Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia de’Caneva.
Hi Julia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
People will often use the phrase, “well, I came into this world alone…” but as an identical twin, I didn’t, in fact, come into this world alone. It’s this sense of inherent connection with people that helps me be confident as I forge my own path. As someone who opted out of the D.A.R.E. program in 5th grade (I wasn’t planning to do drugs, why would I need know a hundred ways to get high?), I follow my curiosities and my intuition in everything I do.
I received a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Iowa, where they allowed me to explore art without an incoming portfolio — game-changing! Design is really about clear communication and intentional order or sometimes intentional disorder. I was working freelance for a number of agencies and companies around Los Angeles, but I was always looking for something more. I could never quite scratch this unseeable, elusive itch.
To support my freelance income, I worked nights and weekends in retail. After becoming the self-proclaimed stockroom-organizer-queen, my manager simply said, “Why don’t you just become a professional home organizer?” I thought, “I suppose I should.” So I did. I reached out to a wonderful woman, Beth Penn of Bneato Bar, on Instagram, back when Insta was still in chronological order (RIP) and asked if she might consider hiring me. Over coffee, she agreed to train me and then send me out on jobs.
I worked concurrently as a freelance designer and organizer for three years until the proverbial rug was pulled out from under my very burned out self: my mother-in-law died suddenly and three months later, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 29. After taking some time off around my surgery, I didn’t work for the first time, really ever. This slowness dropped me into a luxurious sense of presence. I only later found out that there’s a real practice called mindfulness, which can cultivate this sense of calm and non-reactivity. This shift was life-changing, it made me think about everything differently. Not to mention, mortality has a powerful quality of clarity like nothing else.
I decided to leave design and ultimately knew I couldn’t continue home organizing because it was simply too physically demanding and I didn’t have the stamina. I had also lost the desire to overwork at the expense of my health, my shifting values completely changed my relationship to work.
I knew I wanted to help people find themselves, get organized, and live like it mattered, but it took time to figure out what that looked like. My first step was deciding to get certified as a Gallup CliftonStrengths Coach. I wasn’t sure exactly how I wanted to use the certification, but I knew if my work could be strengths-based, I would feel engaged and fulfilled. I launched my life coaching business in March of 2020, just a week after COVID lockdown hit LA. Since then, I’ve been listening and learning to what people need.
This is how I got here today, as a Business Organizer + Life Coach for Small Business Owners looking to beat burnout once and for all.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Certainly getting diagnosed with cancer at age 29 is the epitome of unexpected roadblocks, but incidentally, it’s been the best thing that ever happened to me. It gave me such a valuable wake-up call and helped me reprioritize how I spend my time and energy.
It also reinforced for me how much being a human is complicated and difficult. We have the capacity for such ease and joy, but we also have a knack for negativity and unhelpful mental spirals. Immersing myself in the meditation/mindfulness world has reaffirmed that my struggles are not simply my own and I’m never alone in my human experience. Being a twin also helps demystify actions, thoughts, and habits that seem weird or “not the norm,” in the same way that everyone’s literal junk drawers seem to have the same contents. People walk around with so much shame about their proverbial dirty laundry and yet, it’s the same as so many others’.
This isn’t to diminish anyone’s suffering but rather as an encouragement that you’re never alone in your struggles. I’m deeply grateful that I had to come to terms with my mortality because it allows me to live more fully, more present, and more calm than ever before.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a Business Organizer + Life Coach for Small Business Owners looking to beat burnout once and for all. I’m a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and UCLA-Trained Mindfulness Facilitator. I know my S.M.I.L.E. framework is a potent and effective approach to overcoming burnout because it’s how I’ve gone from habitual overworker to feeling balanced and calm, after cancer forced me to slow down and reevaluate.
S.M.I.L.E. combines strengths, mindfulness, intentionalism (internal decluttering), life purpose (your why), and energy to help you create sustainable change. I help small business owners have the business they want that allows them to live a life they love. Often you’ll see mindfulness + strengths, or organizing + life purpose together, but not all five together; alongside insights about human behavior and neuroscience, S.M.I.L.E. is the answer to our culture that glorifies and praises overworking burnout and unhealthy expectations.
I have two core ways you can work with me:
Life & Business Systems: 6 Month Coaching. Together we overhaul your small business systems & processes to make your business more efficient and give you more time to get back to what you love. Once we’ve cleared some space, we overhaul your life systems, such as habits and time management, to help you build a life you love. Being a small business owner means life and business can be on your own terms, but we were never taught anything but how to be burned out over workers.
90-Minute Clear Your Digital Clutter. If your file storage (hello, Google Drive!), desktop, or email inbox feels like an overwhelming mess, you’re not alone. First, I learn more about who you are and your goals, we dive in together and hands-on start organizing, and then leave some time at the end to formulate a custom plan for your organizing needs. If you try to adopt a system without taking into consideration how you think it won’t stick, that’s why you get a custom plan. After our session, I send you a game plan for tackling the rest of your organizing and some tips on how to create a practice of organizing for long-term sustainable change.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was a multi-passionate, multi-faceted human. I loved playing sports outside with my twin, learning foreign languages, and reading everything from Archie comics to Agatha Christie novels. I loved the excitement of Christmas morning and cream in my tea. I was sometimes referred to as the “hall monitor” because I wanted people to follow the rules. Being 5’8″ by the end of 7th grade meant I excelled at every sport I tried; it was a good day making the boys cry when they lost to a girl. In high school, we stayed up late watching Office Space, capping off the night with SportsCenter. My religious views on Facebook are still listed as ESPN, a carry-over from 2007. In 6th grade, I fell in love with hip-hop music and still love a good dance party. In fact, many of my interests and hobbies have only continued into my adult life. I’ve lost my perfectionism, intense competitive edge, and self-consciousness, but at my core I still love quiet nights with a book, stuffed animals, and learning foreign languages. Hand sewing club in 5th grade has become garment sewing. I’ve recently joined an adult softball team. I can’t drink cream anymore, but I’m writing this with a cup of tea on hand. Forever curious.
Pricing:
- Business & LIfe Systems Coaching: $7,500 ($1,250/mth)
- 90-Minute Clear Your Digital Clutter $899
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://julia.coach/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/life.coach.julia/
Image Credits:
Bree McCool, Bree McCool, Caroline Ingraham Lee, Caroline Ingraham Lee, Caroline Ingraham Lee, Bree McCool
