Holiday home staging advice from Staging Diva

Here we are approaching the middle of December. There's a good chance that if you're called for a home staging project anytime between now and the New Year, you will have a holiday decorating dilemma to deal with.

In a recent post on the Home Staging Business Report, I've shared my best home staging tips for the holidays. You can read that post here.

Staging Diva doesn't advertise her home address!

It's a great freedom, being able to work from home as professional home stager. Since we go to our clients' homes to conduct our consultations and staging projects, there is not one single reason why a client ever needs to visit their stager's office.

That's why there's no need for you to give away the location of your business - your home address.

Click here to read a recent post on the Home Staging Business Report about this topic.

Home staging accessories should belong to the home owner

A lot of people put off their dream of learning home staging because they're afraid of incurring a lot of debt stocking up on art, towels, accessories and bedding for home staging projects.

But if you’ve been putting off your desire to learn home staging because you’re not financially prepared to purchase these items up front, you should know you have other options.

To learn more about how I handle the process of obtaining accessories for my home staging projects, read this post on the Home Staging Business Report.

The Staging Diva Celebrates Birthday with Home Staging Training Sale

Today is my 50th birthday. This time last year I was preoccupied with trying to shake off the “getting old blues.” Of course, turning 49 wasn’t as bad as I was making it out to be and over the past year, I’ve come to terms with my age and I’m welcoming my 50s with open arms.

I hope you’ll help me celebrate reaching this milestone by participating in my 50th Birthday Sale! From now until October 30, depending on how much you spend at the Staging Diva® Store, you can save $50, $100 or $150 on your purchases.

For more details visit http://www.stagingdiva.com/store

Staging Diva embraces turning 50

Yes, I’m turning 50 this month! To be honest, I was more upset last year when I was turning 49, but I'm happy to report that I've come to terms with my age even though I don’t feel it and I certainly don’t consider myself old.

Last week I got a call from an aspiring home stager that saddened me. She said she was 46 and too old to start something new.


Visit this article on the Staging Diva Dispatch blog to see why this upset me so much and why I believe she's too old NOT to be doing something she loves.

Staging Diva is a home stager and a mom

Over the summer, I took a break from staging homes and put my energy instead into business planning and being a mom.

One of the best parts of being my own boss is that I get to take time out to do other things without ever requesting vacation time or waiting until the next holiday.

Maybe it was the break from staging and decorating other people's homes that made me channel my creative energy into my own house.

Read more about my summer and plans for the fall at the Home Staging Business Report.

Don't let a grade determine your future as a home stager

I’ve gotten many teary phone calls from people who have taken another training program and “just” fell short of the required 80% it takes to “qualify” for guaranteed employment as a home stager.

Many of these aspiring home stagers find that no matter how educated or talented they are, or how long they’ve been staging homes on their own, they can’t get that elusive 80% needed to successfully complete the program for the “guaranteed job.”

I don't believe you should let a grade determine whether or not you can make it as a home stager as I've explained in detail in this post on the Home Staging Business Report.

Beware of home staging snake oil

As anyone who has attended an Ask Staging Diva Live Event or taken my home staging training knows, I am always upfront and honest about how the home staging industry works. I'm always bothered when I see a company operating unethically.

Home staging training organizations, associations and others offering the latest “guaranteed staging job” or “get rich quick as a home stager” product are coming on the scene almost every month and most of them offer a different “credential” or “certification” for home stagers who sign up.

I recently wrote an article on this topic and posted it on the Home Staging Business Report. Read more about my take on home staging credentials here.

Staging Diva encourages aspiring stagers to get started sooner rather than later

If you're sitting there thinking you would enjoy being a home stager, but you're not sure enough to invest in training and other start up costs, I want to ask you something:

How will you ever know whether or not it's right for you until you try it?

Many Staging Diva Graduates have taken their home staging training later in life and most of them say they wish they’d done it years ago rather than wasting time in jobs they hated while stifling their creative spirit.

If you're struggling with the decision of whether or not to take the plunge and start a home staging business, this post on the Home Staging Business Report is a must-read for you.

Staging Diva doesn't move furniture!

Like any type of “reality TV”, most of the decorating shows on HGTV that you love, including those focusing on home staging, are pretty unrealistic. They’re really more about “entertainment” then they are about “reality.”

While a home staging program might show a stager going through and cleaning the house, painting the walls, buying new accessories and moving furniture around, that rarely happens in the real world.

I posted an article recently about how home staging is not physical work despite what you might think from watching HGTV. You can read it here on the Home Staging Business Report.

Home Staging is not deceitful

I’ve heard it said that home staging is actually a deceitful practice, meant to disguise real problems with a house, but this is just not the case. Home staging is really about letting a home’s best features shine through - it's not meant to hide serious problems that need to be addressed.

To read more about this topic in detail, visit this post about how home staging is not meant to cover real flaws, on the Home Staging Business Report.

Home Staging helps relocating sellers

Many people in a slow economy are forced to relocate as they're laid off from work and have to move for new jobs. Nobody wants to move before they've sold their house, so home staging becomes an appealing service for these home owners.

Sellers who never heard of home staging or didn't "believe" in it before they listed their property will become much more open to staging once they learn how much more it would cost them to pay two mortgages!

I've written an article on this topic in more detail on the Home Staging Business Report. You can read it here.

Staging Diva Shines Spotlight on Graduates

I love when Staging Diva Graduates write to me, sharing stories of how they're marketing their companies, or about exciting home staging projects they've been involved in.

Whenever a Staging Diva Graduate writes to me about themselves, I almost always take what they've sent and write an article about them, distributing it all over the Internet, or at the very least feature them in my home staging newsletter, the Staging Diva Dispatch.

If you'd like to read some of the success stories I've written about past students, you can do so at the Home Staging Business Report and at the Staging Diva Dispatch.

Staging Diva Report offers 14 Marketing Ideas for home stagers

There's no better time than the beginning of the busy spring real estate season for home stagers to try out some new marketing ideas. If you're having a tough time thinking up new ways to promote your staging business, check out the latest Staging Diva Report: 14 Marketing Ideas to Rev Up Your Home Staging Business.

You can read more about it here.

The Staging Diva says you needn't choose between a career in home staging or interior design

I get asked very often about what the difference is between Interior Redesign and Home Staging. People are also curious about whether they should do both, which services would be more expensive, and whether or not they can learn about both fields by taking the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

There is really only one major difference between home staging and interior redesign. Both sets of services require mostly the same skills except when you're staging a house, you're "decorating to sell" whereas with interior redisign, you're "decorating to live".

In a post on the Staging Diva Dispatch, I went into this topic in great detail. You can read that post here.

Over 250 aspiring stagers meeting me live tonight at Ask Staging Diva Event. I'm pumped for their questions!

Time to get the Staging Diva Team to vote on their fave choice from the 3 new cover designs I have. Really excited about my next book!

Why are people so ready to buy "stuff" they don't need, yet they won't invest in education that will actually change their lives?

Excited abt answering questions frm aspiring home stagers tonite in Ask Staging Diva Live event. Tons of opportunity with slow Real Estate.

Staging Diva comes face to face with Graduates at Interior Design Show

Last month I attended an Interior Design Show where I got to meet many Staging Diva Graduates. We were all there attending Trade Day; a great place to make connections with suppliers and to see what's new in the world of design.

I loved being able to meet so many Graduates and finally be able to put faces to their names!

You can read more and see the photos here at the Home Staging Business Report.

Staging Diva shares expertise through business coaching

Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, Debra Gould conducts coaching sessions with aspiring, new and established stagers needing guidance to move their businesses forward.

Any home stager can book an appointment for Staging Diva Accelerator Coaching - it's not exclusively for Staging Diva Graduates.

Read more here at the Staging Diva Dispatch blog in a post about different events hosted by Staging Diva on a regular basis as well additional information about coaching services.

Staging Diva offers free home staging course

New and aspiring home stagers can now sign up for a free home staging course from The Staging Diva.

12 Tips for a Successful Home Staging Business will help you determine if a career in home staging is right for you as well as:

* The truth about home staging accreditation
* How much money a home stager can make
* Why you shouldn’t give away free estimates
* How to prepare for your first home staging consultation
* and much more!

Learn more and sign up by clicking here.

New art available for Staging Diva Graduates' marketing

Graduates of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program now have access to a special badge to place on their websites.

This art will let Staging Diva Graduates' potential clients see at a glance where they received their home staging business training.

For more details, follow this link to a post on the Home Staging Business Report.

Staging Diva on Decorating Adventures of Ambrose Price

In my last post I promised to let you know when video would be available for viewing if you missed me on an HGTV program which aired in Canada on January 26.

Well, the video is now ready! Watch as I teach Ambrose Price the basics of home staging and find out if I'd be willing to hire him after looking at the condo he staged on his own. See it all here.

***

Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva knows how to make money as a home stager and is determined to inspire and teach others to do the same. There are over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates who have learned to use their decorating talents and run their own home staging business in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

Staging Diva on Television

On Monday evening (January 26), HGTV finally aired a program that I was involved in early in 2008. Unfortunately it only aired in Canada so far, and many people who were interested in seeing me "in action" staging a house have been emailing me, telling me they were disappointed that they couldn't see it.

I will be putting that footage on my website soon, but in the meantime, there is some video up already from some other programs I've done if you can't get enough of home staging and would like to check it out!

I'll post an update here when the HGTV footage is ready for you to see, so stay tuned!

***

Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva knows how to make money as a home stager and is determined to inspire and teach others to do the same. There are over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates who have learned to use their decorating talents and run their own home staging business in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

What's your home staging horoscope?

On January 1st, I shared a free gift with everyone who reads the Home Staging Business Report - some predictions for the new year!

The Staging Diva 2009 Home Staging Horoscope will tell you what's in store for your business in the coming year, no matter what your sign.

To order your copy, click here (it's free!).

***
Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva knows how to make money as a home stager and has taught over 1000 others to use their decorating talents and run their own home staging business in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program

Follow the Staging Diva on Twitter

Are you a member of Twitterville?!

I'm a big fan of the popular social networking tool, Twitter.com. It's quick and easy to use because you're limited to 140 characters per mini blog post to let your "followers" know what you're thinking or doing.

Look me up at http://twitter.com/stagingdiva

***

Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva knows how to make money as a home stager and has taught over 1000 others to use their decorating talents and run their own home staging business in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

Learn more about The Staging Diva

For anyone wanting to know more about what it's like to be a home stager, what the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program involves, or how I got into this business and became the Staging Diva, click here and sign up for a free event taking place tomorrow.



***
Home Staging expert Debra Gould aka The Staging Diva knows how to make money as a home stager and is determined to inspire and teach others to do the same. There are over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates who have learned to use their decorating talents and run their own home staging business in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.