About Home Staging Business

Debra Gould, aka The Staging Diva, is the author of The Business of Home Staging a blog with business tips, home staging industry news and stories celebrating home stagers. To subscribe and have a summary of the latest posts sent to you automatically, fill in your email address in the green sign up box on the left.

Since 2002, Debra Gould has been President of the real estate staging firm Six Elements Inc, which received significant media coverage and recognition early on. In late 2004, inspired by hundreds of requests from aspiring home stagers (and others in the business who were losing money at it), all wanting to know how to copy her obvious success, Debra Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training program.

There are now over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa who have been trained by Debra Gould to start their own house staging businesses. While they come from different backgrounds, like real estate, nursing, interior design, accounting, sales, teaching and administration, they share a natural talent for decorating and interest in real estate. What they all lacked prior to taking the Staging Diva Program was how to actually make money in their own home staging business.

There are two formats available to take the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. With both the home study kit and downloadable recordings, there is no need to travel. And all students are taught by Debra Gould, instead of having their training done by others with less direct experience of growing a successful home staging business.

Debra has always believed that life is the adventure you make it. Not wanting to miss out on opportunities to try new things or to reach the end of her life wondering “what if?”, she has been a master at personal re-invention and transformation.

Despite her creative streak she pursued the more conventional route of an MBA in Marketing and began her career in large corporations before moving to advertising agencies.  In 1989 she launched one of the first integrated marketing firms, Gould & Associates Inc., which was recognized early on with a major contract with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.

In 1999, wondering “is this all there is?” and wanting a more creative life, Debra gave up her marketing career and moved to Salt Spring Island in 1999 to become an artist. Within the year she had moved again to Victoria, BC to launch the Debra Gould Home Collection, landing a magazine cover story within a year, and a feature in the book Floor Cloth Magic, followed by her first of several HGTV appearances.

Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in home staging which she turned into a new career with the launch of her home staging firm in 2002. Since that time she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to training over 1000 students.

Debra Gould’s expertise is frequently sought out by the media.

In addition to HGTV, she has also appeared on: CityTV, GlobalTV, CBC , Toronto 1; and on many US and Canadian radio stations. Her work has been featured in:  CNNMoney, The Wall Street Journal, Woman’s Day, Reader’s Digest, MoneySense, Entrepreneur, House and Home, Home & Decor, Style at Home, Centre of the City, USAA Magazine, FabJob Guide to Become a Home Stager, Home Style, Homes, This Old House, Home Business Magazine, Globe & Mail, National Post, Toronto Star and others.

Debra’s mission is to inspire and empower others to use their natural talents to earn a living. She followed her dreams and wants to teach others to be able to do the same.