A little off topic but here are definitions, taken from a seed company's tomato seed info flier, of the terms used Immunity: not subject to attack or infection by a specified pest or pathogen. Resistance: the ability of a plant variety to restrict the growth and development of a specified pest or pathogen and/or the damage they cause when compared to susceptible plant varieties under similar environmental conditions and pest or pathogen pressure. Resistant varieties may exhibit some disease symptoms or damage under heavy pest or pathogen pressure. Two levels of resistance are defined: i. high resistance (HR): plant varieties that highly restrict the growth and development of the specified pest or pathogen under normal pest or pathogen pressure when compared to susceptible varieties. These plant varieties may, however, exhibit some symptoms or damage under heavy pest or pathogen pressure. ii. intermediate resistance (IR): plant varieties that restrict the growth and development of the specified pest or pathogen, but may exhibit a greater range of symptoms or damage compared to high resistant varieties. Intermediate resistant plant varieties will still show less severe symptoms or damage than susceptible plant varieties when grown under similar environmental conditions and/or pest or pathogen pressure. Susceptibility: the inability of a plant variety to restrict the growth and development of a specified pest or pathogen.

This could indeed be fun and work out for you. Do a lot of research, as prospective small business venture-er would do. I agree with above post. Think about what your ideal jobs might be but then think about what you might do to get the "chops" and clientele and experience and make $$. You probably will need to take small jobs, and so talley_sue_nyc 's comment about cleaning and organizing seems a good one--kind of, no job too small to start, then you get more selective. So,you are not going to want to be hired to "fix" entrenched hoarders. You need clients with disposable income who want a friendly helper and cheer-leader. Also,folks may start with a room and not their whole house "Putting off tackling that garage? Call_____!" Your competition includes the closet people--installers and designers of various lines of closet shelving and modular units. I would think you would want to gain installation expertise, or link up with a contractor, or have contacts with companies. Just a consideration--if you are good at seeing solutions, quite a few of the ideal solutions will require installing new shelves, brackets, interior organizer stuff--not just buying containers. If you have a way to help the client go from idea to execution, that would be a plus. Or, maybe I should say, think more about how you envision your specialty and then see who your competition is. A very personal "clothes closet organizer" often includes fashion advice (what to toss and what to keep, what to put on "to buy" list). A kitchen organizer might overlap with suggesting mini-makeovers. What will you offer? Better service, cheaper service, something unique? If you want to give seminars or community classes, usually (but not always) you first get the real-life experiences, so you have credibility and your seminars include your real anecdotes and before and afters. Once you have credibility you have a lot of potential clients for speaking engagements--community groups, professional women's groups, going-off to college dorm advice, all sorts of stuff. A lot of overlap with the interest in time-management or motivational speakers.

I've heard pros range from $65 to $100 per hour depending on where you live, their experience and your needs. I agree, the kids and hubby need to be somewhere else so you can concentrate and get the most bang for your buck. I've never used one because I usually find the info I need online. I found a really good organizing website that gives some good instructions on what to do and how to start. www.straighten-up-now.com The stuff under "Start Here" was particularly good. I emailed the owner under her Contact Me page. She responded with some good FREE tips. She said that she just started the site, so information on particular project areas is "ongoing." I recently signed up for her free newsletter. Hope this helpful! Here is a link that might be useful: Straighten Up Now Home Organizing Link

With respect to whether or not the counselor could testify in court...who was the identified patient? If it was your sister, she could give her permission to/release the counselor from the required confidentiality agreement; however, if your XBIL was the identified patient, he would have to grant that permission, and I doubt he would. If your niece is the identified patient, well...she is legally still a minor, therefore the parent(s) would have to grant permission for the records to be released. Since legally they still have joint custody & it was a "family" session, I would imagine your XBIL would have to agree...again, I doubt he would do that. The counselor could get herself into a world of hurt (meaning your XBIL could bring an ethics complaint against her) if she were to testify in court without his permission. The only time a therapist is compelled to testify or bring a record is under a court order from a judge. A subpoena won't do...a therapist can get their hind-end sued if they do that...the law varies some from state to state but there is an entire body of case law on this and generally the state legislatures are aware of the various court decisions from state to state and take these rulings into account when drafting legislation. For example, there was a famous case in California that resulted in the "Tarasoff" rule and virtually every state in the union addresses this issue in the law, i.e., if a client makes a threat of physical harm against an identifiable person, the therapist is bound by law to warn that person of the potential threat of harm. It is known as "duty to warn." There is similar case law that has been codifed with respect to records and confidentiality...if the counselor in your case testifies without an order from the court, she may be opening herself up to substantial liability. She really should check with folks at her state licensing board before she does anything....she could testify for your sister, get sued by your XBIL and ultimately end up hurting your sister's and your niece's position. By the way, I would worry about a counselor who is unable to maintain professional distance and cries in the session. It is possible to be fully empathic with respect for someone's pain while still managing to not feel that pain as your own...professional boundaries are incredibly important therapeutically in the counseling process...her tears would be a red flag to me... Hopefully, KKNY is correct in her response, that at 17 y/o, a judge would simply listen to and respect your niece's wishes in the matter. Good luck to them.