7 Reasons to Start a Home Staging Career

7 Reasons to Start a Home Staging Career

I just got back from Las Vegas and the RESA Convention and my ears are buzzing with all the excitement and enthusiasm from home stagers across the globe.  I’ve been doing staging training for almost 10 years now and I can truly say there has never been a better time to start a home staging career than now!  Here are my 7 quick reasons why this is the best time to start a home staging career but I’ll have more to report on the RESA Convention in coming blogs:

1. Home Stagers are Busier Than Ever!

Yep, the general consensus from the over 350 professional stagers at the RESA Convention is that they are BUSY.  Their phones are ringing and they are staging and doing redesign like crazy.  This isn’t too surprising because of the next handful of reasons but to say that 2014 was a good year for starting a home staging career, as well as staging statistically is an understatement.

2. The “Body of Work” is Better Than Ever!

When you look at the RESA Industry Awards and the amazing work these stagers do every day, you will truly become a believer in the benefits of staging.  Michelle Minch, a Los Angeles Stager and 2006 Home Staging Resource Graduate, was the overall winner in 2015 for her gorgeous vacant work which is sampled below:

Michelle Minch of Moving Mountains Design

When stagers do amazing work, real estate agents, home sellers, home builders and everyone else take notice.  The listing photographs stand out and these homes get the best price!

Michelle Minch of Moving Mountains Design

3.  The Redesign Side of the Staging Business is Booming

When I started the Home Staging Resource almost 10 years ago I knew that I needed to add Redesign training as well…great staging turns into move-in redesign.  I was the only staging trainer at the time (and even currently I believe) who incorporates both certification in staging and redesign into the training business model which is essential.   According to a recent Houzz Survey of 6,500 home professionals over 90% expect their business to grow!

4.  2014 Statistics on Home Staging are Better Than Ever

Those of you familiar with my blog know that we polled over 350 home stagers and 3500 homes sold worldwide and asked them (and their agents) two critical questions:  Are professionally staged homes selling for  more than not professionally staged homes?  At what percentage increase on average are they selling higher?  While the responses varied, on average the homes that were professionally staged in 2014 sold for 10% more than the homes that were not professionally staged.

 5.  Home Staging and Redesign Training Has Never Been Better!

The training for staging and redesign has never been better!  In fact, did you know that almost every one of the staging award finalists in the US categories (and some in the Canadian) are part of my Staging Mentors program?  We now have so many wonderful, generous mentors I don’t even list them all on the site.  The Staging Mentors program which is the third package in the HSR Certification training won for most Innovative Product or Service of the Year in 2015 at the RESA Conference! 

Here’s a picture of me hugging my award at the Conference…

Not only has my training improved over the years, but I know that others have as well because we keep each other sharp and motivated.  Most of all, we love to see our students succeed!  I love what beautiful Kristi Barnett is doing in her psychological staging and tricky space trainings!  Here’s a photo of us on the red carpet:

Kristie Barnett and Audra Slinkey – Staging Trainers

6.  Stagers are the Best, Most Generous and Fun People in the World

Okay, here’s where I may be a bit biased but I have to say that home stagers as a whole, are a very fun, hard working, innovative, kind group of people with hearts of gold!  There is an enormous amount of respect we give to each other and our clients.  Stagers are fueled by their passion in design and their perfectionist personalities.  Here’s a photo from the RESA Conference of some of the HSR Grads over the last 10 years who I’ve had the honor and privilege to be a part of their training.  As you can see, we are still having fun up on stage chit chatting…

Grads of the Home Staging Resource at RESACon

Here’s another of some of the gals who missed the photo up on stage:

Look at these gorgeous women!

And another fun photo of our yearly HSR networking event where I buy drinks for all my grads prior to the conference.  Even the bartender commented on what a nice, fun and cool group of people we are:

 7. HGTV…Need I say More?

I would be a fool if I didn’t acknowledge that the rise and popularity of HGTV and websites like Houzz give people motivation to put beauty into their homes and buyers a “vision” of what they want to see in their next home.  The professional home stager is the person who makes that vision a reality!

So if you’re sitting on the fence and wondering if 2015 is your year to have a home staging career…just do it! I’ve never heard anyone have regrets going into this incredible industry but I do hear people regret not getting into it sooner or getting the right guidance.

XOXO – Happy Staging!

Audra Slinkey

Hope to hear from you!
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Websites for Stagers

When I spoke at the RESA Convention on “Blinging Your Brand” I got so many questions from stagers who have a great eye, know what they want their brand to look like BUT just don’t have the technical/computer skills to pull it altogether.  I also had to critically look at the website themes we offered and make some big changes, so….I’m so excited to introduce our new Custom Theme!

Here’s a five minute video that shows you how cool this Custom Theme is:

Now available in our Package Two which includes hosting and your website!

2014 Home Staging Convention

Five Lessons Learned From the 2014 RESA Convention

Can you believe all the Home Staging Resource members who attended the 2014 RESA Convention?  There were over 60 of us and boy did we have a blast! Every year I speak at the RESA Conference and learn so much that I add to our HSR Certification training.  I love that online training provides me a “real time” educational avenue to provide critical information to the hundreds of HSR Members across the world!

Over the next few weeks I’m going to be sharing some of the things I learned at RESA, as well the success stories I got to hear firsthand from this incredible group of women.  Make sure to stay tuned by signing up to the right for our blog.  I also am spending a ton of time adding what I learned from the RESA Conference to my HSR training area, so everyone can benefit from the takeaways which is the beauty of online training.

Here are some of the 2014 lessons I learned by our incredible line-up of speakers:

Lesson Number One – Your contract is your “paper courage” said Kimberley Seldon on day one, so when a client wants to do it differently…you refer to your contract and make no exceptions.

My Training Takeaway –  I’m going back through our example contracts that we provide in the training using Kimberley’s mantra and making them stronger and more steadfast.

Me and my good friend Shell Brodnax (the amazing woman who always makes the RESA convention a success)

Lesson Number Two – Steven Aaron spoke eloquently on the need for stagers to “do a better job articulating confidently your value!”  Give real estate agents an easy way to recommend you to their clients.

My Training Takeaway – Add to the training “Realtor Partner Plan” and “Realtor Presentations”  a page/slide on how the stager makes the agent look awesome.

Me and Kristine Ginsberg the winner of the US Stager of the Year and an HSR Member

Lesson Number Three – Katie Lance (a social media guru) spoke on what’s important in social media for 2014 for stagers and how you can easily connect to clients using some of the new social media technology.

My Training Takeaway – Completely redoing my social media and networking section to reflect the 2014 trends, add the tips and tricks of connecting with clients and being a “good stalker” which will make it easy for HSR members to make agent partnerships.

Me and Lori Murphy, Ululani Poepoe and Valerie Monkarsh the new HSR stagers nominated for Rising Star category

Lesson Number Four – Shell Brodnax was one of my favorite speakers and spoke about “Reining in your fears – stop focusing on what could go wrong and focus on what’s right!”

My Training Takeaway – Add more information and video in my Week Two Marketing section that helps stagers connect easily with their propects and clients, so the “fear factor” never comes into play.  I also am pushing the Staging Mentor program since is an easy way to take the fear away by working at a home and with clients under a Mentors guidance.

Me and my sister and mother who come and just enjoy the convention with me.

Lesson Number Five – Matthew Finlason spoke on the psychology of staging stating that, “it’s not about pretty rooms but about SELLING homes!”  He also emphasized understanding the “buyer demographic” and creating a lifestyle design plan that fits.

My Training Takeaway – Expand on my six buyer demographic Internet research steps and add a “Buyer Demographic Profile” form to that section.

5 Reasons to Start a Staging Business in 2014

What is it that you love to do and are passionate about?  Chances are if you love it, you are truly gifted at it.   Do you get goosebumps when you walk into a book store and head to the interior design section?  Do you anxiously wait for your design magazines to come in the mail or get “geeked up” over organizing your closet?  Do you notice every design detail when you walk into a friends house and then subconsciously rearrange the space in your mind? If you answered “yes” to any of these seemingly absurd questions then you definitely have what I call the “design sickness” and the good news is there’s never been a better time to explore the possibility of creating a business doing it.  There is nothing more exciting then doing what you love and getting paid for it!

Here are five reasons (with statistics) why starting a staging and redesign business is a practical and perfect idea for 2014:

• Home Values Are On The Rise – What a roller coaster it has been but now in almost every area of the country, home values are going up.  What does this mean for stagers?  It means there is value in the sale of the home, so staging becomes a “windfall” of sorts for sellers who really want to get all they can out of selling their most prized possession.  (The median price of a house in the United States is $197,100 which is up over 10% from last year’s median price of $176,800 according to the National Association of Realtors NAR) (According to the National Association of Realtors, almost 20% more home sold over 2012 numbers:  5,160,000 homes in 2013 vs. 4,660,000 in 2012)
• Remodeling Is On The Rise – What happens when people start to take an interest in their homes?  They look for critical expertise from a home stylist, color expert and designer! (In an HGTV Magazine reader poll over 25% of readers underwent a big renovation, like a new kitchen or bath in 2013)  (In a 2013 Houzz survey of over 100,000 people over 53% plan a renovation in the next couple years, think it’s a good time and plan to hire professional help)
• Home Staging Was Specifically Listed As A “Best Career for 2013 and Beyond” – In an article by career guru, Marty Nemko, staging was listed as a best job and fastest growing career for the future. (Link to Article)
• Sellers Are Now Staging Savvy – With the rise of HGTV, Pinterest and Houzz the average seller understands the value of professional, design advice for both living and selling!
• Agents Are Now Staging Savvy – It’s taken home stagers years to educate the real estate industry of the benefits of staging and now home stagers have become a de rigueur part of preparing a home for sale.

The most famous real estate agent of all time, Barbara Corcoran is speaking at our Staging Convention in a couple weeks, so it’s incredibly encouraging to see how our work over the years in educating the public on staging has Barbara as a huge supporter and advocate!

 

Timing is everything and building a business is a luxury but the biggest regret I hear our member stagers say is that they wish they started earlier.

Here are just a few quotes from our members I thought was worth posting to encourage others that a new year, can mean so much to you…or it can pass you by.

Home Staging Excellence

The nominees have been announced for the RESA Home Staging Industry Awards 2014 and I’m so proud and impressed with every one of those amazing staging and redesigners!  If you haven’t checked out each of their entry pages and viewed their transformations, make sure you do that at http://homestagingindustryawards.com.   Each one of these individuals works tirelessly to perfect their craft and in doing so elevate our industry.

I’m particularly proud of the fact that half of the US nominees in the Pro-USA category and the Rising Star category are HSR grads or HSR Staging Mentors!

I wanted to personally congratulate each one of them below because they each have inspired me through the years, are incredibly talented and generous to the industry and are wonderful people…you ladies rock!

Congratulations to…

• Name: Kristine Ginsberg
• Company: Elite Staging and Redesign, LLC
• City: Morris Plains
• State/Province: NJ
• Designations: Graduate of Home Staging Resource, ASHSR (American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners), NCJAR (North Central Jersey Association of Realtors)
• Memberships: RESA (Real Estate Staging Association), ASHSR (American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners), NCJAR (North Central Jersey Association of Realtors), Active Rain Network
• Website: http://www.elitestagingandredesignmorriscountynewjersey.com/

• Name: Donna Dazzo
• Company: Designed To Appeal
• City: New York
• State/Province: NY
• Designations: Graduate of Home Staging Resource program and Staging Diva program
• Memberships: RESA NY Chapter
• Website: www.DesignedToAppeal.com

• 
• 

  • Name: Michelle Minch
  • Company: Moving Mountains Design
  • City: Pasadena
  • State/Province: CA
  • Designations: RESA-PRO, HSR
  • Memberships: RESA National, RESA San Gabriel Valley Chapter
  • Website: http://MovingMountainsDesign.com

  

   

  • Name: Lori KimPolk
  • Company: Premiere Home Staging
  • City: Roseville
  • State/Province: CA
  • Designations: ASP. CSP, RESA-PRO, RESA Membership Chair, RESA Board Member 2012/2013
  • Memberships: RESA, PCAR, SACRESN
  • Website: http://www.premierehomestagingllc.com

  

  

  • Name: Maureen Bray
  • Company: Room Solutions Staging LLC
  • City: Portland
  • State/Province: OR
  • Designations: CSP, ASP
  • Memberships: RESA, Active Rain Real Estate Network
  • Website: http://www.RoomSolutions.com

  

  

  • Name: Valerie Monkarsh
  • Company: The Closing Stage
  • City: Los Angeles
  • State/Province: CA
  • Designations: Vacant Property Specialist, HSR
  • Memberships: RESA, HSR
  • Website: www.theclosingstage.com 

    

    • Name: Lori Murphy
    • Company: Element One Home Staging & Redesign
    • City: Dublin
    • State/Province: OH
    • Designations: Certified Professional Stager
    • Memberships: RESA, ASHSR, HSR
    • Website: www.ElementOneHomeStaging.com 

      

      • Name: Ululani Poepoe
      • Company: UP Staging & Design, LLC
      • City: Kea’au
      • State/Province: HI
      • Designations: Realtor
      • Memberships: RESA Member, ASHSR Member
      • Website: www.UPstagingDesign.com

    

    

    • Name: Luci Terhune
    • Company: Bungalow Home Staging & Redesign
    • City: Nutley
    • State/Province: NJ
    • Designations: HSR RESA PRO CPCNR CIR
    • Memberships: RESA HSR
    • Website: www.Bungalowhomestagers.com

    

    

    • Name: Natalya Price
    • Company: Nj Staged 2 Sell
    • City: Summit
    • State/Province: NJ
    • Designations: Home Stager & Property Stylist, Realtor
    • Memberships: ASHSR, RESA, HSR, NJAR, B.I.G.
    • Website: www.njstaged2sell.com