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Some home stagers mistakenly believe they need to carry their own furniture inventory because they live in a small town where there isn’t a large furniture rental company. Unfortunately, many of these stagers end up broke and out of business with nothing but truckloads of furniture and a pile of debt.
Many home stagers mistakenly believe they need to carry an inventory of furniture to rent to their home staging clients who have vacant properties, or need new pieces to supplement existing furniture for a resale home on the market. Sadly, many of these stagers end up broke and out of business with nothing but a warehouse full of furniture and a pile of debt.
Because the home staging industry is completely unregulated, anybody can call him or herself a home stager. This is one of many reasons too many real estate stagers get into the industry with no business or marketing training whatsoever. Many of these home stagers have good intentions, but end up using awful marketing tactics to try to grow their businesses, and end up sabotaging their businesses instead.
Unfortunately, many individuals with a talent for decorating attempt to become home stagers without any kind of business training or marketing knowledge. With the best of intentions they stumble into some awful marketing tactics that will put them out of business faster than you can say, "What were they thinking?"
Judging by the number of folks who claim to call themselves "Home Stagers" today, you'd think it was the world's largest growing industry.
Becoming a home stager doesn't mean you have to get yourself into credit card debt stocking up on art, accessories, towels and bedding. If you've been putting off your desire to learn home staging because you're not prepared for these expenses, you should know you have other options. When it comes to accessories, towels and bedding - those types of things - when I need to purchase them for a client, I use their money and everything ends up belonging to my clients.
Many design-oriented individuals decide to become home stagers without any kind of business training or marketing knowledge. While they mean well, they often stumble into some terrible marketing tactics that will likely put them out of business faster than you can say, “What were they thinking?” In part one of this article series, I discussed why using sex appeal and inappropriate humor are awful ideas for home stagers trying to build their businesses and be taken seriously. Today I’ll share another marketing tactic that will probably put your home staging business under...
As more informed homeowners hire Real Estate Stagers and more buyers have the chance to view homes that have been staged, other home sellers will realize they too have to follow the practice otherwise their un-staged homes will look even worse by comparison.
A professional Home Stager will look at your client's home through the eyes of a highly critical buyer and make recommendations that will create the best first impression for potential buyers. Their services allow a home to stand out from the crowd and that benefits both the seller and real estate agent. It is a clear win-win situation.
For a home stager, one of the best ways to convince a homeowner to employ your services is through your home staging portfolio. When one of your prospects is looking at your portfolio, they have very high expectations and your photographs are going to be examined very closely.
Just a couple of years ago, very few people had heard of home staging. But once a good thing is discovered, it just takes off, and that's what has happened with this method of preparing a home fore sale.
The photos you put in your professional home staging portfolio are among the most important photos you will ever take. Your portfolio is used to show your prospective clients what a talented home stager you are, and whoever is looking at it is expecting dramatic transformations to justify investing in your home staging services.
If a career in home staging is what your future holds, there are many opportunities ahead for you and there’s no better time to start preparing than today. In part one of this article series, aspiring home stagers were given the first two steps they can take now, towards starting their businesses; determining if home staging is the right career for them, and thinking up a name. The following are three additional steps that can be taken immediately to help build a profitable home staging business...
Although it's not a new concept, staging your home is an important part of getting it sold--and for top dollar. Traditionally, homeowners themselves have been responsible for making their homes presentable for showing, but with homes costing more and competition getting stiffer as the real estate market softens, that trend is changing.
Many moms are feeling like it’s time to do something for themselves. Especially in these tough economic times, many are also looking for ways to contribute to the household income. When the kids head back to school after March or Spring Break, is it time for Mom to look at new ways to spend the time while they are at school?
Home staging is an extremely lucrative career if you know how to properly charge for your services. It makes me cringe when I hear figures as low as $31.45 per hour being touted as ‘great income’ for a home stager. That is an impossibly low rate for any independent professional to charge, but an expert home stager should actually be making at least double if not four or five times that amount.
Asking why staging is a vital aspect of home selling is kind of like asking "why bother to clean before the show?" Years ago before staging had not really been defined in the real estate industry, the process was already being done to some extent on most home sales. It is just in recent years that the need has presented itself in enough force to found a whole new business sector.
Had Laura Kakoschke gone into the field of home staging with the goal of getting a guaranteed job at $31.45 per hour, it’s safe to say things would have worked out much differently for her. This Staging Diva Graduate and founder of Hunter Lake Home Staging and Design says of this, her second chance career, “I made more money in the first 10 months in my own staging business than I used to make in a whole year working for the government as a Contract Manager. And now I work half the hours that I used to!”
If you’re trying to find out everything you can about being in the home staging business, you’ve probably heard of a program guaranteeing employment as a home stager at a rate of $24-$30 per hour. While that might sound like a lot if you’re used to earning minimum wage, it’s actually a very low salary for a home stager.
House hunting can often be a lot like "speed dating". If you've ever been house hunting, you can see the similarities. Your agent takes you to six or more houses in a single afternoon. Within minutes, you'll reject most choosing possibly one or two properties to go back to for a second look. And Home Staging is all about creating the best first impression and paving the way for potential buyers to fall in love.
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