Kristen Christian and Lisa Foley: Passionate about Organization

Kristen Christian and Lisa Foley have been friends since their junior high days in Denver, Colorado. But when the pair moved to Kansas City and married two men who had been lifelong friends, the duo continued their deep friendship and even dreamed of going into business together. They pondered how to mesh their skillsets into successful careers that, at the same time, would help others. The concept of home organization, which was relatively untapped at that time as an enterprise, began to blossom in their minds. With that, the pair discovered one honey of a business they named Bee Organized that’s now buzzing with success.

“The honey bee is one of the hardest working insects out there, and they don’t waste anything. The beehive is organized with a function and a space. Each member of the hive has its purpose from the worker bees to the queen; it’s the perfect fit,” noted Kristen. “The bee is also a symbol of our lifelong friendship. Throughout the years, we have given each other bee gifts.”

Keeping it Simple
According to Lisa, Bee Organized specializes in helping clients “simplify their hives.” “Your hive is anything from your home, your move, your to-do list, your car, your office, your mind,” she stated. “We can simplify your hive in person or virtually.”

Bee Organized is a professional home and life organizing company that specializes in streamlining your space so that you can be more efficient, present and peaceful at home and beyond. The goal is to enable clients to establish realistic and customized organizing systems that are sustainable. This team of professionals is driven by the creed of providing compassionate, confidential and judgment-free service, which all of the staff embrace as more important than the ability to organize. Kristen and Lisa believe this genuine approach enables them to stand out from the crowd and it’s the reason lives are transformed when their employees are involved. “When we walk into someone’s home, we don’t want people to be embarrassed. In fact, we stop our clients when they try to judge themselves. Every home and family are different and so are their buying decisions,” observed Lisa. “We approach each job with wide-open hearts and minds when we come into a space. We consider it an honor to be called into their private places, and we work hard to honor them. We’re here to provide a sustainable solution that will work for our clients. Compassionate, confidential and judgment-free sets us apart from the competition. You can tell from our team that this message is important to us and the basis of our business.”

“We call them our BEE-liefs, and our team members must possess them to be part of our hive,” commented Kristen. “We can teach staff to organize but, more importantly, we are looking for people who hold our BEE-liefs. We can’t teach you to be compassionate, confidential and judgment-free; you’ve got to have those elements already in place in your heart and mind.”

Flying High
With that foundation, Bee Organized took flight, launching in 2015. Kristen noted that the pair simply wanted to help others organize their spaces, and they could enjoy being in business together. “We thought it would be the two of us; that was our intention,” Kristen commented. “It didn’t occur to us that we would hire employees, whom we call Bees, two months after we launched.”

And things are blossoming. As they continue their forage for business in the KC-metro, Lisa and Kristen never imagined their business concept could lead to franchises. But their business model for Bee Organized was about to pollinate across the nation. “We started in the fall of 2017 with a franchise even though we hadn’t considered that model. But Jackie Olson in Dallas was following us on social media, approached us about a franchise and we worked out the details. Since then we’ve grown to three other markets and have the potential for three more,” revealed Lisa. “Sure, we want to grow but we are committed to our three BEE-liefs and want the right people and the right timing. It’s quality over quantity as we maintain our level of expertise and the services we provide.”

“Bee Organized provides others the opportunity to be an entrepreneur, but with our franchise model they start out light years ahead of others, and we offer synergy and support from corporate,” promised Kristen. “They’re the boss and own their company, but they’re not going at it alone.”

Home organization is at the core of the hive for Bee Organized. Kristen and Lisa are convinced that when a home is in disorder, frustration and stress prevail. With their proven system, they enable homeowners to regain control of their spaces while teaching life-changing habits that are customized and sustainable to their season of life. Kristen adds that the mission of Bee Organized is to simplify a client’s life. They work alongside them to provide solutions that the clients can employ long after the bees have flown the hive. “Sometimes professional organizers are into creating beautiful aesthetics,” remarked Kristen. “But often times these solutions may not be functional.”

Buzzing with Success
Bee Organized can also help clients through a variety of life transitions. This new phase could include babies, a change in jobs, moving, marriage, divorce or the passing of a loved one. Bee Organized can enable them to manage through these stressful changes. Lisa notes that their patient, compassionate and confidential approach provides needed solutions for every stage of life. The outcome is that these problems can be alleviated, allowing people to focus on their life happenings. Kristen says that whether you’re moving, remodeling, downsizing or rightsizing, you can delegate these overwhelming details to Bee Organized.

As the company discovered its wings, Lisa and Kristen found that the business naturally morphed to offer concierge services. Frustrations over an undone to-do list, which might be shopping, groceries, holiday decorating and more, can become a thing of the past.

To keep their hive productive, Kristen and Lisa highlight that their crew of Bees, consisting of about 21 staff members and corporate-wide about 65, swarm all over their assignments. “It is such a pleasure to work with our Bees,” noted Kristen. “Everyone has an ownership mentality, and it is such a joy to see that develop.”

“We’ve been so lucky to drill into this untapped workforce,” shared Lisa. “They’re managers or executives and for personal reasons don’t want to go back into that type of workforce. But they bring such an amazingly high level of professional services to Bee Organized.”

While things continue to buzz for Kristen and Lisa, they offer ideas for taking flight as others contemplate becoming an entrepreneur. “Don’t overthink it; don’t wait for everything to be perfect. Just do it; just jump. Life and business can be messy so ask for help and get the right partners in place,” advised Kristen. “We don’t know what we don’t know so we get others involved who are experts. And don’t be afraid to fail forward. Lisa and I have made mistakes but we use them to make things better.”

“Don’t be your own obstacle and just take the leap. Don’t get so overwhelmed that you can’t move forward,” shared Lisa. “Why wait to fulfill your dream? Years from now, your dream will still be the same but moving forward you’ll have something to show.”

When it comes to building a home that’s humming, Kristen and Lisa offer several ideas to take the sting out of disorganization and dysfunction. “We’re very focused on getting clients motivated, invigorated and excited to be organized,” remarked Kristen. “We want to make their space better and to realize a better version of themselves.”

“At Bee Organized, we are passionate about the benefits of being organized. We’re the vehicle to help as we motivate clients to make simple changes by minimizing clutter and creating systems,” Lisa promised. “Our goal is to help people reap the life-changing benefits of living in organized spaces, allowing them to experience increased peace and efficiency and be more present in their daily life.” ■