The Home Staging Show (Cindy Lin | Staged4more School of Home Staging)

We've been busy bees working in the background while we were on hiatus in the past few months. In this episode, you will hear about what's coming up at the school in the next few months. Plus, our retreat in Italy this October!

In this episode, we continued with our previous conversations about Shay’s experience building her home staging business. We talked about pricing, education, home staging trainings, courses, community, marketing your home staging business, technology and a bit of everything!

On this episode, I gave a sneak peek of my StagerCon session on turning home staging client objections into home staging projections. I also talked about money mindset when it comes to pricing and how to deal with client objections without getting emotionally charged. Join us for StagerCon! Our free 4-day virtual conference for home stagers. 

In this episode, we have Kerrie Reid on our show, talking about Staging vacation rental homes, like Airbnb, VRBO, etc., which is a great niche for home stagers to get into. Unlike staging residential homes, staging vacation homes like AirBnbs takes a similar yet different approach when it comes to sourcing, furnishing the home and a different level of attention to details.

This week, we dive into an overlapping space within the Home Staging and Real Estate industry: Running a business with and alongside your spouse. I sit down with my guest, Daniel Coffman, co-owner of Staged Spaces, an educator and speaker within the staging community, to discuss the relationship dynamics of running a business — and raising a family — together, with your partner. 

Originally from the Midwest and currently based in Los Angeles, CA, Daniel has specialized in the Home Design and Real Estate industry for nearly a decade. Even further, Daniel is known for his creative collaboration efforts and ability to ensure both he and his work are noticed and remembered.

We discuss how and why Daniel entered the Home Staging and Real Estate industry, and the responsibilities he and his partner, Jacyn, each have within their company, Staged Spaces. Daniel also shares tips and techniques on how they maintain effective communication, strategies for managing their personal and professional lives, and how their children respond to the social media aspect of a home staging business. 

Love what Daniel has to say? Be sure to check out Daniel’s past Staging Community Talk about staging workflow on Episode #150 of The Home Staging Show. 

Here’s Today’s Listener Question:

Question 1: Start up and buying items.

Question 2 from Dwayne: is it smart not to go out and buy a whole lot of decor and furniture when you are a start up business?

This week, I sit down with Helen Bartlett, a national award-winning home stager and home stylist, founder of Refined Interior Staging Solutions, and co-author of Home Staging: The Power That Sells Real Estate, about the process of staging model homes.

In this conversation, we discuss the difference between a model and a regular residential home, how to pivot to meet expectations, and Helen illustrates the process of collaborating with builders (including its challenges!) to personalize the design experience and build trust. Lastly, Helen shares some amazing advice for future model home stagers — tune in to the full episode to hear her advice in detail!

Topics Covered:

• How Helen unexpectedly began staging model homes 

• How a model home differs from a residential home 

• The collaborative process of working with builders throughout the design process 

• The risk model staging homes run into around damaged, dirty, or stolen items 

• The importance of quality, elevated items in a model home 

• Helen’s approach to trend forecasting and how she incorporates the target demographic into the staging process 

• The power of sharing leads and strengthening trust with everyone involved 

• Advice for future model home stagers

Hello 2020 and welcome back to SEASON 11!

This season, the format will be a bit different. I will be answering all the questions you’ve submitted via our online form. If you still want to send in questions, you can! Just scroll all the way down and fill out the form, and I will answer them on a mini podcast episode this season!

I’ll also live stream when I record these mini episodes this season. There is not a set schedule, since I will be finding holes in my schedule to answer them one by one. The best way to catch me will be to follow us on:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/staged4more

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/staged4more

Here’s Today’s Listener Question:

I’m in the process of setting up a Home Staging / Interiors advise service locally and am feeling a bit overwhelmed with information and where to start. I have a Textiles background and have studied Interior Design part time courses. I also work part-time for an Architecture and Interior Design company but they tend to have more architectural work than anything else. Interiors and Home Staging is where I want my business to be. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks x

When you’re busy working in your business, it can be really easy to forget to work on your business too. The trouble with that is, you could look up from your latest client or project and find that you don’t have any more clients ready to go. 

Stacey Brown Randall is a member of the business failure club, a contrarian on how to generate referrals and a supporter of the entrepreneurial dream. Stacey’s programs help small business owners and solopreneurs take control of their referrals, their client experience and their business.

Stacey is a true master of referrals and has so much wisdom to share with us in this episode. We talk about how her previous business failed, what it taught her about getting clients, and why she thinks that referrals are the best source of clients you could possibly ask for. We also talk about the mindset shift you need to go through in order to get referrals and take care of your relationships with referrers, and we answer some listener questions about referrals, too.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.

On this fourth episode of the special mini series, Marketing Your Home Staging Business, I shared 5 tips on marketing your home staging business on social media: what platforms to choose, how not to spend so much time on social media and still be effective, and how to be found on social media by your target customers.

Today we’re talking about all things profit and what you need to know to build the most profitable and sustainable home staging business you can. It can be hard to know what to charge, what your numbers mean, and what you should be looking at in your books - no matter what stage you’re at in business. Luckily, we have a wonderful guest back with us to talk about it all: Profit First Coach Michele Williams!

Michele Williams is sought after for her ability to easily explain complex business principles and processes in a simple, straightforward way. With a varied background in working in small, medium and large businesses, Michele has a great grasp on the scalability factors that are essential to growing a business.

Michele and I cover a lot of great topics related to profit, including how to figure out how much income you need, how much you need to work in a year, and how many sales you need to be making to reach your goals. And Michele shares some of her best tips and practices for running a business that pays you a fair wage and delivers tons of value & a high level of service to your clients.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.

Think of today’s episode as a Part 2 to our last conversation. Sonya MacDonald is currently working full time as the Staging Coordinator for Lori Pedersen Home, a boutique full service staging and design firm.

In Episode 164, Lori went behind the scenes of her luxury home staging business. 

The difference between Lori's point of view and Sonya's point of view will give you an even more in-depth glimpse of how they operate their successful staging business.

We cover what it’s like to be a Staging Coordinator, growing a team you can trust, handling unexpected visitors on-site, and Sonya’s unique career trajectory from banking to home stager.

Connect With Lori & Sonya

Lori’s website: https://loripedersen.ca 

Lori’s Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/LPHomeStaging/ 

Lori’s Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/loripedersenhome/ 

Lori’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/loripedersenhome/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.Staged4more.com/17hats 

We are heading into November and this means our Black Friday sale is coming up! If you're interested, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of our website. You can also follow us on Instagram at @staged4more because we'll be announcing the sale there too.

We’re getting real about parenting and what goes on behind the scenes while juggling motherhood and running a home staging business on today’s episode of The Home Staging Show.

Today, I’m joined by Jess Harrington, Boston-based interior designer of JessFinessed and Elisha Niebuhr, founder of Modern Interior Staging Company. Jess has a unique background in the antique and fine art auction space, blending her eclectic style with a mixture of modern and on-trend elements, while Elisha is passionate about redesigning and redecorating homes, melding artistry, public-spiritedness and business.

These two powerhouse Moms share openly about outsourcing, systemizing your life and business, taking care of yourself, business coaches, and the time saving rituals and routines that have made the biggest impact. If you’re a working Mom, you’ll love tuning in to this honest conversation.

Connect With Jess

Jess’s Website: https://www.jessfinessed.com 

Jess’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JessFinessedHomes 

Jess’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessfinessedhomes/

Jess’s Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/JessFinessed/

Connect With Elisha

Elisha’s Website: https://moderninteriorstagingcompany.com 

Elisha’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/moderninteriorstagingcompany/ 

Elisha’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderninteriorstagingcompany/ 

Elisha’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/modern_staging 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our free community to watch the video replay of today’s Community Talk: https://www.staged4more.school 

Check out our limited time Black Friday deals: https://www.staged4more.com/blackfriday 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Learn more about our in-person retreat taking place February 24-28, 2022 in Portland, OR.

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program 

Check out the clip Elisha referenced, People Without Children Have NO IDEA What It’s Like

Elisha’s book recommendation, Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk

Elisha’s recommended au pair company: Au Pair in America 

Allobee

Have you ever felt paralyzed at the thought of naming or branding your home staging business? Branding is one of the most essential components of any successful business. It can help us stand out in a crowded marketplace, and also evolve in beautiful ways over time.

Today, I’m talking with Amy Walsh, a visual artist, educator, and powerhouse activist who founded the Bureau of Tactical Imagination to support small business owners in creating imaginative, ethical, and unique brands. Together, we dive into important conversations around branding, naming your business, the pros and cons of being multi-passionate, and marketing our businesses in today’s culture.

Connect With Amy

Amy’s Website: https://amywalsh.net 

Amy’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tacticalimagination 

Amy’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tacticalimagination/ 

Amy’s Program, The Visionary Syndicate: https://amywalsh.net/visionary-syndicate 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our free community: https://www.staged4more.school 

Check out our limited time Black Friday deals to save on our courses and more: https://www.staged4more.com/blackfriday 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Learn more about our in-person retreat taking place in February 2021 in Portland, OR.

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is such an important online marketing strategy in growing our website traffic, so we can attract more home staging clients even while we are sleeping. In this episode, I invited Galen Mooney, a local SEO and website strategist, of Local Creative Co. to come on the show and tell us how to improve our website traffic and get higher on search engine rankings!

When you’re running a home staging business, it can feel like a million and one things are happening on any given day. Between networking with real estate agents, arranging stagings and professional photos, liaising with clients, and managing your team, it can feel like adding marketing to the list is overwhelming.

Kate the Socialite is a published author, podcast host & entrepreneur. Her #1 goal is to help home professionals market their businesses with ease and simplicity. We talk about why social media shouldn’t be your only marketing strategy, and why your email list is one of the most important things you’ll build in your business. We also chat about marketing trends and what home professionals need to know about SEO and standing out in their local market.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.

Caroline Guntur is a Certified Photo Organizer and Digital Strategist at Organizing Photos who loves helping people sort out their digital messes, whether that's for their family collections or their businesses.

Caroline's expertise in digital photo organizing is so relevant and applicable to us as home stagers. It’s time to get organized, and Caroline has many tips and tricks she shares throughout this conversation. We explore how to create effective standard operating procedures, the most winning ways to name and share files with team members, and how to combat digital file organization when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Anna Vilmane was one of the winners of the International Home Staging Awards last year. Born into a family of Latvian artisans, she always had a deep curiosity about functional design, especially interior design. After moving to Sardinia in Italy and starting a family, she began to build her home staging career. 

It's fascinating to learn about the different approaches to home staging in other countries. We talk about Anna's process when she starts a vacant home staging project, what it's like to stage homes in Italy, and why she is drawn to historical homes above all else.

🥳 Staged4more turns SIXTEEN today! ✨

It has been an amazing journey and I am very proud of what we’ve accomplished as an education company in the past few years. It has been quite a ride! 

Have a listen to this quick episode and hear about what we are working on for 2022 ❤️

Plus! A 2-day celebration kicking off tomorrow. Follow us on IG or join our email list to find out!

For our first interview of season 10, I’m joined by the wonderful Kristy Craig Anderson of Dwell Staging to talk about staging luxury homes and working with a different type of client.

Kristy started Dwell Staging in 2014 with the goal to bring fresh, contemporary staging to the Tampa Bay area. Since its humble beginnings as a sole proprietorship, Dwell has grown into a 9,000 square foot warehouse with a talented team of 13 who stage hundreds of homes per year. 

Kristy and I talk about how she got into home staging as a second career and how she made the leap to start staging luxury homes. We chat about how to make luxury styling feel livable, the differences between working with your usual clients versus luxury clients, and how to make sure you’re making sound business decisions when trying out new markets. Kristy also shares her top tips for stagers and agents who want to stage and sell luxury homes in the most efficient, beautiful way possible.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.

In your home staging business, it’s so important to find your “staging BFFs": the trusted ones that you can exchange ideas and collaborate with. This episode is so special to me because Daniel Coffman and Sarah Atherton actually met serendipitously through Instagram after discovering they share the same company name, Staged Spaces. They quickly connected over their love of staging and became a support system for each other. In this Community Talk, Daniel and Sarah break down how they conduct site visits, how they pack for jobs, their approach to staging, and how they retain staging clients long-term.

More about Daniel

Daniel and his partner launched Staged Spaces with the desire to bring quality, elevated home staging and styling options to real estate professionals and private homeowners alike with a goal of creating a story within a space to help buyers instantly connect and feel at home. With 12+ years of expertise, they have helped countless real estate agents, developers and homeowners fully realize their property’s selling potential.

More about Sarah

Sarah is the owner and creative lead at Staged Spaces. Having spent over 20 years working in retail marketing as a Visual Merchandiser and Window Dresser for major retailers, Sarah transforms properties into inspiring spaces throughout the East Midlands, bringing creative design solutions to even the most challenging of projects.

To watch the full Community Talk replay and the live Q&A, set up a free account here: https://www.staged4more.school 

Connect With Daniel

Daniel’s Website: https://www.stagedspaces.com 

Daniel’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/stagedspaces/ 

Daniel’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stagedspaces/ 

Daniel’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiMbPsKLE0PxlVu5PXWtepw 

Connect With Sarah

Sarah’s Website: https://stagedspaces.co.uk  

Sarah’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/stagedspaces.co.uk/

Sarah’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staged_spaces/

Sarah’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/staged-spaces

Are you ready to find out how to actually get more home staging clients? Today’s episode explores the top strategies you need to build a successful home staging business and we hit on a ton of nitty gritty topics:

Building trust with clients, occupied vs. vacant home staging, how to deliver value upfront and leverage your strengths, plus we’ll explore common mindset blocks, including a pricing trap many new home stagers fall into.

You’ll also hear how Staged4More scaled into a successful 6-figure home staging business (with a 5,800 square foot warehouse!) and how you can save on our bestselling courses and programs for a limited time.

Daniel Coffman and his partner Jason run Staged Spaces out of Los Angeles, California. Their style is west coast meets boho and with over 12 years of expertise, their goal is to visually create a story within a space to help buyers instantly connect and feel at home. Always on top of current trends, patterns, colors, and textures, Daniel brings his elevated home staging services to real estate professionals and private homeowners alike.

This conversation was SO MUCH fun. Daniel and I share our experiences starting out as new stagers, how to price your home staging projects, our struggles with inventory and staging clients, using fake food, why you should frame your home staging services as “experiences” and lots of tales from the trenches! 

This interview was previously recorded on Instagram Live. If you prefer to watch the replay, click here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CScluQ5qmlp/

Connect With Daniel

Daniel’s Website: https://www.stagedspaces.com/

Daniel’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/stagedspaces/ 

Daniel’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stagedspaces/ 

Daniel’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/stagedspaces 

Daniel’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiMbPsKLE0PxlVu5PXWtepw

Links and Resources Mentioned

Watch the full Instagram Live interview with Daniel here.

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: KITCHEN

Register for our free online workshop to learn more about how to start a new home staging business.

Enroll in our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program.

Great design and a beautiful home should be accessible for everyone. Kate Dawson is an interior designer who specializes in making homes look like a million bucks at a fraction of the price. Kate works with her clients to make sure their home brings them a sense of joy and excitement without breaking the bank. 

Kate and I talked about her love of treasure hunting and how she got started as a self-taught interior designer. We also discuss why she loves finding accessories at vintage shops and estate sales and some of her favorite places to source great items.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.

In this episode of The Home Staging Show, Jess takes us on her journey of transitioning from working for auction houses and Wayfair to becoming a successful home staging business owner in the Boston area. Jess candidly shares her progress and challenges in running and building her staging business and highlights how having a warehouse space has improved her staging business and profitability.

Moreover, Jess offers valuable insights on buying inventory and creating a curated look for her staged homes. She emphasizes the importance of budgeting and tracking expenses and explains how fine-tuning her financial reports and processes has enabled her to make strategic financial and inventory purchase decisions for her staging business.

Throughout the episode, Jess also shared her experiences attending last year’s Home Staging Business Mastery Retreat. The retreat gave her the clarity needed to grow and scale her staging business. She shared how the ideas and insights gained at the retreat helped her to enhance and elevate her staging business, which she implemented upon her return.

Every day, home staging businesses are faced with a multitude of risks. And here at Staged4More, we receive a lot of questions about liability insurance. I thought it would be great to bring Tamela Bowie onto the show, who not only has interior design experience, but also runs her own firm, Bowie Insurance, supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Tamela walks us through general liability insurance, workers comp, errors and omissions, health insurance, and even car insurance, along with how to best protect your home staging business and get the best rates. With over 20 years of experience, industry knowledge, and expertise, you’re sure to walk away with a lot of insights after listening to this episode.

Just a quickie episode to update you on what's happening at the school in February. And don't miss our Lunar New Year red envelopes! We are giving away $100 gift credit to our newsletter subscribers. Just go to our website at www.staged4more.com and subscribe via the pop up. Promo ends Jan 31st!

On this third episode of the special mini series, Marketing Your Home Staging Business, I shared 5 tips on writing your email newsletter: easy ways to keep it consistent without feeling stressed about it, how to boost your open rates, and how to build trust and credibility with this incredible tool.

Bobby Tsui is a successful business coach who supports his clients with turning the dreaded analysis paralysis into powerful social media breakthroughs, which I find very refreshing. His company, The Same Circle Method, is a mentorship program that helps interior designers harness who they are so they can stand out, be known for meaningful work, and book highly aligned clients.

Bobby and I cover a lot of ground in this episode on both branding and marketing. As home stagers, it’s important for us to stand out in the marketplace and differentiate ourselves from the crowd. This alone can empower us to charge more and become more profitable. We’ll also explore how you can leverage Facebook Ads in your home staging business.

Connect With Bobby

Bobby’s website: www.thesamecirclemethod.com/join 

Bobby’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/thebobbytsui

Bobby’s Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thebobbytsui

Bobby’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbytsui/

Are you prioritizing publicity, list building, and PR in your home staging business?

If you know there’s room for improvement, you’re going to love this vibrant conversation with Desha Peacock, an international retreat leader, lifestyle design coach, and the founder of Sweet Spot Style. Her book, Your Creative Work Space, has even been picked up by Target!

As a multi-passionate entrepreneur, Desha walks us through how she’s found her own “sweet spot” in business, the top mindset blocks her clients face, and why it’s so important to build your home staging business in a way that supports your values and lifestyle intentions. She’ll also take us behind the scenes into her book writing process. You’re not going to want to miss this one!

Connect With Desha

Desha’s Website: https://sweetspotstyle.com 

Desha’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SweetSpotStyleFanPage/ 

Desha’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deshapeacock/ 

Desha’s Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/deshapeacock/

Book a Free Clarity Call with Desha: https://book.sweetspotstyle.com/_consult

Check out Desha’s Book, Your Creative Work Space

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our new, free community: https://www.staged4more.school 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Watch the replay of our free Community Talk: Multiple Streams of Income for Home Stagers. 

Sign up for our live workshop with Nikki Rausch on November 15th from 1-3pm PST: Mastering the Sales Conversation for Home Stagers.

The home staging industry has experienced a lot of change in the past few years, especially with HGTV’s explosion in popularity, ever-savvier buyers and sellers, and the entrance of millennials into the real estate market. It’s no wonder that now more than ever, communities of home stagers are popping up around the globe. These communities are valuable sources of information, mentorship, and inspiration - and today’s guest is a huge advocate for teaming up with other stagers in your market and around the country.

Krisztina Bell is an Atlanta-based home stager, vacant properties specialist, and the pioneer of “virtual staging”. She provides her clients with over 14 years of experience in the real estate and home staging industries.

Krisztina and I had so much fun talking about how she started and grew her business into a thriving home staging & virtual staging powerhouse. We discuss the importance of good staging for selling vacant properties, how millennials are changing the home staging game, and how DIY culture is affecting the role of stagers in the buying & selling process. Krisztina also shares some awesome advice about tools & apps you can use to choose paint colors, marketing for properties, and what millennials in particular are looking for in her home housing market of Atlanta.

You can find complete show notes and more information at https://www.staged4more.com/podcast 

Katie Myhre-Daeger launched Gladeye Design Studio in 2018 in an effort to fully exercise her creative side and love of real estate, homes, and interiors. Gladeye Design Studio specializes in occupied staging and provides home styling and decorating services both virtually and in person. 

Katie was one of the finalists in the 2020 International Home Staging Awards and what was so unique about her project is that she submitted an occupied home staging project that was completed in the middle of lockdown.

A lot of times, we don’t often think about future-proofing our business and it’s so important. How do we pivot? How can we get creative when something unexpected happens? Katie and I cover so many interesting topics in this episode, from the pros and cons of remote consultations, to the challenges of being an occupied home stager.

Connect With Katie

Katie’s Website: https://www.gladeyedesign.com 

Katie’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/gladeyedesign 

Katie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Gladeye.design/ 

Katie’s Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/gladeyedesign/ 

Katie’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/katiemyhredaeger

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: BEDROOM

Bobbie McGrath’s Occupied Consultation Specialist Course

As you grow your home staging business, time becomes an even more valuable resource. We are all pretty burned out on hustle culture. When we spend too much time at work, we’re not maximizing our productivity and we end up sacrificing personal and family time.

Ashley Gartland is here today to talk about time freedom, goals, and finding ways we can do less, but better so that we can all be more productive in our business while leading more fulfilling lives. Ashley runs a successful coaching practice in just 25 hours (or less!) each week so she has time to enjoy the outdoors, good books, and family time.

Let’s explore how you can simplify and streamline your services, systems, schedule, and team.

Connect With Ashley

Ashley’s Website: https://www.ashleygartland.com

Ashley’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygartland/ 

Ashley’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-gartland-991aa95/ 

Listen to Ashley’s podcast, Better Than Big: https://www.ashleygartland.com/podcast 

Join Ashley’s audio course Do Less, Live More

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Our Living Room home staging challenge ends on March 28th. Enter your home staging project here and learn more: https://www.stagingawards.com/challenge

In this podcast, Steph Tuss, CEO of multimillion-dollar global consulting company Life Is Now, Inc., talks about how important it is to have the best people on your team and how dangerous it can be to settle for mediocre ones. She also advises on how to handle conflicts productively in your staging business and talks about becoming a better leader who can empower and motivate your team. Steph introduces four leadership archetypes and explains how to recognize and work with each archetype effectively.

Elaine Penhaul is an expert in home staging, an author, and the founder of Lemon and Lime Interiors, supporting clients all over the UK and helping homes sell as much as 4x faster thanks to her staging work.

You’ll hear about Elaine’s unique business model and how she built her successful business from the ground up with a 2-person sales team. I have never really seen home staging businesses have active sales people on staff, so I found this fascinating.

Elaine also shares how she bootstrapped her business using upcycled furniture, why emotional intelligence is a critical skill to have, and how she’s built rewarding relationships with other agents, even landing a formal agreement with an estate agency.

Connect With Elaine

Elaine’s Website: https://www.lemonandlimeinteriors.co.uk/

Elaine’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonandlimeinteriors/ 

Elaine’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemonandlimeinteriors/ 

Elaine’s LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonandlimeinteriors 

Elaine’s Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/LandLInteriors

Elaine’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Q6waIVy7kSly915gyA22A/videos 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our new, free community: https://www.staged4more.school 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: KITCHEN

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program 

Learn more about the 2022 International Home Staging Awards

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ashley Tapley, an interior designer, color consultant, and Santa Cruz home stager who recently staged a beach house for $305,000 over asking! Ashley is passionate about home remodeling and decorating, which inspired her to launch House Candy Home Staging two years ago. 

Ashley is incredibly transparent and generous in this conversation, taking us behind the scenes on her home staging business journey so far, how networking with other real estate agents has opened doors for her, and how she strives to think bigger, beyond just home staging, to create more opportunities with existing clients.

We also talk about pricing, the benefits of batching and building marketing systems, and the importance of valuing your services and your self-worth so you can feel confident when speaking with a potential client.

Transforming your money mindset for success is a crucial aspect of achieving financial stability and business growth. In this podcast episode, Dr. Amanda, also known as the money healer, shares her expertise in helping entrepreneurs master their money mindset and manifest easier money in their businesses. She emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing the various emotions and beliefs associated with money.

One of the key takeaways from the podcast is the concept of radical responsibility. In the episode, Dr. Amanda also dives into recognizing and reframing our beliefs and thoughts around money and consequently becoming aware of our negative thought patterns and replacing them with positive ones.

The podcast also addresses the common blocks and self-sabotaging behaviors that can hinder our financial success. To overcome these blocks, Dr. Amanda provides a three-step formula to reprogram our subconscious mind and create new, empowering beliefs.

Transforming your money mindset for success is a vital aspect of achieving financial stability and business growth. Dr. Amanda's insights and experiences serve as a valuable guide for home stagers looking to master their money mindset and manifest easier money in their businesses.

There’s so much that goes into buying a house: finding a great real estate agent, combing through listings, competing with other offers, and the psychological freakout that often accompanies actually putting down the cash for a home. But buying a house is one of the best investments you can make, and a really talented, attentive real estate agent can make the process a LOT easier for you.

Courtney Poulos is the broker/owner of ACME Real Estate, a design-savvy boutique brokerage focusing on brand marketing and real estate sales. She also has a mission to help women achieve financial independence through real estate investment. Her latest book, Break Up! With Your Rental: The Professional Woman’s Guide to Building Wealth through Real Estate, is available nationwide at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Courtney shares SO much fantastic, actionable advice in this episode about finding (and being) an amazing real estate agent, how she picks great home stagers, and how to make your home stand out on the market. We also dive into the subject of Courtney’s new book and talk about why women are the perfect candidates for building wealth through real estate investment.

You can find complete show notes and more information at https://www.staged4more.com/podcast 

Bobbie McGrath is a pioneer in the occupied staging space and has staged or consulted over 8,000 homes with her award-winning staging company, Successful Staging. Creating strong agent connections and attention to detail has been a hallmark of her business for years!

Bobbie has been a long-time friend of the show and this is her 4th or 5th appearance. In this conversation, we dive into the nuances of running an occupied home staging business and how thinking on your feet and being great with people are critical for success.

We also explore the deeper impact of the work we’re doing in the world as home stagers, how to build long-term relationships with agents, and why it’s so important to stick to your guns on your pricing and fee structure. This episode is a masterclass all on its own with so many incredible takeaways, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Connect With Bobbie

Bobbie’s Website: www.SuccessfulStaging.com 

Bobbie’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SuccessfulStaging

Bobbie’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/bobbiemcgrath

Bobbie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/successfulstaging/

Bobbie’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/successfulstagingbobbiemcgrath/

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: BEDROOM.

Bobbie McGrath’s Occupied Consultation Specialist Course

Is your home staging business “referrable”?

Stacey Brown Randall is an entrepreneur, podcast host, and author, but more importantly? She’s an absolute expert when it comes to generating referrals naturally, without manipulation, incentivizing, or even asking!

Learn from Stacey exactly how to build powerful relationships with your clients through the art of touchpoints, why we need to pay more attention to our existing referral sources, and we even dig into the interesting psychology behind referrals and how we can stay top of mind within our networks.

This episode of The Home Staging Show podcast is jam-packed with useful information to help you grow your home staging business.

As a home stager, our skill sets can be uniquely translated into many other types of creative work to generate additional income for our businesses. 

In this inspiring Community Talk, you’ll hear from Jennifer Westbrook and Bridget King, two home stagers who will share their experiences of how they’ve created multiple streams of income beyond their home staging businesses, from staging yachts to dropshipping and ecommerce. It’s so fascinating and I can’t wait to hear what you think.

About Jennifer Westbrook, Home Stager, Copywriter & Web Design Strategist 

Jennifer Westbrook is passionate about helping women entrepreneurs earn a full-time income doing the work they love. As the owner of Main Stage Home Staging & Organizing, Jennifer also provides mentoring and marketing support to new and aspiring home stagers. In addition to home staging and mentoring services, Main Stage has an online Home Store that sells unique décor and candles. As a home stager, copywriter and web design strategist, she combines her unique experiences as an attorney, woman of color and business owner to design strategic solutions for her clients.

About Bridget King, Owner and Creative Director of Captiva Design Interior Decorating and Home Staging 

With over 16 years of experience in the emerging Home Staging industry as a certified and accredited Staging professional, Bridget King has established herself as one of South Florida’s leading Home Staging subject matter experts as Owner and Creative Director of Captiva Design Interior Decorating and Home Staging. Skilled at creating beautiful designs within a variety of budgets, styles, timeframes, and requirements, Bridget guides her clients through every phase of the design process. Her passion for design and helping people has cultivated a coaching and mentorship program for Home Stagers and Interior Decorators , plus the occasional realtor workshop training and guest speaking engagements.

Connect With Jennifer

Jennifer’s Website: https://www.mainstagehome.com 

Jennifer’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mainstagehome 

Jennifer’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mainstagehome/ 

Jennifer’s Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mainstagehome/_created/ 

Connect With Bridget

Bridget’s Website: https://www.captivahomedesign.com 

Bridget’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CaptivaDesign 

Bridget’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captivadesign/ 

Bridget’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetkingdesigner 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our new, free community: https://www.staged4more.school 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Watch the replay of our free Community Talk: Multiple Streams of Income for Home Stagers. 

Sign up for our live workshop with Nikki Rausch on November 15th from 1-3pm PST: Mastering the Sales Conversation for Home Stagers.

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: BATHROOM

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program

On today’s show, I share five strategies and six ideas to generate income for your home staging business in dealing with your home staging business slowing down due to COVID and the upcoming holiday season.

On today’s show, I answered a listener’s question about whether to switch from the renting from furniture rental companies home staging business model to carrying your own home staging inventory!

Welcome to The Home Staging Show podcast, where we deep dive into the world of home staging and how to build a viable home staging business. In this episode, Cindy recaps the recent StagerCon 2023 conference, which focused on building multiple streams of income for home stagers.

One of the big takeaways from this year’s conference is the importance of intentional business design. This strategic approach gives you the flexibility to select the tools and strategies that align perfectly with your goals and visions of your home staging business. Even among the six active stagers and speakers this year, we can already see a wide range of home staging business models and philosophies. We think it clearly shows that it is possible to design and build the home staging business you want, as long as you have a clear vision of what you want and develop staging services and strategies that seamlessly fit your staging business.

From consultations and turnkey home design to short-term rental design and the emerging trend of midterm rental design, we also took a look at staging services that you can explore and consider adding to your home staging business.

We also touch on the power of affiliate programs and the benefits of charging your worth for your expertise. Whether you prefer slow growth or scaling big, managing your cash flow and aligning your business goals with your desired lifestyle are key factors to consider.

If you’re interested in learning more about these topics, catch up on StagerCon 2023 with our Replay Pass! Simply go to www.stagercon.com for more information.

If you’re a home stager working in a competitive market, having an incredibly distinctive point of view and signature style is absolutely critical to set yourself apart, which is exactly why Dara Donovan is here.

Dara has spent her entire career bringing a California sensibility of aesthetics into the modern home, as both a stylist for Pottery Barn and other brands, and now with her own successful staging business, Paloma Home. Dara loves to draw upon the long, rich history of international fine art and design from the Mediterranean, Japan, Scandinavia, and the American Southwest.

Learn the hustle culture of photo styling on set, what photo stylists actually charge, the emotional response of staging, and how storytelling through your staging will help homes sell so much faster. It’s time to set up your long-game strategy!

Connect With Dara

Dara’s Website: https://www.palomahome.studio 

Dara’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dara.donovan.7121/ 

Dara’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palomahomestudio/

Dara’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daradonovan/ 

Dara’s Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/palomahomestudio/

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.staged4more.com/17hats 

RSVP to our free community talk on August 17th at 10a PT with Ashley Tapley of House Candy Home. Ashley was a finalist in the International Home Staging Awards and will share the before and after and behind the scenes of her process. Missed the live event? See the replay here.

Ready to build your home staging career but don’t know where to start? Join me on September 13th at our Open House and participate in live talks and Q&As, while learning about our offerings.

Dara’s new website just launched. Learn more about her services in interior design and staging: https://www.palomahome.studio/services 

If you’re ready to dive deep into your home staging business, join me and Elaine Penhaul in Italy this October 2nd-7th for a special Working Retreat for Home Stagers.

In this podcast episode, Terry Mainord, an award-winning home stager based in Brooklyn shares her insights on effective staging techniques to attract today’s home buyers and staging clients.

One of the essential elements contributing to Terry's success is her ability to develop, refine, and perfect her signature style, understanding how to create captivating and appealing spaces that resonate with the aspirational lifestyle of potential home buyers.

During the episode, we dived into a lot of Terry’s process in operating her home staging business, as well as how she approaches staging stylistically and how she curates inventory and working with rental furniture.

She also shared how having a firm grasp on her numbers, has propelled her business to new levels, a happy result from attending our retreat last year. (You can find out more about the Retreat and join Terry in Florence here.)

Join us in this episode as Terry shares further insights on how to elevate your home staging game and create spaces that exude aspiration while maintaining a welcoming lived-in feel. Prepare to be inspired and equipped with practical strategies to take your staging endeavors to the next level!

This is a great episode to listen to if you’re new to the home staging business or about to start your in your home staging career.  We talked a lot about imposter syndrome, especially when you’re first starting out and how to get clients to book you all the time, learning about how to stage, learning how to improve your skills, also how to build your home staging portfolio.  Some of the things we talk about new home stagers may not be aware of until they get into the industry and start working, especially the part on honing into the client experience to really try to differentiate yourself as a home stager.  We talk about all of that today so you won’t make the same mistakes I made when I first started out as a home stager.  

Are you a new home stager ready to expand your knowledge and learn more about building a successful home staging business? Today’s episode is a power-packed workshop where I’m sharing my best tips and tricks as you’re getting started. 

It’s important to set a strong foundation while avoiding overwhelm and building your confidence. Learn how to maximize your time with limited resources, the art of creating partnerships with other vendors, and how to avoid getting distracted by imposter syndrome and shiny objects.

At the very end, I’m sharing more about our new Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program, including the five phases and what you’ll learn. This is the most comprehensive program we’ve ever created and you can learn more about it here: https://www.staged4more.com/certificate 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our new, free community: https://www.staged4more.school 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Learn more about home staging business models with Bobbie McGrath

Listen to Episode 120 with Ashley Tapley of House Candy Home Staging

50 Marketing Ideas for Home Stagers to Generate Revenue

Listen to Episode 134 with Katie Myhre-Daeger to learn more about occupied home staging

Read our blog for all of our best home staging tips and tricks

Discover more episodes of The Home Staging Show

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: KITCHEN

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program and save $500 on enrollment if you click here and sign up by 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time on September 23, 2021.

Learn more about the 2022 International Home Staging Awards

If you’re interested in marketing, building your personal brand as a home stager, and translating your home staging portfolio into an aspirational lifestyle, you’ll enjoy this week’s episode with Jason Saft, founder of Staged To Sell Home, a leading boutique staging firm in New York City and Brooklyn. 

Known for his abilities to repeatedly break sales records, reintroduce properties that other agents and independent sellers were unable to close, and deliver dramatic property transformations, Jason also comes from a 20+ year real estate background and leverages data to help his clients get the biggest return on their investment.

Connect With Jason

Jason’s Website: https://www.stagedtosellhome.com 

Jason’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StagedToSellHome/ 

Jason’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stagedtosellhome/

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our new, free community: https://www.staged4more.school 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Join our free Community Talk on October 19th at 4pm PST: Multiple Streams of Income for Home Stagers. We’ll be joined by Bridget King and Jennifer Westbrook.

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: BATHROOM

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program

A life-long interiors obsessive, Joanna Thornhill’s passion for design, eye for pulling together a cohesive visual story, and approachable yet knowledgable writing style has led her to her dream career as an Interiors Stylist, Writer and Author. 

Joanna and I talk about her career as an interiors stylist and how she works with brands to create beautiful, thoughtful designs for events, film, and online content. Joanna and I also chat about her books and what she recommends for renters and first-time homeowners who want to make their home feel and look beautiful even when they have a smaller budget.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.

Jake Shorter has grown his Australian based company, Foxy Home Staging, into a seven-figure business with a full-time staff of 7, all in less than 4 years. For any home staging business to grow, you need the right people on your team, and this episode will teach you the best tips, tricks, and strategies to hire and build your business in a meaningful way.

I’m inspired by Jake’s rise to success in the home staging industry. What’s so unique about Jake is his emphasis and interest in logistics, marketing, and finance. Being a self-proclaimed “Excel nerd” has helped him track key metrics and improve efficiencies in his business.

Hear my conversation with Jake on his podcast, Foxy Property Chat.

Early bird submissions are now open for The International Home Staging Awards.

StagerCon 2021 is coming in July!

In this episode, Mindful Money Coach Liz Carroll shares her strategies on building wealth, living debt-free, even in challenging times like recessions and the pandemic. 

Together with her husband of over 30 years, Dan, Liz has built a multi-million dollar rental portfolio in the last six years of sixteen single family homes and a four-plex which gave her the freedom to retire early.

Did you know that 17hats is one of the most instrumental tools we’ve used to run and automate our home staging business? It helped free me up from the chaos of chasing after clients and getting bogged down by paperwork and other tedious admin tasks.

And 17hats can do it all, from invoicing, to emails, capturing leads, online scheduling, sending payment reminders, and so much more. So I’m delighted to bring you this conversation with Amanda Rae, a passionate photographer, educator, and COO of 17hats.

Amanda is incredibly analytical and shares how we can systemize the operations of our home staging businesses so we can save time, money, and be more efficient. We also explore burnout and the importance of taking care of yourself.

Connect With Amanda

17hats Website: 17hats.com 

17hats Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/17hatsHQ 

17hats Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the17hats/

Amanda’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandarae_17/ 

17hats LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/17hats 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our free community: https://www.staged4more.school 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Read The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It by Michael E. Gerber

Sign up for our live workshop with Nikki Rausch on November 15th from 1-3pm PST: Mastering the Sales Conversation for Home Stagers.

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program

I’ve wanted to have someone on the podcast for a long time who bridges the gap between stager & real estate agent – even though the industries are related, there’s a relatively small amount of crossover between the work of prepping a home to sell and the job of helping buyers and sellers make the actual sale. So you can imagine how excited I am to have Kelly Williams on today’s episode!

Kelly Williams has owned and operated her staging company, Creative Touch Interiors, since 2003 and has been a real estate agent for the past 6 years. As a stager, she frequently mentored new home stagers as they found their feet in the industry, even winning the CSP’s Mentor of the Year Award in 2006. Kelly also authored Home Staging Secrets, was featured on an episode of HGTV’s Buy Me, and writes for the Staging Standard Magazine. Once her kids left home, she jumped into real estate and has been helping buyers and sellers ever since.

Now that she’s an experienced real estate agent in addition to her staging expertise, Kelly possesses a unique perspective that makes her the perfect person to ask about how staging really affects the buying and selling of homes. 

Kelly and I talk about how being a home stager prepared her for being a real estate agent and debunk some common misconceptions about real estate and home staging. We then dive into all the ways that staging can affect a buyer’s choice to purchase a home, what sellers need to know about prepping a house for the market, and mistakes that home sellers often make. And we talk about what today’s buyers are looking for and how staging can make a huge difference in the home-buying process.

Managing team members inside of your home staging business is a fine art. You probably started your business as a one-woman or a one-man show, but what happens when you get booked up? Maybe you hired someone and they aren’t performing to your standards or meeting your expectations or you’re about to hire your first employee, and you want to do it right. In this episode, we also discussed incorporating diversity and DEI hiring practice for your home staging business.

Enter Fred Rhodes, whose mission is to provide guidance and perspective to leaders, while building collaborative and healthy workplaces that support and serve every member of an organization who contributes to their respective communities.

After my business coach brought him in to speak on hiring, team building, and diversity, I knew I had to have him on the show. We’ll also talk about diversity and inclusion issues at the end, which Fred discusses in the most calming and digestible way. It’s important to have these conversations so that we can understand our clients and potential clients better.

Curious about how a home staging project actually comes together? 

In this episode, Ashley Tapley, an interior designer, color consultant, and Santa Cruz home stager from House Candy HOME, shares her process on her shortlisted home staging project for the 2022 International Home Staging Awards, which was even featured in Apartment Therapy!

Ashley shares the many design decisions she made and what went wrong! We also do a deep dive Q&A covering the new “Coastal Grandma” trend, pre-sales consultations, real vs. fake plants, and so much more.

Ashley is so incredibly creative and the combination of her education and life experience makes her so well suited to home staging.

Connect With Ashley

Ashley’s website: www.housecandystaging.com

Ashley’s Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/housecandyhome 

Ashley’s Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/house.candy.home/ 

Ashley’s Pinterest profile: https://www.pinterest.com/housecandyhome

Ashley’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-tapley-b234447/

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.staged4more.com/17hats 

Check out Ashley’s winning project in more detail in our online community at https://www.staged4more.school 

Ready to build your home staging career but don’t know where to start? Join me on September 13th at our Open House and participate in live talks and Q&As, while learning about our offerings.

If you’re ready to dive deep into your home staging business, join me and Elaine Penhaul in Italy this October 2nd-7th for a special Working Retreat for Home Stagers.

On this first episode of the special mini series, Marketing Your Home Staging Business, I shared 5 tips on preparing what to say when you are marketing to real estate agents on a live stream on Instagram. In these 5 tips, I covered what not to say in front of a real estate agent, different meeting scenarios with realtors, plus, what motivates real estate agents to work with you.

I also answered people questions live during the live stream on Instagram, such as:

• Is now a good time to start a home staging business?

• I am not ready to start my home staging business, but would you recommend me start networking with agents?

• How do you convince realtors to work with you?

• How can I start a home staging business?

An attractive home staging business website is crucial in today’s real estate business. We not only need a place online to house all of our beautiful home staging photos, we also need to leverage its SEO (Search Engine Optimization) power to be found online. Our website also serves as a communication tool to help our potential home staging clients understand why they should hire us vs. our competitors.

In this episode of The Home Staging Show podcast, our International Home Staging Awards 2020 Winner Christine Cowles of Styled and Staged Santa Barbara shared her process of creating her award-winning home staging business website and how she leveraged her website to attract more home staging clients.

Are you obsessively using data to track key metrics in your home staging business? You’ll be surprised to learn that some of the most successful home staging businesses rely on their numbers to be more effective.

Today’s guest is Elaine Penhaul, an award-winning home stager and the owner of Lemon + Lime Interiors in the UK. She has a full team of salespeople, movers, and stagers, but she’s also wildly passionate about data and believes it’s an essential marketing tool for every home staging business.

You’ll hear more about Elaine’s incredible new app, Stageflow, and how tracking a set of key metrics for every staging project has helped her become a more effective home stager. We also talk about the importance of creating case studies, the gap Elaine is filling with Stageflow, along with the plateaus of running a home staging business (and why you need to be thinking about your exit strategy!)

Connect With Elaine

Elaine’s website: https://www.lemonandlimeinteriors.co.uk 

Elaine’s app, Stageflow: https://www.stagercon.com/stageflow 

Elaine’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lemonandlimeinteriors/ 

Elaine’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemonandlimeinteriors/ 

Elaine’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemonandlimeinteriors/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, Stageflow: https://www.stagercon.com/stageflow 

Stageflow provides real estate agents, property developers, and home stagers with powerful data collection and reporting tools. 

Enroll in our upcoming marketing workshops for home stagers. Learn how to market your home staging business online and build a marketing plan that gets staging clients. 

Join me and Elaine on one of our upcoming home stager retreats! Join us in Florence, Italy from September 17-22, 2023, or in Tuscany, Italy from September 23-30, 2023. Click here to learn more and sign up. These retreats are designed to elevate your staging business by aligning your action plan for the next 12 months with the goals and dreams you have for your business and your life.

Apply to speak at this year’s StagerCon! Our theme for 2023 is how to build multiple streams of income in your home staging business.

Ticha Kaewnoi is a 26-year old interior designer and home stager based in Bangkok, Thailand who works with private clients and real estate developers. Her style is bold and beautiful and it’s no surprise she was a winner in last year’s International Home Staging Awards for a high-end condo she completed. While the real estate market is heating up in Bangkok, home staging is not very popular or common in Asia yet, so Ticha’s work is centrally specialized in staging for show homes and model home units. She works more with developers than she does home owners.

It’s fascinating to talk about different home staging business models with Ticha and explore how staging is approached in different parts of the world. At the end, Ticha also shares how she creates custom artwork for her interior design and staging projects at an affordable price point. You’re not going to believe how easy and genius this idea is. I’m going to steal it for myself!

Here’s Today’s Listener Question:

I did my first home staging consultation. It was on a vacant home. The home is a model home for new construction townhomes in a community which attracts many young professionals as well as those looking to downsize. I did not want to say no to a business opportunity, however, since I am just starting out, I do not have any inventory. If I am asked to help stage this home, how do you recommend I go about getting the furniture without going over my head in inventory expenses.

There are so many moving pieces when it comes to selling your house. In fact, it can be a very emotional, chaotic, and stressful time for a home seller. I’ve certainly encountered my fair share of difficult clients throughout my staging career, and this is a topic that isn’t often talked about in our industry. 

It’s important to understand how to navigate these stickier situations with empathy and create a winning experience for your clients, so I’m bringing in my team member Courtney Davies to have this conversation. Courtney is our Marketing Coordinator as well as a birth doula. She also has experience in trauma-informed care. We cover everything from boundaries, to love languages, and more. You won’t want to miss this one!

Want to connect with Courtney and discuss this episode? Head to our Facebook Group The Home Staging Show!

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.staged4more.com/blog/review-17hats 

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: BEDROOM

Take the Love Language Quiz

Read The Five Love Languages book

Don't forget to check out our Anniversary Giveaway this Friday! Go to www.staged4more.com/giveaway to see all the details and prizes.

Here’s Today’s Listener Question:

What are the key things that I can do to market my new home staging business with good ROI?

One of the less glamorous but incredibly important aspects of owning or selling a home is keeping pests out and their damage to a minimum. Today’s guest is an expert on natural and eco-friendly pest control, and he has some super-helpful tips for keeping insects, rodents, and other troublemakers away from your homes.

Franklin Hernandez is a part of Nature Pest, an Integrated Pest Management Company located in Miami, Florida. They specialize in eco-friendly, natural, and organic pest control for homes, lawns, and gardens. Franklin also hosts the Pest Geek Podcast, a show dedicated to training pest control professionals around the world on Integrated Pest Management and teaching consumers that real pest control is not chemically dependent.

Franklin and I talk about the pest control industry and why it’s shifting away from chemical-heavy treatments. Franklin also shares his top pest control tips for homeowners that will be selling their homes in the near future, and talks a bit about what you should budget and look for when hiring someone to do pest control for you.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.

Today on the show, we have another amazing home stager who is so genuine and transparent about what it was like to grow her home staging business. Theresa Ceglio is the CEO and Founder of We Stage Jacksonville, a home staging company specializing in vacant and luxury home staging projects.

If you’re just starting out on your home staging journey, this episode will change your perspective on pricing, working with top-producing real estate agents, and investing in warehouse space, as you’ll hear how Theresa acquired her first home staging project, and even landed on the cover of a local magazine. She once almost walked away from her business altogether, but I’m glad she didn’t so you can benefit from her wisdom and advice.

We have a return guest on the show today, and this time she’s here to talk all about the pros and cons of virtual home staging. This can be a pretty controversial topic in the home staging world, so I wanted to hear what Krisztina had to say about why virtual home staging can be a good option for some real estate agents and home sellers.

Krisztina Bell is an Atlanta-based home stager, vacant properties specialist, and the pioneer of “virtual staging”. She provides her clients with over 14 years of experience in the real estate and home staging industries. 

Krisztina and I talk about why she decided to add virtual home staging to her services and why she thinks it makes staging more accessible to more people. We talk a bit about how virtual staging allows agents to present rooms in a variety of different ways, why this might be overwhelming for clients, and other pros and cons of virtual staging. 

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.

This week, I am answering a few listener’s questions on the business of home staging. In the episode, I talked about a few key design principles when it comes to staging homes, dealing with your self-doubt as a new home stager, how occupied home stagers can build portfolios, the importance of clarity and mindset in your work, and tips on buying home staging inventory.

Today’s show is all about real estate photography! We talked a lot about the technical side of photography, like white balance, exposure, ISO, etc. We also talked about the styling side of things, especially how differently the camera sees the room vs. the human eyes and how that impact the way we place things in the room.

On today’s show, I am interviewing Kris Kandel, a photographer in the Fargo area, specializing in weddings and real estate photography since 2001. She has always been drawn to architecture in her photography work, so it was a natural step to include home photography in her business. A few years ago she bought a little 1948 fixer up and loved getting her hands dirty with DIY projects to make this old house an adorable home. In her free time she enjoys volunteering at her local AKC dog club teaching the Canine Good Citizen classes with her beautiful dog Bokeh. She also runs a podcast on courage and curiosity with her sister. It's her passion to create, bringing light and joy into the world in any way she can. 

Here’s Today’s Listener Question:
My struggle is to what directions I should focus on and how I can start to network and create my client base. Website? Business name? Portfolio not yet, how do I start to create my portfolio? Capital budget? Thank you very much! Looking forward to hear you soon. Have a lovely weekend. Helena R.

This is a bit of a personal episode! In this episode, I went solo to get real about the ebb and flow of running a business, my vision for the school, the need of prioritizing your own personal health and how I am navigating through all this.

I am also super grateful for you! The school really became possible because of the podcast, and amazing listeners and supporters like you made it all possible.

In order to consistently deliver the best staging experiences for your clients, you need to automate, delegate, and leverage technology.

We’ll talk about “feeding into your funnel” with content batching, creating workflows, how to future proof your home staging business, and how we can grow our businesses even more rapidly with referral programs and focusing on the highest income-producing activities. At the end of the episode, there’s a brief Q&A about pricing and pushing the value of home staging to real estate agents.

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our free community to watch the video replay of today’s Community Talk: https://www.staged4more.school 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.staged4more.com/17hats 

Check out our shop to find the Book of Scripts that contains all of our favorite templates and guides.

Small business attorney Allie Moore is hosting a 1-hour workshop on April 5th where you can ask any legal questions you want about running your home staging business. Learn more about all of our upcoming workshops here.

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program and join Stage 2 from April-July where we’ll focus on honing your systems. Applications close on April 1st!

Want to know something I always get DMs about on Instagram? Sales. You’re wondering how you can get more home staging clients, how to sell authentically without being “salesy”, and how to refine your process.

With 25+ years of experience selling to such prestigious organizations as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett-Packard, and NASA, Nikki Rausch, CEO of Sales Maven, has the unique ability to transform the misunderstood process of “selling”.

Nikki and I talk about her organic approach to selling, her 5-step “Selling Staircase”, the biggest mistakes home stagers are making in their sales process, buying signals that can lead to a sale, and so much more. This conversation is chock full of selling wisdom, so get ready to take some notes!

You can also join Nikki and I on October 20th for a live workshop all about this topic. Visit our website to learn more.

Connect With Nikki

Nikki’s Website: https://yoursalesmaven.com/

Nikki’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/yoursalesmaven/ 

Nikki’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your_sales_maven/ 

Nikki’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolerausch/

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our new, free community: https://www.staged4more.school 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Check out Nikki’s free ebook, Closing The Sale: https://yoursalesmaven.com/staged

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: BATHROOM

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program

For the final episode of season 9, we’re talking about the business side of home staging and why it’s so important to focus not just on your revenue, but on your profit margins. I speak to a lot of new stagers with questions about how much profit they should be making, whether they should buy or rent furniture, and other important business considerations. To talk all about profit and building a sustainable, healthy business, we’re joined by the brilliant Michele Williams!

Michele Williams is sought after for her ability to easily explain complex business principles and processes in a simple, straightforward way. With a varied background in working in small, medium and large businesses, Michele has a great grasp on the scalability factors that are essential to growing a business.

Michele offers up so much great advice in this episode. She shares her background in business and explains how the Profit First model works and why she thinks it’s such an effective way to manage the cash flow of your business. We also discuss whether new stagers should buy their own inventory and why you should classify your inventory as an asset. And we get into some super useful stuff about mindset, things that hold us back in business, and how you can increase your net profit.

You can find complete show notes and more information at https://www.staged4more.com/podcast 

Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Home Staging Show!

And HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I know it's almost the end of January, but still, happy new year! You haven't heard it from me yet. 🤓

I did a Facebook & Instagram Live yesterday to give you the recap of our 2020, my personal recap and some of the goals that I have for the School this year.

PLUS! Some really exciting updates we have coming up for next month! We're doing a GIANT giveaway to celebrate our 15th anniversary and the Lunar New Year! We will be giving away 88 PRIZES!!

AND! A mini StagerCon! We will be hosting a free StagerCon Retreat (online, of course) at the end of the February. Be sure to keep an eye out on your inbox on this!

Do join our Facebook group too so you can comment on the show! You can also comment on the show notes. I’d love to hear from you and know what you think about the episodes.  If you have a chance, please do leave a review on iTunes. That will help us build our show and invite more amazing guests for the podcast.

Welcome back to another episode of The Home Staging Show!

I know we’ve been on an accidental hiatus when our previous podcast editor left to focus on his health. I am excited to report that we are getting back on track, plus a few exciting updates at the school during today’s episode!

As usual, I would love to hear more about what you want to see at the school. For example, topics for live workshops, community talks, etc.

Feel free to DM me on IG @staged4more or leave a comment below ❤️.

On today’s show, I answered listeners’ questions on social media marketing for their home staging businesses. Here are the questions:

• I really just don’t know how to market to the realtor. I think I am a little intimidated by them. I always think they are too busy to entertain what I have to offer. 

• I am just starting a home staging business. I'm a graphic designer and this will be another revenue stream for me in the "visual arts" arena. I love interior design, have done only 1 job so far with a realtor (for free - for experience!) and have staged a couple friends and families homes for sale. I'm wanting to know how to properly network starting out - how do you get your first "real" paying job when you are just building business/inventory. How do you get the realtors to give you a chance when first starting...

• I'm stuck when it comes to making presentations at real estate offices and getting myself in front of agents. I've done almost no marketing so far and have been lucky to get referrals... but when the slow times come I know I need to be putting more time into marketing. Then I get overwhelmed where to start (this is least favorite part of the business for me, so it is the easiest to put as last on my "to do" list). What are 3 most effective ways to reach realtors?

As you have probably seen on your social media, platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are putting more and more emphasis on video content.  So, it is super important to think about how to leverage videos for your marketing.  Now I know a lot of people don’t feel comfortable on camera at all, I’m certainly one of them, so I have invited Heidi to chat with us today about her expertise in being on camera and also how  to feel more confident when you’re being filmed.  

Heidi is incredibly experienced in this field. She has been a very seasoned TV reporter for Fox Sports, but also interviewed some of the biggest names and covered some of the largest events in Sports Entertainment, including the Winter Olympics, The Grammys, The American Music Awards, major movie premiers and the Super Bowl. 

With a love of architecture, good design and great lines, Robin DeCapua, owner and designer of Madison Modern Home, can look at a space from all angles, take it apart, and put it back together in a whole new way. She’s a self-proclaimed sourcing expert who enjoys the thrill of the hunt for unique furniture, art and décor to bring artful composition, form, and balance to her clients’ homes.

Having Robin on the show is such a treat. I’ve admired her work and point of view for a long time. Her staging is always very cohesive and the styling is consistent. 

When it comes to defining your home staging style, this episode is chock full of great tips. Robin and I explore how her home staging style has evolved over the years, the delicate balance of working and creative energy, why Los Angeles is one of the best markets to grow a home staging venture, and the magic of Pinterest and Instagram as visual inspiration and influence for your work.

Connect With Robin

Robin’s Website: www.madmodhome.com 

Robin’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/madisonmodernhome 

Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MadModHome 

Robin’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MadMod_Home/ 

Robin’s Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/madisonmodern/

Robin’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-decapua-963b8712

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: KITCHEN

Enroll in the Exposure to Profits course to learn interior photography for your home staging business.

Here’s Today’s Listener Question:

I'm very new to home staging, just starting to get myself educated. While doing some research I noticed a lot of companies like to advertise how long they've been in business and why that means they are reliable and successful. I obviously won't be able to claim any of that; how do I not highlight my lack of experience in the field while still convincing prospective clients that I am talented and worth their consideration?

Welcome back to The Home Staging Show, where we bring you the latest insights and tips on all things home staging. In today's episode, we have home stager Aileen Crapps, who specializes in staging mobile homes. She shares her expertise on how she transforms these properties into irresistible spaces that attract buyers. From considering the surrounding amenities to incorporating decor specific to her real estate market, Aileen knows all the tricks of the trade. Additionally, she offers her advice on networking with real estate associations and investors. We also dive into the world of mobile homes, debunking misconceptions and discovering the advantages of these housing options. Join us as we explore Aileen’s approach to creating stunning mobile home interiors and learn how to navigate the challenges of real estate investment. Let's get started with this episode of The Home Staging Show!

On this last episode of the special mini series, Marketing Your Home Staging Business, I shared 5 tips on how to build a consistent clientele for your home staging business: the key things you must do, what you must find out about your potential clients and why a marketing system is so crucial in your success is a home stager.

Enrollment for the 6-Figure Floor Plan Mastermind course is now open! Check out our courses at staged4more.school

Today we’re getting into the nitty gritty of managing your money as a home stager: from knowing your numbers, unblocking your money mindset stories, to the three numbers that you need to be looking at each month, how to structure your compensation as a business owner, and the actual difference between bookkeepers, CFOs, and CPAs!

Danielle Hayden is a reformed corporate CFO who's on a mission to help rule-breaking female entrepreneurs understand their numbers so that they can gain the confidence to create sustainable profits. 

After spending 10+ years in a boardroom, Danielle is now in her sweet spot as the CEO of Kickstart Accounting, where she helps business owners with bookkeeping, financial analysis, and education.

Connect With Danielle

Danielle’s website: https://kickstartaccountinginc.com 

Danielle’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kickstartaccountinginc 

Danielle’s Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/kickstartaccounting/ 

Danielle’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kickstart-accounting-inc-/ 

Danielle’s Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/DanielleHaydenProfitPlanner/ 

Danielle’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/KickstartAcct 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.Staged4more.com/17hats 

Our Black Friday sale is coming up! If you're interested, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of our website. You can also follow us on Instagram at @staged4more because we'll be announcing the sale there too. 

We’re hosting a retreat in Palm Springs next year! Join us January 7th-12th and we’ll help you generate your marketing plan for 2023. Learn more at https://www.staged4more.com/retreat. 

Check out the book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz for a suggested methodology on setting up your compensation structure.

In this episode, I looked back at some major milestones The Home Staging Show has achieved in 2022 and shared our major goals and development at the school. 

On this second episode of the special mini series, Marketing Your Home Staging Business, I shared 5 tips on preparing what to say when you are marketing to homeowners on a live stream on Instagram.

In these 5 tips, I covered what not to say in front of homeowners, what are some of the common myths homeowners may have about home staging and how to market to a large group of people quickly without investing a great deal of money.

If you want to catch me live, make sure you follow me on Instagram @staged4more!

Instagram will remind you when I go live and you can hop on to ask your questions!

If you have not yet signed up on next week’s free marketing training for home stagers, sign up here.

Is your to-do list so long that you never get to all the tasks on your list? It might be time to hire a remote virtual assistant to support you.

Tonya Thomas is the founder of Team Delegate, providing elite virtual executive assistant support to seasoned executives and CEOs who want to grow their teams and revenue, while freeing up their time.

Together, we talk about how delegating can help create consistency in our businesses while doubling our time, how to find and hire a VA, the art of time blocking, and growing our leadership style so we can scale, hand off tasks effectively, and build a business we truly love.

If you’ve ever felt intimidated or even hesitant to outsource in your business, this episode will equip you with the tools and confidence to do so!

Connect With Tonya

Tonya’s website: https://teamdelegate.com 

Tonya’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/teamdelegate 

Tonya’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyabthomas/ 

Tonya’s podcast, Unbottleneck Your Business: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unbottleneck-your-business/id1562905217 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.Staged4more.com/17hats 

Our Black Friday sale is coming soon and you’ll be able to save 20-40% on some of our bestselling courses! Sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of our website to be the first to know when the sale is live. You can also follow us on Instagram at @staged4more because we'll be announcing the sale there too. 

We’re hosting a retreat in Palm Springs next year! Join us January 7th-12th and we’ll help you generate your marketing plan for 2023. Learn more at https://www.staged4more.com/retreat.

Nina Doiron, owner of iSO Design, combines her marketing expertise and eye for design to help homeowners and realtors in the Greater Toronto area attract dream buyers. If you’re a new home stager, you’re going to love Nina’s in-depth wisdom on navigating pricing objections and not undervaluing your services. 

You’ll hear how hot the real estate market is in Toronto, why she opted in favor of pricing transparency on her website, an inside look at her team and the additional services she offers, and why Nina chose to not carry her own furniture inventory. 

Nina is also a Certified Ultimate Stager and a member of the Professional Organizers of Canada. Her staging company is recognized for superior customer service by Houzz.

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win a $100 Staged4More gift card. This month’s theme is: KITCHEN

Register for our free online workshop to learn more about how to start a new home staging business.

Enroll in our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program. 

Listen to Nina’s first appearance on the podcast: Organize and Stage Your Home with Stager & Organizer Nina Doiron

Hiring is so pivotal to the growth of your home staging business. Are you wearing a million different hats because you don't feel ready to outsource and delegate? 

Today’s conversation with Jamie Van Cuyk of Growing Your Team draws on her 15+ years of leadership experience and is like a mini workshop in mastering the art of hiring.

Jamie and I cover it all - from avoiding being the bottleneck in our businesses, to figuring out when and who we need to hire, compensation strategies, managing a remote team, and dealing with family and friends who want to work with you. You’ll walk away with so many takeaways and a game plan for your next hire.

BONUS: Download Jamie’s hiring checklist and learn the 8 action steps you need to complete for a successful hiring process.

Connect With Jamie

Jamie’s website: https://growingyourteam.com/ 

Jamie’s podcast: https://growingyourteam.com/podcast/ 

Jamie’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GrowingYourTeam/ 

Jamie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growingyourteam/ 

Jamie’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamievancuyk/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, Stageflow: https://www.stagercon.com/stageflow 

Stageflow provides real estate agents, property developers, and home stagers with powerful data collection and reporting tools. 

Celebrate our 17th anniversary and get all of our staging, courses, templates, scripts, and checklists for 17% off! Click here to learn more.

Download Jamie’s hiring checklist and learn the 8 action steps you need to complete for a successful hiring process.

Enroll in our upcoming marketing workshops for home stagers. Learn how to use AI and ChatGPT. 

Join me and Elaine on one of our upcoming home stager retreats! Join us in Florence, Italy from September 17-22, 2023, or in Tuscany, Italy from September 23-30, 2023. Click here to learn more and sign up. These retreats are designed to elevate your staging business by aligning your action plan for the next 12 months with the goals and dreams you have for your business and your life.

Apply to speak at this year’s StagerCon! Our theme for 2023 is how to build multiple streams of income in your home staging business.

Jamie recommends checking out Salary.com and Payscale, along with Glassdoor and LinkedIn to get ideas of salary ranges for roles.

If you’re in the beginning stages of launching or growing your home staging business, you’re going to love this inspiring, genuine, and informative conversation with Elisha Niebuhr of Modern Interior Staging Company.

In this episode, Elisha’s passion for home staging, being a Mom, and finding balance in her life and business is a joy to listen to. As a fellow book and business nerd, you’ll learn how her past background in sales management (and even being a ballet dancer!) has benefitted her business.

We dive into how Elisha took our 6-Figure Floor Plan course, found her first client, and gradually grew to a team of 3, and we explore the art of pricing and inventory in a major way. (Hint: you’ll even hear what Elisha thinks is the bare minimum price you should charge on a home staging project!)

I can’t wait to hear what your takeaways are from this conversation.

Louise O’Kane is a branding pro and graphic designer at Lulacreates who works closely with female founders and small businesses to create holler-worthy brand identity and marketing graphics so they feel 100% confident in their brand.

When you’re just starting out as a home stager, it’s okay to take the DIY approach, but as you grow, you’ll reach a point where you want to have a more united color palette and a cohesive brand identity on your website and social media so you can feel more professional. Louise is generous with her advice and tips in this conversation. You’ll learn how to build a brand on a budget, a fascinating strategy for making the customer journey so much easier, and how to evoke your personality in your brand so you can attract dream clients.

We also share the evolution of the Staged4More brand and how Louise played with patterns and textures to create the final concept.

You only get one chance to make a good first impression, and nowhere is this more obvious than when we’re looking at a house. I’ve seen it plenty of times: clients pull up to a house for a viewing, but are so put off by the outside that they don’t even want to go in! Having a landscape that’s tidy, beautiful, and welcoming can do wonders for your happiness while living in your home and be a boost when you’re ready to sell it, too. And our guest today is an expert on exactly that!

Ben Hale is a DIY landscape design coach and owner of Easy Living Yards.  His work helps busy homeowners create the beautiful yard they deserve with the least maintenance possible. He teaches his clients through the Easy Living Yards Podcast and membership, so they can have more time to enjoy their yard with pride. 

Ben shares a wealth of information with us today about how to design a landscape that looks beautiful and saves you money, time, and headaches. He shares some specific advice for home stagers and sellers about how to stage your landscape so it looks as welcoming and tidy, and we talk about some simple curb-checks you can do to make sure your house looks great to prospective buyers. 

You can find complete show notes and more information at https://www.staged4more.com/podcast 

It’s safe to say I’m obsessed with home stager Alice Decker of Decker8 Designs. As a winner of this year’s International Home Staging Awards in the New Construction category, Alice comes into this conversation with a unique point of view and an eye for detail, having worked in photography, real estate, and interior architecture in the past. 

Her journey into home staging wasn’t perfectly linear and she’s generous in sharing her story of how she got to where she is today, from mentoring under HGTV star Tera Hampton, to working with builders and establishing strong relationships with realtors. Alice’s upscale and welcoming designs have left a lasting impression on buyers. 

Connect With Alice

Alice’s Website: https://decker8designs.com 

Alice’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/decker8designs 

Alice’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/decker8designs/ 

Alice’s Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/decker8designs/_created/ 

Alice’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@decker8designs 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join our new, free community: https://www.staged4more.school 

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.17hats.com 

Sign up for our live workshop with Nikki Rausch on November 15th from 1-3pm PST: Mastering the Sales Conversation for Home Stagers.

Learn about our comprehensive Home Staging Professional Career Certification Program

It’s time to take a peek behind the curtain into a successful home staging business, and we’re getting into it all: workflows, what it’s like working with a team of 10+, investing in inventory systems, hiring and onboarding, pricing, 3D renderings as an add-on service, and knowing your numbers and your value as a home stager. 

Lori Pedersen is one of the most celebrated experienced teachers in our industry. Based in Toronto, Ontario, her talent as a pro home stager has earned her top awards every year in the categories of vacant and occupied staging and most recently, luxury staging.

This conversation with Lori has so many nuggets of wisdom and she is so generous in what she shares with us today, it will no doubt inspire you as you continue growing and scaling your home staging business.

Connect With Lori

Lori’s website: https://loripedersen.ca 

Lori’s Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/LPHomeStaging/ 

Lori’s Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/loripedersenhome/ 

Lori’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/loripedersenhome/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.Staged4more.com/17hats

Hiring an interior designer can be a tricky sell for many homeowners and renters. For many people, interior design feels like it’s way outside of their budget.

The lack of affordable interior design was a gap in the market that today’s guest, Betsy Helmuth, saw and realized she was meant to fill.

Betsy Helmuth is the owner of Affordable Interior Design and a nationally celebrated interior designer. She wrote a popular DIY design book, “Big Design, Small Budget: Create a Glamorous Home in Nine Thrifty Steps”, and hosts a weekly home decorating podcast by the same name.

Betsy and I talk about the structure of the interior design industry and why Betsy wanted to offer a more affordable design service so that clients of any budget could afford to hire a designer. She also shares her tips for budgeting, creating a high-end look with wallet-friendly pieces, and some of the common design mistakes she sees homeowners (and even fellow designers!) make when designing a home. Betsy is incredibly generous with her advice in this episode – don’t miss out!

You can find complete show notes and more information at https://www.staged4more.com/podcast 

Have you ever wondered what it would take to get your home staging projects covered in a major publication like Apartment Therapy?

Madeline Bilis is about to break it all down. As a writer, editor, and Lifestyle Deputy Director at Apartment Therapy who is also going to be on the jury at this year’s International Home Staging Awards, Madeline shares EXACTLY what you need to include (and leave out!) of your pitch.

It’s fascinating to get a behind the scenes peek at Apartment Therapy’s editorial team, how they plan content and generate inspiring story ideas, 2022 real estate trends, and the importance of great lifestyle photography that’s accessible, without being too aspirational.

Connect With Madeline

Apartment Therapy’s Real Estate Section: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/real-estate 

Apartment Therapy’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apartmenttherapy/

Apartment Therapy’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/apartmenttherapy/videos 

Madeline’s Email: madeline.bilis@apartmenttherapy.com

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.staged4more.com/17hats 

Sign up for Apartment Therapy’s free 6-week newsletter, Home Economics.

Submissions are now open for the 2022 International Home Staging Awards! Early bird submission ends on April 14, 2022 at 11:59pm EST: https://www.stagingawards.com 

Join our free Monthly Staging Challenge for a chance to win 5 entries to this year’s International Home Staging Awards. This month’s theme is: KITCHEN

Sign up for our next 2-hour workshop, Presenting Your Staging Business to get live feedback on your presentation style. Learn more about all of our upcoming workshops here.

Check out Apartment Therapy’s books: The Eight-Step Home Cure, Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces, and Complete & Happy Home.

Pinterest is one of the most powerful tools we have as home stagers to boost our marketing efforts. Beyond the pretty photos and staging inspiration, Pinterest is an incredible search engine that generates traffic for long-tail keywords and it has evolved a LOT in the last few years.

Kate Ahl, founder of Simple Pin Media, is here to teach us her favorite strategies for using it to its fullest potential in your home staging business. Kate and her team apply a data-driven approach to crafting Pinterest strategies, and to date, they’ve worked with over 700 (!!) Pinterest accounts at their agency.

Get ready to learn about the unique culture of Pinterest as a platform, including “idea pins”, how to use short-form video, and how they’re standing out next to Instagram and TikTok.

Connect With Kate

Kate’s Website: https://www.simplepinmedia.com 

Kate’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/simplepinmedia 

Kate’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplepinmedia/ 

Kate’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-ahl/ 

Kate’s Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/simplepinmedia/_created/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.staged4more.com/17hats 

Join me and Elaine Penhaul in Italy this October 2nd-7th for a special Working Retreat for Home Stagers. Early bird spots are available through July 31, 2022 (or until we sell out).

On today’s show, we talk about social media marketing for home stagers: What skills should I look for in a marketing professional? What is an average budget should I consider for marketing my home staging business? Where to invest marketing money, social media (what to post, when to post, hashtags to use), getting new realtors on board/getting new staging clients to see the value in the investment.

Color is one of the most essential aspects of home staging and interior design, and lucky for us we have a total rockstar with us on the podcast today to talk about all things color.

JoAnne Lenart-Weary is a Professional Interior Decorator and 40 year industry veteran who was staging and redesigning before the terms were even coined. She's also the creator of many industry tools such as the Confident Consultation, Decorating in the Zone, the Confident Color System, the DIY series and How to Decorate and Stage. She believes in arming you with information you can implement with a client immediately.

JoAnne delivers a total masterclass on choosing colors, color saturation, picking the right lighting, and so much more. We talk about why color is such a powerful presence in our lives and thus such an important tool for home stagers and designers to wield well. JoAnne and I also get into detail about which paints she prefers and how she picks them, her thoughts on different paint finishes, and why you shouldn’t be scared to bring color into your staging.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.