Y-A-Y. 
Here are a few of our new updates & plan for 2009.
Posts Tagged ‘san mateo’
Staged4more Turns 3!!
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009A New Year Gift For You (Free Download)
Thursday, January 8th, 2009Hello Staged4more community!
Thanks again for your amazing support in the past few years. I know I have been quiet on the blog lately, but with good reasons. Staged4more had received great press opportunities in 2008, such as staging for HGTV and awards (2008 Make Mine A Million competition winner in Micro category and Sam Walton Emerging Entrepreneur Award). All these are very exciting. What is even more exciting is what I have in store for you in 2009!
*2 real estate marketing books will be published this year
*an eco-friendly real estate product line
*a home accessories product line
*new website (yes, we are growing out of this one!) that will have online shopping capabilities and more free useful content for you
*trainings in areas like green training, color designs, redesigns, etc.
As a token of appreciation for all your wonderful support since I founded Staged4more, here is a 2009-staged4more-real-estate-goals-calendar. You can print on any letter size paper of your choosing. All you need to do once you printed is cut them up and put them in a CD case for your desktop. (see photos below) I have also letterpressed these calendars and gave them out as gifts to clients, vendors and some of our Facebook fans. If you would like a letterpress copy, please email me directly at cindy (at) staged4more (dot) com. We have very few copies left.
Here are some photos:
HAPPY NEW YEAR! enjoy the calendars!
The Angels Singing Moment!
Thursday, December 4th, 2008
This week I totally had an out of body experience. It is one thing to see your company name on letterheads, but it is another to see it goes on the side of a building!
Originally I was quoted by a building signs company to pay $1200 for brand new building signs. Really? $1200? Thanks, no thanks. So I went to Loew’s and matched a bucket of the paint to the building color (It came out close but still slightly off since the sample was fairly dirty from years of dust and rain. But the funny thing is the paint doesn’t look matched with our neighbor on our left side, but matches the neighbor on the right side. So I guess it is sort of close!).
I also ordered stencil from an internet company that specializes in outdoor stencils. So yesterday I had two of our movers painted in the morning, then had them climbed onto the trellis to put the stencil up. I had them folded the stencil in half to determine the center line, eyeballed the middle roughly, then place the stencil onto the wall.
To put the stencil up, peel off the backing so the sticky side of stencil is revealed. You want to make sure you have the letters on correctly, not backward. This is why you sometimes see vehicles with their advertising backward, because they didn’t pay attention when they applied the stencil. Once it’s on, you need to make sure all the air bubbles are out by using something like a ruler or spatula to smooth the stencil out.
Then it is ready for paint! Technically you should dab the paint lightly, because the paint can seep through under the stencial and not have a clean look. We thought we would be okay since we applied the stencil pretty carefully, so we layed out the paint pretty thick.
We left it to dry over night, and the next day I climbed up the trellis myself to peel of the stencil. It came out with little dots around the lettering (paint still seeped through under the stencil) but since the building sign was so far away, most people won’t notice anyway.
It was challenging to climb up, I ended up using 2 ladders (I never was very sporty when I was growing up, let along climbing trees…). It was scary but thrilling.
All and all, I just still can’t believe now there is a building with our company name on it!!! WOOHOO! It was definitely an amazing feeling! It feels like that my small business has gone to the next level!
The second best part was that the whole thing cost $200, instead of $1200!
Did you just hire Mr. Joe the Plumber to Stage Your House?
Monday, October 20th, 2008When mainstream media checked the background of Mr. Joe the Plumber, they found out he didn’t have a plumber’s license to practice.
Joe the Plumber with Obama Courtesy of MSNBC.com
Well, it’s a similar issue in the staging industry: you don’t need a license to practice staging. Additionally, there is no regulation or ethics committee when it comes to business practices for staging. Essentially, anyone and everyone can wake up one day, “bing,” with that lightbulb going off above their heads and say: “Well, I’ve decided! In this recession, home staging sounds like a lucrative career, so I am gonna do it!” Silly as it sounds, it happens more often than we thought.
So as a consumer, what to do when you are hiring a stager? How do you make sure that you are hiring a stager who is responsible, ethical and will stage your home to get you best return on your staging investment?
Here are a few tips:
*Ask probing questions: Instead of just asking “How long have you been in the business?” ask “How many homes have you staged?” Because someone can be “in business” for a long period of time and not actually stage a lot of houses. You want to gauge how many projects the stager has done and what is his/hers past track records.
*Don’t just hire based on pricing: Figure out what you really get for the price tag. When you compare proposals, look at what does the lowest price tag include vs. the highest price tag include. The most expensive doesn’t mean it’s better, and vice versa. Also find out if there are other surcharges.
*ALWAYS, ALWAYS interview more than 1 stager: Hiring a stager is really not a decision to be taken lightly. Because the difference between a good stager vs. a bad stager can be days on market, # of offers, etc. which can have significant consequences of your final sales profit.
Got any other tips? Share them in the comment box below!
Don’t Be Fooled by the 2 big D words in Home Staging
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008I read this script today that teaches realtors how to teach their clients “on staging home to sell:”
“I’m going to give you the two biggest money-making words there are when it comes to showing your home: depersonalize and declutter. It’ll make you house look bigger and is the best thing you can do.”
Hmm, really?
De-personalize and de-clutter, although 2 important aspects in home staging, does NOT substitute home staging.
I have heard agents telling their clients all the time, and I even have sellers say to me all the time, “Oh, I know I need to de-personalize and de-clutter. I learn that from HGTV.“ or “All I need is to de-peronsalize and de-clutter, I don’t need anything else.” And that’s ALL they do.
And you know what happens when you just de-personalize and de-clutter? You are just showing an empty space and a shell of a home. BUT PEOPLE WANT TO BUY MORE THAN JUST 4 WALLS AND A ROOF.
We often forget what it felt like when we were buyers when we sell our homes. We forgot that we (more…)
Local Business Woman Named As Micro to Millions Awardee at Make Mine a Million $ Businessâ„¢ Albuquerque Event
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
Local Business Woman Named As Micro to Millions Awardee at Make Mine a Million $ Businessâ„¢ Albuquerque Event
San Francisco, San Francisco September 10, 2008 Real Estate
(PRLEAP.COM) San Francisco, CA –[September 17, 2008] – Non-profit business program, Make Mine A Million $ Business has selected local business woman Cindy Lin of Staged4more Home Staging and Redesigns as one of 5 business women awardees to win the Micro to Millions awards package at the Albuquerque event on September 18, 2008 at the Wool Warehouse.
The exciting event will feature female entrepreneurs from New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California who competed for business development packages that include $5,000 in financing, coaching, and membership in a nation-wide community of women business owners providing assistance to help their businesses grow to million-dollar enterprises. The event will include educational and network opportunities in addition to keynote speeches by Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish and Nely Galan, Founder of GaLAn Entertainment.
Cindy Lin is the founder and lead designer of Staged4more Home Staging & Redesigns, which opened its door February 2006. Even at age 27, Lin is already an accomplished home staging professional and stylist. In additions to her staging work, her real estate blogs, coaching and speaking engagements have set her apart as a leader of the home staging industry. She has studied with various successful home staging and design professionals, including Barb Schwarz, the original creator of home staging, Mary Knackstedt, author of first interior design textbook, Christine Rae, staging educator and author of Home Staging for Dummies. Lin holds several key staging designations which include Accredited Staging Professional Master (ASPM), Interior Redesign Industry Specialist (IRIS) and Certified Staging Professional (CSP). She served as Charter President for San Francisco Chapter of International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) from 2005-2007 and recently became Charter President for San Francisco Chapter of Real Estate Staging Association (RESA).
To date, she has assisted 60+ San Francisco bay area home sellers and agents to stage and sell $45+ million worth of real estate, in which, earned a combined $1,527,000 in over-asking price. Her work and Staged4more have appeared in San Francisco Chronicle, San Mateo County Times, Home & Garden Television (HGTV) and many other online media.
In 2007, 62% of her company Staged4more’s staged & sold listings were sold Over-Asking with an average of 3.34% increase in selling price, which equaled to an average return on investment of staging at 1129.24% for her sellers. For an $800,000 listing, that’s an average of $26,720 increase over the original listing price.
“Winning this program means a lot to me. Home staging is such a young industry, and there are a lot of turbulence within the industry as well as external distrust and pressures from the consumers. One of the main struggles among seasoned stagers is that ‘Does our business model work? Can we be here for the long run while dealing with temperamental economy, tests of legitimacy and unethical behaviors done by unqualified individuals who are just in it for the glory?’ By winning the micro program means what I am doing and planning to do make sense. Being accepted into the micro program is also encouraging for other female small business owners in the networking groups that I host, as well as women entrepreneurs my age. It can be intimidating working in a field that is dominated by people twice my age, without the life experiences or the previous corporate lives like most of my competitors or clients have. I am often asked about my age when I first meet potential clients, or being treated as an intern,” said Lin.
More than four hundred women applied for the packages being awarded at this event. The Micro to Millions program is an offshoot of the Make Mine a Million $ Business program, which began in 2005 to provide packages of support to women who had been in business for over two years and had reached $250,000 in annual revenue. The Micro to Millions program was created to provide the right help to women who had not yet achieved that level of growth, but were determined to reach the million-dollar mark.
Described as a cross between “The Apprentice” and “American Idol,” the Make Mine a Million $ Business competition provides twenty women whose businesses have hit $250,000 in annual revenue the opportunity to present their business in a 3 minute “elevator pitch” to a panel of business experts and a live audience. Ten Make Mine a Million $ Business winners will be chosen by the audience and judges who collaborate on the selection process.
Launched in 2005 by Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence and founding partner American Express OPEN ®, the Make Mine a Million $ Business program was created to help post-start up, women-owned businesses grow to one million dollars in annual revenue. Since the inception, the program has hosted 18 competitions in cities around the country and grown into a nationwide movement.
“We are excited to come to New Mexico and provide support to women entrepreneurs in the region,” said Nell Merlino, founder and president of Count Me In. “The number of applicants mirrors the growth of our entrepreneurs’ businesses and their desire to take them to the million dollar level.”
The Make Mine a Million $ Business program has garnered support from organizations who are all joining hands in order to make an impact in women’s lives and strengthening the US economy. The impressive list of blue-chip national sponsors include American Express OPEN, Cisco, Dell, FedEx, and JetBlue. Sponsors provide an array of products and services that serve as invaluable tools for growth.
For more information about how women can grow their businesses please visit www.makemineamillion.org.
About Count Me In
Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of on-line business loans and resources for women to grow their micro businesses into $million enterprises. Find us at www.countmein.org or call 212-245-1245.
Media Contacts:
Ann Noder Marybeth Grass
Orca Communications for Make Mine A Million $
480-248-0012 602-896-7643
Ann@orcacommunications.com Marybeth@orcacommunications.com
Diary of a Stager
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009Although I have moved Staged4more into its current location (3,600 square feet commercial building: see blog Angel Singing Moment!) for awhile now (umm like 6 months?), the warehouse still looks like a hot mess. (‘Tis the woe of a solo-preneur!)
Even though a lot of racks are up, I am still in the process of building more shelves to accommodate weird-shaping inventories like florals, tabletop accessories, etc. It feels like we are under construction every day! (And we actually are… Right now we are adding faucets in the front part of warehouse for a mini kitchen!) The kitchen cabinets you see are actually old kitchen cabinets (more…)
Tags: eco-friendly, eco-friendly product, forklift, green, green building science, green real estate training, home stager, home staging, kitchen cabinet, kitchen remodel, live green live smart, Real Estate, real estate training, san francisco, san mateo, staged4more, sustainable building advisor
Posted in A Day in the Life of a Home Stager, A Stager's Commentary | No Comments »