Even in her formative years at Kamehameha Schools, Kamuela Potter was an exceptionally organized student. Throughout her engineering studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, she displayed an eye for coordination and space planning. When she parlayed a part-time stockperson job with local resort retailer Crazy Shirts into a key position helping the chain build retail stores throughout Hawai‘i and Guam, her sixth sense for logistical strategy and maximizing space came in handy—especially in a place where square footage is hard to come by.
It was the founder of Crazy Shirts’ combination of smart space utilization and commitment to service excellence that laid the foundation for how Potter would operate her business one day. “We didn’t sell T-shirts, we sold art,” Potter says. “I saw how much care he put into every decision—the same attention to detail went into building stores, hiring personnel and crafting great customer service. It taught me that everything you do, you do it well.”
Today Kamuela runs Organized Hawaii, which provides custom-designed creative storage solutions for areas in the home, including closet systems, home offices, laundry, pantry and craft spaces, and home entertainment setups. For the first 10 years, Organized Hawaii operated out of a small 10,00-square-foot space, then upgraded to a freestanding building in Waipi‘o Gentry, complete with a showroom, office space and warehouse. From her first year handling sales and installation with only one part-time helper to later managing 13 staff, Potter encourages her team to build organizational solutions from the ground up and deliver what they promise. “When I was pregnant with my second child, I had a big custom installation to finish on my due date, and I wasn’t going to leave there without getting the job done right,” Potter says. “We did the final walk-though at 6:30 p.m. My water broke at 10:00 p.m., and I was back to work one day later.”
So what factors have helped Potter successfully expand to the neighbor islands and become the only female dealer ranked in the top 10 for sales volume by her manufacturer, Org Home? For starters, it’s the way she applies that attention to detail she learned early on to all of her customer interactions. “When clients come to us with a concern, we don’t even argue—we just fix it,” Potter says. “We live on a rock where relationships matter, so it’s important to make everyone happy.” She holds professionalism in high regard and feels that her and her team’s willingness to really listen to customers’ needs—and to go above and beyond to get every project just right—leads to exceptional work and satisfied clients. Customers who call Organized Hawaii interact with a live person, and anyone picking up on the other end can answer most questions. Their work is also backed by a lifetime warranty for as long as clients own their home, a guarantee that has helped the company build trust and a reputation of integrity in the islands.
Business at Organized Hawaii has more than doubled in the last three years, and Potter expects growth to continue. Her ability to remain steadfast, even through challenges like a recession, comes from a strong work ethic instilled in her by her mother. “Even widowed with six children, my mom worked a steady job,” Potter says. “There’s no time to think about failure. I not only have my customers to take care of, but also the people who work for me. I just focus on finding solutions quickly and move forward.”
Another key driver in Organized Hawaii’s growth is Potter’s ability to speak to and capture the younger market through social media channels, a medium for interaction that she feels is ripe with opportunity. Long term, Potter wants to remain a leader in the industry and be able to let her team take the reins of day-to-day business within the next three to five years. “People like to work for me because I am very direct in my expectations,” she says. “They respect me because I respect them, and because I want to see them succeed just as much I do.”
It is Potter’s aim-to-please approach that has ultimately played a defining role in Organized Hawaii’s endurance. “People tell us we’re easy to work with,” Potter says. “But at the end of the day, I just want to know three things. Did we do what we said we would do? Was the client happy with the installer’s work? Did they feel the genuine care we have for their home?”
Potter’s final key ingredient in running a thriving business is a healthy marriage to her partner of 25 years, who also happens to be her business partner. “My secret is a happy home life,” Potter says. “I have the world’s best husband. He inspires me to show up at my best every day.”
kpotter@orgliving.com
organizedhawaii.com
