Member Veteran Interviews

Hi Audra,

It’s hard to believe that it has been over three years, wow! Taking the HSR training course gave me the confidence to make the break from corporate America to follow my dreams and start my Home Staging business. Thank you so much!

It took some time to pinpoint my niche in this market. Once I knew that Staging Vacant Homes would be the primary direction that my business would take, I started down the road of investing in an inventory of furniture and accessories. Since every home is different, I customize my Staging plan to best suit the individual personality of each home that I Stage. I believe that this has helped to set me apart in my saturated market. I have been fortunate to work for many fabulous clients who subsequently have hired me to help Redesign their new homes Redesign has been a perfect mix to fill in between Staging Vacants not to mention that it helps to pay the bills! Investing in an inventory furniture is not for the faint of heart. It is a huge financial investment but it was the direction that best suited my overall business, financial and personal goals.

This is the start of my full 3^rd year in business and I am preparing to graduate from several storage units into a Warehouse at the end of this month. I am so excited and I know this will be a huge game changer for my business!

Susan Batka - Aerie Interiors

1. What was your background before starting a home staging business and how did it serve you well in this new endeavor?

I was in Marketing/Corporate Communications for 20 some years. I felt that it was very similar. In marketing and home staging, there are a few elements: creative, project management and business acumen. So I slid into home staging fairly easily. And while my partner and I are not as busy as we would like, we love it and continue to build strong realtor relationships. Our first wave of marketing gave us many immediate jobs. And we are about to do another "push" marketing effort. You definitely have to keep filling the pipeline, but that also comes in handy when you have a marketing background. The creative aspect in home staging is what we love and fuels us to keep going...and it's also the reason that we had gravitated toward marketing in the first place.

2. How long did it take you to go through the training/business set-up? How long before you had your first consultation/appointment?

We were lucky to have a friend in real estate who needed our help right away, so we had 3 jobs as we were doing the training. It was probably at least 4 months part-time to complete the training since we were working and managing kids as well.

3. How did you first appointment go and any regrets or words of wisdom from that experience? (Were you nervous?)

The first appointment that we got on our own was the best!! Just to get in the door, you feel so excited...and yes, nervous. But at least you have a starting point. By this time we had completed the training and were using the forms from the website and had a locked down process thanks to the training. The resources can be a little overwhelming to sort through at first, but once you have them in hand, the consultations actually goes smoothly and you have simple facts that impress the home owner and show them that you know what you are talking about. Definitely comb the website and prepare - it makes all the difference.

4. How did you begin marketing yourself and what marketing efforts did you find most valuable in your area and why?

 We (Cook and Carmichael Redesign) -put money into hiring a designer and getting our website up. Then, we visited about 15 realtor offices with a marketing package that included our cards in a silver photo frame, a tray, and some yummy cupcakes all wrapped up in cellophane-type wrapping with a silver bow. We received very good feedback and are still following up with these realtors. We offered 10% off their first staging project with us. Next we are planning a monthly "push" email with tips and information to keep our name top of mind with all these realtors.

5. How "busy" are you today and why? Do you have any real estate agent partnerships?

We were very busy at first last Spring and we do work a lot with one realtor on the north shore of chicago. We have started to cement other relationships and hope to see them come to fruition in the Spring. It's December now, so things are pretty quiet, although we do get calls here and there. Since it's still our first year, many have told us to plan a 1-3 year launch and be patient - or market yourself more!! Depends on how much time you have. We are both still doing this very part-time.

6. What additional home staging/decorating resources/books did you find helpful in your learning and growth experience?Pinterest, HOUZZ and all the decor magazines at Barnes and Noble.

7. What (if anything) would you have done differently looking back?

Probably nothing.

8. Are you glad you decided to go into the home staging field? Why or why not?

Yes! It's creative, you can do it part-time and flexibly, and it's a growing career field.

9. Any words of wisdom for those just entering into the field?

I would just say work hard at it, but also be patient. Building a business takes time and if you are in it for the long haul and do well at staging, you can move into re-design - so there is a long arching timeline that you should keep in mind. Also - send notes or have lunches or coffee with all the contacts that you know. Face to face really pays off and people want to help and give you a chance. 

Also, I forgot... thumbtack got us a job with a developer, who I think we will work with long term. It was a quick consultation, but got us in the door. Wanted to mention also deciding on vacant or occupied as quickly as you can. Otherwise it's stressful trying to fit yourself into something that you are not. As occupied stagers, we know that 3 rooms is our sweet spot unless someone has a huge budget:-)

1. What was your background before starting a home staging business and how did it serve you well in this new endeavor?

University Lecturer in Fashion, Textile and Interior DesignAlso had my own business in the UK re-designing houses and getting them ready for sale - had no idea it was called staging we called it 'House doctoring'.Being trained in design certainly helped but wasn't vital as your course covers a lot of the principles.I still have my contacts with the trends forecasting that helps with the interior trends but again is not vital as there is so much information on the internet now

2. How long did it take you to go through the training/business set-up? How long before you had your first consultation/appointment?

As I was running another business I took my time with the course and did it in short sections - it probably took me 4 months to complete the whole course.I had my first consultation while I was still training - I had set the company up before I started the course. The lady was lovely and very tuned in to staging.

3. How did you first appointment go and any regrets or words of wisdom from that experience? (Were you nervous?)

I wasn't shaking nervous but did have a few butterflies. I had practiced what I wanted to say beforehand so it sounded fluent.As it was my first appointment and I was eager to get all the information to the customer I spent too long at the staging consultation - I was there for 3 hours. I have since honed it down to 1 1/2-2 hours maximum especially as I write a report afterwards for them and if you spend too much time on either portion your hourly rate will work out to be very little.

4. How did you begin marketing yourself and what marketing efforts did you find most valuable in your area and why?

I started with real estate agents - I made up a basket with British goodies (I am British) for each office. I also included a small booklet with a portfolio of photographs - mainly my own home but you have to start somewhere. Working on your 7 times rule I also sent them postcards with my details on and still throughout the year send them items - a postcard with a desk calendar with happy Holidays was the latest. It has taken about 8 months but it is finally starting to pay off, I took a call the other day from a local realtor who told me she had emailed all her fellow agents and asked who they used for staging and 5 came back with my name!As I live in an older town and customers are still a bit suspicious of staging I was also sending postcards out to home sellers - I haven't got much from these but it spreads the word about staging.I also send out re-design postcards to all the new homeowners in my area, the information is easily available from realtor.comWhen you launch your website you will find the organic search will have you way down the google list so i also invested in some adwords to put me at the top of generic searches and it has also helped my organic rankings move upwards.

5. How "busy" are you today and why? Do you have any real estate agent partnerships?

I am reasonably busy, it grows each week now. I used to spend weeks with no calls no emails, nothing but now pretty much there is something each week. I work more with individual agents than the whole branch but these people now know my work and see me as a professional.

6. What (if anything) would you have done differently looking back?

Probably taken the course first before getting the business up and running as I had to alter a lot of things in the paperwork/website etc

7. Are you glad you decided to go into the home staging field? Why or why not?

Yes I am, I love all things design and love imparting knowledge

8. Any words of wisdom for those just entering into the field?

Pay Yourself! When you get your first jobs in the temptation is to rush out and buy more accessories etc but make sure every week you take something out of the business even if it is only $10, it gets you into the mind set of actually earning money.