Staging real estate can be a lucrative career, but there a many things you should know before you do it.
We’ve all seen the shows on the HGTV Network. A family is trying to sell their cluttered, dark and very personalized home for months with no bites from prospective buyers.
Then, like a knight riding in on a white horse, the real estate staging expert arrives with neutral paint and fresh flowers in tow. Out go the family photos, knickknacks and shocking color schemes. In comes a new coat of paint and a better furniture arrangement, or rented furniture if the homeowner’s existing pieces are too worn (or odd!)
Suddenly, like magic, the house is full of potential buyers.
Home Staging 101
These shows make home staging seem like a fun and creative way to earn a living, but, according to Toronto-based staging diva Debra Gould, it’s not as simple as it looks.
She says that there are many questions an aspiring home stager should ask themselves before embarking on a new career, such as:
- How much money does it take to start a staging business?
- What is the difference between home staging and interior design?
- How do you deal with a real estate agent who doesn’t believe in the importance of decorating a house to sell?
Discovering the Ins and Outs of Staging Real Estate
For years, Gould, who is president of the home staging firm SixElements.com and the founder of the Staging Diva Home Business Training Program, has been giving potential home stagers a chance to ask questions about the staging industry on a free monthly preview call. Now, she’s offering a compilation of the best of those calls in Ask Staging Diva Live: Volumes 1, 2 and 3.
“Anyone not quite sure about diving head-first into the field of home staging might consider dipping in a toe first to test the waters,” says Gould, who has trained over 4,000 home stagers to start and grow their own businesses.
The compilation is made up of three hours of audio recordings and a 60-page transcript for $129, or $89 for those who order before July 28. With Gould’s typical career coaching services costing up to $300 per hour, the recordings are a budget-friendly way to gain insider knowledge of the home staging business.
“This new resource is going to be useful for anyone who wants to make a living from their decorating talent,” says Gould. “Many new stagers have learned about better ideas for marketing their staging businesses so they don’t have to give up on their entrepreneurial dreams, while aspiring stagers have learned that they do have what it takes and they feel confident to go ahead and pursue home staging courses.”
And if all works well, perhaps some of those stagers will have their own hit show on HGTV.
