How to Make it as a New Home Stager with Stager Shay Butler (Part I)

About Today’s Guest
Shay Butler

Welcome back to the show! I’ve got Shay Butler on the show today, we had such a great chat that I’ve split the interview into two and you can catch part two in the next episode.  

This is a great episode to listen to if you’re new to the home staging business or about to start your in your home staging career.  We talked a lot about imposter syndrome, especially when you’re first starting out and how to get clients to book you all the time, learning about how to stage, learning how to improve your skills, also how to build your home staging portfolio.  Some of the things we talk about new home stagers may not be aware of until they get into the industry and start working, especially the part on honing into the client experience to really try to differentiate yourself as a home stager.  We talk about all of that today so you won’t make the same mistakes I made when I first started out as a home stager.  

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In 2015, Shay had two young kids in her house that she needed to sell, knowing she needed to sell her house fast, she staged it and it sold within two days, from there she staged houses for a Real Estate Agent as a hobby until she made it into a business.  There has been a lot of mistakes, success stories and great relationships made along the way.  Her home staging business has been growing by word of mouth ever since she started, she now does redesign projects, helps investors design flips and has even flipped houses for herself, whether it is a house, a person or a relationship, she loves being a part of the transformation process and helping reach their goals.  It is the joy of helping people find their way home.  

This Week on The Home Staging Show Podcast

• Tell us a bit about your Home Staging business and how did you get started as a Stager? (00:03:46)

• With regards to imposter syndrome, what gives you confidence now? (00:05:34)

• The importance of your portfolio as a communication tool for your clients to understand your staging style (00:09:14)

• How photography represents your portfolio to really grab attention of potential buyers (00:11:54)

• Understanding upcoming trends and the need to continually educate yourself as a stager (00:13:27)

• How catalogues create that perfect show home styling using beautiful location homes (00:15:48)

• How home stagers ultimately sell the aspirational lifestyle, the dream (00:17:58)

• Home stagers will be booked based on their style and approach; how to get feedback to improve on what you do (00:21:47)

• How a home stager should ask clients for feedback to continually improve (00:24:03)

• Why a home stager’s attitude and ease to work with is so important (00:25:16)

• Understanding as a home stager that there’s a lot more to running your business than just the home staging (00:27:39)