Building Systems for a Professional Home Organizer Business in Honeybook (Case Study!)

“ Any business owner who needs a system or who gets in their way like I do, they need to join Systems in Session, it’ll be the best decision they make of 2026.” (actual words from Megan when we set up her professional home organizer business in Honeybook)

 Megan Smith is a full-time teacher, a mom of three kids, and a farm wife who solo parents six months out of the year. She also runs a professional home organizing business as a side hustle. As she says, she likes to help moms make their homes function for them so that they can spend their time doing more important things.

The truth is, I talk a lot about systems for photographers on this podcast but I love supporting all types of creative business owners. I can’t wait to share Megan’s case study with you today!

Why Megan Chose To Sign Up For Systems in Session

 I’d started my business in March 2023, but it took me until April 2025 to get a truly clear vision of what I needed from my clients: the information I needed to show up at their home and do a great job (work I could walk away from feeling happy, proud, and confident in the results).

After that, from April 2025 through the fall, I sat with it and asked myself, “How can I make this work? How can I figure it out?” In August, I started taking real action steps and began building everything out in a Google doc.

I’d been listening to your podcast for a while, and I tried to be patient with myself instead of making my usual impulse purchase. I thought about it for a long time, and I realized this was the missing piece. I’m a professional home organizer, and I didn’t want to bring anyone into my system if it was a mess. Even though I had clarity about what I wanted, I wasn’t promoting my services because I didn’t want clients stepping into a chaotic booking process. I wanted to feel proud of the process, and proud of the service I was providing.

So I finally let myself join Systems in Session.

Megan Saw an ROI On Systems in Session Within 48 Hours Of Setting Up a Contact Form

At the time, I wasn’t promoting my services because I felt like my systems were a mess. Before joining Systems in Session, I didn’t even have a contact form on my website. I didn’t want people to book me.

Then, within 48 hours of setting up a contact form in Honeybook and putting it on my website, I had an inquiry that led to a new booking!

It truly happened so fast.

Note from Colie: From there, we built every step of Megan’s client experience around getting it ready for that one client. We created the contact form, then she inquired, and we wrote the inquiry email so she could send it to her. After that, she built your booking file so you could send it along.

In a way, she was really lucky. The pace was probably faster than she would’ve chosen, but it meant she got to create each piece as she delivered it to that specific client. And she was able to see the assets in action—watching that one person move through the full journey, from inquiry all the way through the service.

Structuring Her Systems To Support Her Part-time Availability

A lot of professional home organizers offer free in-home consultations. But I have three kids, my husband is a farmer, I work full-time, and our farm is 30 miles from home. There are a lot of moving pieces, and I had to figure out how to work through those barriers so I could still serve people well.

One of the biggest barriers was getting the information I needed from clients. We set up HoneyBook to help me solve that by creating a process where clients could upload photos and videos, and I could ask the right questions upfront: what their goals are, how they use the space, what’s not working, and what they want to be different. All of that helps me come prepared and do my best work.

And as much as I’d love to sit down with every client in person and talk through what they need and what my services can provide, in this season of my life, it’s just not possible.

Creating systems that don’t require a discovery call

When it comes to discovery calls, the reality is: wherever I am during the day, it’s loud. It’s either my own kids or my 25 kids at school, and honestly, they all sound like they’re at the same volume. No matter how many there are, all you hear is kids.

Even with my 30-minute commute, when you’d think I could talk to people, I usually have kids in the car with me. And that’s just not the vibe I want for a first conversation with a potential client. They don’t need to hear me trying to keep kids quiet in the background.

So avoiding discovery calls is really about practicality. I’ll absolutely make time for a client who needs one or prefers it. But if we can gather everything we need without a call, and have it all captured digitally, on record, so I can reference it later, that’s a total game changer for how I want to run my business.

The Biggest Win in Systems in Session Was Having More Confidence In Her Systems

The biggest word for me, maybe not the only one, but a huge one, through the entire process of working with you and building everything out (and even by the end) was confidence.

It was confidence to bring people into my system… to get them in there and feel sure they’d be happy with the process. That’s the headline for my experience. That’s the hashtag for this experience #confidence.

Raising Prices And Streamlining Services

Inside Systems in Session, we didn’t just build “a system.” We truly built a profitable, sustainable process that also protected my time.

As we walked through my client workflow, we looked at the details and Colie asked: Is this worth the effort it requires? Not just, “Is it clear?” or “Is it professional?” but, “Does this make sense for the business?”

A perfect example was how I wanted to handle organizing supplies. My instinct was to itemize everything I planned to purchase: create a shopping list, list each product line by line with a price, and have the client approve it before I bought anything. In my head, that felt like clarity and transparency.

But when we looked at it honestly, it didn’t hold up. The total spend on supplies typically wasn’t high enough to justify the amount of time it would take me to create an itemized list for every job (especially because every space is different). What I’d buy for a garage would be completely different from a kids’ playroom, a kitchen, or a pantry. There wasn’t a realistic way to streamline it without turning it into hours of screenshots, forms, and back-and-forth approvals.

So we made a smarter decision: I built the cost of organizing supplies into my pricing up to a set amount. We chose that number based on what I’d actually spent on past client projects.

That one change removed an entire loop of unnecessary communication: fewer emails, fewer decisions for the client, and way less administrative work for me.

Setting up Automated Reminders in Honeybook

One of the things I truly needed from HoneyBook was automated reminders—the kind that tell me, “Megan, your client submitted this, so now you need to do X, Y, Z.” When we connected those automated tasks and prompts, it was a huge win for me.

I knew I needed it because there’s nothing I hate more than finally having time to sit down and work on my business… and not knowing what to do next. Now the next step is clearly laid out for me, right when it’s needed.

And the best part is: I learned how to set it up, so I can keep building on it and expanding it as my process evolves.

The Importance of Customized Systems (You Can Update Yourself)

I’m still using the automations exactly the way we set them up—except for a few small tweaks we noted.

We talked about adding a question about whether they have cats, and then setting up a reminder for me to take a Claritin before I go. We also discussed updating the prep form to ask clients to vacuum the space ahead of time. But aside from those updates, everything has stayed the same.

I do know I’m going to add a new offer next: a decluttering-only session. Right now, my main service is full professional home organizing, with product included, and I offer half-days and full-days for a full declutter, reorganize, and product purchase. The decluttering session would be different—it wouldn’t include product. It would focus on sorting through everything, categorizing, and downsizing.

So I need to go back and look at what we built, because that’s the next thing I want to set up. I’m just not sure yet whether I need to duplicate the whole workflow, or if I can adjust what I already have.

Note from Colie: Before we even get to the kickoff call, I always start with the big question: what are all of your offers? I have a lot of different criteria for helping someone choose which offer we’ll work on inside Systems in Session.

But if you’re deciding between two offers and you can’t quite pick one, I always choose the most complicated one. It’s easier for us to outline everything, build all the forms you need, and write all the emails. Then, if you want to “downsize” the offer later, you can duplicate what we built and remove steps—rather than duplicating something simple and having to add more steps.

When you add steps, you usually end up needing additional emails and more timeline pieces. So whenever possible, I want my clients to reduce instead of expand.

What Megan Is Most Excited After Systems in Session

I’m just excited to dive in and execute.

The way my brain works is that I love data. I love analyzing results and making improvements, so I can’t wait to get more clients moving through my system, figure out what’s working and what’s not, and keep refining things. I’m excited to improve the overall client experience and my own experience (making my life easier along the way). That’s what lights me up.

And honestly? I’m kind of ready to show it off. I want to tell potential clients: you don’t even know how smooth this is going to be for you, and how quickly your life can get easier. It’s just a few forms back and forth, and then I show up and it’s done in a day.

Systems Are Like Professional Organizing. You Don’t Want Someone to See Your Mess.

It’s so true. My systems on a Google Doc were my version of Monica’s closet (from friends).

I keep coming back to this in my head: I am organized. I’m a professional organizer when it comes to homes and classrooms. Give me a classroom and I can turn it into a self-running classroom so fast. Give me a week with 25 kids and we’ll have it working in no time.

But when it came to my client experience—the process, the forms, the timing—I would just spin my wheels. I’d get stuck trying to decide the in-between pieces: when to send what, what to say, what needed to happen next, and how the timeline should flow.

It’s always kind of funny to me that I can be so organized in a house or a classroom, but when it came to building systems for my own business, I couldn’t quite get it to click—until now.

Advice For New Business Owners In The Same Spot

I think what I’m about to say isn’t always what people want to hear because it isn’t a quick fix.

To get to the point where I had that realization, where I really knew what I wanted for my business and was ready to sign up for Systems in Session, I spent years learning. I listened to so many podcasts and read so many business book. I was educating myself and absorbing different perspectives and philosophies over time.

At the end of the day, I went to college to be a teacher. I’m not from the business world. But I have a service I want to offer, and at the core of it, my passion is helping people. So I had to do the work of learning the business side little by little, until it finally clicked.

And then, after consuming so much, I got intentional about who I was listening to. There are so many opinions out there—so many ways to market, so many ways to do business, so many ways to do everything. And part of that “marinating” season for me was deciding what I actually wanted, and then choosing mentors and resources that matched that.

So I started picking specific people for specific things. I’m going to listen to Colie when it comes to systems. And I’m going to listen to Malvina when it comes to social media marketing. You have to decide what’s right for you, and then choose the people you align with to help you get where you want to go.

I know my answer sounds like, “It’s a lot of work,” but… it is.

Making Deliberate Decisions in Your Business

Note From Colie: I love that you’re saying it’s not a quick fix, because almost nothing in business truly is. And I never want someone to jump in and hire the first person who claims they can “solve your problem.”

It matters that the solution you’re buying actually fixes the problem you have—because sometimes we think the issue is A, when it’s really B and C. So you invest in something that helps with A, but it still doesn’t get you where you wanted to go. Then you’re left feeling like you wasted money, or wasted time. That’s why I’m big on deliberate decisions—choosing the next step on purpose, with clarity.

It’s a little funny to say this out loud because I feel like I’ve done a complete 180 in the last year. Two years ago, I was doing a done-for-you model: I’d hand you a full system from start to finish—automated, comprehensive, and “future-proofed” with everything I thought you might need.

What I do better now is help you build your minimum viable system. I might be able to see what you’ll need six months from now, but I don’t want to hand it to you today if it’s just going to overwhelm you. In six months, you’ll be ready for it—and you’ll probably implement it before I even have to remind you.

“Systems in Session Truly Felt Like the Missing Piece In My Business”

Systems in Session felt like the final piece I needed to put together in my business. I don’t want to claim it’s the last piece, because I could be wrong, but that’s what it felt like for me. It took me a long time to get clear on the offers I wanted. I tried a few things over the years, and I think I’ve finally landed on it: my digital guides are one lane, and my in-home services are another.

Getting into Systems in Session and setting up HoneyBook so I can bring clients into a clear process and deliver my services… it feels like now all the parts are in place. And now I just need to plug the machine in.

The work I’m doing with Malvina on social media feels like that “plug in” moment. I’m thinking: my systems are ready, so when I pair that with consistent marketing, the flywheel should start turning and I can feel that shift coming.

But it took time to get here. I started this in March 2023, and now it’s 2026. And honestly, I really do think it takes women longer sometimes because we’re building businesses while carrying a lot of other responsibilities at the same time.

A Love Letter From Colie For Creatives in Year 2 or 3 Of Their Business

It’s not just photographers, but I know it’s especially true for them: somewhere between years two and three, most photographers hit a decision point. Are you going to run this like a business, or is it going to stay an expensive hobby?

In those first couple of years, it’s easy to focus on the creative side and not spend as much time improving the business side—not just systems, but the whole set of processes that make the work sustainable. If you don’t shift into actually running it like a business, year two or three often brings burnout. You feel like you’re putting in a ton of effort without getting the return you expected. You’re not paying yourself the salary you want, and it starts to feel like something has to change.

So between years two and three, you either commit, really commit, to treating it like a business, or you pivot and do something else.

And honestly, that’s what I hear in what you’re saying too: you’ve put in the time, you’ve built the foundation, and now everything is finally coming together. Add consistent social media to the mix, and the momentum can start to build.

Join The Next Round of Systems in Session

If you see yourself in Megan’s story, hesitating to promote because your backend feels messy, this is your moment. You don’t need another freebie or another year of “figuring it out.” You need a simple, strategic system you’re proud to invite clients into.

Inside Systems in Session, we build your minimum viable system — customized to your offers, your availability, and your real life — so you can market confidently knowing the experience on the other side is smooth, professional, and sustainable.

The next round of Systems in Session is where you stop spinning your wheels and start operating like a true business owner. If you’re ready to make 2026 the year your business finally feels aligned and organized behind the scenes, this is your invitation. Join us here.