For newbie stagers

I’m wondering what your day is like?
My day to day is very different. It’s like snowflakes, no 2 days are alike. On days when I am doing installations, my call time starts at 7am to pull inventory, or the night before to pack everything up. With bigger jobs I tend to rent a box truck, which means it’s extra hours to pick up and return vehicle. Typically I spend 5-8 hours on job site with 1-2 assistants. That does NOT include prep time and clean up time after we return to warehouse.

On days when I don’t have installations, I have things range from appointments to visit home owners for consultations, meeting with potential vendors, meeting realtors, networking events, to admin work like invoicing, billing, writing, researching, working on expanding my business, marketing, continue education, cleaning inventory, cataloging inventory, moving furniture, shopping for new inventory, working on current trends, reading, LOTS of things to do.

I typically work 6-7 days a week, ranging from 6-12 hours per day.

And how you feel the market is doing?
Market is market, there will be hot times and cold times, busy times and slow times. It’s cyclical, just like any business. Like ice cream truck does better in summer than winter, or coats are more popular in winter. We have ups and downs as well in real estate. The market timing depends on where you are in the country. In San Francisco bay area, the market continue

I know, I write mean emails. But if you are not serious about making a career change into something you are not familiar with and you are easily intimidated, think again.

(photo by oberazzi)

—–Original Message—–
From: Aspiring Stager
To:cindy@staged4more.com
Subject: Re: Business of Staging homes

Thank you Cindy for your prompt response. Basically I want to know how
to go about getting into the home staging business. Do you need a
background in interior design or can it be something you pick up by being
in the industry. I have a background in Advertising and art, so I was
wondering if that could benefit me in any way or I need more.

If you have any suggestions and/or advice, I would greatly appreciate
it.

Aspiring Stager

————————————————————————-

First of all staging is very different from interior design. If you
can’t see the differences between the 2, you will be in trouble when you
get in the business. I would recommend to do some research and see if
this is something that you want to do.

I would recommend you to figure out first: continue

Congratulations! You’ve grown your staging business to the point where your inventory, when it’s not in use (hopefully not often!), is filling every nook and cranny of your home. It’s time to rent a storage space. Whether you’re based in a city or a rural area, choices abound for spaces to rent to keep your inventory. Some options to consider are other people’s unused garages, sheds, extra rooms, public storage units, and warehouses. With my own staging business, I rented a small self-storage unit at a storage complex a couple blocks from my home. Location, size, and cost were the key considerations for me at first, but I quickly learned that there were other important factors I hadn’t thought of at the beginning.

First of all, signing a contract to rent a storage unit is not something to take lightly. It’s an extra overhead expense that you probably haven’t had to incur until this point. You’ve got to be sure that you can cover this expense, or that your business is growing at a healthy enough rate to cover it. You’re signing a contract which is a legally-enforceable commitment – take it seriously! In my opinion, it’s best to find a storage space which you can rent on a month-to-month basis, with a time period in which to give notice of leaving it that is as short as possible.

As for the size of the unit, you probably won’t need as much space as you think. If business is good, hopefully the unit will be empty much of the time! But, as we’ve all experienced, there are ups and downs in this business, and you should anticipate that much of your inventory may be back in your possession at some point – especially around the holidays.

You should feel comfortable in the space you’re renting. Get to know the manager by sight. Security is key: Who else has units near yours? During what hours can you access your unit? What type of security is there? When is a manager on duty? Is there adequate lighting in your unit? At one point I had some transients essentially living in the unit across the hall from mine – I always felt a little uncomfortable opening my unit when they were around to reveal all the beautiful new furniture I had!

Make sure that you will have access to the units in the early mornings and evenings. I would always be loading my truck at the crack of dawn, and often returning at dusk. Believe me, it sucks after a long day to realize you can’t unload the truck as you’d planned! Also note how you will load and unload – are you near a loading dock or parking area? Climate, water and pest control are other things to inquire about before renting – how awful it would be to have termites destroy your inventory!

Be sure to notify your insurer of this exciting development in your business. If a fire destroyed your unit, it would be devastating to lose everything only to find that your insurance didn’t cover items kept off the premises of your home or business address. Many storage rental contracts state explicitly that their insurance will not cover loss of your stored items. Finally, as always, read the fine print in the rental contract before you sign. Remember that you most likely have a lot of options in this area, and you have the ability to negotiate terms you may not like. Happy storing!

photo: DoBeRaGi
From: Ms. D

Subject: Advice for budding stager

Hi Cindy,

My name is [Ms. D] and I am what you would call a budding stager who has a flair for design and is passionate about interior design.
I’ve been reading your blogs and have been inspired by your beliefs and accomplishments. I wonder if you can share some of your wisdom with this newbie. Which home staging course would you recommend? There are so many! Did the course have practical training? Would you recommend specific videos or book?
I am not interested in pursuing a home staging business right now. Instead I would like to work with a group of home stagers and learn by experience. I really believe you learn by doing.
Thank you in advance for your time and help! I sincerely appreciate your advice.Sincerely,
[Ms. D]*** *** ***

Hi Ms. D

I would recommend a nationally recognized staging course, because the bigger the company is, the more liability and responsibility they must have to answer to their students and consumers. I am about to take CSP as continue education this weekend, and so far I have heard wonderful things about it.

I also think it’s all depending on what you want your niche to be and how strong you are in terms of business skills. A lot of staging courses really focus more on the business side, which ASP was when I took it in early 2006. I think they have since added more design elements into their course, but frankly you learn best from working in the fields. I personally took continue

This is going to be a great event for budding stagers. I will be there as well, feel free to say hello!

The San Francisco Design Center, in partnership with the Design Trade Resources Association and the Real Estate Staging Association, presents a seminar just for stagers.  Kym Hough, CSP, ASP, will share 10 steps to growing an exceptional staging business.  Hosted by the Henredon showroom, enjoy light refreshments during the seminar and then take a tour of 12 showrooms at the San Francisco Design Center.

Date: March 20, 2008
Time: 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Maximum of 70 guests
Please RSVP to 888.201.8687
Event is free of charge

Tour showrooms include:

Ann Sacks
Couristan
GaulSearson, Ltd.
Henredon Interior Design Showroom
Jalili International Inc.
Lee Jofa Inc.
McRae & Company
Murray’s Iron Works
Policelli Italian Lighting and Design
Provasi
RJ Collections
Tansu

What is the number-one mistake stagers make in their businesses? Not having a staging contract!! This is such a big mistake that it needs to be the subject of my first staging and lawyering post. Stagers, I beg you - invest time, money or whatever it takes to make up a solid staging contract. Not only can a contract solidify your business policies and give you consistency from client to client, but it can also save you from a lot of heartache if something goes wrong.

So, what is a contract? I know, it sounds like a stupid question - as part of modern society we deal with contracts on a daily basis. But so many times we enter into contracts and don’t even think about it - we may not even realize we’re entering into a relationship that falls into the definition of a “contract”!

A contract essentially is an agreement between two parties to do - or not do - something in exchange for something else. Contrary to popular belief, contracts do not always have to be in writing, nor do they have to be signed (but these are two steps that will be essential in your staging contract!).

There are some essential parts of a contract: continue

While FreeMoneyFinance is taking his sweet vacation, I am guest blogging several blogs on Staging:

If you missed the previous entries:
*Quick & Cheap Tips for Selling Your Home

When FMF first suggested this topic I was frankly a little hesitant to write it. I have been a professional stager for about 2 years now and have seen quite a few newbies who never took off in their businesses or stagers left the business after couple years. It’s a high turnover business, like any job in real estate industry. The main reason for such high turnover is that people don’t have the right expectations coming into the industry. HGTV has made it very glamorous and seemingly easy to do, but the daily grinds of running your small business, liabilities issues, administrative tasks, taxation issues, inventory upkeep, time management and personnel management, prospecting, marketing, PR, etc. can kill any aspiring professional very easily. I have seen quite a few jumped into the industry and had no clue what they were doing whether in staging or running a small business or both, and consequently hurt themselves and their clients along the way. In the long run, that does hurt the industry and made it difficult to work with clients sometimes when they have the misconceptions or already got burned by previous bad staging experiences.

That said, it is actually very easy to become a home stager, that’s why there is a significant increase of stagers on the current market.

Unfortunately there are neither ethics nor regulations that set standards for stagers. That means essentially anyone can print up a business card and set up a website then call herself/himself a stager. Working as a stager can be good money, as we have seen on shows like Million Dollar Listings where stagers charge $30,000 to stage a home (Although in general, that’s not the case. It varies by market.). It is also fabulous to work for yourself. It certainly is a creative job.

Here are a basic ways you can earn side income as a stager:

1. Write consultation reports: Consultation reports are basically DIY reports for the sellers. You will visit the home, write down detailed notes and instructions for transforming their home, and have the homeowners stage the homes themselves. You can also include a visit so you can make sure the homeowners are staging it according to your instructions, moreover, they actually did it. Sometimes sellers don’t feel motivated to stage it so they may only do part of it. Unfortunately, the entire home is for sale, not just “part of it,” so it’s good to pay a visit to make sure they actually did what you said they should do.
2. Redesign homes to live/sell: You have seen it on HGTV and basically you come into the home and use their existing furnishings and accessories to stage. When sellers are strapped for cash, you gotta use what they’ve got. Many believe that staging is about moving all the furniture out and then moving in stager’s furniture. NO. Staging doesn’t have to be costly and I personally don’t believe that the sellers should spend more than they should to get their home sold. It’s a waste of monetary resources and everyone’s time. Sometimes when homeowners don’t have accessories at all, or theirs are outdated, I do bring in my accessories to style the homes. This happens when young couples know that they would be moving in couple years, so they purposely didn’t buy anything to decorate the starter condo/home. Or senior citizens who haven’t updated their homes while they live there. I also encounter sellers who have very personal décor, such as religious symbols, nude paintings, etc. where I generally will bring in home accessories as well to neutralize the home to appeal to a broader range of buyers.
3. Click to read more at FreeMoneyFinance