Having been in real estate since , I get asked a lot about home staging as a career path. Here are my unsolicited advices based on my experiences:. Sometimes simply being creative or passionate about this business is not enough. There are a lot of factors that can contribute the success and failure of a business, and as a business owner, that is all on you.

In fact, turning a hobby or interest into a business can kill your love for it. Yes I can, hello From my experience, it is tough to find mentorship in this business, especially from your own geographical areas. Busy stagers really are busy. The barrier to enter the home staging field is incredibly low. There is no certification or exams you need to pass to become a home stager. You can work as a home stager as long as you have a good sense of design and knowing how to pull interiors together.

Most home staging training courses focus on logistics, marketing and business skills. Some do cover basic design principles. It is not difficult at all to become a home stager or start a home staging business. But having a self-sustaining business is something not covered in these 3-day trainings. It it much easier now, however, than when I first started. When I first started out, I spend the majority of my days working on logistics and running the business, actually very little time is spent on job sites styling.

My days can be very long. During peak season, I work about hours per day. It can also be mentally and physically exhausting when you are working back to back jobs.

There are a lot of moving parts to what we do as well, a lot of coordination with different people sellers, real estate agents, freelancers, movers, furniture dealers, etc. We may have booked the job one to two weeks in advanced, but I will need to plan out all the inventory needed for each projects in the pipeline, scheduling movers and freelancers for jobs, and coordinating furniture orders or driving around buying more inventory for projects.

They want their listings staged today and on market tomorrow. The road of building your business can be long, confusing and frustrating. Having a great support group and persistence will help you tremendously. During down season, there are still lots to do, because you want to make sure that you are ready for the busy seasons in a few months.

During this time, you are doing marketing push, continuing your blogging and social media efforts, and at the same time, organizing the warehouse and working on refreshing the inventory.

Also, entrepreneurs may tell you that you will work long hours when you own your business. But you would have NO idea how many until you start one yourself. The pressure of breaking even every month or meeting payroll if you have employees may be tremendous. Even though I have been in business for close to 9 years, I still constantly work on perfecting our systems, working on our website, branding, etc. On the back end, invoicing, marketing, blogging, updating websites, photo editing, paperwork, lots and lots and lots of stuff to do.

Or competitors stealing your branding, marketing copy, even your portfolio photos. Not to mention the pleasantness of filing endless paperwork to IRS, your local and state governments.

It does get easier. Acquiring inventory costs money, and then it costs more money when you need people to move it, store it and maintain it. Even if you use rental furniture, you still need to buy home accessories and soft goods, since most rental companies only rent furnishings.

You will also need to have good credit since you will be fronting a lot of inventory investment before getting paid. You will need to learn how to manage your cash flow effectively, because it sucks to turn down projects when you are low on inventory, especially with your regular clients. More importantly, NEVER get in serious debts for your business. It can snowball very quickly. Spend and invest wisely on your business, and always find fat in your balance sheet to trim.

Tightening the belt during recession really saved my business. In general, before you start a new business, you should have months of living costs saved on reserve. The building phase takes time. Depending on how popular home staging is in your area, the ramp up time can vary. In the beginning, you will also need to invest on building a brand, like printing business card, set up a website, etc. Sellers can be HIGHLY emotional. It is a lot of money on the line and a lot of pressure.

You are expected to be understanding, patient and cool as a cucumber no matter what happens. You also need to learn not to take comments personally, and give feedbacks gently and professionally. There will be clients who drive you completely nuts and want to make you quit this business, but it will pass.

We once had a client who came around the job site around the clock to check on how we were doing. The seller first loved everything then hated everything. Then called me and texted me until 8pm on a Sunday and continued to text and call me all day the following day Memorial day.

Does ‘staging’ a home lure buyers into paying more? - MarketWatch

But luckily we had a very solid contract that protected us. And of course, after the experience, I added more clauses into the contract to make sure we are more bulletproof. There will always be clients who try to break the rules and push every button. You still need to put in face time to woo and keep your clients. At the same time, you still need to have a strong web presence. Have a great website that is easy to navigate and showcase your work is important.

Marketing your work constantly through social media and your blog can help you build credibility and book projects. Majority of my clients come from our website and referrals. People are strange creatures when it comes to careers and money.

Copyright violation is never okay, neither is inflating your ability. Setting up your business legally correctly is important. In additions to your legal business entity, it is important to have a great contract that protects you and liability insurance in case something happens. If you ever decide to hire employees or independent contractor, human resources law can be complicated. There were points where I wanted to just give up. There were points where I was confused and unsure what I am doing.

I had guilt not spending enough time with my family. Despite dealing with so many obstacles and how crazy life can be, and people can be pain in the , at the end of the day, I still love every day of it.

My business has taught me a lot, both as a business owner and myself. In a way, I grew up with my business, and I feel very blessed for the experience.

I also help home stagers build awesome, profitable and growing businesses through my Cash in the Cushions business courses. Subscribe to get the latest The H ome Staging Show Podcast episode by email. You will get an email every time a new episode is published. One of the ways we pay for the show and keep it free is through donations from listeners. We truly appreciate the help.

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How do you earn money as a home stager? - Rave Home Staging & Training

SCHOOL OF HOME STAGING. Here are my unsolicited advices based on my experiences: Passion is sometimes not enough. There may be lack of friendship or mentorship in your area. When you are starting out, you are driving in the fog, on a road filled with pot holes. There is always work to do. You should have a fairly deep pocket, and very good credit.

You will see many sides of human nature, and sometimes, they are not the nicest sides. And having an extremely well written contract will save you over and over. Not comfortable at sales or marketing? Well, let it go. Build a great reputation the right way. Have a few advices yourself to give?

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Jun 14, Podcast , Home Staging Hacks , Home Improvements , Business of Home Staging podcast , professional organizing , home stagers , Toronto real estate , Vancouver real estate , preparing your home for sale , de-clutter , cleaning , buyers , sellers' mistakes , staging mistakes , overwhelm , clutter , capsule wardrobe , tools , buyer's behaviors , target buyers , trends Cindy Lin Comment. Organize and Stage Your Home with Professional Home Stager and Organizer Nina Dorian The Home Staging Show Podcast Season 6 Episode 1.

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