Learn more about home staging as George Bodarky interviews Staging Diva Graduate Donna Dazzo of Designed to Appeal on New York City’s public radio station WFUV-FM 90.7

Time: Saturday, February 16, 7:30 AM.

Donna’s first project after completing the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program was to transform a vacant $3.5 million home in the Hamptons.

This huge home had been on the market for over a year. Imagine the carrying costs for the owner!

Within a week Donna turned the house into a show home by bringing in furniture and accessories.

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. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

Free quiz to see if a home staging business is right for you.

Home stager Jean Smith of Staging For Sellers (Florida) completed the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program last month. Within weeks she already had two real estate staging projects and wrote, “It was so easy! In the past I would have felt guilty being paid for my advice! But with the Staging Diva courses I now know how to explain my fee and realize that I’m providing a valuable service to help homeowners.”

At age 76, Jean has created a whole new home staging business in the retirement community of The Villages, FL. Her latest project included staging a manufactured home for a woman who had inherited it from her mother. Before it went on the market, Jean transformed the property into a Show Home with new furniture, paint and cleaning.

My mission is to inspire and empower others with new possibilities for their life. I’m so proud of Jean for what she’s created for herself at an age when many wouldn’t try to build a new dream.

With so many homes on the market, real estate staging (house fluffing or real estate enhancement as it’s also called) offers homeowners a tremendous opportunity to avoid the typical price reductions that occur in a “buyer’s market.” Naturally a home that shows well will sell more quickly and for a higher price than the properties that don’t, and Jean will be there to help them!

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.

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stager, home staging business, Debra Gould, Staging Diva, new retirement career, Jean Smith, Staging for Sellers, Home Staging Florida, Home Stager The Villages

Members of the Staging Diva Network enjoy a supportive environment online, but there’s another benefit. Members have the opportunity to arrange to meet in the real world.

New Staging Diva Graduate Kelly Davis of The Royal Redo, LTD. in Flathead Valley Montana met Lea-Ann Virnig of Home Beautiful Staging and Design over coffee while visiting Minneapolis. Kelly writes, “it was fun to chat with another Staging Diva Graduate and have face-to-face contact with someone with the same goals and passions!”

Lea-Ann made this comment, “Getting together with a fellow Staging Diva Graduate and sharing stories and inspirations is really motivating and encouraging! Networking with other Stagers has been a huge key in the success of my business - I have learned so much and now I have been able to enjoy passing on a little of my knowledge to others! Working together we can grow our businesses successfully and help to increase awareness about the Home Staging Industry.”

This was only one of many meetings in the real world between Staging Diva Graduates. Last year four Staging Diva Graduates from New York, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey met in New York on the set of the Martha Stewart Show and enjoyed lunch and an evening out.

There’s nothing like connecting with others going through similar challenges, especially in the early days of growing a new business. That’s why I created the Staging Diva Network. For only $20 a month, members participate in an online discussion group where they can have their questions answered by me as well as fellow members.

All the discussion threads have been archived dating back to January 2006, so there is a wealth of information in addition to the new discussions going on.

Learn how to get a month FREE membership on the Staging Diva Network

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.

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stager, online discussion, Staging Diva Network, Home Beautiful Staging and Design, Kelly Davis, Lea-Ann Virnig, Debra Gould, Staging Diva

It’s not easy being a Mom and starting your own home staging business, but it can be done. It takes, among other things:

• real commitment
• focusing on the important stuff
• knowing what to keep on your “stop doing list”
• establishing deadlines and sticking to them
• being efficient
• being willing to let someone else help with childcare now and then

I found these two Moms’ stories inspiring and thought you would too!

Tara Hansen of Closing Stage LLC ordered the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program course recordings in May. Within a month, this mother of three young kids (aged 5 and under) already had a business name, logo, her LLC, portfolio of before and after photos, a write up about what she does and an internet presence with her page on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers. The Staging Diva Directory already has traffic from homeowners and real estate agents actively looking for home stagers, so Tara doesn’t have to add “building site traffic” to her To Do List since I do that for her.

Here’s what Tara says about getting her business together so quickly:

“I set short term goals and think about what I want to accomplish by the end of each week. I also followed your advice and while lying in bed, I think about five things I did that day to improve my business. If I can’t think of five things, I vow to do better the next day. Some days this is very difficult considering I have three small children home with me all day. My husband is very supportive, though, and occupies the kids many evenings so I can get my work done. I also hire a babysitter for three hours every Wednesday afternoon to allow myself an opportunity to get out during business hours. I know that with my Staging Diva training and the practices I have put into place, I am well prepared for my first projects.”

LeaAnn Virnig of Home Beautiful Staging and Design ordered the Staging Diva Course recordings and completed all 5 within 4 days. Within three weeks, this mother of four kids, aged 8 and under also completed the “Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide: the easy way to pick colors for home staging projects” and the “Staging Diva Ultimate Guide: Creating The Perfect Portfolio to Sell Your Home Staging Services“, did the paperwork to register her business, created a logo and business cards, got her portfolio together, re-staged a home that had been done badly by someone else, and completed a color consultation for another. She even had time to put some advertising together and talk to a few real estate agents!
That’s what I call momentum!

I’m so proud of what these two women have managed to achieve in such a short time. Clearly they are jumping in with both feet and using the tools I’ve given them. But it’s THEIR taking action that will grow their businesses.

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.

An entrepreneur since 1989 and 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.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

Technorati Tags: entrepreneur, work from home, working moms, home staging, home stagers, real estate staging, real estate staging business, home staging training, home staging business, staging diva, Debra Gould

I’m honored to celebrate the milestone of over 500 graduates of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program reached this week!

That’s over 500 women (and men), who have learned how to take their passions for decorating and real estate and combine them into a new career in home staging.

It’s been my privilege to get to know so many of these homes stagers and hear about their triumphs as they:

• started their new home staging businesses
• took on amazing staging projects the results of which changed their clients’ lives
• got written up in local magazines and newspapers
• appeared on TV (one even has a regular spot on an HGTV show now!)
• landed paid newspaper columns on home staging
• gave presentations
• created staging seminars for homeowners
• spoke at events
• earned more in a few hours then they used to make in a full week

It’s not only about the business of home staging, what’s been especially gratifying to me is that for many Staging Diva Graduates, learning how to start and grow a successful home staging business also meant:

• being able to support themselves and their kids after divorce

• learning how to claim their own power after ending abusive relationships

• discovering how to make a living while loving what they do

• being able to leave unsatisfying jobs

• leaving their pre-cancer lives behind and starting anew by following their passions after recovery

I’m a firm believer that life is the adventure we make of it and that too many people “die with the music still inside of them.” I’m five years into my mission to empower and inspire others to live their best life.

I do that for the hundreds of homeowners whose homes I stage because of the greater financial freedom it gives them; and I do it for the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program students by giving them the tools they need to succeed as home stagers.

When I see aspiring home stagers reaching beyond their comfort zones to do what they never imagined they could, and discover that it IS possible to do what you love and get paid well for it, I know that I’m on the right path too. I am grateful to each and every one of the Staging Diva students who put their trust in me to help show them the way to turn their passion into a lucrative and creatively satisfying home staging business.

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

Home Staging expert Debra Gould 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.”

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.

An entrepreneur since 1989 and 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.

More about Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training

Listen to a FREE Staging Diva Preview Call Recording

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stagers, entrepreneur, interior redesign, real estate staging, real estate staging business, home staging training, home staging business, staging diva, Debra Gould

I just finished my final coaching call with new Staging Diva Graduate Karen Totten of Newmarket. She did the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program with me this summer and also purchased the Accelerator Upgrade which gave her two hours of coaching time, one-on-one with me.

Her first project took 7 weeks to complete. It was for a home that was on the market for 8 months with a best offer last October of $659,000. The clients took the house off the market and worked with Karen who not only staged the house but managed all the other details for carpentry, painting, new appliances and more that needed to be done.

Home Staging Results

Overall, the client invested $48,000 on their property (over $14,000 of which went to Karen for her time). The result, the client sold after only 6 showings and got $780,000 on a $799,000 asking price.

In other words, even after investing $48,000, the client made a profit of $73,000 over their best previous offer, and they were able to sell after only 6 showings, when they had previously sat on the market for 8 months.

And for Staging Diva Graduate Karen Totten, she made over $14,000 in only 7 weeks in a brand new business. Not bad for her investment of only $1095, which gave her 10 hours of course time, notes, plus 2 hours of one-on-one business coaching with me.

By the way, I’ve shared these details with Karen’s permission. I consider any business details discussed during coaching sessions privileged information.

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

Technorati Tags: home stagers, house staging, home staging, real estate staging, real estate trends, home staging statistics, proof staging works, working from home, home staging training, home staging business, staging diva

In the fall of 1998 I closed my marketing consulting business and moved to tiny Salt Spring Island. I wanted to do something more creative with my life and having no idea what that would be, I needed to move somewhere that my cost of living would be significantly less.

I’ve always believed life is the adventure we make it, and the year I spent in Salt Spring was quite the adventure, made all the more so because I was completely outside my comfort zone on every level.

While living there, I discovered Robeez shoes (pictured here). They were invented by a local Mom, Sandra Wilson, and at that point she had just moved her fledgeling business out of her basement.

She got her start as an entrepreneur after being downsized from her job in the airline industry. At home with more time on her hands, she tried making comfortable shoes for her toddler to learn to walk in, making her first “Robeez” out of old leather purses that she cut up.

Fast forward less than 10 years and Sandra’s shoes and booties have become one of the best known brands of baby footwear, sold at thousands of boutiques and high-end retailers like Nordstrom, Saks, Bloomingdales’ and Neiman Marcus.

I was especially delighted to read this week that Sandra sold her private B.C. company, Robeez Footwear, to U.S.-based Stride Rite Corp. for $30.5 million! Wow!!

If you’re tempted to think being widely successful is only for “other people”, stop right there! I’m sure if someone told Sandra when she was sitting at home cutting up old purses in her basement to make shoes for her son that in a decade she’d be a multi-millionaire she would have thought they were nuts.

And, I’m willing to bet that along the way she’s had many moments of self doubt and sheer panic. Every entrepreneur does. The trick is realizing these are moments to keep going, not to retreat into the “safety of the familiar.”

My mission is to inspire my clients and students with new possibilities for how they live. Whether it’s a staging client discovering new opportunities because they suddenly have an extra $50,000 after I staged their house, or it’s helping one of my students leave behind a soul-sucking career or unhappy marriage because now they have a way to be financially independent.

I find stories like Sandra Wilson’s inspiring because it shows us that with courage we can accomplish big things. Not all of us are going to grow $30 million companies and that’s OK! Her success does not diminish ours.

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

Home staging expert Debra Gould, also known as The Staging Diva is president of home staging firm Six Elements Inc. and has been featured on HGTV, GlobalTV, CityTV, CNNMoney, MoneySense, Entrepreneur Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Woman’s Day and more. She has staged hundreds of homes in the $190,000 to $1.5 million price range and taught close to 300 women all over the US, Canada, and in Wales, Australia and South Africa to start and grow their own home staging businesses.

Home staging training course descriptions and schedule