Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Guntur.
Hi Caroline, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in Sweden, but moved to the US at age 18 for college (Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, HI). I met my husband there (he is from India) and together we moved to Chicago, where I completed my Master’s Degree in Media Management. We loved Chicago so much that we settled there as our daughter was born. She is now 15 years old and goes to an online remote school because we travel so much.
I run a company called The Swedish Organizer, where I coach people on how to become more organized and productive, especially in the digital space. My core audience is made up of creative entrepreneurs with big ideas and lots of projects as well as digital nomads who need to work efficiently in order to be able to explore their current location.
In short, I offer online courses and coaching programs to help people get their ducks in a row and work less while accomplishing more.
I refer to myself as a “basecamp digital nomad,” meaning that I own a home that I come to every time I’m not on the road. It’s a safe haven where I can regroup and refresh and plan my next adventure. Most months I travel throughout the world, staying with friends and in Airbnbs while I enjoy that particular culture. I am writing these words from Penafiel, Portugal, for example, where I will stay for a few more days before I’m back in Chicago again. In October, I will be in California, and in November, I will be in Arizona.
It’s been a long road to find my entrepreneurial niche and implement my ideal lifestyle, but now I feel like I have finally arrived at the correct intersection of business and life-work balance.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, but I can’t complain either. I feel like every turn has led me to the exact right place, so I’m grateful for all of it.
My biggest hurdle, in the beginning, was the culture shock I experienced moving from small-town Sweden to sunny Hawaii. The language was different. The climate was different. The food was different. And I was completely new to how everything worked in my new environment. Tasks that had previously been simple, such as “where to buy lunch” or “how to open a bank account” all of a sudden became very difficult, and it took me by surprise. It took me a long time to figure everything out and get accustomed to the US way of life, but now I love it. I think that’s partly why my clientele loves me – it’s because I know where they have been, and I continue to explore the world every day, even if it’s not always easy.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business is a reflection of who I am. When I first got started, I was known as “The Swedish Organizer” by my clients and so I simply named my business that for SEO purposes. At that time, I offered all types of organizing services, from closets to kitchens to photos, and more.
Now, over a decade later, I find my with a set of completely different services, serving a completely different audience, but the name still fits. Because I wanted to live a location-independent lifestyle, I stopped offering residential services in 2016, and instead started focusing on digital offerings. My first online course “DPO PRO: The Ultimate Photo Organizing Masterclass” was released that year, and helped me move from a local organizer to a global expert in the field.
We now offer online courses and coaching exclusively to help creative entrepreneurs and digital nomads get more done in less time, so they too have a chance to explore the world more and have more fun. Our signature offer is around how to create a 3 or 4-day work week for yourself that feels more aligned but still get everything done.
What I am most proud of is my courage to pivot my business whenever I feel the need arises. I create my own ideal lifestyle and simply offer the services that align with my goals. It’s been an evolution, and I’m sure it will continue to change in the future, but because I have such strong goals for how I want my life to be and how I want my team members to feel, I continuously update how we do things and who we serve without fear of failure.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
My success is always defined by how I feel and how my team members feel. If we all work together, feel happy, make enough money, and live in alignment, all is well. At our weekly team meetings, we discuss this and make adjustments as needed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carolineguntur.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolineguntur/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caroline.guntur
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolineguntur
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7KxPuUgHsWJAD5bcIx3C1Q
- Other: https://www.organzingphotos.net
Image Credits
Photos 3 and 4 by Tit Viscek (https://www.titviscek.com/)
