A bit about me, Kristine Oller…
I believe that each person has the ability, at any moment in time, to change themselves – and by doing so, to change their life.
I guide people through the process of change. I’m someone who has walked ALL of the talk that you’ll find on this website. And I am someone who wants you to bet on yourself… and win.
What I do best is help creative, ambitious, multi-talented multi-hyphenates – like you – get focused, get organized, and get ahead.
I design plans of action that build momentum. Plans that work within your unique circumstances and fully maximize whatever amounts of time, energy, and money you have right now. (You might be making all of the right efforts, but making them in the “wrong” order, ya know? Or spreading yourself way too thin. But, once you define your focus and start feeding that focus in an efficient, effective way, you will find yourself suddenly moving forward much, much faster.)
So, how did I learn how to do what I do? Direct experience.
From 1993-2004 I worked – as in: “actually earned money and health insurance” – in Los Angeles as an actor. Yep – SAG, AFTRA, and Equity. Although I was born in L.A., I think I had the only set of parents not involved in the entertainment industry. So I grew up dreaming of being an actor. (Oh I begged, and always put “an agent” at the top of my Christmas list, but my mom was not at all interested in spending her time schlepping me around to auditions. So no child acting for me.)
I chose to attend a small, wonderful, liberal arts college in Oregon (Linfield College), and then I returned to L.A. to start figuring out the “business of show.”
I was fortunate to find (and smart to join!) The Actors’ Network. Soon after, I was chosen and trained by the organization’s creator to lead their monthly Power Groups. For 11 years, I met with groups of 30 actors for two hours each month to review their victories, discuss their issues, and plan their next action steps. For several years I ran 2 monthly groups and for two years I ran 3 of them. Not only did I spend over a decade being an actor, I’ve also spent a LOT of time analyzing the patterns of both proactivity and self-sabotage common within our industry.
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When my future husband and I moved into our first apartment (1994) we had a card table and two folding chairs (all borrowed). We couldn’t afford a couch and a bed so we bought a sofa-bed and slept on that for a year or two until the springs got un-sprung (and then we slept on the sofa-bed’s mattress on the floor.)
We didn’t have a car for a year. I walked to work and took the bus to my first student film shoot. Once, to pay my taxes, I wrote a check to the IRS for almost exactly 1/2 of all the money I had. Ours was a one-bedroom apartment but the sofa-bed (and, later, the sofa and the bed) were in the living room. (Oh yes, lots of teasing from friends about this!) But we made the “bedroom” our office because we knew it was the work we’d do in our office that would eventually get us into a bigger apartment. And, a couple of years later, that’s what happened.
We weren’t struggling; we were saving. Overall we were happy, hopeful, (sometimes doubtful), but consistently striving towards what we wanted for our future.
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I get it. I know first-hand about following one’s dream – and about choosing which dream to follow. And I’ve successfully made the transition from working a series of part-time jobs to support my dreams… to becoming fully self-employed in the area of my passion… and again in the area of my next passion… and the one after that. Very often that’s what I’m helping my clients with – making transitions from one area of success to another, or from one level of success to another.
And I know you can do it too. Because striving (in a strategic way, of course), while not always pretty, works.
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Clearly, I am not a gal who was born to work in a cube. (Who is, really?) My pattern was to get a job, organize everything, get bored, get restless, get another job.
In 1997, I discovered “professional organizing” and immediately started my biz, Personalized Organization, as a way to earn money to support my acting career. According to my “official bio,” here’s what happened after that:
Since founding her business, Personalized Organization, Kristine’s organizing services have been in high demand. As word spread about her ability to boost the marketing results and momentum of creative and performing artists, the career strategy segment of her business grew to include clients nationwide.
As more and more clients began engaging Kristine about how to manage and manifest the ideas and plans swirling around in their minds, she saw that a true need existed for this type of guidance. Now, in private and group sessions, Kristine advises folks about how to truly thrive in today’s world, offering them efficient and effective plans of action that transform their environments and shift their perspectives.
The desire to share her knowledge with a wider audience fueled the creation of her first book, Feeding Your Focus: How Creative People Can Move Forward Faster And Achieve Sustained Success. The book, along with her coaching programs (on networking and building a side biz), her speaking engagements, and her national columns for The VoiceOver Insider and BackStage, have enabled Kristine to pursue her own passions – and encourage others to do the same.
As a guest organizer, Kristine has appeared on DIY Crafts on Scripps’ Do-It-Yourself Network and on Before and After’noon Movies on the USA Network. She became a Golden Circle member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and has served on the board of the Los Angeles Chapter of NAPO. Kristine has received the 1999 Membership Award from The Actors’ Network, the Volunteer of the Year Award at the 2007 Los Angeles Organizing Awards, and the 2009 Alumni Service Award from her alma mater, Linfield College in Oregon. She has been twice nominated for the Best Organizing Coach and Mentor Award at the Los Angeles Organizing Awards.
In 2011, Kristine ended her 15 year career as a professional organizer to focus on guiding clients through their personal Leap Years.
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So, professionally, that’s me in a nutshell. On a more personal note, I love the color green, ice cream, and deep conversations with dynamic people.
Here’s how we can stay in touch:
Email / Facebook / Newsletter
Or possibly work together:
coach with Kristine