How a little professional organising can double Singapore firms' growth

Singapore has a reputation for being one of the cleanest, safest and most efficient cities in the world. What if you could reduce the amount of time you spend looking for things and become more productive? What if making small changes by learning better organisation saved you time and money, and reduced stress levels?

We just celebrated the National Organising Week in September 2013 by showing people how to reduce, rethink, re-organise in order to live more efficiently. The event was launched in 2007 by the industry body, Australasian Association of Professional Organisers (AAPO).

AAPO statistics show that the average person spends over an hour daily looking for things. That translates into two weeks every year. So, by age 50 you could have spent over a year of your life searching for misplaced items and information!

A sobering thought for our SME culture is that the biggest burden for small business is the inability to properly service customers, increase sales and improve the bottom line because of mishandled paperwork (Ajilon Professional Staffing).

Professional organising takes many forms, from space management to corporate productivity coaching and from digital decluttering to storage solutions. As result of last year’s National Organising Week, it is estimated that the popularity of professional organising in time- and space-strapped Singapore has doubled since same time 2012. Revenue for Asian Professional Organisers has grown by 150% year-on-year.

Take for example, the specialist organising product retailer, Howards Storage World. It took 6 years from 2005 to open its first three stores, yet will have added another three between Sept 2012 and October 2013.

“Our newest store will be located at Tampines 1, opening on 7th October. It will be around 3,304 sqft, one of our largest stores here in Singapore,” added Adeline Poh, Marketing Communications Manager.

Spaceman's affordable space-saving furniture arrived on our shores just over a year ago. Within a few months its products had been snapped up by furniture giant Courts and sales in the first three months alone exceeded the target for the entire year.

Director Matt Levin divulged, “Due to the overwhelming reception, Spaceman quickly added a whole new mini-kitchen range, for those who want to save even more space.”

And it’s not just the professional organising service providers and retailers who’ve witnessed this expansion. “In terms of the growth numbers for Extra Space Self Storage Group, we saw a 12% growth in the number of customers Y-O-Y (Aug 2012-Aug 2013),” reports Daphne Lim, Marketing Manager.

Off-site storage is often used in the organising process, either as a temporary decluttering venue or a safe haven for valuable collections. 

Professional organising is in its infancy compared to US or Australia, but the business of educating Singaporeans on how to master their space and time has worked wonders for its innovators. Isn’t it time to investigate how it can reap dividends for your home and corporate workspace?

Click here for details of the annual National Organising Week 2013: https://www.asianprofessionalorganisers.com/now2013/