SOS! #SmallBusinessRelief for Jana

Jana Hartwell Sensible Organizing Solutions, Inc. is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Dear friends, family, neighbors, clients and other generous people who are moved to contribute to a worthy cause...

Since 1998, I've been helping smart, busy, sometimes overwhelmed people declutter and organize their time and spaces. The cover photo is of me decluttering and organizing an office a few years ago (used with client's permission).

The name of my business is Sensible Organizing Solutions, Inc. During the past year and several months, well... you know... "It who shall not be named" happened to the world. Many small service businesses suffered, including that of yours truly. Since my Professional Organizing business is typically very hands-on, up close and personal, retaining even 30% of my usual income was difficult since it was only possible for me to work with a few clients (mostly virtual) during quarantine months. Yet, living expenses increased, along with many additional medical expenses for me and two sweet cats that have since passed away--one, very recently.

My cats, Sable and Apple, when they were alive & healthy... Their look says,

"Hey, respect our privacy, will ya'?"

Along with several thousands of $$$ spent on Vet/Hospital expenses for these two lovelies, there were many surprise medical/hospital expenses for me as well. Beginning in 2019, I was forced to undergo several urgent surgeries to remove pre-cancerous cells in some very delicate places. The post-op healing periods resulted in many months of me not being able to drive, lift, or exert myself. This year, during a follow-up visit, more bad cells were found and I had yet another surgery to remove them.

So, in addition to the COVID time-off from earning income, during much of 2019, 2020 and during two months of 2021, I was also very limited in earning income. To add insult to injury, last year I was diagnosed with Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. These two auto-immune disorders have complicated my ability to sustain energy and have increased chronic pain. Each day is different, depending on the flare-ups. Sometimes, by late afternoon, it's all I can do not to crawl into bed from pain and exhaustion. This has humbled me, greatly, as for most of my life, I was proud of being the most productive, energetic person I know!

However, much of my time has not been wasted and there have been many blessings. During the pandemic shut-down months, I spent quite a bit of time volunteering to help neighbors and community causes (anything that I could do virtually or by taking careful safety precautions). This work has been very satisfying but has not paid my bills. I've been staying afloat with government PPP loans, an SBA loan, excellent credit and my savings. I'm now counting on the "what goes around, comes around" principle to pay it forward in my direction.

As the world reopens, I have been researching opportunities to regain lost income, in addition to what may be earned from new and returning clients. Did you know there is a #SmallBusinessRelief grant designed to match $500 to my first $500 raised on GoFundMe? $500 is a very good start!

Do I dare to ask for more? Yes. I'm going to ask for a little more, despite the risk of being judged by those who don't care to understand the complexities of my position. Although my ask is not enough to take care of all expenses mentioned above and listed below, whatever is given will be directed towards one or more of these BUSINESS goals:

1) Rebuild my very outdated website ($3,000-$5,000),

2) Hire a part-time assistant to help with some physically demanding client projects and/or admin tasks ($10,000 - $20,000),

3) Pay off an SBA Small Business Loan ($25,000) and

4) Continue paying some business operating expenses ($10,000+) incurred during the past year.

If you are led to contribute funds to help revive my small, one-woman-owned service business, I will be in a much better position to continue using my special skills, talents, education and experience to help others who are in desperate need of improving their living and working environments.

Please donate any amount or pass this request along to those who may be in a better position to give at this time. If you are a CLIENT or PAST CLIENT reading this, I would much rather you HIRE me to HELP YOU with your decluttering and organizing needs. Whatever I am unable to do, physically, can be done by an organizing colleague that I trust, under my supervision.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration and belief in me.

Jana, organizing a garage in 2018...