Today we’d like to introduce you to Nira Jones.
Hi Nira, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
With a neat freak for a mom, I inherited my skills at an early age my childhood wasn’t perfect, but as the only girl and oldest of 5 children, my mom made it her duty to teach me how to clean and maintain a household. I remember my mom always called home from work on her rough days to tell us “My house better be clean by the time I get off” or “I don’t want to come home to a dirty house after working all day, y’all better clean up”.
Those statements stay with me as I journey through life, parenthood, and even as a businesswoman. Sometimes I catch myself saying those same lines to my own children or referencing those moments during my consultations, the irony right? Most of us can agree that we feel much better starting and ending a day with a peaceful and clean home which is what I aim for at the end of every project.
I always had a niche for organizing closets just didn’t realize I could turn it into a profession until 2018 after I surprised my cousin with a completely organized closet while she was at work. I colored-coded all the jeans, blouses, dresses, purses, and shoes. There was a pile of clothes thrown on the closet floor but knowing my cousin is a single mother with a 1 year old, working 2 jobs day and night I didn’t judge her because I knew she was always tired and would appreciate the help.
Amazed by my work she turned to me and said, “Just start the business already you are really good at cleaning and finding places to put everything, I’ve been telling you this for years”. I finally considered the idea and started to think of business names with my best friend and we came up with “Maid” to “Stage”.
The following weeks later I booked my cousin as my first client and organized a couple of other friends’ closets for content. I didn’t want to start a typical cleaning company because I don’t have the stomach for all levels of cleaning needs (lol) but I needed to combine my passion for a clean home, organization, and staging all in one the name “Maid to Stage” was perfect. My best friend’s mother helped me come up with that.
I figured I was ready to finally do it! So I started my Instagram page post a couple of pictures/videos of my work, and asked a few friends and family to repost my content, but didn’t receive any inquiries. At this point in my journey, I didn’t know anything about marketing and was learning how to define my craft. I was really devastated no one reaches out to me I became discouraged, unmotivated and scared to try again so I stop for almost 2 years.
Knowing someone’s struggles and challenges always brought me joy when I’ve taken one less burden off their shoulders. I love that feeling which is why I knew had to find the courage to start a business. It wasn’t until towards the end of October 2020 that I gained the courage and took my first leap of faith relaunched and officially registered “Maid to Stage, LLC”. After seeing so many entrepreneurs raise from the COVID-19 pandemic, how can I not be motivated or inspired?
I wanted to keep fighting for my business, my passion was hard work I did a lot of research and created a marketing plan within 2 months I booked 10 clients with various packages. During my research, I discovered there aren’t many black-owned professional organizational companies in Baltimore, MD which motivated me even more. It gave me hope for growth and success with the opportunity to pave my own way within my community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not all time, I’ve had some good and bad days as a business owner but the real challenge was attempting to run my business and work a 9-5 job in corporate. I struggled with time management and wasn’t able to execute marketing plans, follow up with clients, or take on projects during the week.
For 6 months my business stopped growing and I felt limited. So this past July I took another leap of faith and resigned as a Client Relationship Manager to run my business full-time.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Here at Maid to Stage, LLC we provide professional hands-on organizational services to residential and commercial clients at a reasonable price. Rather you are a homeowner, rental tenant, office manager, or realtor we are dedicated to bringing our clients breath taking aesthetics and functionality into their space(s).
Our Professional Organizers are able to the following spaces listed below and more!
Closets
Offices
Bedrooms
Bathrooms
Pantries
Garages
Basements
Kitchens
Hours your professional organizer spends in your home include:
Customized designs + organizing solutions. We refer the right products and help you shop for them. Communication with you by phone or email up to two weeks after the session. Arranging appointments with other service providers.
Your space will be decluttered, cleaned, organized, and re-designed to give you a more functional space.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I like to play video games, and growing up with all boys was one of the view ways to bond with them. We still play with each online from time to time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maidtostagellc.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/maidtostage?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaidtoStage/
