I often hear form aspiring home stagers who say, “There are no home stagers in my area, so there must not be a demand for this service.” Just as often, I am told the exact opposite by others, “There are already home stagers in my area. I’m sure there will be too much competition for me to enter this market.”
In both cases, these notions become excuses for not going forward. You can talk yourself out of anything with the right arguments, but you may be jumping to a whole bunch of conclusions that are not justified. If you really have a dream of becoming a home stager, you owe it to yourself to verify these negative assumptions before just giving up.
If there are no home stagers in your area and there are also no homes for sale, then you’re right there is probably no demand for home staging in your area. You need to live in (or within driving distance of) an actual real estate market for there to be any potential demand for your home staging services.
I guarantee that your market isn’t saturated with home stagers, I don’t care where you live.
Compare for a moment how many real estate agents there are in the same area! Then research how many homes sell in your real estate market in a year. How many of these properties will you have to get as clients to make a living? An incredibly small percentage if you learn how to price your staging services correctly which is something I cover in detail in course 2 of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.
If you fear there is already a lot of home staging competition in your area, you need to find out if this is really the case. More importantly, you also need to find out the calibre of the competition. I don’t mean how well they arrange furniture (though this is important), I mean how well they market themselves. For example:
- Do they come across as real professionals?
- Do they sound confident about what they do?
- Are they able to explain what they do for clients in a compelling way?
- Are they easy to find when you’re ready to hire a home stager?
- Are they easy to speak to?
- Do they listen well?
- Are they likeable?
Don’t just look at their websites and assume all these great qualities if it’s a great site.
The competitive picture might look a whole lot different if you actually pick up the phone and speak to them.
There are a lot of “home stagers” who aren’t actually serious about their businesses. It’s more of a creative hobby for them, and you’ll be able to spot them as soon as they open their mouths to explain what they do!
And if your “competitors” have unprofessional, do-it-yourself-and-I’ve-never-done-it-before-websites, you’ve learned you don’t need to worry about competition from them as long as you market your own home staging business the right way.
One of the first homework assignments I have Staging Diva students complete during my home staging courses, is an assessment of their competition. This is not homework they have to submit for marking. It’s homework they should be doing as part of starting up a home staging business, which is why I make it homework. It’s my little way of nudging new home stagers to focus on the tasks that will be the biggest boost to their businesses.
I’ve taught thousands of students and they consistently discover that the home staging competition is not as intimidating as they first thought. If you’d like more tips on how to measure the need for home staging in your local real estate market, download this FREE report, Ask Staging Diva: Should I Start a Home Staging Business in This Economy?
So what if the competition does look tough?
Then you have to resolve to step up to the plate and give it all you’ve got if you truly want to make money as a home stager. I’ve learned from experience over the years that a lack of serious competition can make you a bit lazy. It’s human nature to start taking it easy once we’ve mastered something. One sharp competitor and it’s amazing how much better you get at boosting your own home staging business! I always fine-tune my own game when I look at what others are doing. And if you’re in the lead, it pays to look over your shoulder occasionally to see what the newcomers are up to.
The cool thing is that home staging is a growing industry and the sooner you jump in and establish yourself as THE local expert, the better you will stand up to any competitors coming up behind you.
Home stagers, how has the competition affected your staging business? If you’re just starting to think about home staging, has worrying about the competition stopped you? Please share 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.
Related posts:
- Survive tough economic times by living within your means
- 5 Reasons Why Home Staging is a Great Home-Based Business
- Home stagers, social media isn’t just for kids
- How will the current economy affect your staging business?
- A home staging professional needs confident image
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Heather and Donna, I agree with the both of you in that it is all about the way you present yourself and establish your authority in the field. I also believe and advocate focusing on the end result and not factoring in the “competition” as we all have unique traits and characteristics to embrace and express. Setting yourself up on the business end is always advantageous and crucial to the success of your business. Maintaining your sense of presence as a professional expert is also key.
Thanks girls for the insight, and I look forward to more!!
Wynette
I agree with this article. There really aren’t that many stagers in my area and none of them have a website. I do, but it is one of those “do-it-yourself” sites. I don’t believe that is bad because it is better to have something to START with than nothing at all!
In addition to what Debra says, and to also reinforce it, you have to differentiate yourself. One way is to be really serious about home staging as a business, not a hobby, as Debra says. You also have to be professional. Be reliable, courteous and follow through. There are a lot of home stagers here in New York City and one could think there is a lot of competition by the sheer numbers, however, I would say only a few are really competition. Most of the others are not serious about the business and don’t know how to present themselves or their business. The Darwinian principle applies to home staging businesses: only the fittest will survive.
I am toltaly wowed and prepared to take the next step now.
We knew our area had 1 – 2 very established stagers when we started our business. We also knew they weren’t doing a lot of advertising or marketing themselves because it was very hard to find anyone who did staging if you were looking. It seemed most of their business came from referrals – which is great – but it gave us a place where we could set ourselves apart.
We have created what we feel, is a very professional website complete with a company name and logo which gives us a very professional look. We don’t approach staging as a hobby and we are candid about that. In addition, we have been strong in our marketing campaigns, social media and simply getting out there. Those stagers are still there – plus others – but we can’t worry about what they are doing with their business. We are always looking for different ways to put ourselves out there and to get spotlight our business for consumers.
In addition, we feel the quality of our staging designs sets us apart from the others. We don’t just move furniture around, we strive to make every space we stage look like it belongs in a model home. We have encountered many realtors who are dismissive of staging very simply because in their experience, staging is only about moving furniture or adding a few accessories. When they realize we’re addressing *everything* from paint, flooring, smart upgrades, repairs, landscaping … all the way to staging the finished space, they are impressed.
There is a lot involved in starting not only a staging business, but in setting your staging designs up as THE designs is something else entirely. Staging is fun, rewarding and hard work so if that’s what you have a passion for and you’re willing to put in the work and effort to make yourself memorable then you will definitely get continual business.