I’m pleased to welcome a talented artist to the Staging Diva Graduate community of professional home stagers, and our first Graduate in Germany.

Tina Humburg views home staging as a natural evolution of her current business which is doing custom paintings.

She found as she was in people’s homes to discuss the art she would create for them, increasingly clients would want her decorating advice. This living room at right is from Tina’s portfolio for her company Kunst Nach Mass and used with her permission.

While home staging is a new field in Germany, Tina recognized that it would be a practical extension of the interior redesign her clients were looking for.

Learning more about Tina, I realized she too had a background in advertising in a past career. Here we are two women living half way around the world from each other and she comes to my Staging Diva training program with so similar a background to mine. I also left an advertising career and started working in clients’ homes because of doing custom art before getting into staging.

There are now over 900 Staging Diva Graduate Home Stagers all over the world, who come from a variety of backgrounds from real estate to nursing, and stay at home Mom to retired career woman. All of us share a talent for how to arrange furnishings in a room and a desire to make a living doing what we love and helping others at the same time.

I’m honored that I get to meet so many interesting people from all over the world as I help them start and grow their home staging businesses.

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

Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva knows how to make money as a home stager. She is president of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company that is frequently profiled in the media in both the US and Canada. Debra Gould developed The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging, real estate enhancement businesses.

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When you decide to hire a home stager to decorate your property to sell faster and for more money, you need to make sure you’re investing in the right person. After all, you’re trusting someone with the sale of your largest asset, your primary real estate. You have to be careful to put that trust in an experienced professional.

Having operated a successful home staging business since 2002, and having trained more than 900 people worldwide how to become home stagers, I am well aware of what a homeowner or Realtor® needs to look for when selecting an expert home stager.

Through a 5-part blog series, I will highlight what I feel are the five biggest mistakes homeowners make when it comes to hiring a house staging professional.

To start things off, I’m going to talk about the problem with hiring the least expensive home stager you can find.

The last thing you should be focused on is how much the home stager is charging. Saving a few hundred dollars in fees only to end up getting bad advice is going to cost you thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars in the long run. Of course you have a budget in mind, but you stand to make a huge profit from effective home staging. That’s why you should treat hiring a home stager as making an investment in the sale of your largest asset. For optimal results, invest in the highest quality stager you can find.

There are ripples being made in the industry in light of a training company that guarantees its students they will make $31.45 per hour as home stagers. You should know that this is not what the homeowner or agent actually pays, it’s what this particular company is willing to pay people who take their course, they actually charge the client far more.

Professional home stagers expect to earn anywhere from $250 to $500 for their initial consultation. Beware of anyone willing to work for significantly less for doing work that you stand to make anywhere from $10,000 to $70,000 profit from.

Rates will vary, depending on your geographic location and the stager’s experience, but you shouldn’t hire someone just because they charge a ridiculously low rate. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for.

The next post in this series will talk about another huge mistake homeowners make, and that is looking for home staging “credentials”.

Stay tuned!

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., an internationally recognized home staging company that is frequently profiled in the media in both the US and Canada. Debra Gould developed The Staging Diva Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging, real estate enhancement businesses.

Searching for an expert home stager? Visit the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.

If you’re interested in becoming a home stager, check out the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

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I hope you are almost convinced that your pricing strategy has the power to make or break your business by highlighting some of the biggest time sucking clients you will encounter in the home staging industry. We’ve already discussed The Distracted Client, The Chatty Client, The Pack-Rat Client and The Wishy-Washy Client.

Now, the most painful client type of all; The Indecisive Client.

This happens to everyone and when it does, if you haven’t prepared for this scenario in your pricing strategy, you will be in big trouble.

You land a great new client. The project will be so large you put off several other prospects because of the amount of time this one will take. The client agreed to the flat rate you quoted them, you had a successful home staging consultation, and you’ve dug right in. You have selected paint colors, drafted room plans, even started organizing furniture rentals and delivery times.

You’re really happy with the way this project is shaping up. It’s been such a large job that you’ve already realized your flat rate wouldn’t come close to covering the amount of time you’d spent on it. However, you had come to accept that because of the transformation taking place in the house and how the before and after photos could definitely sell more clients on your services through your home staging portfolio.

Then it happens. You receive a call from the client saying they’ve changed their mind about using your services.

You’re devastated. And this project will have cost you an enormous amount of money. How do you avoid this happening again?

With any combination of these time sucking home staging clients, if you don’t have the proper pricing structure in place, you will not be in business for the long haul. It’s impossible.

Don’t make the mistake of killing your business before you even begin. Learn how to price your services the right way, so none of these client types will affect your bottom line. Course 2 of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program covers everything you need to know about setting your rates.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of posts, and more importantly, I hope you’ll start taking steps to ensure your business will remain healthy, no matter what client type you encounter!

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

Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, knows how to make money as a home stager. She has helped many long time Interior Designers make the switch into a more profitable house staging business. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

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In my last post in this series, I talked about the danger of charging a flat rate when you are dealing with The Pack-Rat Client. In this post, I’ll talk about one of my biggest pet-peeves which will cost you over and over if your pricing strategy doesn’t include a cancellation fee; “The Wishy-Washy Client”.

Some people just can’t keep an appointment. When you’re in a service-based business such as home staging, if you are dealing with The Wishy-Washy Client, you will receive voice mails full of excuses.

One day they might call to tell you they aren’t quite ready to have the house staged so they want to reschedule. Then when that appointment rolls around, they call saying they double booked and have a meeting with their banker, their child’s piano recital or a dentist appointment.

A client like this who schedules and reschedules appointments over and over again, leaving you with gaps in your calendar that can’t be filled on short notice can really damage your bank account.

If you charge a cancellation fee, you will be compensated, but if you neglect this important detail when you set up your pricing structure, you can go broke if you deal with several clients of this nature.

Another symptom of The Wishy-Washy Client is one who keeps changing her mind about what she wants done in her home. One day she wants you to plan time for painting before the furniture arrives, the next she wants to be on the market a week sooner than originally agreed.

Your stress level and the time you spend on this project rises— but the amount you’re earning remains the same.

In the next and last installment in this series I’ll talk about The Indecisive Client and how they can also help to flat line an otherwise healthy home staging business.

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

Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, knows how to make money as a home stager. She has helped many long time Interior Designers make the switch into a more profitable house staging business. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

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I hope you’re enjoying these posts about the different time-sucking home staging client types you might encounter at your consultations. I really believe that when you charge a flat rate, all you’re doing is setting yourself up to lose your shirt.

Today’s installment is what will end up to be the client that costs you the most money; “The Pack-Rat Client“.

You’ve quoted your flat rate to a new home staging client and the prospect didn’t even bat an eye lash. Great! You’re feeling very positive about this one, because of the way the house was described, you are going to have quite a few pieces to work with. They mentioned they had a lot of furniture, so you picture how you might break up the pieces among different rooms to really change the space.

Then you arrive at your appointment and are welcomed into the home, only to discover that there isn’t one square inch of space that isn’t covered in clutter. Huge stacks of papers dominate the kitchen table, cupboards won’t close they’re so jam packed with junk, piles of books, games and toys are taking over the living room - you feel like you just stepped into an Oprah episode about excessive hoarders.

You know now, before even getting into your consultation, that it could take a full day just to move out the clutter before you can even think about staging.

Too bad you’ve already quoted your flat rate and will be leaving so much money on the table you can’t even stand to think about it.

The next, and second to last installment in this series will talk about a client type that can indirectly cost you a fortune; “The Wishy-Washy Client”.

If you’re getting that uncomfortable feeling that you’ve seen these time sucking client types all too often, check out the pricing strategies in Course 2 of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, “The Business of Home Staging: What you need to start and how to grow,” it teaches you how to charge fairly for your services which is one of the most important factors involved with starting a staging business.

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

Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, knows how to make money as a home stager. She has helped many long time Interior Designers make the switch into a more profitable house staging business. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

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In the first installment of this series of posts about home staging client types that can make you wish you didn’t charge a flat rate, we discussed “The Distracted Client”. Today I’m going to talk about another common time-sucking client type that can help bankrupt a business based on a flat rate pricing structure; “The Chatty Client”.

Some clients just love to talk! It’s great to build a rapport with the people you will be doing business with, but consider this scenario…

You’ve quoted a flat rate for your home staging consultation and when you meet with your new clients everything seems to be going great.

They tell you a bit of the history about the house and why they’re selling. They tell you what they like and don’t like about each and every room. They pick up photos and trinkets telling you about the memories they have associated with them. Then they proceed to talk about the history of every single piece of furniture they own and why they feel things should stay or go into storage before the house sells.

Before you know it, you’ve been there for two hours and though you intimately know the house and its owners, you haven’t gotten anywhere with the actual consultation.

This client type can be an absolutely delightful, refreshing person to work with! But, if you are charging a flat rate, The Chatty Client can cost you dearly!

In the next installment in this series, I will cover an important one; “The Pack Rat Client”.

Don’t miss it!

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

Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, knows how to make money as a home stager. She has helped many long time Interior Designers make the switch into a more profitable house staging business. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

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Whew! I am very excited to have just finished a new ‘soon to be released’ special report for aspiring home stagers. With my final edit, there was one particular section that I thought was too good not to share a little bit early.

Through a series of blog posts, I will be highlighting the different client types you are likely to encounter at your home staging consultations. The goal is to show you why charging a flat rate in these scenarios can drastically limit the amount of money you can be making.

I will start with a classic – The Distracted Client.

It has happened to me more times than I could ever count in the six years I’ve been staging homes. I walk into a home and am greeted by someone with a phone to their ear, smiling and gesturing for me to come in while they finish up the first of many calls they will take during our consultation. Just as we start to make some headway, we’re interrupted by yet another ringing phone or a barking dog, or a child screaming for a snack or because her big brother pulled her hair.

When you’re dealing with The Distracted Client you have to wonder why someone would invest in a consultation of any kind when they don’t seem to have the presence of mind to make it worth their while.

A home staging consultation like this can take you twice as long as you initially expected, and this is a common scenario! If you’re charging a flat rate for your consultations without having factored in this type of situation, you will be undercutting yourself time and time again.

This is only one example of a client type that will make you wish you hadn’t quoted a flat rate!

The next installment in this series will cover a personal favorite of mine; The Chatty Client.

Stay tuned!

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

Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is president of Six Elements and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program with 900+ Graduates worldwide. She is the author of “Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide: The Easy Way to Pick colors for Home Staging Projects”, and “Staging Diva Ultimate Guide: Creating The Perfect Portfolio to Sell Your Home Staging Services”. Debra also offers a Directory of Home Stagers to help homeowners and real estate agents locate home stagers who will decorate homes to sell quickly and for top dollar.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

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I have a client with a home in Niceville Florida who wants to hire a house stager. This 1700 square foot home is only minutes from the beach. Since this is a small property and won’t be listed for about two years, the owner is likely looking for expert staging advice that he can learn from and follow himself over a period of time.

About two years ago, I had a client who hired me for advice 8 months before listing her home. At the end of our 4 hour home staging consultation, she had over 12 pages of notes on my recommendations.

She took all my advice and sold the home for $100,000 over her original idea of what it was worth, to the first couple who saw it. She and her husband were able to retire and move into their new condo entirely free of debt. She called me later to say, “I feel like I won the lottery thanks to your home staging advice!”

Even if all you do for a client is a home staging consultation, you can still make a profound difference in their lives, be well paid for it and have an awesome testimonial at the end to help you get future clients.

We’ve made it really easy for your to apply for this home staging project. All you need to do is complete the form at the Staging Diva Home Staging Project Referral Service.

Please include “Niceville, FL Staging Project” for the project location in the first line of the form.

You must be a Staging Diva Graduate and have a professional Internet presence and/or a page on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers to be recommended for this position. The reason for the latter being, I can’t convince someone to hire you if they can’t study your portfolio.

If you get any paid work through this referral, there will be a $250 referral fee. This real estate staging project could be a beautiful addition to 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 the United States and Canada, and as far away as England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Israel! 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 building and hosting your web page on the high traffic Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers for an entire year! When clients find you 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., an internationally recognized home staging company that is frequently profiled in the media in both the US and Canada. 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 Program.

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

Learn more about the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers

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Even though most of us hang on to as much summer as we can, as soon as the calendar changes from July to August the department stores want us in ‘back-to-school’ mode. With school-aged children, besides dreading another year of packing lunches, you’ve probably already started to think about what they will need in the way of clothes, shoes and school supplies this year.

Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll spend countless hours preparing your children for the new school year - but what are you doing this September? Are you yourself ready for a change? Do you find yourself paying extra close attention to those decorating shows you love as the summer winds down? Have you almost made up your mind that this could be the year you turn your love for decorating into a career?

Because most people associate September with the start of a fresh new school year, it’s only natural for many of us feel the itch to do something new this time of year. September symbolizes change, the first page of a brand new scribbler, setting goals and learning something new. If you are one of those mothers who have been waiting until all of your children were in school to reenter the workforce, has that time finally come?

It seems logical to wait until there are teachers looking after your children all day before you go searching for employment, but it can be difficult to go back to work for someone else after an extended time of being a stay-at-home-mom. You will probably find it tough to adjust to the inflexibility of a traditional job if you’ve been lucky enough to have had the freedom of staying home to raise children for five or six years.

Many mothers looking for a temporary escape from domesticity and a way to contribute to the family income realize they still want the freedom to be home when their children need them. If this sounds like you, the perfect solution is to start a home-based business that will be profitable while allowing you the flexibility to set your own hours.

If you spend your evenings curled up with HGTV and have friends and family members always coming to you for decorating advice, Home Staging is the ideal career for you.

A home staging or ‘house fluffing’ business can be based from your home, and you can set your appointments around your family’s busy schedule. You don’t need any special certifications or a background in interior design to be a home stager. If you have a natural talent for arranging a room, you can stage homes to sell quickly and for top dollar.

The Staging Diva Training Program will teach you everything you need to know to start and grow your own successful home staging business.

As you think about preparing your children for the new school year, think about how great it would feel to do something for yourself this fall. You deserve it.

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

Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, president of Six Elements and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program with 900+ Graduates worldwide. Debra is the author of two home staging guides and offers a Directory of Home Stagers to help homeowners and real estate agents locate home stagers who will decorate homes to sell quickly and for top dollar. To learn more visit http://www.stagingdiva.com.

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