12 Lessons for Building a Successful Home Staging Business

Home staging is absolutely by far the easiest business model to start. Why? Because you have agent partners who can give you business over and over again. Once you create about five agent partners (or sometimes it's just one) that's just like your best friend, then you're never marketing yourself again. So it's a kind of slam dunk business model. That's why I train first on staging in week one then design in week 3.

She was able to pivot her business and find that need to design, so when you're running into roadblocks in your home staging business...I don't want you to look at those as closed doors. Too many times I hear stories like Megan's where they are open doors to start something new and pivot your business into a direction that may make even more sense for you.

What is your market's biggest struggles and how can your design talent be the answer?

What do they look like?  Where do they hang out? What do they drink, you know, all of those things and write that down.  Then ask yourself, what do they want to see in their designer and stager and how can I fit that? What are their struggles with their design interiors? In this case, their struggles were the dated vacation second homes they were buying needed modernizing. 

She was clear on her "mountain modern" design style and fit her brand around her art and her interests.  

She taps into the local community by shopping boutiques and art galleries because when somebody buys a vacation rental home, they want the home to reflect that community. They want to feel like they're a part of it, even if they're an outsider.

She had all the tools and the resources through my training. One of those resources is connecting immediately to trade vendors. I have a lot to say about trade vendors and best shopping practices but the most important thing is to find your lane and be awesome at it.  Not everyone is her client and that is okay.

Position your home staging business on VALUE and not on PRICING

In my free, E-Design workshop I show you how to do this easily and while I know there is a lot to know in this industry...staying on top of technology and using visuals is key!

A picture is worth a thousand words, so use it in your home staging business to showcase your talent!

You're talented. You've been perfecting your art all your life if you've got a passion for design and have been rearranging rooms since you were a kid.

In my staging certification training, I'm going to walk you through how to communicate that design art and obviously go through the rules of design. There's a lot of different rules out there that you need to know and communicate with clients. Having gone through my training, Megan could confidently stand on the fact that she had a talent in design. I mean, there's no question when you look at her photos!  She follows my rules of arrangement.   She follows my rules of scale.  She follows my rules of color, rhythm and numbers.

Take time connecting those valuable vendors that will support your business and make you money!  As a trainer, I spend a TON of time doing that on behalf of my members.  Relationships are key.

Package your services in such a way that your clients love you!   Have services that fit multiple budgets, have clear deliverables and visuals, as well as a page explaining exactly how you work.

Once she had the marketing and business coming in, she invested in a warehouse and truck, so she could receive the furnishings and do the install in ONE BIG HGTV MOMENT REVEAL.  She invested in her process and package instead of playing small.

She positioned the design plan in such a way that it was free to the client with a retainer of XX amount that got credited to their shopping budget.  In other words, the design plan was free and she made the income on what the client purchased because of her wholesale connections (like a furniture store does).

By expanding into design she's hedged her business well and able to offer many design service options to multiple types of clients.  In fact, each client she's worked with now wants her to design on their primary home!