Founder Interview
Keli Jakel
Pay attention to what you already do without thinking. I never set out to be an organizer, but I’d been doing it in every position I held. The business you’re meant to build might…
So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself—where you’re from originally and where you live now.
I’m Keli Jakel, founder of Organized by Keli & Co. here in Denver and founder of Elenore, a CRM platform for professional organizers.
I’m a wife, a mom, and a stepmom, and I’m in the middle of a transition that has been harder than I expected: empty nesting.
Our kids are all out in the world now. One just started his freshman year of college, one is a senior at Colorado School of Mines, and two are graduates of CU Denver and CSU. I’m so proud of them. I’m also learning you can be proud and still feel the quiet.
It’s the same kind of life transition I help clients through every day, so I’m getting a refresher on how it actually feels from the inside.
Tell us one thing you love about where you live now.
Being close to family. I have my mom, my stepdaughters, and our new son-in-law nearby, and that’s worth more to me than any view. A few of our people are farther away, but having so many of them within a short drive makes this place feel like home.
I’ll also say I love that Colorado gets all four seasons. This fall has been especially beautiful.
Tell us a little more about what your company does and how it started. How does it help your customers?
Organized by Keli & Co. helps busy people when life gets interrupted. A new baby. A divorce. Two households becoming one. A renovation that turned the house upside down. A health change. A move.
Most of our clients are capable people with a full plate and no bandwidth left. We take over managing their things so they can get on with their lives in a home that works for them.
I started in March 2019 after a career change. I spent years as an educator and school administrator, from bilingual education to district-level work. The stress caught up with me, and I retired after stroke-like symptoms. When I started looking for part-time work, I realized that in every school department I’d worked in, I had been creating order. I’d been an organizer the whole time.
I figured I’d work about 10 hours a week and help a family or two. That did not go as planned. Now there are 15 of us.
If someone wants to start a business, what advice would you give them?
Pay attention to what you already do without thinking. I never set out to be an organizer, but I’d been doing it in every position I held. The business you’re meant to build might be hiding in what comes easily to you.
And listen. What clients ask for and what they need are often different, and the real need usually goes unspoken. Our clients rarely need better bins. They need someone to take over managing their things so they can focus on their lives.
What is one piece of feedback from a happy customer or client that you won't forget?
Shira Gill told us she’d hesitated to hire help because it felt extravagant, and afterward said it might be some of the best money she’s ever spent. Within 24 hours of moving in, she had a working kitchen and a playroom for her kids. She called it an extraordinary gift.
I still smile thinking about that one. A whole family got to exhale.
Where do you see your company in the future?
More than anything, I want to keep the team we have. We’re close, and I’ll protect that.
I also want more people to know we exist. Many people don’t realize a service like ours is out there. Life moves fast, and when something interrupts it, everything can feel like too much at once. If we can make that a little smoother and a little less stressful, I’ll be happy.
What is the biggest misconception about your industry?
That organizing is about pretty bins and perfect pantries, or that people hire us because they’re messy or can’t cope. Most of our clients are smart, capable, and stretched thin. What they need is time back. It’s not a capability issue. It’s capacity.
What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business, and how did you deal with it?
Letting go. I thought I’d help a family or two on the side, and suddenly I had more work than I could handle and was trying to do all of it myself. I’m a doer, so handing things off was hard.
What helped was building the team slowly, with people who shared our values. They all found me on their own, which I still think is kind of amazing. Learning to trust them was the best thing I’ve done for the business, and for me. They’ve become like family.
Who was your favorite music artist and athlete growing up?
I didn’t really have one. I was into colors and crafting. Still am today!
Any shoutouts you want to make?
My team. They take care of our clients with so much heart, and they take care of me too.
And my parents, who never imagined I’d own an organizing company after a childhood of shoving everything under the bed or into my closet. I promise I learned!
Where can our readers learn more about you and your company?
