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Golden Interviews

Interview with Angelique Joseph

By Sharon Arena – Angelique Joseph ONE ORGANIZED ANGEL

Just from the name alone “The Organizing Angel”, I knew this woman was put in front of me for a purpose. But before Angelique Joseph started her white-glove concierge agency, she spent time in the corporate world.

Angelique was born in the Caribbean, raised in New York, and settled in Ridgefield, CT 3 years ago. She has over 15 years experience managing firms and advising C-Suite executives in a wide range of industries including pharmaceutical, advertising and marketing. Her talent for meticulous attention to detail quickly earned her a reputation of being the go to person to get things done. This led to many high profile responsibilities that included project management, personal assistance, office management; the list goes on and on.

Recently, Angelique felt the need for a change; she felt unfulfilled and began losing that signature passion and fire she was known for, but it was a health scare which became the wake up call that she needed to take a step back and reassess her path. Like most born-entrepreneurs, she asked herself what the next phase was. “What am I good at?” she asked herself. She quickly found that she was excellent at viewing someone else’s life and bringing order to it. Soon, The Organizing Angel was born.

“I’m really good at bringing order to someone’s life,” said Angelique. Soon after opening shop, she found that there was a true need for her services. A large portion of her business comes from word-of-mouth, and what started off as friends recommending her to their friends quickly turned into clients recommending her to their friends and family.

But, not everyone is ready to jump from a corporate role to entrepreneur, so I asked Angelique what the transition has been like?

“It can be stressful at times, but it’s a different kind of stress,” said Angelique. “In my former roles, the stress of the job sometimes felt like a weighted burden. I felt stuck and hopeless. On the other hand, I see entrepreneur stress as a delicious challenge – I’m always excited to figure things out, get creative, go out of my comfort zone, find a way to get to the next level. This has led to my personal growth and that growth has allowed me to be of service my clients at much a higher level.”

I certainly agree. As for anyone starting a business, you always want to see what you’re capable of. She now has a renewed sense of what she’s capable of, and what she can bring to the table.

“When I begin working with a client, I don’t just walk into your office or home and tell you what to do, I partner with you; we’re a team.” said Angelique. “ I come with my Mary Poppins bag, so whether its setting up your new office, procuring an IT vendor, fielding resumes, house-sitting while you’re away, making travel arrangements, personal shopping or decluttering -whatever you need from soup to nuts”

Angelique says organizing and planning has been rewarding. It’s almost always an instant gratification for the people she’s worked with. Many of her clients are parents, retired, executives and entrepreneurs – and distance doesn’t matter. She has clients in Ridgefield, Greenwich, Pound Ridge, New York City, as well as other parts of the Country. She employs video conference meetings with some clients to help them stay on top of their needs and goals. She loves the challenge of what each and every new client brings to the table.

When it comes to her clients, going the extra mile isn’t an option she provides, it’s a done deal.

One client she worked with requested her help planning his proposal to his girlfriend. He gave Angelique a specific image he had in mind, which included proposing in Paris. Angelique immediately got to work. She flew to Paris and arranged everything from the location to the decorations. “It was a life changing event for him and he wanted it to be perfect, I couldn’t trust doing this over the phone.”

Angelique’s services aren’t always about organizing or decluttering – it’s about giving her clients the best service possible, whatever that is. She learns from each client and each project. She then uses that new found knowledge to get better.

The projects she’s hired to do aren’t always romantic, but they’re always satisfying. After losing a parent, a client contacted Angelique to help her with the difficult task of clearing out the home to put it on the market. Angelique got right to work. Taking it step by step, she helped her client go through the house, a little at a time at a pace that they could handle, but kept them moving forward. Soon, with Angelique’s patience, her clients were able to step into the house on their own to finish cleaning out the home. “Sometimes, the job is less about the task at hand and more about the emotional impact behind it. Sometimes, part of my job is holding someone’s hand, letting them cry on my shoulder, being there for them and helping them get through a difficult process.”

She’s a busy lady; from event planning and house sitting (hello, she’s done the Hamptons!), to pet sitting, Angelique’s goal for the company is to eventually hire staff. But she warns, “Not anyone can organize for someone else,” she says, “it’s about the relationship you build with your client. Whether it’s a home or office, people are inviting you into their lives, and you have to respect that. This title requires that you work WITH the person; their emotions, their personality, their needs and their problem. Personal judgements and opinions need to be left at the door. It’s not about you. It’s about them”. I strive to build a long-term-relationship with each of my clients. I partner with them, I take a soft motherly approach when needed, a more stern approach when necessary, but always with my clients best interest in mind. Anyone I hire, has to have this core understanding and excel in this skill.

For someone being newer to the Fairfield County area, Angelique enjoyed her time at the Gold Coast Mingle in March. “It was fun, lively, eye opening and educational.” she said. She felt it was a great opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs like herself, and meet other established businesses where she can learn from. She loves being part of this community – especially since it has the same passion and drive as her. She is looking forward to being a vendor at the next Gold Coast Mingle event!

To learn more about Angelique or inquire about her services, you can reach her at angelique@oneorganizedangel.com or call her at 203-302-5342.

– A Golden Featured Business at Gold Coast Connect .com

Interview by Sharon Arena, of Salty Red Dog Marketing