Becoming A KonMari Consultant Is *Not* Cheap, But It Can Really Pay Off

If you've fallen in love with Marie Kondo thanks to her Netflix series or her bestselling books, you might be daydreaming about tidying up for a living. But sparking joy professionally requires a big commitment of both time and money. Though there's a sizable cost to becoming a KonMari consultant, the investment could pay off in a major way.

There are seven steps to becoming a consultant, according to the KonMari website. The major one is a mandatory training session which is currently held twice a year. A spokesperson for the company told me that this year's training sessions are in New York and London. The New York sessions costs $2,200, while the London session is $2,400. Each session is three days long, according to Time, and both sold out well in advance. (You can sign up for the company's Certification newsletter to find out when future sessions will be held.)

A couple thousand dollars for just three days of training may seem steep, but future consultants are kept quite busy. They attend lectures and group discussions, learn how to handle clients, and of course, hear from Kondo herself. Consultant Thu Huynh, who completed her certification last year, says the cost of the training makes sense when you think about how much follow up there is afterward. Trainees have to submit reports of their practice sessions with clients and take a final test, both of which are closely and thoughtfully examined by someone from Kondo's company. "The company would make a lot of money if they just certified, certified, certified people, but no," says Huynh. "Everyone who gets certified went through a very thorough review."

Once they're certified, consultants pay $500 a year to maintain that status. In exchange for that annual fee, they're allowed to keep using the KonMari brand name and other trademarked terms. They maintain their listing on the consultant page on the KonMari website as well, which helps potential clients find them.

Huynh told me consultants also receive on-going support from Kondo's company, including access to private Facebook groups for consultants and consultants-in-training. "We're really in their inner circle to know what's happening with the company, what changes are happening. Like the Netflix show, we were totally aware of it and they prepared us for what was happening." Huynh says the Facebook groups also host live discussions where consultants can ask for advice and feedback. "The community is there. They are open, they are like-minded people." Huynh says Kondo's company invites consultants to yearly retreats, something she's looking forward to attending.

Consultants command high prices for their expertise, with some making over $100 an hour. But Huynh says the beauty of the job for her is getting to introduce so many new people to the KonMari method and seeing what it does for them. "It's been really changing lives of people. That's the privilege for me, to work every day with the clients and feel so fulfilled, to know at the end of the day that you changed someone... you helped someone to have a conversation with themselves and make change."