track and quantify all your leads, so you know how you gain business.

"To me, that quote really ties in with getting organized and creativity," she says. "I truly believe that when there's time to lie in the sun or take a nap, ideas pop into your head. And those ideas are, literally, your creations. Getting organized frees you up to do more important things-to create."