by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on March 11, 2010
It’s been fascinating to watch the growth of FSBO, or “For Sale by Owner” properties. After all, with the Internet, real estate agents no longer have the power to keep only their listings in the public eye.
There are so many companies that have sprung up to help FSBOs market their properties on their own. Gone are the days of the sad store-bought “For Sale” sign in the window with a handwritten phone number. These days, home sellers who want to work without an agent can set up their own websites to showcase their properties and advertise them with a number of online services.
Once you have your own home staging business, it’s important to think about all your possible target markets and home sellers who don’t intend to list with a real estate agent can certainly be an important group. In fact, one could argue that these sellers need us even more because we’ll probably provide the only objective feedback they’ll get before putting their homes on the market.
Plus they really need our help to ensure their online photos are solid.
Then there’s the added benefit that with the 5% or 6% commission on their selling price that they’re saving, they may be more willing to invest in staging.
Congratulations to Dolly Dewald who transformed this FSBO property. What a difference her staging made! The owners
held their own open houses and even without a real estate agent, they managed to sell this Omaha home for 96% of their asking price.
About her training, Dolly writes, “My goal was to have a job I loved. The Staging Diva Program gave me the structure and know-how to create a business and make it work. With Debra Gould’s help I now have an outlet for my creative juices and a job I love.”
> Read the rest of Dolly’s home staging story here.
For more marketing ideas to help you take advantage of the spring real estate season and to ensure you reach all your target markets, consider these two products:
14 Marketing Ideas to Rev Up Your Home Staging Business
Staging Diva’s Sales and Marketing Secrets to Boost Your Home Staging Business
by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on March 10, 2010
“My 40s are the best time of my life. I finally understood what I want and the main part is that I CAN DO IT. Many thanks to you, Debra. You inspire me and every time I slow down I think about you. You bring energy and that ‘you can do it’ into my life.” Anna Dovger, Add Value Home Staging (TX)
by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on March 9, 2010
The Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers welcomes Create Home Staging serving locations in the province of Ontario and the state of Michigan.
Create Home Staging’s owner, Monica Bunde, is a Graduate of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program and she has purchased a full listing on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.
Monica uses her listing as her company website because it contains sales copy about her business, before and after photos and all of her important contact information. She can also be certain that anyone searching the Directory for a home stager in the locations she serves finds her.
Create Home Staging serves the following locations in the Province of Ontario: Amherstburg, LaSalle, Belle River, Kingsville and Leamington
And the following locations in the State of Michigan: Grosse Pointe, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Farmington Hills.
Learn more about adding your home staging business to the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.
Technorati Tags: Staging Diva, Staging Diva Directory, Directory of Home Stagers, Home Stagers, Create Home Staging, Ontario home stager, Michigan home stager
by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on March 8, 2010
Have a look at Staging Diva events happening for home stagers this month. Please note, times indicated are Eastern (NY time) so you’ll need to adjust for your own time zone.
Ask Staging Diva Live – FREE
Wednesday, March 10 8PM – 9:30PM
Anyone who has subscribed to Staging Diva Dispatch in the last 3 months will get an invitation to join this 90 minute group conference call with home staging expert Debra Gould. Find out what it’s really like to be a home stager, ask your own questions about starting or growing a home staging business and hear an overview of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program .
Sign up right now for this event!
Staging Diva Dialog (Graduate Members Only)
Wednesday, March 17 noon to 1 PM
Staging Diva Graduates have a chance to ask Debra Gould questions in a small group on this regular, monthly coaching call.
Here’s what was discussed on the last call:
- Home staging presentations for realtors
- Home staging presentations for homeowners
- Presentations for philanthropic groups
- Presentation handouts
- Staging portfolio dos and don’ts
- Starting your portfolio with no clients
- Photography tips and cameras
- Formula for establishing a staging budget
- What to do if you’re over your budget
- Fave places to shop for accessories
- When your client ignores your advice
Find out how you can join the March Staging Diva Dialog. Just $47 gets you the live call with Debra Gould to ask your questions!
Open Coaching Day with Staging Diva – FREE (by invitation only, $75 value)
Tuesday, March 23 11 AM to 3:30 PM
Staging Diva Quiz Challenge Winners get a 15 minute one-on-one coaching session with Debra Gould.
Staging Diva Graduates get a 15 minute one-on-one laser coaching session with Debra Gould.
Invitations are sent to Staging Diva Directory members.
Staging Diva Accelerator Coaching (Members Only)
Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment
If you’re interested in business coaching with Debra Gould, schedule an Accelerator Coaching session. It’s not a prerequisite to have taken the Staging Diva Training Program to purchase a session. When you’ve registered, you’ll get special access to Debra Gould’s online calendar to book an appointment at your convenience.
Learn more about how to get Staging Diva Business Accelerator Coaching
Technorati Tags: home stager, starting a home staging business Staging Diva Dialog, Ask Staging Diva Live, home staging Business Coaching, debra gould
by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on March 5, 2010
Congratulations to Staging Diva Graduate Kim Nuzzaci of Moving Home Interiors (DE, MD, PA) on winning a national design competition sponsored by Pottery Barn.
by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on March 4, 2010
February was a busy month. In addition to writing Home Staging Business Report and coaching my students, I’ve been working on a presentation I’ll be giving to homeowners next month. I also completed some home staging and interior redesign consultations and took my mother to Ste. Anne’s Spa for a weekend to celebrate her 80th birthday.
But the biggest project for the month was “blowing up” my 7 year old home staging website, SixElements.com and rebuilding it from the ground up. It launched March 1, just in time for the busy spring real estate market. I’ll discuss this project later this month since it may help some of you working on your own websites.
Thank you to the many students and graduates who wrote in after I sent out the new additions to courses 2 and 3 of the Staging Diva Training Program. I have been teaching home stagers for 5 years and many ideas continue to come from the questions you send in, or from my discussions with home stagers during the Staging Diva Dialog calls. I’m pleased to hear the new course material was helpful.
I’m serious about my mission of inspiring and empowering you to live your best life. As such, the overall theme of this month’s posts is recognizing the power you have to direct your career and then doing something about it.
Keep your marketing hat on and be ready for the spring real estate season. It’s on now and this is your opportunity to take advantage of it!
by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on March 3, 2010
“Even if you’re on the right track you’ll get run over if you just sit there!”
~ Will Rogers
by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on February 26, 2010
Real estate investors need the help of home stagers if they want to flip their properties or even just to attract a quality tenant if they’re planning to rent the property out until the market picks up.
It’s common for investor/renovators to assume that once a place is fixed up and painted, that’s all they need to do. When a home is not that big or the rooms are awkwardly arranged it makes it even harder for buyers or renters to imagine how they’ll use the space. This was certainly true in this living room, which was the first thing you saw upon entering this house.
Congratulations to Debbie Fiskum who transformed this space. What a difference her staging made! The home sold in 
just over two weeks over Christmas.
She writes, “Taking the Staging Diva Program helped me to speak more effectively to agents, investors and homeowners and to convince them of the value of home staging. I gained insight about marketing my business and that continues to be an ongoing process as I follow Debra on Twitter and keep up with her blog posts. By doing the things Debra recommends in her program, you can build a profitable business.”
Read the rest of Debbie’s home staging story here.
by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on February 25, 2010
Don’t be critical to the point of being paralyzed by a need for perfection, but it’s important to put real time into making 
your home staging portfolio as strong as you can. I sometimes take 30 shots of the same room just to be able to pick the absolute best before and after angle. It’s tedious to sort through them all afterwards, but it’s worth it because having the right photos will get you business.
As we head into the first real estate season of this decade, make sure your own portfolio is up to snuff. If you need help, the Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide will teach you what you need to know to win clients. You’ll find:
- detailed copywriting tips for writing about your services as a home stager
- how to get strong testimonials
- how to brief a designer so you get a professional looking logo
- how to avoid the pitfalls most stagers make when shooting and choosing their before and after photos
- and more
by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on February 23, 2010
The Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers welcomes Silk Purse Innovations, located in Connecticut.
Silk Purse Innovations’ owners, Susan Paganini and Sallie P. Borkowski are both Graduates of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program and they’ve purchased a full listing on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.
Susan and Sallie use their listing as their company website because it contains sales copy about their company, before and after photos and their contact information. They can also be certain that anyone searching the Directory for a home stager in Connecticut finds them.
Silk Purse Innovations LLC serves the following locations in Connecticut: Hartford County, Litchfield County, New Haven County, Tolland County, Windham County, Middlesex County, New London County and Fairfield County.
Learn more about adding your home staging business to the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.
Technorati Tags: Staging Diva, Staging Diva Directory, Directory of Home Stagers, Home Stagers, Silk Purse Innovations, Connecticut home stager
