“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – e.e. cummings

Taking on new creative challenges continues to be one of my goals because I find they all feed each other.

For example, in my mid 50s, I was gearing up for my first Stand Up Comedy performance. Truly terrifying and exhilarating.

I also tried my hand at sculpting a live model in clay. I’ve never done this before. It was totally frustrating and often boring.

In the final session, I finished the sculpture and then spontaneously decided to cut it up.

During the process of what I call Creative Destruction, I discovered something far more interesting than the representational sculpture.

And, I had more fun than I’d had all the previous weeks.

This got me thinking that sometimes you have to destroy something, even if you’ve worked hard on it.

In the destruction, you allow for something you never could have imagined, and possibly even better, to come into being.

You create something new and delightful.

Or you create something that isn’t. And you destroy (or modify) it again, and keep going.

Now in my 60s, I need to surprise myself to stay creative and engaged with life. I need to “bring the joy” as one of my mentors says.

Home Stagers, have you had any challenges in this area? Does any of this resonate with you? If so, let me know. I’m thinking of exploring these ideas further in a series of articles.

I’m so proud of how many Staging Diva Grads have been winning awards. Here are some examples:

Red Barrineuvo of Redesign4More (ON) writes, “I was so thrilled at being chosen Home Stager of the Year for Canada and I thought I should share it with you because you helped me start this career. Its amazing how things work when you set your mind and heart to it. Thank you for all your help and continued support! Means a lot.”

Recipients of the Houzz Customer Service Award include: Sharon Stauss of Style with the House of Strauss (AU), Mary Ann Benoit of Northern Lights Home Staging (AK), Victoria Guillot of Stage Coach Services LLC (PA).

The “spring” real estate season has already started here with phone calls from clients who want their homes staged before going on the market. Has that been happening for you too?

If you haven’t started your staging business, remember this is the busiest season of the year and it’s not too late to learn what you need to take advantage of it.

The post Home Staging, Creativity and Fear appeared first on Staging Diva.

The Sotheby’s Realtor has asked me to find a home stager to spruce up a $1.5 million listing. It’s already furnished but needs a home stager’s finishing touches.

Wouldn’t you enjoy doing a (paid) home staging consultation and sourcing any additional furniture and accessories she might need?

This real estate agent knows how important the proper home staging can be and reached out to me for help finding a home stager.

It’s so much easier for you to get hired because she already knows why home staging is essential for a quick sale at top dollar!

Not to mention all the future Carmel area home staging jobs it can lead to once you’ve done this project for this California Realtor! Sotheby’s has great listings and this could lead to many more prestigious projects.

Once I’ve put you in touch with the listing agent, all you have to do to get this job is convince her that you’re the right person to hire.

As a Staging Diva Grad, you already know exactly how to do that. If you need a refresher, re-listen to your Course 4 recording from the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program.

This Carmel California staging project will be a fabulous success story for your home staging portfolio.

Carmel Home Staging Job — How to Apply

Apply for this Carmel home staging job couldn’t be easier.

Simply complete the form at the Staging Diva Home Staging Project Referral Service.

Make sure to include “Carmel California Home Staging Job” as the project location in the first line of the form.

This Carmel home staging project is open to any Staging Diva Graduate with a professional Internet presence. (It’s difficult to convince a client to hire you if they can’t review your staging portfolio, after all!)

If you get any paid work through this referral, there will be a $125 referral fee. This is a flat fee, no matter how many future projects this Carmel real estate agent hires you for.

You can build this referral fee into your own home staging consultation fees. It’s entirely up to you.

You have nothing to lose applying for this position if you’re in the Carmel area, and everything to gain!

NOTE: You must follow the application instructions to be considered. 

Are Home Staging Clients Able to Find You?

If you’re not already a Staging Diva Graduate consider that just one good project would more than pay for your entire training program.

Unless you’re too busy for new staging jobs, what are you waiting for? Get the training and marketing you need to ensure the steady growth of your home staging business.

Wondering How Much You Can Make From This Home Staging Job?

This can be a very lucrative home staging job, when you know how to price it correctly.
Find Out What Stagers Make Here

The post Carmel Home Staging Job – California Home Stager Needed appeared first on Staging Diva.

I’ve been writing about home staging ideas for more than two decades. And, this is the first time I’m posting a book review for a novel!

For anyone interested in real estate or home staging, this novel is a rare find.

Anxious People Didn’t Make Me Anxious

Almost all the action takes place during a hostage-taking at a real estate open house in an apartment in Sweden.

Having personally been held at gunpoint (a subject for another day), I can assure you there is nothing scary about this story.

If anything, it’s wildly funny (sometimes heartbreaking) and completely non-violent.

The characters are quirky and endearing. Even the “bank robber,” who finds himself with an unlikely group of hostages after fleeing across the street and into an open house to avoid arrest.

We get to know each character and their hysterical views on what it takes to sell real estate.

I love the retired couple on the hunt for a fixer-upper. The Realtor reminds me of more than a few I’ve dealt with over the years.

As a home stager, sorting the “lookie-loo” characters from the potential buyers was amusing.

Home Staging Ideas I Hadn’t Thought Of

I can’t give away the most surprising home staging tactic, without spoilers for the novel itself. In all my time as a home stager, I never would have thought of one of the strategies that becomes a key part of this story.

If you’re looking for a quick and endearing read, I highly recommend this novel.

Click Here for Anxious People: A Novel

The post Surprising and Hysterical Home Staging Ideas in Book “Anxious People” appeared first on Staging Diva.

Jassica owns a 1,600 square foot furnished home that needs to be turned into a show home.

Wouldn’t you enjoy doing a (paid) home staging consultation and sourcing any additional furniture and accessories she might need?

This client knows how important the proper home staging can be and reached out to me for help finding a home stager. It makes it so much easier for you to get hired because you don’t have to convince her why home staging is essential for a quick sale at top dollar!

Once I’ve put you in touch with Jassica, all you have to do to get this job is convince her that you’re the right person to hire.

As a Staging Diva Grad, you already know exactly how to do that. If you need a refresher, re-listen to your Course 4 recording from the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program.

This Raleigh North Carolina staging project will be a fabulous success story for your home staging portfolio.

North Carolina Home Staging Job in Raleigh — How to Apply

Apply for this Raleigh North Carolina home staging job couldn’t be easier.

Simply complete the form at the Staging Diva Home Staging Project Referral Service.

Make sure to include “North Carolina Home Staging Job in Raleigh” as the project location in the first line of the form.

This Raleigh North Carolina home staging job will be referred first to members of the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers for free.

There is no referral fee for Directory members, even though we’re playing “match maker.” 

This project is open to any Staging Diva Graduate with a professional Internet presence. (It’s difficult to convince a client to hire you if they can’t review your staging portfolio, after all!)

If you get any paid work through this referral (and you’re not already a Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers member), there will be a $125 referral fee.

You can build into your home staging consultation fees. It’s entirely up to you.

This one-time fee applies if this referral leads to paid work. If you receive future staging projects from her Realtor, there’s no additional fee.

You have nothing to lose applying for this position if you’re in the Raleigh area, and everything to gain!

NOTE: You must follow the application instructions to be considered. 

Are Home Staging Clients Able to Find You?

If you’re not already a Staging Diva Graduate consider that just one good project would more than pay for your entire training program. Plus building and hosting your web page on the high-traffic Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers for an entire year!

Unless you’re too busy for new staging jobs, what are you waiting for? Get the training and marketing you need to ensure the steady growth of your home staging business.

Wondering How Much You Can Make From This Home Staging Job?

This can be a very lucrative home staging job, when you know how to price it correctly.
Find Out What Stagers Make Here

The post North Carolina Home Staging Job in Raleigh appeared first on Staging Diva.

There was no reason for that gap other than plain old fear.

If I’d been able to imagine the 10 reasons I’d love home staging, I’m sure I would have jumped in sooner!

I’m sharing what I’ve discovered in case it helps you get past your own fear.

And if you’re already a home stager and stuck in a rut of self-doubt, it might remind you why you love home staging too!

The 10 Reasons I Love Home Staging and You Will Too

1. Honoring Your Creative Gifts

Sitting on your creative talent and doing nothing with it is so unsatisfying.  I’m much more energized when I’m thinking about how to make a home look better, both inside and out.

Before I even knew there was something called “home staging,” I would walk into any room and think about how I’d make it better. Whether it was imaging the couch on another wall, or mentally rearranging all the artwork, I just couldn’t help myself!

This cartoon kind of sums it up:

2. Finding Joy in What You Do

Last week, I was walking with my daughter and stopped in front of an especially uninspiring house and spontaneously did a curb appeal evaluation. You can imagine the eye rolls and “Oh Mom, can we keep walking?!”

For me it was pure joy standing there imagining what a beautiful house it could be if they painted pale yellow over that dirty light gray. What a lovely planter beside the front door would look like. How a new number sign, mail box and porch light would warm the place up. And on an on.

It made me happy just to think about the transformation and picture it in my mind’s eye. If you’ve never done this before, try it on your next walk.

If you have the eye of a home stager, I’ll bet you’ll discover you can come up with your own spontaneous list of improvements too!

3. Making a Contribution That Matters and Being Appreciated

There are lots of jobs you can do that “make a difference” and yet feel totally unappreciated for your contributions.

Over the years, that wears you down.

I remember so many of my clients’ personal stories and how I completed each home staging project knowing I’d made a significant difference in the quality of their lives.

For example, the 60 year old woman who was financially and emotionally burdened by trying to sell her mother’s home. She was so stressed when we first spoke and had been trapped in a year long battle with her brother over it.

We spent about 4 hours re-arranging her mother’s condo and it sold the next week. After sitting on the market for 12 months! That feels like performing magic no matter how many times you’ve done it. In over 20 years of staging homes, and I never get tired of it!

4. Variety in Your Work

Do you get bored when you feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over again?

That’s why I love that I don’t have any of my own home staging furniture or accessories. Each of my projects is unique.

Often I’m working with the client already has in new and better ways. These home staging consultations are extremely lucrative and they’re fast. And each house is a surprise, you don’t know what you’ll be working with until you get there.

For vacant home staging projects I’m using rental furniture. Because it isn’t mine, I’m not limited to what I have inside my own storage locker. I can choose from over 100,000 square feet of furniture from a rental company. Way more variety than I could ever amass on my own which means that my staged homes don’t all look alike.

And I get paid to go shopping for home accessories (something I teach in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program), which means I have the creative joy of picking out new stuff for every project!

5. Being Well Compensated

When you have the right pricing strategy and business model, as I share in my home staging courses, you can make a lot of money as a home stager.

And there’s no reason not to be paid well for your advice because the home owner will make a huge profit on your services.

Take this example from Staging Diva Grad Mary Ann Benoit of Northern Lights Home Staging and Design. She staged a home in tiny Seward Alaska (population 3,000). The real estate agent thought his client would be lucky to get $175,000 for the home. Mary Ann staged it and it sold for $225,000. That’s an extra $50,000 to the home seller because he invested $1,500 in Mary Ann’s advice.

6. Immediate Gratification

One of the things I’ve always loved best about being a home stager is that I see the results of my efforts almost immediately. Imagine standing in the doorway of your client’s empty home watching the furniture rental company truck pull into the driveway.

A few hours later, you’re standing in a beautifully furnished and accessorized home that is totally a result of your creative vision!

That might sound terrifying if you’ve never done it before, but I can assure you it’s not so scary when you have my formula to follow.

Even if you’re “just” doing a paid home staging consultation where your client will follow your advice and do the rest themselves, there’s still the immediate gratification because you’ll see photos of the completed project (or go to an open house or showing once it’s on the real estate market).

It’s amazing how well your client’s will follow your instructions and advice, especially when you’re charging a lot for that.

7. Having a Flexible Schedule

I became a home stager as a single mom with a 7 year old. I didn’t work evenings or weekends and I could walk her to and from school every day. And once I’d figured out the business formula I share in the Staging Diva Program, I was making up to $10,000 a month doing it.

Many Staging Diva Grads start their home staging business on the side of another job.

Or because they’re retired, they only stage homes 6 months of the year when they’re not vacationing elsewhere.

It’s totally up to you how hard you want to work and what days/times you want to be available to your clients.

If you’re wondering how to fit home staging in around being a busy mom, check out this FREE report: Master the Juggling Act: 10 Tips to Balancing a Staging Business and Family Life.

8. Spending Less Time on Paperwork or in Front of a Computer

We’re all spending too much time staring at screens and many of us aren’t that technology inclined either. What I love about running a home staging business the way I do, is that I’ve kept it really simple. There are no reports to write or complicated software to learn.

Here’s what Staging Diva Grad Amy Brown of Simply Staging by Amy says:

“I already have a knack for the decorating part of home staging, but I lacked the business side of things. The Staging Diva Program was great to have at my fingertips so I could listen at my own speed and in my own time. I was concerned about handling all the paperwork I thought had to be involved in the contracts and such, but Staging Diva has made it SO much easier!”

And I love this feedback from Linda Borghi of Dazzle Home Staging:

“You’ve laid out a strategy to make this career so much more enjoyable! Showing me how to avoid falling into the paperwork trap alone is really priceless! I paid big dollars previously for another company’s training and it left so many blank spots. The Staging Diva Program answered all my lingering questions in an entertaining way and prepared me to finally start my staging business. This is the best investment I ever made in becoming a home stager.”

9. Experiencing a Genuine Connection

I’m an introvert. I don’t like being in crowds. I was stressed out working in companies and coping with all the chit chat, office politics and group meetings.

Like almost everyone, I crave genuine connection in my personal life and my work.

Home staging definitely provides this. When you’re making a meaningful difference for your client and helping them in their homes, of course there’s a connection!

10. Enjoying a Career Others Are Curious About

Home staging combines two hot topics: decorating/home improvement and making more money in real estate. I’ve been a professional home stager since 2002 and those were hot topics back then and still are today.

Even cavemen decorated their homes with paintings and drawings! It’s a basic human need that will never go out of style.

And as long as our homes are our single most important investment, making more money when we sell will always be something people care about.

So imagine how easy it is to talk about what you do when you’re in an industry that combines these ideas and everyone is interested in learning more.

You’ll know what to say in those otherwise awkward “networking” situations, parties, etc. The media will want to interview you. Real estate agents will want to learn how you can help their clients. Home owners will reach out to you for help.

In other words, home staging is a marketing dream! You don’t have to be “salesy,” you just have to talk or write about what you’re passionate about!

What Do You Think?

If you can relate to my 10 reasons I love home staging, please share in the comments below. Have you found another career that offers all of these benefits?

And if you’re a home stager and have other reasons you love home staging, add your thoughts.

I’d love to continue the conversation about this field that I love so much.

Learn How To Become a Home Stager Here

The post Home Stager Confession: 10 Reasons I Love Home Staging appeared first on Staging Diva.

Perhaps you’ve heard the Theodore Roosevelt quote, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” It also comes up in no less than 11 bible verses!

As a creative person, I know how fragile our sense of our own talents can be. It’s easy to fall into the confidence-killing “comparison trap”.

Which is a sure fire way to stop you from turning your decorating talent into a profitable home staging career!

Here are 3 Reasons Home Stagers Get Stuck and What to Do About It

1. You’re afraid you don’t have enough talent to be a successful home stager.

Social media thrives on comparison. We scroll through the feeds of successful home stagers and interior designers and think, “I’d never be able to come up with a design like that!”

Listen, I do it too. Even though I’ve been going into people’s homes and making them look better since the year 2000.

In other words, that feeling never entirely goes away. So if you’re waiting to feel 100% confident in your talent before starting, you never will. It will forever be your excuse for letting your dream die, unless you decide to move forward despite that insecurity!

Here’s a quick way to find out if you have enough talent to become a home stager. Take my FREE quiz here!

2. You believe your area is already filled with home stagers who have more experience than you.

A quick google search of “home staging (your city)” or “home stagers (your city)” may reveal some future “competition.” That’s intimidating for sure, especially if they have fabulous websites!

Some of them have been in business for years, so of course they have extensive portfolios. Some may have even appeared in the media.

New Staging Diva students worry about competition before getting through my training. And yet, once they’ve listened to me through the 12 hours of courses, they realize that competition is actually a proof of concept and that there’s room for them too!

One of the things I’m so proud of is how many Staging Diva Grads have been on HGTV or in major newspapers after taking my program. That’s because getting media attention is part of what I cover in Course 4 of the program.

My students also have an assignment for Course 1 where they contact some of their local competition. Most discover these home stagers aren’t as intimidating as they imagined. Some of them are super hard to get a hold of, others can’t speak confidently about what they do.

When you have the right training, you’ll know how to stand out and how to present yourself confidently even before your very first project.

Regardless of other home stagers in your area, there’s still room for you. I have yet to see a market that is oversaturated with home stagers.

Here’s a quick way to find out whether home staging will work in your area, and whether they’re still room for you. Get my FREE report here!

3. You’re afraid to follow your dream so you’re looking for proof that it won’t work.

This is the biggie. Who isn’t afraid before starting something new?

This can take the form of worrying about failing, whatever that means (I’ll address that in a moment).

It can also take the form of worrying you’ll be “too successful” and what that might mean for your life.

Moms, and people approaching retirement age, especially worry about too much success. That they’ll get too wrapped up in being a home stager that they won’t have enough time for their families. Or they won’t be able to travel or spend time with friends.

One of the beautiful things about a home staging career is that you can do it on the side of another job, or while raising a family. And it’s the perfect path for semi-retirement. Why? Because, unlike almost every other career you can think of, YOU are in total control of your schedule. Home stagers only need to work as hard or be as busy as they want to.

Now back to “fear of failing”. It’s important to identify what exactly that means for you. Does it mean you’ll lose all your money? That’s an especially valid concern when you’re starting a business that requires a big upfront investment. Like starting a retail store, or restaurant for example.

Home staging can also be financially risky if you’re buying your own furniture and accessories. That’s one of the MANY reasons I teach Staging Diva students how to start and grow their business with NO overhead. Despite being a home stager for more than 2 decades, I don’t even own my own accent pillows. Instead, I get paid to go shopping with my clients money.

If you want to learn more about that, sign up for my FREE course, 5 Simple Secrets to Making Money as a Home Stager.

Or does “fear of failing” take the form of worrying that you’ll waste your time? Perhaps it’s my age, but I like to look at things as experiments and adventures. It may not turn out exactly how I imagined, but I’ll definitely learn something along the way.

You might take the Staging Diva Program, stage a couple of homes and decide you don’t like it. No great loss. You’ll have made back the cost of the program AND you’ll know that it’s not for you. Then you can put it out of your head and stop wasting more time and energy on the question, “What would it be like to be a home stager?”

On the other hand, you might discover you LOVE it and reconfirm that you were actually born to be a home stager.  How wonderful is that?

An exercise that’s especially helpful when you’re contemplating starting something new is to write down a list (or paragraph) that completes this thought:

“I’ll know I’m a successful home stager when _____________________.”

Your answer can be uniquely yours. Some examples from my students include:

I’ll know I’m a successful stager when I’m:

• “in total control of my schedule and I’m making enough to replace my current full time job”
• “able to walk my kids to and from school everyday and have fun decorating people’s homes”
• “spending winters at my vacation home and earning a living when I’m back in town”
• “getting emails and phone calls from clients telling me what a difference I’ve made in their lives”

Read Staging Diva Grad Success Stories here

It’s important to focus on building a life that FEELS good to you, even if it doesn’t LOOK good to everyone else. Whether that means you only stage vacant homes, or confine your practice to giving advice to home sellers working with what they already have, or a combination of both.

Whether that means you only take on the occasional home staging client, or work at it full time, again that’s up to you.

So don’t let comparing yourself to others be the “thief of your joy.”

If your Instagram feed isn’t as pretty as some home stagers, it really doesn’t matter! And guess what, you don’t even have to be on Instagram at all! Unless you love it.

Your home staging portfolio when you’re just starting out won’t be as large as someone who has been at this for awhile. All my students start out with photos from their own homes, or those of friends.

That’s how I started too! And who would have imagined that within a year, newspapers and magazines would be calling me for my expertise? Or that I would have helped so many families make more money when they sold their homes, while supporting myself and raising a kid on my own?

Read how to create your home staging portfolio this weekend!

Any Comparison Is Unrealistic

Comparing where you are in Chapter 1 of your journey as a home stager to someone else’s Chapter 10, will NOT build your confidence. That’s why the comparison trap can be so damaging to your self esteem.

There are more than enough home staging clients out there for everyone. And you’ll “click” with some potential clients that another home stager won’t. We all have our own unique approach and style. There is no single perfect answer to every situation. It’s all highly subjective!

I hope I’ve helped you recognize when you’re falling into the comparison trap and given you some ways to stop “doom scrolling” as some call it. Most of your confidence will come from how you nurture it, so be very mindful of where you’re putting your attention.

Learn How Much Home Stagers Make Here

The post 3 Reasons Home Stagers Get Stuck in the Comparison Trap appeared first on Staging Diva.

I challenged members in the Staging Diva community to identify a negative belief and then list 3 pieces of evidence to the contrary.

This exercise makes it easier to get out of our self-limiting beliefs.

It reveals the lies we tell ourselves.

Unhelpful stuff like:

• I never make appropriate decisions.
• I never follow through on things.
• Local real estate agents will never accept home staging.
• I’m not disciplined enough to become a home stager.
• I’m not a trained interior designer so people will discover I don’t know what I’m talking about.
• I’m too young/old, no one will take me seriously.

If you haven’t done the exercise yet, I encourage you to try it, there’s no telling what personal barrier you might break through!

As you’ll see in the comments on my original post, Jenny uncovered a fundamental belief that is holding her back. It’s a pretty common (and destructive) idea so I want to address it here. She confided:

“Work is not supposed to be enjoyable, that is why they call it work.”

Wow, it’s like the big elephant in the room no one wants to talk about! We’re brought up to believe we need to suffer everyday to earn a living.

Grown ups aren’t supposed to have fun!

It’s no accident that antidepressant medication is a $12 Billion per year industry in the US and cancer and obesity rates have never been higher.

I say “stop the madness!”

If most of us need “happy pills” to get through the day, it’s time to reinvent our lives and what we do for a living!

Seriously, what do we have to lose?

Most of us “of a certain age” have already realized that shopping and eating don’t really fill the big gaping hole left by not being satisfied with our lives.

Jenny went on to admit (and I love her for her honesty):

“My husband is quite unhappy in his position (which is lucrative) and I think I would feel quite guilty if I were actually enjoying my work when he is so unhappy in his position.”

I totally understand where’s she’s coming from. Who hasn’t heard that we should feel “guilty” about enjoying ourselves?

Assuming they have a healthy relationship, Jenny’s husband isn’t happier because she’s not happy.

Home Stagers Can Be Role Models

Home stagers, when we build a financially successful business doing something we love, we become positive role models for others.

We can break the negative cycle and show our spouses, kids and friends that being a grown up can actually be fun.

Of course there’s still “work” involved but we don’t need to approach it as a dreaded chore.

To quote Staging Diva Graduate Laura Kakoschke of Hunter Lake Home Staging,

“I work my own hours, set my schedule and my sons get a first-hand look at running a business. I hope the courage I found to follow my dream will inspire them to follow theirs, and to know that anything is possible!”

It IS possible to have meaning,  joy and satisfaction in what you do for a living.

Since life is short (and it’s not a dress rehearsal), isn’t it about time we all decided to live as if that were true and make it so?

Click Here To Learn How To Become a Home Stager

Photo by Karsten Winegeart

The post Home Stagers Who Says Work Can’t Be Fun? appeared first on Staging Diva.

In other words, we can’t get out of our own way!

This little story about Charlie and his loose tooth has great reminders about how we can be more successful. Solving “problems” leads to success in our home staging business.

Charlie says, “Mom, I really need a play date with Caroline. Her sister has a Nerf gun that pulls out loose teeth.”

He wants to lose his tooth more than anything, even though it will hurt for a bit. To accomplish his goal, he’s:

• Trying out different solutions.
• Asking others for advice.
• Figured out creative ways to use what he has.
• Considering what resources his friends/connections have.
• Weighing the anticipated discomfort or inconvenience against how much he wants Tooth Fairy Money.

Most kids take these steps instinctively. Otherwise, they’d never learn to walk, climb up to a shelf for something they want, or enjoy hours playing with an empty carton.

Home Stagers Can Use These Steps Too

As we get older, we often lose our instincts for following these steps to solve a challenge.

We come to believe we’re helpless to direct or own lives, or forget how to find creative solutions to get what we want.

Or worse, we convince ourselves that just because we’re afraid or we haven’t tried something before, we shouldn’t do it. The anticipated discomfort stops us from making decisions and moving towards our dreams.

It’s easy to look at a successful home stager and imagine they have some hidden talent, knowledge or skill— or that they never had to worry about money.

This self-limiting mindset totally closes off possibilities and keeps you stuck exactly where you are.

When I started my first business after leaving the corporate world, people said, “Oh, it’s different for you.” Perhaps they thought I magically wouldn’t face any consequences if I failed?

I had just purchased my first condo, had a big mortgage and no spouse to support me. What I didn’t have in resources, I made up for in resourcefulness.

Solving most challenges involves the same steps you knew as a child and forgot along the way. This begins with taking a good look at what strengths you already have and how you can get the other resources you need.

I’ve helped over 30,000 students in 24 countries learn how to make a living from their decorating talent. And it’s worth WAY more than Tooth Fairy Money!

Find Out How Much Home Stagers Make Here

Adorable Photo by frank mckenna

The post Home Stagers, This Kid Shows Us How To Get Out Of Our Own Way appeared first on Staging Diva.

After all, there are fewer new listings coming onto the real estate market at this time of year.

If you love decorating for the holidays, consider how many people are too busy or overwhelmed to do it themselves.

Many Holiday Decorating Opportunities for Home Stagers

Holiday decorating opportunities for home stagers include:

Interior: The tree, holiday garlands, holiday table centre pieces, etc. Even pre-party prep!

Exterior: Planter boxes, deck railings, porches, etc.

Guest Rooms: For home owners and also Airbnb or VRBO. Transform extra rooms into a welcoming holiday vacation spot.

Home Staging is not equally busy all year round because it follows real estate cycles.

In the Staging Diva Program I discuss ways for you to even out your cash flow by combining your staging business with things like:

• Interior redesign
• Color consulting
• Professional organizing
• Seasonal decorating
• Decorating for Airbnb, VRBO, etc.

What you choose should not only come from your desire to make money but also be a function of your interests.

If you’re going to make the effort to be your own boss, make sure you consider what your interests and natural talents are.

If you love holiday decorating and have a natural talent for it, then why not go for it?

There are no rules when you work for yourself. If you see an opportunity that inspires you then why not take advantage of it?

The idea that you should only build a business that you’ll REALLY want to work in, is a theme that runs throughout the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

That’s why I share so many ways to build your business (and how to get clients for each one) in the program.

Find Out What Stagers Make Holiday Decorating Here

Photo by Anita Austvika, Unsplash

The post Holiday Decorating Boosts Income For Home Stagers appeared first on Staging Diva.

Manori owns a 3,900 square foot furnished home that needs a more modern look.

Wouldn’t you enjoy doing a (paid) home staging consultation and sourcing any additional furniture and accessories she might need?

Her target listing price is around $400,000.

I love when a client already understands the need to stage her home and reaches out for help finding a home stager. It makes it so much easier for you to get hired because you don’t have to convince her why home staging is essential for a quick sale at top dollar!

Once I’ve put you in touch with Manori, all you have to do to get this job is convince her that you’re the right person to hire.

As a Staging Diva Grad, you already know exactly how to do that. If you need a refresher, re-listen to your Course 4 recording from the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program.

This Bloomington Illinois staging project will be a fabulous success story for your home staging portfolio.

Bloomington Illinois Home Staging Job — How to Apply

Apply for this Bloomington Illinois home staging job couldn’t be easier.

Simply complete the form at the Staging Diva Home Staging Project Referral Service.

Make sure to include “Bloomington Illinois Home Staging Job” as the project location in the first line of the form.

This Bloomington Illinois home staging job will be referred first to members of the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers for free.

There is no referral fee for Directory members, even though we’re playing “match maker.” 

This project is open to any Staging Diva Graduate with a professional Internet presence. (It’s difficult to convince a client to hire you if they can’t review your staging portfolio, after all!)

If you get any paid work through this referral (and you’re not already a Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers member), there will be a $125 referral fee.

You can build into your home staging consultation fees. It’s entirely up to you.

This one-time fee applies if this referral leads to paid work. If you receive future staging projects from her Realtor, there’s no additional fee.

You have nothing to lose applying for this position if you’re in the Bloomington area, and everything to gain!

NOTE: You must follow the application instructions to be considered. 

Are Home Staging Clients Able to Find You?

If you’re not already a Staging Diva Graduate consider that just one good project would more than pay for your entire training program. Plus building and hosting your web page on the high-traffic Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers for an entire year!

Unless you’re too busy for new staging jobs, what are you waiting for? Get the training and marketing you need to ensure the steady growth of your home staging business.

Wondering How Much You Can Make From This Home Staging Job?

This can be a very lucrative home staging job, when you know how to price it correctly.
Find Out What Stagers Make Here

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