I have a personal trainer who helps me meet my fitness goals. Could I do those exercises myself? Yes. Would I be as likely to get my butt to the gym three days a week with nobody to hold me accountable? Probably not.

Just as my personal trainer has helped me conquer my fitness challenges, as a business coach I help aspiring and established home stagers meet their goals and grow their businesses.

In the past few weeks, with Staging Diva Accelerator Business Coaching, home stagers have used their one-on-one time with me to:

• Beat down limiting assumptions they’ve been making
• Identify ways to reduce income tax by over 30%
• Deliver a reality check on their ideas and expectations
• Name their businesses
• Review concepts for their business logos
• Critique a website and identify ways to improve its ranking with search engines
• Edit their Staging Diva Directory Profile copy
• Identify ways to increase sales by up to 65%
• Get them through an especially challenging staging project
• Improve on their real estate agent presentation
• Unravel an overwhelming To Do list to focus on the highest pay-off activities
• Review home staging portfolios and identify the strongest photos to include

If you find that you’re feeling stuck on a particular challenge or if you’re ready to start using some new ideas to take your business to the next level, you could benefit from an Accelerator Business Coaching session. You don’t have to be a Staging Diva Student  in order to book a business coaching session with me. In fact, I’ve helped plenty of struggling stagers who have never taken any of my courses, with very specific information geared towards their unique challenges and opportunities.

Once you order coaching time, you’ll be given access to my online calendar so that you can book a convenient appointment date and time in 15, 30, 45 and 60-minute increments. You’ll provide your phone number when booking, and I’ll call you at the appointed time for your business coaching session. It’s that simple.

You don’t need to prepare a list of specific questions so don’t let that stop you.

If you give me a quick overview of your situation and what your biggest challenges are, I will be able to take it from there. It could be one of the most important investments you ever make in your home staging business.

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

Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager and she developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love.

Technorati Tags: home stagers, staging diva, home staging courses, home staging business, home staging coaching, home staging training, debra gould

I truly believe life is too short to be wasting our natural, God-given talents by doing work we don’t enjoy. The biggest risk to your success as a home stager is time and money lost through either trial and error or by being stuck, not knowing how to get started or how to keep going once you’ve started.

To celebrate summer, I’ve slashed prices on a large number of home staging products and services in the Staging Diva Store. From now until July 30 you can save up to 60% on home staging courses, all four home staging guides, accelerator business coaching and your listing in the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers.

All you need to get closer to the life and career you want is to fill those information gaps between where you want to be and where you are now. That’s where this sale comes in!

There is an important note to mention about this promotion. In order to continue delivering quality customer service to Staging Diva Students, I’ve limited availability on home staging courses at these low prices. Only 80 people worldwide will be able to order courses or coaching and 30 Graduates only will be able to join the Directory of Stagers.

These items may sell out quickly even though the sale does not officially end until July 30. If you typically wait until the last minute to order, that’s not a good idea in this case because you may be disappointed.

If you’re ready to make money as a home stager, visit the Staging Diva Store now and dive into summer savings!

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

Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager and she developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love.

Technorati Tags: home stagers, staging diva, home staging courses, staging diva sale, home staging products, home staging training sale, debra gould

Whether you’ve been a home stager for years or you are only starting to research the industry, I have a helpful new FREE online resource to tell you about – the Home Staging Glossary by Staging Diva.

In your reading and conversations you have probably come across terms or phrases you aren’t familiar with, or that you don’t feel you know enough about. Home Staging Glossary by Staging Diva spells out the definitions for staging terms, real estate terms and Internet terms for you.

My goal in creating this FREE staging glossary is to raise the level of awareness and understanding in the staging industry and give you a place to turn to when you’re not sure about something you’ve read, or a term a real estate agent, Internet company or client has mentioned.

Rather than just following a strict dictionary-type definition, you’ll find the staging glossary entries include helpful business tips for home stagers with links to other articles I’ve written to expand your knowledge of the topic.

I don’t want terminology to get in the way of you building a successful home staging business. When you feel confident that you can “talk the talk” of a professional home stager, you are likely to explore more business opportunities rather than letting insecurity hold you back.

The Home Staging Glossary by Staging Diva includes words and terms that home stagers might be stuck wondering about including:

• Free Estimate Trap
• Editing
• SEO
• Bidding War
• Buyer’s Market
• Page Rank
• Focal Point
• Virtual Staging
• Curb Appeal
• Web Host
• MLS
• FSBO
• Tweet
• Target Market
• Plus more than 100 other terms and growing daily!

Please take a few minutes and browse through the new home staging glossary. Search all the terms you’ve been curious about and learn something new along the way! If there’s a staging term, real estate term or Internet term you’re wondering about that isn’t in the staging glossary please let me know by adding your comments to this post. Then I’ll add what you’re looking for to this growing glossary for home stagers!

This is a totally new type of project for me and I hope you like the staging glossary and that it helps you out. I have to thank Alaska Staging Diva Graduate Stacy Goade for getting me started on this idea when she asked me to tell her about MDF last month.

After you visit the staging glossary please comment to this post and let me know what you think! Or if you’re a member of Twitter, you’ll find a handy “Share on Twitter, Click to Tweet Button” at the bottom of this article once you open the comment section. I would really appreciate you tweeting about the new Home Staging Glossary if you find it helpful so that others can learn from this new resource.

Enjoy!

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

Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager and she developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love.

Technorati Tags: home staging, home staging terms, home stager, home staging glossary, staging diva

This is a short week for those of you in the US who had a day off for Memorial Day and last week was the first long weekend of the summer for Canadians who celebrate Victoria Day in May.

I love spending long weekends with my family, trying new restaurants or just sitting and listening to the fountain in my garden. I love my downtime but I don’t live for those days off because as a home stager, I get to dictate my schedule and take days off whenever I want.

Besides, when you do work you love it’s really true that you never work another day in your life because it doesn’t feel like work!

I know what it feels like to be biding time behind your desk until the next holiday weekend – I was there once before. It is a terrible feeling. Counting down the days until your vacation and focusing on that all the time is no way to live!

If you’re still trying to work up the courage to start your own home staging business – if you have a feeling in your gut that it’s what you should be doing with your life – I urge you to really listen to that voice. And when you hear that voice of self-doubt whisper in your ear, telling you that a regular person like yourself could never be successful as a home stager, that those success stories only apply to a different select group…don’t listen!

Because I hear this question from so many aspiring home stagers, I’ve put together a new free report: Ask Staging Diva: “Can a regular person like me become a successful home stager?”

It’s filled with completely true inspirational stories of successful home stagers who started out as regular people just like you, and found the courage to follow their dreams.

I want you to download this free report for home stagers and read it from cover to cover (it’s a very fast read!). Then I want you to give it to your spouse, your friends, your sister – anyone in your life whose support you crave but who isn’t 100% behind you in your dream to embark on a home staging training journey.

My mission is to inspire others to create opportunities in their lives and I believe this free report will give many people the courage to do just that.

When you read the report, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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

Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager and she developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love.

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stagers, home staging business, home staging success stories, home staging course, home staging program, staging diva

I remember sitting in my cousin’s kitchen a few years ago, watching as she prepared a brisket for Sunday dinner. It was the first time she was going to cook the meal on her own as the torch was being passed down from her mother.

The first thing my cousin did after removing the meat from the wrapping was to chop off each of the ends before placing it in the pan.

My aunt, her mother, looked at her in shock and said, “What in the world did you do that for?”

My cousin looked confused and replied, “But that’s how you’ve done it for as long as I can remember.”

Her mother laughed and replied, “Only because I never had a large enough pan to fit the entire thing.”

We all had a chuckle over that but the situation presented an excellent home staging business lesson and a lesson in life. How many of us in our day-to-day are operating under faulty assumptions? How many things are we doing in our business or in our lives because we’ve perceived them to be the right way to do things for so long that the thought of doing it a better way would never cross our minds?

• Are you stuck on a situation in your home staging business preventing you from moving forward?
• Are you running around giving free home staging estimates because you can’t figure out a way to break the cycle?
• Are you wasting your creative talent in an unfulfilling career, living for the weekends?
• Are you complaining that you’re not getting any leads from your website without tweaking and enhancing your web presence?

These points can all be related back to my brisket example. Don’t you think it’s time you tried to find a better way?

A home staging business coaching session with me can help identify any false assumptions you’re working under and we can find new ways for you to grow. We might do that by fixing up your website, getting you a new business name, changing your pricing or sprucing up your marketing plan.

You do NOT have to be a Staging Diva Student or Graduate to get a coaching session with me and right now during Mother’s Day Madness Sale you can get your Accelerator Coaching session for half price!

There are other great deals happening during this promotion but it ends today at 5pm so if you want to take advantage of the savings, you must act now. When this promotion is over, it’s over!

How do you know if you’re not foolishly lopping the ends off of your brisket?

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

Debra Gould has taught thousands of people around the globe how to make money using their natural creative talent as home stagers through the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. She’s put together a special Mother’s Day gift for all stagers to provide them with the encouragement they need to follow their dreams. Download your own free copy here.

Technorati Tags: home staging business, home staging, home staging business coaching, business lessons, staging diva, staging diva graduate, home stager, home staging, home stagers

If you have not yet taken part in the Staging Diva Mother’s Day Madness Sale, don’t worry, it’s still in full swing even though Mother’s Day is over! The crazy prices I’ve set on home staging guides for home stagers, courses and other resources are in effect until 5pm on May 14 so you still have time to save.

Every now and then, every stager wonders whether they’re doing things the right way or if they could be doing things a bit better. The collection of Staging Diva Ultimate Guides for home stagers offer specialized knowledge and lots of confidence to bring along on your next home staging project.

Did you know that during the Mother’s Day Madness Sale, you can get the entire collection of Staging Diva Ultimate Guides  for home stagers for only $185?! That’s because if you buy one it’s marked down to $65 during this sale, but if you add one or both of the others to your order at the same time, you’ll pay only $60 for each of the other two volumes.

Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide will help remove the intimidation factor many home stagers experience when selecting color for staging projects. I share my favorite Benjamin Moore colors with you and group them into color palettes so you can quickly pick what you need for any home staging project.

Leigh Olson (WA) realized what a huge time saver this guide is saying, “The Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide saved me hundreds of hours. Within 45 minutes, I had my own Staging Fan Deck put together. It’s easier to carry, less daunting for clients and reinforces my professionalism and expertise. Debra, your suggestions are brilliant. I cannot tell you how inspiring you are!”

Francesca Midolo of Ontario says, “I love the Color Guide. I never thought there was so much to know about colors and paint. This was the topic I was most nervous about as I didn’t know that different colors, lighting and sheens make all the difference. Now I’ll be more confident when explaining these details to clients. I never would have thought it would be so easy to learn. I love the way Debra presents information— to the point and very easy to understand. Just like all Staging Diva material this color guide is outstanding and gave me more information for building my business.”

Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide addresses many staging challenges you might encounter as a home stager, giving design direction as it pertains to every room of a home including the laundry room and the attic! I give you sample floor plans and before and after photos from my own staging projects so that you’ll learn what I’ve figured out after more than 7 years staging my clients’ homes.

Isabelle Gelderblom (UK) says, “The Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide is not only full of fresh design insights but clearly outlines what every home stager needs to know to become successful when staging clients’ homes. This comprehensive resource provides the recipe for success— a must-have for both new and experienced professionals!”

“I began reading the Ultimate Design Guide and couldn’t put it down, says Gary Baugher (TN). “What a great tool for new stagers and even those who have been in business for awhile. I enjoyed how you touched on all the different situations we encounter daily, the room by room descriptions and seeing how you stage in detail. You also helped me answer the question if I stage too little or too much. I liked the ending where you speak of credentials. I remember when I first started, I wondered who would hire me. Then I realized I always had the talent and just lacked the confidence. Reading your book confirmed I have what it takes and I found it to be a great booster. Debra, I consider you the BEST in our field!!!! Appreciate you sharing your experiences and expertise. Your willingness to always help others succeed is admirable. Great book and certainly worth the value.”

Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide contains all the information you need to wow potential clients when it comes to putting together your very important home staging portfolio. From taking the best before and after photos to getting a great home staging business logo and writing about your services, it’s all here in this guide.

Laura Jensen (WI) says, “Debra, the Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide is fantastic!! Everyone interested in the business of home staging should read it. You have a great writing style that puts the reader at ease. I especially liked how you went into detail about how to take perfect photos. Your Guide is not only helpful to home stagers but to Realtors who take listing photos. As I scan through the hundreds of homes for sale in my county alone, I am shocked at the photos that are representing them. Congratulations on a great addition to your Staging Diva eBook collection.”

Another reader, Joanne Babynec (AB) reports, “I received my Portfolio Guide immediately and found the Staging Diva’s advice invaluable! I’ve encountered a couple of Home Staging ‘Experts’ selling their information and Debra Gould’s is the best. It is practical, motivating, real-life stuff. It demystifies a lot of technical subjects, while making me feel proud of my unique ability to stage homes!” Judi Collins (Australia) “The Staging Diva Portfolio Guide is to the point and easy to read, which works great for business people.”

Now, during Mother’s Day Madness, is the perfect time to get the entire collection of Staging Diva Ultimate Guides for home stagers because I’ve slashed the prices saving you $40 when you buy the whole collection! Visit the Staging Diva Store today for more details.

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

Debra Gould has taught thousands of people around the globe how to make money using their natural creative talent as home stagers through the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. She’s put together a special Mother’s Day gift for all stagers to provide them with the encouragement they need to follow their dreams. Download your own free copy here.

Technorati Tags: staging diva, home stager, home staging, home staging program, home staging course, home staging training, business coaching, mothers day sale

When I worked a regular 9-5 job doing work I wasn’t passionate about, Tuesdays and Wednesdays were rough because it was depressing to realize Friday was  so far away.  Since becoming my own boss I don’t think about it that way anymore. As a home stager, I’m no longer living for another weekend and dreading another Monday during Sunday dinner.

As a home stager, I’ve created a career for myself doing something I love that gives me the flexibility to take time off whenever I want it and I can’t imagine living life in any other way.

Are you in an unfulfilling desk job, living for your time off? If so then you should ask yourself what’s keeping you from doing something more meaningful with your life because it doesn’t have to be this way.

The Staging Diva Mother’s Day Madness Sale is in full swing from now until May 14 and this is the perfect time for you to put an end to the madness of working for the weekend!

• Home staging courses are marked down by $50
• The full downloadable Staging Diva Program is reduced by $200
• The Staging Diva Sales Script is now only $49
• The Staging Diva Workbook is only $75
• Accelerator Business Coaching is $150, that’s half price!

There are many more savings in store and there’s something for aspiring and existing stagers during Mother’s Day Madness but you’ll have to visit the Staging Diva Store for full details.

If you’re being asked by your spouse, partner or children what you want for Mother’s Day, tell them about the sale so they can show their support for you where it really counts.

Or better yet, make an investment in your own future and before you know it, you’ll find that by the time Sunday evening comes instead of dreading another week at work you’ll be looking forward to another week of creative fulfillment month after month, year after year.

Full details available at the Staging Diva Store.

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

Debra Gould has taught thousands of people around the globe how to make money using their natural creative talent as home stagers through the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

Technorati Tags: staging diva, home stager, home staging, home staging program, home staging course, home staging training, business coaching, mothers day sale

I love this time of year with signs of life poking up in the garden and buds starting to form on the trees. Spring makes living in a colder climate almost worth the ordeal of winter! And as a home stager, I love that it’s also the start of the busiest staging business season of the year.

This is a great time to start a home staging business, or to rev up your home staging marketing efforts, as the spring real estate season kicks into high gear.

As you celebrate Easter or Passover and the beginning of spring, I hope you’ll use the gift I’m giving you today to start or grow your staging business. On any order of $50 or more placed at the Staging Diva Store between now and midnight on April 5, you can take $10 off your total!

Choose from any of the home staging courses, home staging checklists, guides, special reports or ebooks in the Staging Diva Store. Whatever you place in your cart will count and when your total gets to $50 you’ll know you can take $10 off!

Before checking out, enter your coupon code in the coupon box and watch your savings come off the total when you hit the “apply” button.

Your coupon code is: 10Easter10

There will be no extensions on the April 5 deadline and it’s your responsibility to enter the coupon code at the right time. We can’t apply this $10 gift to anyone who has missed that step!

Whether you’re celebrating Easter or Passover, I hope you enjoy a relaxing holiday over this long spring weekend!

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

Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager and she developed the Staging Diva Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love.

Technorati Tags: staging diva, debra gould, home stagers, aspiring home stagers, home staging, home staging business, spring real estate season

This time last year, I released a special report called, “Can I grow a home staging business in a depressed economy?” with the intention of helping aspiring stagers who were feeling defeated by friends, family members and negative news headlines.

Thousands of you downloaded that free report but between now and then there have been some changes in market conditions. That’s why I thoroughly scoured that original report and updated it with current research, up-to-date statistics and some recent real-life examples from Staging Diva Graduates about how the economy is (or isn’t!) hurting their businesses.

If you’re feeling discouraged by a spouse saying this is the wrong economy in which to start a business, you should have the facts you need to make an informed decision. That’s what this report is for and that’s why I decided to make it free for everyone to download, despite the significant amount of hours I’ve put into researching and putting it all together!

If you still haven’t downloaded your own free copy of “Can I grow a home staging business in a depressed economy?” now’s the time to do so because you’re getting the most current information available about the real estate market and how your staging business may be affected.

Some of the topics you’ll learn about include:

• Why you must stay positive even in the face of adversity
• The 3 rules key to a home stager’s financial survival
• 16 ways to get money NOW to build your staging business
• 3 common myths about the economy
• The silver lining behind the cloud of the downturn
• 4 reasons why home staging works in any economy
• 6 reasons why home staging actually thrives in a slow real estate market
• Much more!

>Download this free economic report for home stagers now and share it with anyone in your life making you doubt your choice to start a staging business!

To those of you who have read this report, did it help you forge ahead despite what you were seeing in the newspapers? What was your best takeaway after reading it? Please share your thoughts and let’s discuss!

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

Debra Gould developed the Staging Diva Training Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging businesses. More than 4000 Staging Diva Students around the world have been trained by Debra, who encourages anyone concerned about starting or growing a staging business in this economy to download her special report: “Ask Staging Diva: Can I grow a home staging business in a depressed economy?”

Technorati Tags: home stager, home stagers, home staging, economic report, home staging training, home staging courses, home staging business, staging diva

I once read that 64% of men make no special plans for Valentine’s Day and only 15% of women send themselves flowers. Now that’s not to say that Valentine’s Day is only for women, quite the contrary. But my point is, there is often a mismatch between what we might expect (or hope for) and what we actually get.

If you’ve been reading my articles in Staging Diva Dispatch or Home Staging Business Report for any length of time, you know I’m a firm believer in self-empowerment. Part of self-empowerment is not waiting for (or relying on) others to make us happy— on Valentine’s Day, or any day.

Because I couldn’t send everyone a bouquet yesterday, I decided to make it easier to treat yourself to the gift of knowledge.

For any order of $50 or more that you place between now and Feb. 18 you can take $10 off, if you apply this special code when placing your order:

10Valentine10

For example, choose from the Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide, Design Guide, Color Guide or Staging Diva Sales Script.

Or, combine items like the Home Stager’s Guide to Twitter and 14 Marketing Ideas to Rev Up Your Home Staging Business and watch $10 come right off your total when you enter the coupon code and hit “apply” before checking out.

This offer will not be extended. The coupon automatically expires at midnight eastern time (that’s 9PM if you’re on the west coast) this Thursday Feb. 18. You can apply this $10 off to any new purchase of $50 or more from the Staging Diva Store right now!

To see the $10 come of your order, remember to enter this coupon code 10Valentine10 then hit the “apply” button. Make sure you apply this coupon before entering your credit card information to ensure you get your Valentine’s Gift!

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

Debra Gould’s mission is to inspire people to follow their dreams. She developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Courses to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love.

Technorati Tags: home stager, home staging,  staging diva, home staging course, home staging business