Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Health Insurance Options After Job Loss - Morgan Keegan Newsletter

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

With today’s economy shifting and shaking, many people are searching for health insurance options after losing their jobs.

 

Morgan Keegan’s “On Wealth” October 2009 Newsletter discusses the options a person has concerning COBRA, state programs, private health insurance, spouse’s insurance coverage, insurance through an organization and others.

 

A couple other articles are:

 

  • Protecting Yourself From Investment Scammers
  • Understanding Principal-Protected Notes & CDs
  • Ask The Experts: Should I Lay Off My Employees From My Small Business?

 

Thank you to Chris Gewin, CFP Managing Director, at the Mobile Morgan Keegan branch, who has allowed us to offer “On Wealth” October 2009 Newsletter to our readers to review.

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Law Office Relocation, Part III

Friday, June 5th, 2009

 

The move day went smoothly because the project checklist had been kept in focus during the entire project.  When you categorize the project and move lists and add the responsible party’s name to the item needed it helps each part of a relocation run smoothly. 

 

 

As each item was accomplished, the list was updated to reflect any new items needed, as well as things that came up at the last minute.  The goal was to plan ahead so that there were few last minute details to add.  Goal accomplished. The move was completed on time and in good order.  The telephones were turned on, the computers worked and the copiers were running well before the end of move day.

 

The only item remaining is to hang art, and that will be done soon. 

 

It has been said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  We agree!  Enjoy these before and after photos of the new office space. 

 

 

TIP: Phone numbers and e-mail addresses kept in one central place during any project or move make communication with responsible parties easy and concise.

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"Before" Office Entrance

"Before" Office Entrance

 

"After" Entrance

"After" Office Entrance

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"Before" Reception Area

"Before" Reception Area

"After" Reception Area

"After" Reception Area

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"Before" Conference Room

"Before" Conference Room

"After" Conference Room

"After" Conference Room

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"Before" Storage Space

"Before" Storage Space

"After" Storage Space

"After" Storage Space

The Organized Life

Friday, June 5th, 2009

Stephanie Denton

Stephanie Denton

Stephanie Denton is an organizing and productivity expert who has been featured on the front pages of both The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Her consulting and speaking clients over the past fifteen years have included individuals, small businesses and corporations such as Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.

 

Stephanie is a frequent contributor to national magazines and a longtime syndicated newspaper columnist. She has been interviewed hundreds of times on television and news programs around the country, including CBS This Morning, CNN, and MSNBC and by such publications as The New York Times, Business Week, Inc., Reader’s Digest, Family Circle, Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens and Entrepreneur.

 

Stephanie is past president of the National Association of Professional Organizers and a recipient of its prestigious Founders Award, the industry’s highest award for career achievements and industry contributions.

 

We recommend this book by Professional Organizer Stephanie Denton. Please read the brief book description below. You can click on the cover photo to place your order.

 

 

 

 

 

The Organized Life: Secrets of an Expert Organizer   By Stephanie Denton

The Organized Life

The Organized Life

“Hundreds of Proven Tips for a Less Stressful Life*A top professional organizer shares her best ideas for saving time, banishing clutter and staying organized *Gorgeous design–with beautiful full-color images and bite-sized tips this guide stands out among other organizing titles.

From overstuffed closets to towering stacks of paper, today’s busy families are hungry for information to help them win the war against clutter. This essential guide includes easy and ingenious ideas for managing every area of modern life, from photos and holidays to the garage, kitchen, home office and kids’ rooms. Packed with practical advice, this book gives readers the information they need to achieve a neat and organized home, and a happier life!”

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UCLA Offering New Class: Organizing Your Workspace

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

One of our wonderful colleagues in the organizing profession has just done a class at UCLA. Regina Lark, CEO of A Clear Path, is teaching the fundamentals of organization when it comes to your workspace.

 

The following is a glimpse to the article  about buidling job skills in which Regina was interviewed. The article is from  UCLA Today, dated May 11, 2009:

 

“When people cut through the clutter in their workspace, it makes them feel more professional and accomplished,” said Lark, CEO of A Clear Path: Professional Organizing for Home, Work, Life. “They love their new space, they feel more productive and they feel like they can find everything. Some people treat their workspaces as extensions of their home, and it comes to look very unprofessional.”
 
She recalled in-office workshops she’s led where she found herself walking into cubicles and offices littered with old food and overwhelmed by towers of paper and books.
 
“It’s a health and safety issue,” she said. “One woman had books stacked so high she had a pile of books fall on her and ended up with a lump on the head.”
 
She offered a mini-version of her course, hitting the highlights:
  1. Make sure you have time to clean. “Your space didn’t get cluttered overnight, and it won’t get uncluttered all at once. If you don’t set aside enough time, you’ll get frustrated.”
  2. Acknowledge that clearing your workspace means throwing some things away. “Ask yourself, will my life be better served with or without this?”
  3. While you clean, make temporary piles: things to toss, things to recycle, things to file and things to send to the office archives.
  4. After you clean, set up a filing system, and deal with new papers as they come to you, instead of waiting until the papers become new piles.
  5. Take time at the end of your work day to prepare your desk for the next morning.

 

“Being able to find things can save money,” Lark added. “You have no idea how much money is wasted on campus buying supplies that someone already has tucked away in the bowels of their desk.”

 

You can read the entire article here.

 

Congratulations, Regina!

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Law Office Relocation, Part I

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Recently, I received a call to help a small law firm move its offices. They were not moving far from their current location, but as I’ve learned over the years, the distance a firm is moving is not the most important thing. The same things have to be done to insure a “less stress” relocation process whether moving next door or across town.

 

With the new office space drawings in hand, we met with the contractor, the office furniture representative, the computer company, the VOIP providers and others. Planning wall removal, furniture placement and outlet spacing are some of the first things to be done. This is to ensure that when the movers arrive with the furniture, the pieces not only fit where needed, but they also have phone and electrical outlets available in the correct locations.

 

Making selections such as flooring, paint colors and window treatments are next on the list. The selections for this law firm were made based on current furnishings as well as personal preferences. If you haven’t managed this type of commercial move before, this is a great time to get someone to help who is good with colors and textures. Sometimes that helpful person is an ASID Interior Decorator and, sometimes, it’s the guy at the paint store!

 

Here’s a tip - if you need to match paint color and can’t remember the number from the old paint can, take off a light switch cover and remove a small paint sample. Most good paint stores will be able to match from that sample.

 

Now that the initial plans have been made we will begin the demolition phase of the job soon. I will keep you posted as the project progresses.

 

See the pictures below of the new office space … taken after meeting with the contractor but before renovations.

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"Before" Office Entrance

"Before" Office Entrance

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"Before" Reception Area

"Before" Reception Area

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"Before" Conference Room

"Before" Conference Room

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"Before" Storage Space

"Before" Storage Space

Professional Organizers - The Old Hybrid?

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

I found an old article about what we do at OAI.

How old? August 1997!

Is it still relevant? YES!

 

Title: Organizers Clear Out Company Clutter

 

It talks about improving proficiency, getting organized and increasing efficiency in the business environment. Here are some snipets:

 

“Professional organizers now are a hybrid mix of interior designer, schedule adviser and occupational engineer. Throw in a little psychology and lots of common sense, and a fairly accurate image of the modern-day professional organizer comes into focus”

 

“I go in and look at the job, then determine the client’s needs based on what the client tells me,” Ms. Donald said. “Some have space needs, some have systems needs. Some just need to maintain or regain control of their clutter.”

 

“Every office has to be organized differently,” said Ms. Donald.

 

“If I had suggested the same organization with Equity Technologies that I have for this client, it would have caved in.” she said.

 

Equity Technologies is a fast-growing Mobile business run by Cathy Anderson-Giles, who retained Ms. Donald several months ago.

 

“We started out about seven years ago warehousing equipment for companies,” Ms. Anderson-Giles said.

 

As the company and related enterprises grew to more than 50 employees, Ms. Anderson-Giles said she needed to delegate more responsibility to her staff and reorganize her office operations.

 

She heard about Organizing Associates Inc. through a sister-in-law whose professor at [the] University of South Alabama had hired Ms. Donald.

 

“My sister-in-law was very impressed with the changes she saw in the way the professor was handling classes, meetings and schedules,” Ms. Anderson-Giles said. “Lee came in and studied the way we disseminate information, the way we communicate with each other and with customers. The main thing she helped me do personally was change my focus from being a manager to being a leader. She really helped me with that transition.”

 

According to Stephanie Denton, the national chairperson for NAPO who will be among the speakers at the upcoming conference in Point Clear, professional organizers assist everyone from the homeowner who can’t seem to get a garage straightened out to major corporations going through mergers.”

 

 

Click here to view the entire article with pictures.