It’s rare today for anyone to keep the same career for a lifetime. And since we’re all living much longer than our parents’ generation, many people at the traditional retirement age, realize they still have many years ahead that they’d like to be productive, not to mention doing work they would love.
I posted an article last week about how a registered nurse and mother of four found success and creative fulfillment as a home stager. Many home stagers commented on that post sharing how they reinvented their own lives to become home stagers.
62-year old Carol shared that after working for 36 years as a hair dresser she made the decision to make a change and start her own home staging business.
Pauline’s commented that she was in such misery in her career in criminal law that she would find herself literally getting sick on her way to work in the morning. Now, as a home stager, she’s eager to start work every day.
These women inspired me to take a closer look at what some other Staging Diva Graduates have done in their lives before turning to home staging.
One of those Staging Diva Graduates is Fran Matsumoto, co-owner of Pristine Staging in Beverly Hills. Fran held jobs as an airline employee and also as the office manager to Rodney Dangerfield and his wife Joan before reinventing her life as a home stager!
The mother of a large “yours, mine, ours” blended family, Jayne Steuart’s career was spent caring for eight children, waiting for her turn to do something for herself. With her youngest child now 14 years old and her own work off the back burner, Jayne is having the time of her life as a home stager and owner of Pearl Home Staging and Redesign. (Read about one of Jayne’s home staging success stories here.)
In her early 50s, a layoff saw Donna Dazzo out of a 25+ year career in the field of financial services. Rather than taking that time to find another job in her industry, she started her own successful home staging business, Designed to Appeal. (Read more about Donna’s success as a home stager here.)
Gary Baugher left a secure management position he’d held for 15 years at a car rental company to start his Nashville home staging company, An Eye 4 Change.
Ken Sater in California started his home staging business, Creative Home Visions, after working for 18 years in mortgage banking and 14 years in the insurance industry. (Read more about both of these men and their stories here.)
In one of the more recent stories I’ve heard and possibly the most romantic, Sophia Mose “escaped” her job in London where she worked as a lawyer, to the countryside of France to work as a home stager.
Sophia writes, “I’m not having an easy time getting clients as Home Staging is an unfamiliar concept here, but I’m not giving up. If it doesn’t work here, we’ll just move to a more populated area! All the time, people are questioning my choices and telling me that I’ll regret it, but you can’t listen to that. You have to give it a try, otherwise you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Have you reinvented your life to begin your career as a home stager? Please share your own story by leaving a comment below.
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 while helping others at the same time.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
These are inspiring stories of career change, whether required or desired. Mine fortunately is a desired change. As a female Baby Boomer, three careers were open to me as a young woman – teacher, nurse, or secretary. I chose teacher, actually college instructor, which I was for 25+ years off and on around raising my sons and helping my husband’s career. Then, the sons were launched and husband’s career was made. Great! Now, what about me? Finally, time to do what I love – Stage! Believe me. I’m having the time of my life in what feels like a breath of fresh air, my second wind.
Debra,
I have wanted to do staging for a long time. My children are gone and it is now time for me! I have started the classes as money permits. My question; Can you be a successful home stager while not living close to anywhere that would require your services? I have recently moved (I hope temporarily) to a tiny town (the streets aren’t even paved). Can I be successful and market myself in the larger towns, even if they are 100 miles away?
To All Stagers;
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all fellow stagers. I hope this new year brings lots of love, happiness and great health to you and your families.
And of course, many, many clients ringing your phones and banging on your doors just begging for their homes to be staged.
That is my wish for 2010. I even told Santa to delivers lots of homes to be staged to all stagers.