Life and Work with Anitra Fontes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anitra Fontes.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always been an organized/clean person, it’s  actually Therapeutic for me. Into my late 30’s I’d hear about how great I was at cleaning and organizing, but didn’t think much of it. In my last relationship, I was told, “You should turn this into something.” I was very passionate about it and felt like why not? After placing all my energy into finding a name, pricing and all that great stuff, I got excited however, I had no clue where to start. How to promote myself. Well, after a night out with my partner at the time and some friends, what I was attempting to do was mentioned. The couple said, “Omg, we need you”, they were my first clients! After that, the business started to blossom!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There were definitely struggles, however, you have to hustle and keep your name out there! Most importantly, you have to have the RIGHT people around. My business helped me transition, it changed my life and my circle. My advice would be, whatever you’re passionate about, do it. Don’t give up! You’ll see what you put in it by what you get out of it. Have faith and know that your path is yours. People are going to have things to say, but that’s how you can do the process of elimination. You’ll know who’s with you and who’s not.

Please tell us about Traces of Tranquility.
Traces of Tranquility is all about organizing. I provide services for people who need to get things in order. It may be their home, office, garage, closets, basement, the list goes on. We start off by setting an appointment to do a consultation. I’ll come out to you, you show me your areas of concern, I’ll take notes/ pictures so I can get an idea of what may help. If you decide to go forward with the service, I’ll show you what I came up with, we’ll go over your budget for storage if needed, I do the shopping for you and we go from there. Aside from the organizing part, I have a line of scents. Candles, Aromatherapy Mist and Diffuser Oils. I came up with that after organizing a couple of closets. I thought, “Why not leave a signature scent”? That part of my business makes me happy as well! What I’m proud of is the direction my life is headed. I give a lot of credit to my path, not to mention my relationship again, but if it wasn’t for that, I don’t know if Traces of Tranquility would exist. What sets me apart from others? I can’t tell you about other people’s passion, but I love the way my clients feel after I get their homes together. I follow up with a lot of my clients to see how things are going and a great majority of them keep it in order. This service is definitely needed. It’s not necessarily for people who are, “messy”, no one should think that. People have busy lives and they just can’t do it. I’ve had clients who are embarrassed, I assure them that I’m not here to judge, I’m here to help. Also, I don’t know many organizers who have a line of Products. I’m sure they’re out there, but I don’t know too many.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve benefited from using?
Pinterest! Pinterest helps me the most! That’s like my handbook if I get stuck.

Pricing:

• Consultation: 60-75
• Organizing: 280.00 and up
• Products vary

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TracesofTranquility.org
• Phone: 510-967-0475
• Email: tranquiltraces@gmail.com
• Instagram: TracesOfTranquility_
• Facebook: Traces of Tranquility LLC products
• Twitter: No Twitter

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