Browsing for magazines to read over the holidays, I discovered that The Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program made Entrepreneur’s Fall 2006/Winter 2007 Business Start Ups Guide.

It’s the third time Staging Diva has made one of their Start Up Guides this year. Staging Diva is the ONLY Home Staging Business Opportunity Entrepreneur Magazine recognized this year, and they also identified home staging as one of the hottest growth businesses for 2006.

Given the continued melt down in US real estate (Canada experienced what they’re calling a “soft landing” in 2006), the demand for home staging services will continue to rise in 2007 making this an excellent time to learn how to start and grow a staging business.

After all, when there are a dozen other similar houses in your neighborhood for sale and prices are falling, what other strategy can a homeowner use to protect their most important financial investment when it’s time to sell?

Home staging makes a tremendous difference in how fast a home sells and for how much because it’s human nature to be attracted to something that looks better! That’s why we dress up when we go on a date, why we detail a car before we sell it… how silly to imagine you can take a cluttered, badly decorated home in need of obvious repair and expect top dollar!

Discover the ONLY Home Staging Business Training Program taught by a seasoned entrepreneur who has successfully grown her own home staging business (not as a side-line to selling real estate) — The Staging Diva Training Program. With an MBA in marketing and hundreds of home staging clients, internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, is uniquely qualified to train others how to start and grow a profitable home staging business.

You can become a Staging Diva Graduate with 10 hours of training by phone with Debra Gould from home, or you can do the entire program by listening to recordings which are emailed to you immediately after you register.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stagers, house staging, real estate staging, real estate staging business, Entrepreneur Magazine, business start ups, The Business of Home Staging, working from home, home staging training, home staging business, staging diva, Debra Gould

Over the past year I’ve referred tens of thousands of dollars worth of staging projects to Graduates of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

Some Graduates have received up to 20 referrals from me; that’s close to two projects a month!

It takes hours dealing with the hundreds of email enquiries I get from people looking for home stagers, playing matchmaker between homeowners or their agents, and the approximately 350 home stagers I have scattered throughout the US, Canada, Australia, Wales, England, South Africa and now the Philippines!

I’m not paid for my considerable time to do this, unless I collect a referral fee from a home stager. I only charge this fee if the stager actually gets work. In other words, I invest my time at no charge to people looking for a stager, and at no charge to my Graduates if they don’t get actual paid work out of it.

Naturally, since my reputation is on the line every time I recommend someone for a project and because I’m not earning anything from recommending someone who doesn’t close the deal, I favor stagers who have the best portfolios and who have demonstrated their ability to get someone to hire them.

I follow up with clients on how satisfied they were with the person I recommended. If they weren’t pleased (which happened only once) I take that into account the next time I have a lead in that geographic area.

Some new stagers underestimate the value of a recommendation from me. Here’s a copy of an email one client sent to the stager I recommended for her project:

I’ve been the driving force behind the idea to stage the house for a quick sale at top dollar – and I am convinced that with your help, we can make it happen. I have no doubt whatsoever in your ability to deliver exactly what we want (and more)– you were recommended by Debra Gould, no less!!!!!!!!

As you’ll see tomorrow, the house itself is fine but lacks oomph! We have a budget of $3750 to spend so I know we’ll need your expert guidance to prioritize and manage the work through completion. I’m really excited about working with you and look forward to meeting you tomorrow.

So what landed this project for the new home stager?

• a personal recommendation from me (which is only available to Staging Diva Graduates)
• her portfolio
• her ability to speak confidently with the prospect and convince her to book a paid home staging consultation

In the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, I teach you how to turn a prospect into a paying client, how to build your portfolio and if you register, I also host a home staging web page for you in The Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.

Anyone listed in the Directory has a much better chance of being found by homeowners and agents actively looking for a home stager because of all the traffic I get to stagingdiva.com. If a prospect finds you there on their own, there is no referral fee for any projects you win.

Discover the ONLY Home Staging Business Training Program taught by a seasoned entrepreneur who has successfully grown her own home staging business (not as a side-line to selling real estate) — The Staging Diva Training Program. With an MBA in marketing and hundreds of home staging clients, internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, is uniquely qualified to train others how to start and grow a profitable home staging business.

You can become a Staging Diva Graduate with 10 hours of training by phone with Debra Gould from home, or you can do the entire program by listening to recordings which are emailed to you immediately after you register.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

How to get the course as a Christmas Gift

How to get listed in the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stagers, house staging, home staging, real estate staging, real estate trends, making money in Home Staging, Directory of Home Stagers, how to find a home stager, working from home, home staging training, home staging business, staging diva, Debra Gould, make money in home staging, home staging gift certificate

Calling all Staging Diva Graduates in Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester Counties in Maryland. I have a Salisbury, MD based real estate agent who wants to create a list of home stagers that she can recommend to her clients.

This opportunity is only available to Graduates of the Staging Diva Program.

There is a $500 referral fee but ONLY if you get any paid work through the referral to this real estate agent. This is a one time fee regardless of how many clients she refers you to, or how many other agents she puts you in contact with and the number of projects that come from that.

If you’re in or around the Salisbury area and interested in being put in contact with this realtor, email me ASAP with:

• Your name
• Company name
• Phone
• Email
• The address of your website or page on the Staging Diva Directory
• That you agree to the $500 one time agent referral fee if you get any paid work through this lead

Please include “Salisbury MD Home Stager” in the subject line of your email.
Also note that if you don’t already have a website or a page on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers, it will be tough to join this opportunity. How can this realtor judge your suitability without being able to see your portfolio?

If the idea of putting together a website is overwhelming to you, don’t worry. If you send me photos and copy I can build your page on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers. Stagers who are found through their listing in the Staging Diva Directory do not pay referral fees, because I don’t need to get involved in playing matchmaker.

Not only is being in The Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers a great way to pick up staging projects, you’ll get calls from the media as well! Imagine what it does to your credibility to say you were interviewed by The Wall Street Journal or that your staging business is featured in a book? This happened to three of the graduates listed in the directory within the last few months, and there’s no reason it couldn’t happen for you too!

Because of all the traffic I get to my two sites, SixElements.com and StagingDiva.com, I get lots of leads on projects from all over Canada and the US and even in South Africa! I will only refer them to Staging Diva Graduates.

You can become a Staging Diva Graduate with 10 hours of training by phone from home or you can do the entire program by listening to recordings which are emailed to you immediately after you register.

Learn more about the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program

You can get your company listed in the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers. I personally build your page and all the code to help search engines find you!

Learn more about the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers

Technorati Tags: home staging Maryland, home staging MD, home staging Salisbury, Wicomico County home stager, Somerset County home stager, Worcester County home stager, staging diva, real estate staging, home staging business, home staging training

I have a client with a 2400 square feet, 4 bed 2 3/4 bath home. It is a center hall colonial that has been completely remodeled from top to bottom. Theowners will probably list it furnished and are considering some rental furniture for the master bedroom. They would consider listing it unfurnished if theythought it would show better.

The owners plan to list right after Christmas and be out of the house by the second week of January. It will probably list in the low 800’s;however they haven’t spoken to the broker yet to confirm that.

Morris Plains is a small community of just over 5000. 51% of Morris Plains residents age 25 and older have a bachelor’s or advanced college degree. 16% of Morris Plains residents report German ancestry, and 23% report Irish.

The referral fee for this project is $250 but only if you get actual paid work out of it. This fee is to cover my time advertising this project, playing matchmaker for you, and the fact that I’ve invested four years in building my profile to be able to attract these business leads.

If you’re interested in this Morris Plains/ Morristown NJ staging project, email me with:

• Your name
• Company name
• Phone
• Email
• The address of your website
• Your agreement to the referral fee should the client hire you

Please include “Morris Plains/ Morristown NJ” in the subject line of your email. If you don’t already have a website or a page on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers, it will be more difficult to win this project. It’s hard to convince a client to hire you over the phone if they can’t see your portfolio.

Because of all the traffic I get to my two sites, SixElements.com and StagingDiva.com, I get lots of leads on projects from all over Canada and the US and even in South Africa! I will only refer them to Staging Diva Graduates.

I generate tons of traffic for anyone listed on the Staging Diva site. Only one good project would more than pay for your entire Staging Diva Training Program plus me building and hosting your web page for an entire year! When clients find you on their own from your listing in the Staging Diva Directory, I do not charge you a referral fee.

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva ™
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging

Discover the ONLY Home Staging Business Training Program taught by a seasoned entrepreneur who has successfully grown her own home staging business (not as a side-line to selling real estate) — The Staging Diva Training Program. With an MBA in marketing and hundreds of home staging clients, internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, is uniquely qualified to train others how to start and grow a profitable home staging business.

You can become a Staging Diva Graduate with 10 hours of training by phone with Debra Gould from home, or you can do the entire program by listening to recordings which are emailed to you immediately after you register.

Read more about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

I have a client with a one year old, 1850 square foot semi - detached with builders white on the walls to go on the market in the spring, 2007.

The home is currently lived in and furnished and the owner plans on listing for around $300K. The owners are quite handy and will paint and do all the staging themselves. They need advice on color selection, furniture placement and accessories.

What was once a small town mostly surrounded by agricultural areas, Ajax has increasingly become a bedroom community to Toronto, Ontario and its environs. Many residents commute to work in Toronto or other municipalities in Durham Region.

The referral fee for this project is $250 but only if you get actual paid work out of it. This fee is to cover my time advertising this project, playing matchmaker for you, and the fact that I’ve invested four years in building my profile to be able to attract these business leads.

If you’re interested in this Toronto/Ajax staging project, email me with:

• Your name
• Company name
• Phone
• Email
• The address of your website
• Your agreement to the referral fee should the client hire you

Please include “Toronto/Ajax Staging Project” in the subject line of your email. If you don’t already have a website or a page on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers, it will be more difficult to win this project. It’s hard to convince a client to hire you over the phone if they can’t see your portfolio.

Because of all the traffic I get to my two sites, SixElements.com and StagingDiva.com, I get lots of leads on projects from all over Canada and the US and even in South Africa! I will only refer them to Staging Diva Graduates.

I generate tons of traffic for anyone listed on the Staging Diva site. Only one good project would more than pay for your entire Staging Diva Training Program plus me building and hosting your web page for an entire year! When clients find you on their own from your listing in the Staging Diva Directory, I do not charge you a referral fee.

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva ™
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging

Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva is president of Six Elements Inc., a leading home staging company that provides free information to raise the standards in the industry and build awareness amongst homeowners and their real estate agents about the benefits of decorating a house to sell. Debra Gould developed The Staging Diva Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging, real estate enhancement businesses.

Learn more about the Staging Diva Home Staging Training ProgramYou can get your company listed in the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers. Debra Gould will personally build your page and all the code to help search engines find you!

Learn more about the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers

At this time of year there are probably more than a few people wondering what to get you for Christmas. There’s so much stress attached to finding the right thing, how much to spend, time to shop, wrap and deliver the gift.

If you’ve told anyone in your life about your dream of starting a whole new career in home staging, they’re probably wondering what they can do to support you in your goal.

You can suggest a Staging Diva Gift Certificate. They’re available in $20, $40 and $100 values, redeemable on any Staging Diva Product between now and March 31, 2007.

Just this week, one of the readers of my free monthly newsletter Staging Diva Dispatch told her boyfriend about this new service. He ordered her gift certificates over the Internet, saving himself a ton of trouble while giving her exactly what she wants for Christmas. And, when she starts making money in her new staging business in 2007, she’ll always appreciate him for helping make her dreams a reality!

With products starting at $20 for the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Quick-Start Checklist, right up to the full Staging Diva Training Program for $895, there’s lots to choose from.
Your Gift Certificate can be for all or part of the value of the product you want to purchase.

More about Staging Diva Gift Certificates

Discover the ONLY Home Staging Business Training Program taught by a seasoned entrepreneur who has successfully grown her own home staging business (not as a side-line to selling real estate) — The Staging Diva Training Program. With an MBA in marketing and hundreds of home staging clients, internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, is uniquely qualified to train others how to start and grow a profitable home staging business.

You can become a Staging Diva Graduate with 10 hours of training by phone with Debra Gould from home, or you can do the entire program by listening to recordings which are emailed to you immediately after you register.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stagers, house staging, home staging, real estate staging, real estate trends, The Business of Home Staging, working from home, home staging training, home staging business, staging diva, Debra Gould, make money in home staging, home staging gift certificate

This week I’ve been writing about Outside Services needed by Home Stagers.

Read Part 1

Read Part 2

Being seen by clients to have a team behind you will also enhance your reputation, boost your credibility with clients; and let’s face it, superior client service will boost your profits!

Have you figured out how you can make money on these outside services too? While the bulk of my revenue comes directly from staging clients’ homes, I do earn extra from all my various alliances. A hundred here, five hundred there, it really adds up in a year. The trick is finding the right alliances and negotiating win/win deals with them.

If you need advice on how to set up these extra sources of income, consider Staging Diva TeleClass 5, “Over 30 more ways to earn money in home staging.” You can order the 2 hour recording plus notes now for only $199.

More about how to get the course as a Christmas Gift

Discover the ONLY Home Staging Business Training Program taught by a seasoned entrepreneur who has successfully grown her own home staging business (not as a side-line to selling real estate) — The Staging Diva Training Program. With an MBA in marketing and hundreds of home staging clients, internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, is uniquely qualified to train others how to start and grow a profitable home staging business.

You can become a Staging Diva Graduate with 10 hours of training by phone with Debra Gould from home, or you can do the entire program by listening to recordings which are emailed to you immediately after you register.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stagers, house staging, home staging, real estate staging, real estate trends, The Business of Home Staging, working from home, home staging training, home staging business, staging diva, Debra Gould, make money in home staging, home staging gift certificate

Two days ago I wrote about the most common outside services you’ll need to source for home staging clients.

Have you figured out where all these services will come from? If not, this is a great activity to do during slow periods, as it will increase your business over time.

Many home staging projects have to be done under VERY tight timelines. Knowing who you can call for help (before you need it) will significantly reduce your stress level when trying to get a house picture–perfect in record time.

You can start your research by:

• asking others for referrals
• looking at ads
• asking community and homeowner associations
• asking retailers that would deal with the people you’re looking for (eg: local paint stores)
• searching the internet or yellow pages

While it may not seem exciting to track these resources down, it should be a priority. You’ll learn more about how to identify the right people to work with in course 5 of the Staging Diva Training Program, “Over 30 More Ways to Make Money in Home Staging.”

At top left is a photo of me doing a home staging consultation, which was featured on a TV show. I took viewers through all the steps of a home staging project or complete transformation…. the initial client consultation, planning and recommending the changes, removing old items to storage, bringing in rental furniture, and then the finishing touches like flower arrangements and accent pillows on the day of the open house. It all had to be shown over a three day shoot and I had pneumonia for the last two days of it. But that’s another story, the show must go on!

Discover the ONLY Home Staging Business Training Program taught by a seasoned entrepreneur who has successfully grown her own home staging business (not as a side-line to selling real estate) — The Staging Diva Training Program. With an MBA in marketing and hundreds of home staging clients, internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, is uniquely qualified to train others how to start and grow a profitable home staging business.

You can become a Staging Diva Graduate with 10 hours of training by phone with Debra Gould from home, or you can do the entire program by listening to recordings which are emailed to you immediately after you register.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stagers, house staging, home staging, real estate staging, real estate trends, The Business of Home Staging, working from home, home staging training, home staging business, staging diva, Debra Gould, make money in home staging, home staging TV

I have a client with a 2500 square foot, 2 story home in Detroit that needs staging to go on the market in January, 2007. It’s a Queen Anne style 1899 historic home.

The home is currently lived in and furnished, however it can be emptied and the client move to a rental property if necessary.

Detroit is the United States’ 11th most populous city with over 880,000 residents. It is known as the world’s traditional automotive center and an important source of popular-music legacies. It was called the Paris of the West in the late 19th century for its architecture; in the mid-20th century it was called Rock City for its contributions to rock music.

The referral fee for this project is $250 but only if you get actual paid work out of it. This fee is to cover my time advertising this project, playing matchmaker for you, and the fact that I’ve invested four years in building my profile to be able to attract these business leads.

If you’re interested in this Detroit, MI staging project, email me with:

• Your name
• Company name
• Phone
• Email
• The address of your website
• Your agreement to the referral fee should the client hire you

Please include “Detroit Staging Project” in the subject line of your email. If you don’t already have a website or a page on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers, it will be more difficult to win this project. It’s hard to convince a client to hire you over the phone if they can’t see your portfolio.

Because of all the traffic I get to my two sites, SixElements.com and StagingDiva.com, I get lots of leads on projects from all over Canada and the US and even in South Africa! I will only refer them to Staging Diva Graduates.

I generate tons of traffic for anyone listed on the Staging Diva site. Only one good project would more than pay for your entire Staging Diva Training Program plus me building and hosting your web page for an entire year! When clients find you on their own from your listing in the Staging Diva Directory, I do not charge you a referral fee.

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva ™
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging

Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva is president of Six Elements Inc., a leading home staging company that provides free information to raise the standards in the industry and build awareness amongst homeowners and their real estate agents about the benefits of decorating a house to sell. Debra Gould developed The Staging Diva Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging, real estate enhancement businesses.

Learn more about the Staging Diva Home Staging Training ProgramYou can get your company listed in the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers. Debra Gould will personally build your page and all the code to help search engines find you!

Learn more about the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers

The most common outside services a Home Stager needs to provide or recommend, aside from doing the actual rearranging of furniture and accessories are:

• rental furniture/art/accessories
• purchasing accessories (bedding, towels, decorative items, flowers)packing supplies
• painting
• handyman-type repairs
• packing supplies
• storage facilities
• junk removal
• cleaning (interior, windows, carpets, exterior)

Have you figured out where all these services will come from? If not, this is a great activity to do during slow periods, as it will increase your business over time.

Many home staging projects have to be done under VERY tight timelines. Knowing who you can call for help before you need it will significantly reduce your own stress level when you’re trying to get a house picture–perfect in record time.

Being seen by clients to have a team behind you will also enhance your reputation, boost your credibility with clients; and let’s face it, superior client service will boost your profits!

This is one of the many topics in the 21 week Staging Diva Home Staging Business Booster eCourse.

The living room/ dining room shown in the photo at top right was completely empty in the morning and looked like what you see here 8 hours later. I staged it for one of the client’s of my staging company Six Elements Inc.

Discover the ONLY Home Staging Business Training Program taught by a seasoned entrepreneur who has successfully grown her own home staging business (not as a side-line to selling real estate) — The Staging Diva Training Program. With an MBA in marketing and hundreds of home staging clients, internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, is uniquely qualified to train others how to start and grow a profitable home staging business.

You can become a Staging Diva Graduate with 10 hours of training by phone with Debra Gould from home, or you can do the entire program by listening to recordings which are emailed to you immediately after you register.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stagers, house staging, real estate staging, real estate staging business, The Business of Home Staging, working from home, home staging training, home staging business, staging diva, Debra Gould, Six Elements