When I launched my organizing business in November 2014, well-meaning friends and business associates gave me the same advice: “You must have a Facebook page for your business.” I was a new business owner and eager to do all the right things to get my service offering out there. Up until that point I had been a casual Facebook user with fewer than 150 “friends” in my database.
I took my time deciding on whether or not I wanted to: (a) make the effort, (b) carve out the time and (c) deal with the interruptions that I witness Facebook (FB) causing with other users. Instead of being sold on setting up a business page, I decided to bow out of FB completely. I would like to share my reasons with you.
People misbehave. I hear friends talk about their FB pages and how certain hot topics can become blown up and inappropriately handled with bad language and knee-jerk reactions. No thank you, not interested!
Breaking up with friends by “unfriending.” Really? Is this what our modern technology has come to? Instead of picking up the phone and talking it out, with one click you can cut that person out of your online life and be done.
Time sucker. There are enough interruptions from texts and e-mails on our cell phones, iPads, laptops and desktops. If I became distracted with all the social stuff that goes on I would never get any work done. If I want to catch up with a friend, I pick up the phone and call them or send them an e-mail.
Fear of missing out (FOMO). During my workday I come across many interesting people who tell me about the podcasts and music they listen to, the games they play online, and the YouTube videos they enjoy. If I spent as much effort on my electronic media, I would never get any work done, make money or have free time to enjoy my personal life after work hours. If I am not the first to hear that another celebrity tweeted a nude photo of their behind, I think I will survive another day.
I’d rather just live my life and not feel like I have to share every hamburger grilled, new dress purchased, fun event with my family and salad eaten with a world that is already on electronic overload.
I understand that there is a time and place for FB. People live far away from parents/children/loved ones…for them it works. But I’d rather pick up the phone or send a photo via my iPhone before I broadcast my everyday experiences to the world, or at least my 150 so-called “friends.”
Almost two years after my launch, I am in the position of having a full calendar, a database of satisfied customers who are long-term users of my services and a pipeline full of prospects who are waiting in the wings to get started organizing with me. If you are feeling pushed into putting your life or business out there, I suggest that you listen to your heart and your head. Do what you feel is the right decision for you, not what everyone is telling you to do.
You can be a successful business owner as well as live a satisfying and fulfilling life without having to put everything on public display. By doing great work, staying front and center with your marketing plan and living your private life as truly private, you have saved yourself time and kept your focus on what is important to you, not what is important to others.
Happy Organizing!
Eileen Bergman is a Professional Organizer, a proud member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD). Eileen may be reached at 973-303-3236 or [email protected].
