Amanda Lovatt enjoyed working on a team to solve problems as a software developer at Nortel. And when she wanted to spend more time with her two young sons, she was able to move into a part-time position there. But in 2000, she hurt her back and had to take a leave of absence. By the time she was able to return to work three years later, she'd decided that any office job would involve too much time away from her kids.

Lovatt, 42, had long thought about starting a business, but she didn't know what field to enter. "I'm trained to problem-solve. I really wanted something where I could use those problem-solving skills," she says. A conversation with a friend reminded her that she enjoyed helping people work more efficiently, and she knew that many people were feeling overwhelmed by their busy lives. After taking some courses in professional organizing, she launched Lovatt Effective SystemS (LESS) in 2003.

Professional organizing is still a new profession, and some people think organizers mainly help harried homeowners streamline their spare rooms and kitchens., Lovatt says. While some organizers do just that, she focuses on businesses, teaching people to manage information, projects and to-do lists. (She helped organize closets at Ottawa's Ronald McDonald house, where the above photograph was taken.) As well as consulting with individual clients, she offers in-house corporate workshops and public seminars on topics such as managing e-mail.

In helping clients get control of their lives, she has been able to balance her own life as well. "The freedom is just amazing," she says, "if I want to go shopping in the middle of the day, I go shopping in the middle of the day. I call the shots."