Burlingame home staging, San Mateo home staging, San Francisco home staging

Many people call or email me and asked “How do I become a Stager?” or specifically “which school is better?” There are also debates if training is needed? But if you are thinking about investing that couple thousand dollars into a staging program, in my opinion, when it comes to choosing your staging education, there are several factors you should consider:

1. What do you want to get out of your staging education? Why is it that you want to become a stager? Staging has become a profession that starts to gain press and attention because of media coverage which often paints a rosy picture how you can do this easily on your weekends and in between lunch breaks and numerous TV shows that had sprung up and consequently developed into a merchandise heaven for producers. But have you thought more about it other than how “easy” it can be to earn a quick buck? If so, read on..
2. Research the profession & the business first. Talk to people who already are doing it. Why reinvent the wheel when you can just ride the wheel? Ask if you can intern or work for free to gain experiences. Although most stagers will prefer you get the education that they received so it will make it easier when you shadow them. Also know that the stagers you shadow have no obligations to give away trade secrets for free. They earned those through investing time and money into their education, as well as working in the fields. Be eager to learn but don’t be irritating. Find out if this is really you cup of tea before you jump into the profession. Any business, no matter how small the overhead is, has overhead and expenses. Can you be prepared as a new stager which means you may not have steady income till 6 months, 1 year, down the line? Do you have marketing and business skills that will help you propel yourself to success? What does it take to run a small business? What do you need to get it off the ground? What are the paperwork and regulations like? How aware your market it about your field?
3. Now, picking the actual education. I would recommend picking something that has hands-on staging time in an actual house, in an actual staging scenario. Also, think about what kind of stager do you want to be? Do you only want to do redesigns? Or do you want to just do consultations for people? Or do you want to do vacant homes? Look at the class descriptions to see what you can get out of it. And make sure it is a reputable company.

   I personally have gone to two different trainings, one is ASP (stagedhomes.com) the other IRIS (www.weredesign.com) both have very different focus and approach to their teachings and both have hands-on staging time, which I felt like is a must. I do have to be honest, I am very wary of the home courses that a lot of companies offer. I feel that it’s just a quick money making scheme for the authors. (I personally have ordered one of these home courses and was VERY disappointed. What a waste of money!) (Although, this could be a hot topic. Many people done home courses and have become stagers.)

4. In my personal opinion, I can’t learn staging off the book. I learn by doing. Sure I can learn how to date by buying “dummy’s guide to dating” (yes there is such a book haha), but in reality can I date like I am Hugh Hefner? No. They can’t teach people skills nor creativity from a book.

   Moreover, you cannot get interactions with your teacher & classmates from a book nor a classroom instruction course without hands-on staging time. When I stage with people, people’s ideas and experiences bounce off each other and creativity spark. You come up with creative solutions to things that you yourself may not think of. Also, it creates more networking opportunity. You network with your classmates and you help each other grow each other’s businesses. You may later decide having your own business is too hairy. You just want to partner up with someone. Moreover, you can pick your teacher’s brain! Ask him/her all sorts of questions that you are confused about starting a business. And keep in touch, which brings me to the next point…

5. What is the “alumni” association like? Find out if there is an association for the graduates. It’s really a support and networking system. You are pretty much a new born in the business. You teacher can’t just slap you on the butt and sends you out of the door! It’s scary to start your own business, not to mention you are an island floating around the vast ocean by yourself. You need support. You need those bridges to connect you to other little islands. With support, you will feel much at ease when you actually have your first job.

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