#APOIinternationalGuest, meet Marianne Winter – Netherlands

https://www.apoi.it/apoiinternationalguest-incontriamo-marianne-winter-paesi-bassi/

In my role as head of international relations, I have immediately cultivated with great enthusiasm the discussion with colleagues from the different cultures that I am privileged to approach. This gave rise to the idea of the #APOIinternationalGuest project , a proposal for webinars with guests from all over the world, to give our associates the opportunity to face the different realities of Professional Organizing. A valuable opportunity for discovery and at the same time opening up to professionals with wide experience in different sectors and cultural realities.

What are the benefits of these meetings
Through the international meetings, members have the opportunity to:
- experience firsthand the evolution of the profession abroad;
- participate in an active confrontation, which gives innovative discoveries and stimulates new ideas;
- broaden their knowledge of the profession and their desire to grow the professional figure in Italy;
- take inspiration from other P.O.'s who have approached freelancing and the market in
different cultures and in different ways;
- learn about the activities of other associations around the world.

Certain of the added value we offer to the members of our association, who over time have come to appreciate and understand the importance of the proposed meetings, we continue in our quest, which enriches us on a professional level, but even more so from a human point of view. The common denominator of many P.O.'s is certainly the willingness and desire to generously share their work and life experiences, an important source of growth!

Our international guests
To date we have had the pleasure of engaging with such outstanding professionals as:
Dorothy Breninger - USA
Alison Lush - Canada
Ingrid Jansen - GB
Cristiane Belfiore - Brazil
Barry Izsack - USA(read more in this article as well)
And finally Marianne Winter - Netherlands

Meeting Marianne Winter
In an effort to expand my international relations, I had contacted Marianne in 2019. At the time, she was President of the Dutch NBPO Association and a member of the Board of Directors. Later we met again during the online event Personal Organizer Brasil , a very successful event in Brazil, conceived by José Luis Cunha in 2014 and now in its 8th edition. Together with Ingrid Jansen, we were invited as speakers to the International Panel moderated by Barry Izsack. On that occasion, too, the panel was designed with the intention of providing an opportunity for Brazilian P.O.s to meet international colleagues, ask them questions, and discuss the evolution of the profession around the world.

Meeting Marianne Winter: most important messages
The next step was to invite her to conduct a webinar for our members. Marianne was very generous and enthusiastically shared her experience, human and professional. In 2015, she left her job as a lawyer in a large law firm to take the big leap: to follow her "vision as an entrepreneur," implementing a bold choice, just as many of our associates have done. And so her P.O. business was born. . Marianne specializes in the area of work, but she also supports her clients in lifestyle. She firmly believes that good organization can increase physical and mental well-being while increasing effectiveness and efficiency to achieve one's goals.

But she did not stop at her first success; having experienced firsthand the challenges of freelancing and the difficulties one can encounter, she conceived the P.O. Academy a training course that accompanies Professional Organizers to develop the various areas of freelancing, starting with tax aspects, touching on marketing, personal branding, the use of social media and various topics that can facilitate professionals to become successful entrepreneurs.

During her talk , she also encouraged the members to dwell on how many different opportunities there are to create collaborations with different kinds of professionals. Marianne si
is proposed, for example, to a funeral agency to support those who have to deal with what happens after a bereavement. She has also worked with her own municipality in supporting citizens who would have liked to take advantage of attic insulation benefits but were too afraid to deal with clearing out overflowing attics and, because of this, often passed up the opportunity.

But his most powerful message was to network! To never feel that you are competing against your colleagues, but on the contrary to create alliances, as each P.O. expresses himself differently in his profession and can be a great shoulder to develop new projects in partnership. He emphasized how the growth of the profession is the responsibility of all of us, locally and internationally. The more we are able to publicize the value of the profession and increase the culture of the organization, the more the user will be able to learn about the professional figure and choose a P.O. to trust.

Upcoming meetings
The 2022 appointments will end with the last webinar scheduled for Monday, November 28: our guest will be Nacho Eguiarte, of Mexican origin.
My intention with this project is to create a broad overview of Professional Organizing in the world: after having had guests from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Brazil and the Netherlands, it seems interesting to me to find out what is happening in Mexico!
So stay tuned, 2022 ends with a great guest but 2023 will also open with many phenomenal meetings that will make you more and more passionate about our world and the culture of organizing. Stay tuned.