Lightbox – E-Design Info

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See the Training Overview Video new members watch on their first day!
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See what is in each week’s training sections, the Design Modules and HSR Library!

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Three Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Business

Are you not getting the amount of business that you would like? Are your marketing efforts falling flat? I find that success in business comes from avoiding these five common pitfalls and thinking in “out of the box” ways to create additional income.  In the HSR Training I have an hour long video detailing these alternative income streams but before I get to those, I need to also detail the problems I see most people do in their business that keeps them from having success…

1.  Don’t Be A Copy Cat

One of the first things I have people do in my training is to list their strengths and how their background strengths can help their new business.  I also have people list their weaknesses which will be “threats” to their business if they are not careful.  The encouraging truth is that there are several ways to market yourself in the staging and redesign industry but what may work for one personality, may not work for another.

The key is to take your previous “life’s talents” and embed them into this new business and venture.  For instance, I have ex-teachers who focus on agent presentations and classes in order to market their staging business.  I have my outgoing personalities follow my “Open House Assessment” formula in order to market their business face-to-face.  For those who are introverts, I teach them advanced ways to market their business online so traffic comes to them.  The key is to focus on your strengths in order to market your business.

>>Know that whatever your background or current situation is, there is always a way to capitalize on it as a new entrepreneur!

Tori Toth of Stylish Stagers in New York used her prior experience as a TV Reporter to create video that helps to market her business and success!

2.  Don’t Be A Renaissance Business!

Would you go to a restaurant advertising great burgers, tacos and sushi?  Then why are we trying to be all things and talents to all clients and markets?  It’s okay to expand your business within the staging and redesign world but to also say you’re an expert in Feng Shui, Organizing, Windows, Upholstery and an Artist is a bit overdone and cheapens your core talents.

This same truth holds for real estate agents who also want to be expert home stagers.  Do you think your clients believe that you are awesome at both when each require very separate skill sets?

>>Pick One or Two Specialties  and Be Awesome At Them!

3. Don’t Be A Renaissance Market Specialist!

Many people enter into the staging industry believing they have to invest in lots of furniture and accessories to make a go of it which couldn’t be more false.  There is plenty of non-vacant business out there for everyone (I’ll list some ideas in my “Out of the Box” article).  The truth is, there are several different “markets” (vacant, investor, occupied, high end, cottage, neighborhoods, commercial, styles) that we can “specialize” in yet too many stagers tend to not pick a niche or specialty in any one market

>>Consider a Niche Market and Be Awesome At It!

Hopefully this article helped to add clarity to your business!

XOXO – Happy Staging!

Audra Slinkey

Home Staging Austin

Sarah Swindell of Up Staged in Austin, TX started the course in May of this year and already has a gorgeous before-and-after show I wanted to showcase. She had this to say about her experience:

“THANK YOU!!! Your course is just amazing and you really made the whole process so enjoyable and easy even when I thought I could never do something like this! I was always afraid to start my own business and thought it would be way too complicated, but you made it all possible! I love your sense of humor too:) Your videos were so enjoyable to listen to. As a single mom now, being a realtor was way too hard scheduling wise and I really only loved making the homes I had listed beautiful! All the contracts and legal stuff I could do with out! This is just perfect for me 🙂 Thank you so much for providing such a wonderful forum for women (and men!) to have a fun and fulfilling career!”

Find more photos like this on Stagers Connect

Got Forms?

I don’t know about you, but it takes me at least two hours just to create a simple “thank you” form much less the 100+ plus forms you will need for your staging and redesign business!  Mixed in the with details of training, staying on top of design, connecting with trade vendors and all that is “staging” that is one thing I don’t have the time to do!

The good news is that now we have created all the forms you will need for you and offer specific training on each form if you had questions about it’s use.

Click Here to See a Detailed List of All the Forms HSR Offers in our 21-Day Certification Training!

I get the question a lot….what kinds of forms do you offer in your training?  Yep, it’s official, we have 100 forms available, so that our members are never having to reinvent anything! We offer all of our forms in Word, so that all they need to do is open the form and tailor it to their business.

Ellen Boetcher, a veteran stager who had staged over 2500 homes by the time she joined HSR  in 2008 had told me unequivocally that the forms in the training alone would have saved her over 200 hours worth of work!

I also created a video that shows how they can make those forms really shine electronically by creating a gorgeous and custom business header. We provide over 100 header images for them to use (all matching their websites), as well as access to a free header software program which makes our members stand out professionally in all that they provide.  These are just some of the small details in the training that help stagers and redesigners focus on the most important thing…DESIGN!

XXOO – Happy Staging!

Audra Slinkey

Home Stager’s Advice on Training Companies

Tori Toth of Stylish Stagers, a New York based home staging company really knows how to take her prior experience as a TV reporter and bring it into her staging and redesign business! In fact, she markets her homes via video for maximum exposure.

Tori sent me this video she created for HSR that explains our program best!

She really described the importance of training, picking a good trainer and what to look for better than I every could…thanks Tori!

XXOO – Happy Staging!

Audra Slinkey