The Untold Truth Of The Home Edit's Joanna Teplin

Joanna Teplin has one of the most fun shows on Netflix. "Get Organized with The Home Edit" is a massive hit, as the show encourages people to organize their own homes. However, unlike Netflix's other organizing powerhouse, Marie Kondo, Joanna and her partner in crime and business, Clea Shearer, don't make the people appearing on their show get rid of anything. Instead, the founders of The Home Edit take what's available and sort it into a manageable (and might we add, stylish) mess. Plus, on what other show could you get a look into Reese Witherspoon's closet makeover? That inside access alone makes "The Home Edit" worth a rewatch.

According to The Simplicity Habit, Joanna and Clea both have an infectious level of energy that makes the show engaging. Even if you don't like organizing, their friendship alone keeps viewers coming back for more. The ladies give a little intro about themselves on "The Home Edit," but viewers want to know more about Joanna. How did she get started in this business? Is it true she used to work at a paper store? Read on for the untold truth of Joanna Teplin.

Joanna may not have started wanting to be a reality TV star, but she does have the credentials to back it up. According to her LinkedIn profile, Joanna graduated with a degree in film from The University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2001. The university's film program began in 1973 and currently enrolls about 500 new students. To graduate, students must complete multiple film courses across different disciplines.

Before enrolling, UC Santa Barbara requires students like Joanna to take general studies courses in subjects like English literature, classics, and a foreign language. Once finished, students can go on to take classes on film and media theory, as well as learn to produce films themselves. These could be courses like screenwriting, directing, and even animation (via UC Santa Barbara). There aren't any courses available in reality TV or organizing, but we're sure if Joanna wanted to teach a class on either, enrollment would be through the roof.

When Joanna finished at UC Santa Barbara, her first job out of college didn't have anything to do with the field that would one day make her famous. It also didn't have anything to do with her college degree in film, either. Per Joanna's LinkedIn profile, she moved to San Francisco, California, and managed a boutique stationery shop called Union Street Papery.

The shop, which started in 1985, specializes in expensive paper. Think of custom-designed wedding invitations, personalized save the dates, holiday greeting cards, and stationery with your business name. The shop also offers calligraphy services if you want your invitations written with a certain flair. The shop is high-end, and you cannot simply stop in to browse greeting cards and pick up some paper. You need an appointment on the shop's website before visiting (via Union Street Papery).

Armed with her film degree and experience at Union Street Papery, Joanna eventually left the boutique and branched out on her own. According to her LinkedIn profile, she tried her hand in the industry and started a greeting card company when she was just 22 called, "he said. she said." The business didn't pan out, but Joanna wasn't discouraged. She met her future husband, got married, and followed him down to Los Angeles for his career. She started a wedding planning business called "Joanna Teplin Invitation Consulting." However, when her husband needed to move back to San Francisco for work, she left the business behind.

After having her first child, Joanna once again displayed her entrepreneurial spirit and began her third business, "joanna and company," which was her first foray into home life. She eventually moved to Nashville for her husband's job, where she met Clea. The rest is history. It's unlikely that The Home Edit would have taken off if Joanna didn't have a business background. She needed the experience. Sometimes it takes failing a few times to become a successful entrepreneur. Not because our ideas were bad, but because we didn't have the correct framework to make magic happen (via Harvard Business Review).

When something works, it really works. According to 92NY on YouTube, Joanna met her The Home Edit business partner when a mutual friend in Nashville decided to introduce the pair, as they were both recent transplants to the city. Joanna and Clea instantly clicked and started the ball rolling, even though Joanna typically didn't like making new friends because she was too tired to invest in relationships amid the challenges of working and parenting.

The pair met for a four-hour lunch that ended with them becoming business partners. "That night we set up our website. We got our domain, our social handles. We came up with the name. We designed our logo. Started filing our paperwork. This is all before 8 pm," Clea said. The pair didn't even Google each other or do a social media stalk. They just knew that it was a good fit.

Fear of flying is common, but Joanna takes it to the extreme. According to The Home Edit, Clea names flying as one of her primary stressors in life. However, it's even more stressful to fly with Joanna in tow. It's one of the world's worst things to do. It makes sense, as Joanna is afraid of flying, being at the airport waiting to get on the plane, and just thinking about being up in the air.

However, because of the success of "The Home Edit," Joanna finds herself gritting her teeth and suffering through a flight more often than not. She even posts on Instagram about how she copes with her anxiety, even when things go wrong on the plane. Joanna watches the turbulence app closely to ensure the plane isn't acting funny. She was once horrified to discover news of a plane crash in mid-flight. To add insult to injury, the flight she was on also ran out of champagne, making her even more stressed (via GOMIBLOG).

Once The Home Edit was a bonafide company, Joanna and Clea set about finding clients. As with any new business, things were slow to start, and the woman wondered how they could scale their idea into sustainable income. According to People, the connection that helped jumpstart The Home Edit came from a Los Angeles preschool. Joanna's daughter had gone to preschool with Christina Applegate's daughter. Christina then introduced the pair to Selma Blair, and the higher-paying clients in the entertainment business started to pour in.

The momentum came in the nick of time. "In those early days, we were working ourselves to the bone," Clea Shearer told the magazine. "We would just go like 12, 13 hours in a row. We were on fumes, but it was like we had to prove something to ourselves." Luckily, these high-profile clients trusted the pair because Joanna especially came recommended as a mom friend. "You are dealing with people's very personal things: their bathroom products, their photos," said Joanna. "The fact that someone is letting us into their space is something that we do not take lightly. They need to trust us." After one trip to Los Angeles, the ball started rolling for even bigger things.

The connection from Christina Applegate just kept on giving, as it eventually got Joanna and Clea connected to Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon's company. According to Entertainment Weekly, Joanna was already toying with the idea of pitching a show about her business when she got a DM from Reese's rep on The Home Edit's Instagram. Since Joanna was working with so many people in Reese's circle, the account popped up in her feed, and she got a good laugh from the ladies' fun personalities.

From there, Reese introduced the duo to Netflix and continued to bring big names to the table. Her influence is responsible for the likes of Eva Longoria and Neil Patrick Harris agreeing to be a part of the home organizing show. However, one of Joanna's favorite celebrity guests was Khloe Kardashian because she is a big fan of Khloe's reality show.

According to Create Cultivate, being an entrepreneur has many ups and downs, but Joanna tries her best to face them head-on. It's challenging when you can't work in an office and need to travel frequently. "Expanding our business while also traveling non-stop proved to be a challenge," Joanna said. It takes a lot of effort to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks, especially when you don't remember what time zone you are in."

In addition to juggling the stress of growing a business on the go, Joanna shared that being a working mom adds another element of stress. "It was also hard dealing with the guilt of being away from my family and missing my kids and husband constantly. But I learned that in order to manage it all, I had to be patient with myself and set realistic expectations." #MomGuilt is something a lot of working women struggle with. Joanna's best advice was "to compartmentalize [rather] than to spread yourself too thin."

"The Home Edit" is a social media splash. After all, it was on Instagram that Reese Witherspoon first discovered the business and set about making it a hit TV show. The business social media pages have millions of followers and thousands of likes from adoring fans. However, Joanna's personal social media is another story. Her Instagram is private and hardly used, boasting only one post and a few hundred followers.

According to Medical News Today, taking social media breaks is actually a great idea. They come in two forms: maybe you refrain from sharing too much of your personal life and stick to a business account, like Joanna. Or you set a daily or weekly screen time limit for yourself. You might disconnect entirely for long periods to decrease overall anxiety and boost your mood. It can be relaxing to take a break from checking your phone.

According to Little Rock Soiree, Joanna loves the Enneagram personality type system. Knowing your type can boost your productivity and relationships, so it makes sense that this would be something that sparks Joanna's interest. "It helps you gain some personal insight on the way you approach situations and interact with different types of people, which will make you feel more comfortable and ready for mentorship," said Joanna.

Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson created The Enneagram Institute in 1997 to help people better understand themselves. The system features nine distinct personality types with different strengths, weaknesses, and pain points. Those interested in the program can take an in-depth assessment to assist them in being matched with a specific number. From there, participants can study the complexities of that personality type to learn more about how they can improve their self-worth, relationships with others, mindset, and work productivity (via The Enneagram Institute).

Viewers love watching "The Home Edit" because of Joanna's infectious personality, rainbow organization method, and practical tips for organizing just about any area of your home. Committed viewers will notice that Joanna uses all sorts of items to help keep things in place, like bins, bottles, cups, and more. However, according to PureWow, you will never see Joanna use baskets to organize anything. She hates them.

"One of my personal grievances? I don't love using too many wire baskets," Teplin said. "Things fall through the slots, and because there's no concealment — and there's the grid [from the wire] — everything tends to look cluttered in them." If you watch the show closely, you'll notice you don't ever see a wire basket, even in the kitchen. Sometimes there are woven baskets with liners but never wire — making Joanna a woman true to her word. While you can use baskets in your home for stylish storage, wire baskets are not the most practical option.

Many viewers of "The Home Edit" love Joanna because she is very down-to-earth and relatable. Her fun personality shines through in every episode. It's always fun to discover that one of our celebrities enjoys the same things we do and even gets starstruck sometimes. Joanna was starstruck when she got to take a tour of the "Schitt's Creek" set.

According to House of Harper, Joanna dreams of working with any cast member from the show. Although that hasn't happened yet, we hope she got to do some networking on her 2019 visit to the set in Canada. Joanna and Clea visited iconic locations like The Rosebud Motel, The Café Tropical, and even the mayor's office. Best of all, she got to meet her favorite member of the cast, Dan Levy (via Instagram). No word yet on a potential "Schitt's Creek" and "The Home Edit" crossover, but we will keep our fingers crossed.

If you are a big fan of "The Home Edit" on Netflix and want to go on the show, you can still apply. The services are definitely not cheap but might be worth it for those who enjoy the series. According to The Home Edit, if you live in one of the following places and have the budget for a celebrity-style renovation, you're in luck: Bay Area, DC, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Orange County, Salt Lake City. All quotes are fully customizable and must be agreed upon directly with The Home Edit.

If you are out of the area, you can still hire the team for a virtual consultation, which will only set you back $595. However, the package inclusions only mention working with a The Home Edit designer, so it's unlikely that you will get to work with Joanna, or even Clea, to organize your home like The Home Edit — just in case that's the only reason you were interested.

While hiring Joanna and her team to come and organize a part of your home might seem expensive for the average consumer, she charges even more for in-person talks. According to All American Speakers, Joanna charges up to $100,000 to speak at virtual conferences, let alone travel to talk in person. This significant price tag reflects Joanna and The Home Edit's popularity with consumers and the general public. 

Typically, if a speaker charges between $50,000 and $100,000 for an appearance, they are a high-level celebrity. Event organizers should ensure that including this person on the docket would increase ticket sales substantially above the price to hire the talent. Once you exceed $100,000 for a keynote speaker, you enter the famous politician range, like former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump (via Professional Connector). Joanna's career is going strong and shows no signs of slowing down.