Praise for Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 30, 2009

“I love the straight, matter-of-fact approach that Debra takes to the home staging business. It resonates with my personality, and this training gave me gems that I would not have learnt from any other home staging organization. Kudos to Debra Gould and her wonderful efforts to share her success with all of us (many times at no cost)!” Fareeha Maria, Turquoise Home Staging & Décor (ON)


“The Staging Diva offers an inspiring home staging training course. Not only is Debra professional and informative, but she’s also fun to listen to and learn from! She is passionate about staging and helping others succeed.” Karen Murdock, Welcome Home Staging & Redesign (WI)

Read more rave reviews from Staging Diva Graduates!

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Staging Diva Directory welcomes N’Chic Home Staging & ReDesign

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 29, 2009

The Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers welcomes N’Chic Home Staging & ReDesign located in Texas.

Owner of N’Chic Home Staging & ReDesign, Christi Curran, is a Graduate of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Christi has a full listing on the Staging Diva Directory in addition to her company website. She knows her profile on the Directory will help her website’s rank in the search engines, and she also knows anyone searching the Directory for a home stager in Texas will be sure to find her.

N’Chic Home Staging & ReDesign serves the following areas of Texas: Houston, The Woodlands, Spring, Tomball, Cypress, Katy, Sugar Land, Clear Lake, Galveston and Southeast Texas.

Learn how you can add your business to the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.

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Proving you’re the right home stager to hire

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 28, 2009

I recently referred a homeowner to the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers and was told she’d been there but didn’t like the portfolios of the stagers in her area. That’s when I decided to write about the five most common mistakes I see stagers make with their home staging portfolios.

The first three mistakes I talked about covered the importance of strong before and after photos and a professional logo and website. Today the mistake I’ll talk about is not giving a homeowner proof that you’re the right home stager for them to hire.

Not explaining why you’re the right person to hire.

If you only talk about home staging in general terms and do nothing to demonstrate your own specific expertise, you are just another “me too” home stager. Even if you’re still looking for your first client, how you talk about what you do should demonstrate the skills you bring to this career.

Unless you’ve been a home stager for at least a couple of years, don’t mention when you started. If someone asks, you must answer honestly, but you don’t need to volunteer the information.

Not including testimonials or having ones that don’t say anything more compelling than “she’s great.”

A good testimonial will explain a problem and how you solved it, or clearly state the benefit of working with you. Here’s a great example of a testimonial written about Staging Diva Graduate Christine Leonard of Stateline Staging & Redesign:

“I am proud to say that there is no greater testimony to Christine’s hard work and skilled staging techniques than to say that our home sold in 8 days for full asking price!”

If you’re serious about building your business and learning how to attract clients instead of scaring them away, please check out Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide: Winning Clients with the Perfect Home Staging Portfolio.

Portfolio Guide100+ pages of essential information sent to you by email as soon as you order. Download and print the guide, or save it to a disk and take it to an office supply store to print it for you.

Here’s what readers have to say about the Portfolio Guide:

“Everyone interested in the business of home staging should read this fantastic guide,” says Laura Jensen (WI)

“The Staging Diva Home Staging Portfolio Guide is practical, motivating, real-life stuff,” says Judi Collins (Australia)

> Learn more about the Portfolio Guide

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Staging Diva helps Jody Tullous start business while working full time

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 27, 2009

“The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program will save you the trial and error that comes with building your own business. Not only am I more motivated to get my business off the ground, but the program gave me the information I need to make a plan and stay on schedule. As I work full-time already, this will save me endless hours of struggle!” Jody Tullous, Symplicity Home Staging and Design (AR)

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Staging Diva Graduates on Five Continents

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 25, 2009

There are over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates spread over 5 continents. They live in major cities, smaller towns and rural areas.

Some are newly divorced women having to start their first careers or baby boomers looking to escape corporate careers to feed their souls while also making a living.

There are several ex-nurses, teachers and real estate agents, and many who have given up expensive decorating franchises to run their own home staging business instead.

What they all share is a passion for decorating.

Over the last few months we’ve added new Graduates in these locations:

USA
Madison, Alabama
Russellville, Texarkana, Bethesda, Maine, Springdale, Arkansas
Monrovia, Poway, Woodland Hills, Monument, Aliso Viejo, California
LaSalle, Windsor, Colorado
Dawsonville, Jackson, McDonough, Georgia
Belleville, Idaho
Bartlett, Palos Park, Elgin, Illiniois
Muscatine, Iowa
Fishers, Sellersburg, Indiana
Auburn, Kentucky
Branch, Michigan
Reading, Sterling, Massachusetts
Savage, Minnesota
Camdenton, Missouri
Portsmouth, Danbury, New Hampshire
Williamstown, New Jersey
Elizabethtownn, Rochester, Sanborn, Larchmont, Smithtown, Batavia, Queensbury, New York
Liberty Twp., Mason, Gahanna, Ohio
Easton, Pennsylvania
Troup, Mansfield, Danbury, Lumberton, Texas
Reston, Woodbridge, Virginia
Brier, Rockford, Washington

Canada
Elmira, Meaford, Loretto, Ontario
Ste-Anne-des-Lacs, Verdun, Quebec

Australia
Mackay, Nambour, Queensland
North Nowra, New South Wales
Modbury North, South Australia
Port Melbourne, Victoria
Perth, Western Australia

Europe
Chorlton, United Kingdom
Murches Alcabideche, Portugal

> Learn how you can join this list

> Complete list of locations of Staging Diva Graduates

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Staging Success Spotlight on Tracey Phillip

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 24, 2009

Congratulations to Staging Diva Graduate Tracey Phillip of S.O.$. Home Staging (QC) who was been writing a regular column on home staging tips for a community newspaper for almost a year.

This is a great strategy for promoting your expertise in your business area. You can learn more about this and other marketing ideas in course 4 of the Staging Diva Training Program.

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By the Numbers: Staging Diva Graduate Survey Results

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 23, 2009

Every Staging Diva Graduate is sent a survey upon completion of the program so that we can monitor how our training is meeting students’ needs. Because I get so many distressed calls from aspiring home stagers who have fallen for various schemes that are out there, I’m especially proud of these results.

Staging Diva Graduate Survey Results Collected Over the Last 17 Months

It is really important to do your homework before buying into any training program. Here are links to a couple of articles you might find helpful:

> Want to be a home stager? 15 questions to ask before signing up for training

> Sucked in by promises of a guaranteed J0B

> Home Staging is not a minimum wage J0B

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Staging Diva Directory welcomes Sparkle on Staging

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 22, 2009

The Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers welcomes Sparkle on Staging located in Ontario, Canada.

Nicole Theroux, owner of Sparkle on Staging, is a Graduate of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Nicole has a full listing on the directory which includes three sets of before and after photos, contact details and company information. Nicole has secured the domain name sparkleonstaging.com and has pointed it to her listing on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers, so her profile page acts as her company website.

Sparkle on Staging serves the following areas of Ontario: Hamilton, Burlington, Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Niagara Region, Waterdown, Brantford and Caledonia.

Learn how you can join the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.

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Professional logo and website must-haves for a home staging portfolio

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 21, 2009

After referring a home owner to the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers and being told she’d been there but didn’t like the portfolios of the stagers in her area, I decided to write about the five most common mistakes I see being made with home staging portfolios.

The first article I posted on this topic covered the importance of using strong before and after photos that truly demonstrate your talent. Today I’ll cover two more common home staging portfolio mistakes, starting with:

Not having a professional logo.

Your logo is a key piece of your business image and it must look like you have design sense. Otherwise, why would someone hire you to redesign or stage their home?

On the right are two examples of strong logos from Staging Diva Graduates Hayley Harris of Essential Key (Queensland, AU) and Karen Cook of Impressions of Home (Ontario, Canada).

Another common home staging portfolio mistake is:

Not having a professional web site or a professional listing in a Directory like the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.

It’s not easy building a web site and you may be proud of your beginner “do it yourself” efforts. But make sure what you’ve done will look professional to people who don’t know you and won’t care how hard you worked to figure out how to build a site. Because home staging is an image business that is all about your sense of design and style, your Internet presence must demonstrate that.

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva

Debra Gould, President Six Elements Inc. Creator of The Staging Diva® Home Staging Training Program

Debra Gould’s mission is to inspire others to follow their dreams and use their innate talents to also earn a living. She has trained over 1000 women and men on five continents how to take their talent for decorating and turn it into a successful home staging business. Learn more about the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

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Staging Success Spotlight on Patricia Ebrahimi

by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva on June 20, 2009

Congratulations to another Washington area Staging Diva Graduate Patricia Ebrahimi of Show-Smart! Home Staging. She writes, “Things are great in DC for staging! Five of the homes I staged in May either sold the first day or went under contract within the first week or so. Thanks for all your help Debra in getting me there!”

It’s great to read continued proof that home staging works even in a slow real estate market. I wrote about Patricia’s success and included some of her tips from a home staging article she was featured in,  in the Washington Post.

> Check out Patricia Ebrahimi’s staging tips and the rest of the story

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