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Window Coverings

Becoming a Hunter Douglas Dealer

Some of you may decide that dealing with window coverings is something you love.  If this is you, then you may want to consider becoming a Hunter Douglas Dealer and resell their window coverings where you get 50% off their retail cost!

Dawn Driskill of Global Design Dealers offers an incredible "to the trade" program for our members to Hunter Douglas! In short, if you become a Global Design Dealer, you get trade pricing on many furnishing vendors but most importantly the Hunter Douglas window covering line! HSR members pay only $29/mo to be a part of this program and have NO initiation fee (which is normally $250). 

Information on this program is in the Member Black Book and Dawn created a webinar presentation that you can view here:

 

Hunter Douglas Pinterest Board of Their Various Products

Read the Additional Design Module on Windows!

Click to Open

Holiday Design

Expand to Holiday Design

This is a fun, step-by-step training on how to offer holiday design and decorating services, as well as how to market it!  The forms that go to this training are at the bottom.

"Thanks Audra for the holiday design training!  I've already book 10 clients through a Facebook campaign!" - Carol

Bonus Veteran Designer Workshop

Cathy Di Leo who has been SLAYING it with her holiday design business for a couple years now. She has taken my holiday training as a launch pad and is now holiday designing for celebs and huge hotels.  Enjoy this workshop we did together:

Buy Cathy's Agreement and Budget Spreadsheet

Unsure how to budget for your Christmas Decorating business?  This Christmas agreement and budget sheet can help save you time and energy by preparing you to worry about just decorating!

Add your logo to the agreement and make it your own easily in WORD.  The Excel sheet is a great start for helping to prepare accurate proposals.  Once you’re hired, this is a great tool for making sure you’re staying on budget and purchasing the items you need to get the job done!  In the years to come it’s also a great tool for honing your proposals because you’ve got actual data to look at next in the future!

Buy Cathy's Christmas Tree Decorating PDF

Take your Christmas Decorating business to the next level with this 2 page Tree Decorating PDF. 

This PDF gives you a guide for how to correctly purchase ornaments, lights and picks for decorating a Christmas tree.  It will also walk you through the process of how to tackle decorating a tree for clients.  In addition, this PDF can be used as a teaching handout when showing other how to decorate a tree.  



 

Member Hot Tip!

HSR Member Eric Reeves of Refresh Your Space took my Facebook Ads, edited and used them in a Chamber of Commerce newsletter and had this to say...

Hey Audra,  I just wanted to Thank You for advising us to add Holiday Decorating as a source of ancillary income. I used one of your promotional photos and added my information, then contacted my local Chamber of Commerce, of which I am a member, who added it to our local weekly newsletter. I have already received emails regarding this service from real estate and rental agencies in my area, who have said they already have received calls about this service!   I expect Holiday Decorating to add a significant boost to my bottom line for the year!

Some Example Facebook Ads You Can Create Using www.canva.com

More Ad Ideas...

Model Home Staging

How to Handle Model Homes

Tackling model or spec homes is no easy task, so I created a step-by-step process, presentation and plan that you can follow to price and stage model homes.  Before we get started, these are the forms associated with this training (and they are also at the bottom of this page).

Video 1 - Training Overview and the Builder Phone Order Sheet

 

Video 2 - Researching the Buyer Demographic

 

Website for Research - http://www.esri.com/data/esri_data/ziptapestry

Video 3 - Rules for Luxury Home Design & Audra's 5 Rules of Design Success!

 

Video 4 - The Fun Part...Let's Look at Some Model Home Example Photos

 

Video 5 - How to Price a Model Home Project and Share Your Price Vision

 

Right Click and Save As...to download this image

Video 6 - Choosing Key Vendors for Model Home Staging - My Favorites

My Latest FAVORITE Wholesale Vendor (this video is also in the Black Book)

 

Video 7 - Using Vision or Concept Boards and Floor Planning - Best Resources

This video is even good for creating mood board, design boards for clients because I like this technology and think it's the easiest one to use.  Here are the two main vision board resources:

  • DesignFiles.co - My latest favorite edesign softward platform with a FREE trial and from the makers of OlioBoard!

DesignFiles.co is from the creators of Olioboard and I have been working with their CEO to get this very cool, design board company partnered with HSR! 

Here's the scoop...sign up for a VERY DISCOUNTED account by CLICKING HERE

With e-Design gaining more and more traction within our industry, a huge opportunity has opened up for designers. By offering faster, more affordable, and more convenient interior ‘e-design’ services, you can tap into a significantly larger potential client audience and not be limited to servicing just your local area.

To create a vision for your clients, I recommend using DesignFiles.co

DesignFiles.co provides interior designers with their own professional and private e-design platform where both designer and client can log in to discuss a design job from start to finish. In minutes you can have your e-design business up and running and ready to accept clients. What I like best about DesignFiles is that it's built to help designers grow their OWN business. 

  • Wecora - I no longer recommend Wecora because they do not offer a free trial anymore:(.
  • Floorplanner.com - Great and free tool for drawing out room layouts, so you get scale correct.

The Resources and Downloads Mentioned in This Section Are:

Shop Like a Pro

Ready to Go Shopping?

Shopping Advice

(This is also in the Member's Black Book Section)

I know I've already talked at length about how to shop for clients, as well as what kind of accessories to look for in other sections but I wanted to add a couple more useful videos to expand your shopping.  Here's some good rules of thumb for shopping:

  • Never pay with your own money when shopping for clients!  Clients should give you cash, a check to cash (make sure it's gone through) or use a Chase Liquid Gold card they purchase from you that you can fill by taking a photo of their check.
  • Never go in with the idea that you are going to take the items back!  Stagers are getting a bad reputation for buying items for clients, then returning those same items once the home has sold.  Your business holds to a higher standard, so please don't do this.  Instead, shop for clients with their cash (see above) and give them the items with the receipts, so if they don't like something...THEY can return it. 
  • Emphasize Your Shopping Expertise - You are the design expert, so be confident and hold true to your shopping and design choices...DO NOT WAIVER.  If they client, still does not like an item, they can return it.
  • Emphasize Your Shopping Efficiency - Most people do not haunt furnishing stores like you and have no idea where to "source" things!  You are saving them oodles of time by doing this for them.

Now that you're a "professional", you get to shop like one.  You get to shop "to-the-trade" and "Go to Market" which is a Designers term for shopping wholesale at unique furnishing brands who only sell to you....pretty cool huh?  

Shopping to the Trade and Audra's Best Advice

I'm very excited about all the shopping doors that are opening up to us as home stagers and designers!  In this new video I am sharing a new, FREE "to the trade" shopping portal that will allow you to get those trade discounts I describe in my "Going to Market" video below WITHOUT having to open separate accounts for each vendor and meet their minimums...woot!

Resale License/Sales Tax ID/Seller Permit  Info

As you can see there are varying terms for the same type of license/permit in each state that "allows you to purchase items wholesale (without paying tax) in order to retail those items for sale in your business."  Every state differs a bit, so go to the link below to find your state and easily register online for this license to buy wholesale. 

  • If you could not find your state or province on the list, simply go to Google and search "Sellers permit STATE" to get information
  • Most wholesalers will ask to see a sales tax ID or reseller's license before they will sell you the goods. This is because they are legally obliged to check whether you are able to collect sales tax from the end user.
  • Click Here for a link to a company that can register it for you but also has some good general information about this topic.  http://www.sellerpermit.com/

Going to the "Market" and What that Means...

The Las Vegas Market and High Point are massive places where vendors showcase their goods and designers shop/create accounts to get DEEP discounts on items a handful of times a year.

 The RESA Convention always coincides with the Las Vegas Market, so you can attend the convention and then shop the market for your business.  Below are the links to both markets, so check out the dates to see if they work for you:

Michelle Minch, Me and Laurie

Our very own Michelle Minch an HSR Grad and owner of Moving Mountains Design teaches a live class at the market on her favorite vendors and how to shop.  For information, go to her website at:

https://www.shopfurnituremarkets.com/

Make sure to tell her I sent you!

How to Shop the Market Video Presentation

Here's the second part of this video presentation where I scroll through tons of photos of products AND tell your their wholesale price, so you can see what kind of deals are to be had at the market...

My Favorite Staging Trade Vendors & Deals You Can Get (Over 100 Photos!)

 

List of Vendors & How to Connect

Please Click on the Link for the Pop-Up Vendor Information:

Just know that because of our large, HSR network there is no vendor out there who won't give you their best trade discount.  All you have to do is ask;).

The BEST Staging Insurance for Your Business!

RESA - Join the Real Estate Staging Association at a discount!

RESA Buying Group

Houzz.com - Join the Houzz Trade Program through your membership at ASHSR!

WayFair/Joss&Main/All Modern/Birch Lane/Dwell Studio - My personal FAVORITE place to shop for EVERYTHING!

Artist Guild of America -  Trade source for LARGE CANVAS ARTWORK

Diamond Sofa - AMAZING trade pricing for furniture!  Stop renting from Cort and use these guys

Ashley Furniture - Accessories, Art and Furniture (Great Trade Discount and RESA Sponsor)

Sagebrook Home

Surya - Rugs, Pillows, Online Decor (Great Trade Discount and RESA Sponsor)

Paragon - Awesome Art, Online Decor (Great Trade Discount and RESA Sponsor)

ProPac Images - Awesome Art, Online Decor (Great Trade Discount and RESA Sponsor)

Habitatery - One-stop-shop for designer (bespoke) trade pricing

 PierOne - Easy place to shop for seasonal accessories and smaller furnishings

Bed Bath and Beyond - Another great place to shop!

 Living Spaces - AWESOME furniture chain mostly on West Coast but growing rapidly

CB2 - I'm crushing on their products these days.  Trade is only 15% off  but every bit helps

ZoomCasa - Apply to allow your home sellers to NOT have to pay upfront for staging!

Dillards Design Network - Have a Dillards Dept Store near you?  Get 20% off!

Olivya Stone - High-end furnishings for design clients at 20% off using my code...

Abbyson Designer and Home Staging Program - Wholesale pricing!

Staging Risk Management

ProSource Wholesale Flooring, Tile, etc..

All Pottery Barn, West Elm and Williams Sonoma Family of Stores

 PropsAmerica for Fake TV's, food, etc...

HSR's Own BuildASign Online Store for Yard Signs, Decals and More...

Ballard Designs - One of my favorite furnishing stores!

BellacorPro - HUGE online designer discount retailer

Restoration Hardware - Not much of a discount but an awesome store

The Shade Store - Love this window covering company - Get FREE samples!

Arhaus - Beautiful home furnishings

Ethan Allen Home Furnishings

Bassett Furniture Store

MirrorMate - Easily frame old bathroom mirrors!

Just Dough It - Fake food props

Artfully Walls - Great art source that can even build a gallery wall for you!

Serena and Lily - Huge selection of classic home accessories you get 20% off!

Luluan Georgia - Very cool place for accessories

Frontgate & GrandinRoad - Outdoor furnishings and Christmas Decor - get your catalogue

Luxedecor - Huge online furnishing company

Shades of Light - Great for lighting

Lamps Plus - Inexpensive lighting and accessories

Horchow - Unique lighting and furnishings

Audra's Favorite Wholesale Designer Fabric Resources

Sherwin Williams - My favorite paint company who is a huge supporter of RESA

Cort Rental Furniture - Start here for vacant homes

Amazon Staging Decor Essentials

In full disclosure, these are affiliate links

Amazon Bed Essentials

Did you know that you could stage a bed, single-handedly for under $300?

Click to Open PDF Shopping List with Links!

What to Look for When Shopping

Audra's Pinterest Board of Favorites

staging-ideas

Staging Toolbox Essentials

In full disclosure, these are affiliate links

Alternative Income Streams

So Many Ways to Make Money in this Industry!

I gave this presentation at a RESA Convention and was surprised at how many home stager's were not thinking of the many various ways they could creatively make money in this industry!  In Week One, Industry Overview section you hopefully did some soul searching but here is where your creative juices are really going to get flowing!

DOWNLOAD MY PRESENTATION NOTES AND HELPFUL LINKS!