Go with the 'FLO' to get organized
TRACEY PRINCIOTTA
THE PATENT TRADER
(Original publication: March 17, 2005)
Don't be surprised if you see Mount Kisco resident Pam Socolow touting the benefits of getting organized on the Oprah show sometime soon. The busy and energetic mother of two is the creator of the Family Life Organizer, or FLO as she likes to call it, and she's got big plans for her brainchild.
The organizer is a three-ring binder with labeled tab dividers with pockets and preprinted 8.5 x 11 sheets with everything from a calender to family emergency numbers to school information to family activities. The binder has a colorful, white, green and purple-striped hard cover with the name in the center. The basic binder kit sells for $24.99, with extra sections, dividers and packets ranging from $1 to $12.
Describing how she got started creating the organizer, Socolow said she always used binders to organize professional and personal information. She worked in advertising in New York City for 15 years at companies such as Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide and Elizabeth Arden Inc., before leaving the rat race in 1998 to concentrate on family - husband, Brian, is a trademark attorney in New York City and son, Kevin, 9, and daughter, Katie, 6, attend Chappaqua schools. She also did consulting and started a media planning and buying company from home.
"Being an at-home mom is just not my calling," she said. She started working part-time and realized she needed to get more organized.
"It just hit me one day that I could do this and create a generic version for everybody," she recalled on a sunny morning over latte at Starbucks in Mount Kisco (with a bonus celebrity sighting of Billy Baldwin).
Socolow conceived the concept in February 2003, and by that summer she was working on it full-time. In October she launched her Web site and on Dec. 1, 2003, she held her first Family Life Organizer in her hands. She spent the next several months publicizing and marketing the product and said by August 2004 she was clocking 100 orders a day through the Web site.
The big break came when the organizer was featured as the "Solutions/Product of the Month" in Real Simple magazine.
'A network of resources'
Speaking with Socolow about her creation, it's easy to see how much she believes in it and is driven to promote it.
An astute businesswoman, thanks to her advertising and marketing background, Socolow has also taken advantage of a large web of supporters. "I found a network of resources through Westchester County friends," she said. Local women who have left their careers to raise families "are still very talented," she continued. "There is a tremendous network of talented women."
Socolow also uses the Mount Kisco office of Westchester ARC, an organization that helps adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, to manufacturer, assemble and package the product.
She centered the binder around back-to-school because other mothers she knew always complained about how much clutter came home during that hectic time.
Socolow said she chose the binder format because it allows for flexibility in adding other information; just three-hole punch it and put it in.
"You always know where to go to get things you need," she said of the organizer.
While some of the inserts are geared toward children and school activities, Socolow tried to keep it very generic and flexible.
"Other organizers are geared to just one person. This is for everyone to use," she said.
Leah Cohen of Chappaqua started using hers after being given one by Socolow.
"I am a chronically unorganized person," she said. "It has helped save me, personally, so much time."
Cohen, who works part-time as an attorney, finds the organizer helpful in keeping all of her papers in one place.
"It's made a big difference in getting rid of the clutter that is a huge part of my life," this mother of two said. "There is so much information coming in all the time."
Most recently the organizer has helped Cohen keep track of camp information for her 12-year-old daughter, Jessica, and 7-year-old son, Luke.
"It gives you peace of mind to have information written down in a central location," Socolow said. "So if questions come up about a child's schedule and mom - the traditional repository of such information - isn't around, another family member can just look in the organizer.
"We're constantly juggling and scheduling," Socolow continued. "There's a tremendous amount of information we have to remember."
Taking care of business
As with any new business, Socolow said she experienced some growing pains. She sold out of her first shipment of organizers faster than expected and had to reorder more within two to three weeks. In hindsight, she said she should have placed another order immediately. She also had to hire help to answer the phones and pack boxes.
The product has changed some since it was first introduced. The binder had a soft cover, but Socolow changed it to a hard cover. She also increased the quality of the paper used for the inserts.
Currently, about 90 percent of Socolow's business is Internet-based. However, according to this Louisville, Ky., native, she has been working with Barnes & Noble since November to produce and carry the organizer.
The organizer has garnered a few awards: a National Parenting Publications Gold Award and a National Mail Order Association Category award.
Socolow's organizer isn't the only one getting national attention. Fans of HGTV (Home and Garden Television) may recognizer her from a recent episode of "Mission Organization." She came in as a professional organizer - she's an associate member of the National Association of Professional Organizers - to help one family transform a home office from a mess into a functioning work space.
Apparently the network liked her work; Socolow was asked to come back and do a second show that will air March 24.
While it was something different to do the "Mission Organization" shows, Socolow said she is more interested in focusing on her own business.
She'd like to expand the line to include a CD-ROM as well as other organization products.
And, of course, she'd love to reach an even wider audience, perhaps with the help of Oprah and her popular daytime talk show.
Socolow predicted, "This is just the beginning."
Reprinted with permission from www.HGTV.com.
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