Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Regina F. Lark.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I like to call this story “My Journey into Junk.”
In 1999 I graduated with a History Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. For two years, I taught seven classes at 4 different colleges and universities in the greater Los Angeles area. My professional goal at that time was a tenure-track teaching position at a local community college. After two years on the job market, I was hired to work as the Assistant Director of Women’s Studies at UCLA, and for a variety of reasons, I decided that an administrative track in higher education was a good fit for me. Four years later, I applied for and was awarded the position of Director of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Languages for UCLA Extension, the for-profit arm of the University. The salary jump was huge – the fit to my personality…. not so much. During the third year in that position, budget cuts hit Extension, and my unit was dismantled, my position eliminated, and for the first time in my life, I didn’t have a plan for the “next thing.” I applied for several jobs – both teaching and administrative – and was a finalist for two community college Dean positions. I’m a working person and I had to have a job and/but the 2008 recession was in full swing. Consequently, through a series of bizarre coincidences, I decided upon an entrepreneurial life, and within 3 months of my lay-off, A Clear Path: Professional Organizing was born! And now… my PhD stands for “Piled Higher and Deeper.”
The road was completely unknown. I had spent the majority of my adult life in higher education – in pursuit of my degrees or working in the so-called protected environment of university life. Employment. I didn’t have a roadmap for an industry made up of self-employed entrepreneurs. So, I had to start from scratch.
Early on, I had the great good fortune to read Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” – an inspiring book that affixed my thinking about all that was possible. It was Hill’s book that really set my course. I adopted the mantra, “Conceive, Believe, Achieve.”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In my new professional life, I had to learn marketing and the fine art of networking. I feel like I earned the equivalent of an MBA as I learned how to grow a business from an idea. I read everything, found courses in the local business community, and joined local networking groups. Starting out, I went to every free or $10 networking breakfast I could find!
I contacted my former UCLA colleagues to de-clutter their offices and departments. I created a “Clear the Path” day for larger departments. I talk with human resource directors for workshops and training. I was entrepreneurial in my thinking. My years as a college professor taught me that I can teach anything.
We’ve been impressed with A Clear Path: Professional Organizing and Move Management, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
A Clear Path specializes in working with chronically disorganized people and families… We have a team approach to most de-clutter and organizing jobs. Within one day or five, teams of 2-to 5 “Ninja Organizers” will approach any cluttered and crowded space with a calm, thoughtful, and goal-oriented approach and make any space livable again.
Our entire scope of services includes hoarding remediation, estate clear-outs, boomer and senior downsizing, household inventory for estate planning and division of property, and online estate sale auctions.
The success of A Clear Path allows me to pursue my passion as an author and speaker. I am the author of 2 books: “Psychic Debris, Crowded Closets: The Relationship between the Stuff in your Head and What’s Under your Bed” (2017,3rd ed, and now available on Audible); And “Emotional Labor: Why A Woman’s Work is Never Done and What To Do About It (2021)” And be sure to check out my TEDx talk available on YouTube.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
In my spare time, I make up goofy songs about clutter!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aclearpath.net
- Instagram: aclearpath
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AClearPath
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginalark/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/drreginalark
