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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!).

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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.



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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.

Beware of home staging training companies promising jobs

If you're being tempted by ads for home staging training companies guaranteeing employment upon graduation, please be careful.

I hear many stories from people who have enrolled in a program with the understanding they would be given jobs when they finished, starting at $31.45/hour. Sadly, people are finding that maybe these claims really are too good to be true.

There are a couple of problems, that I can see, with these claims.

First of all, home stagers make much more than $31.45/hour and secondly, home staging is not a field that offers guaranteed employment because home stagers generally run their own small businesses from home.

You can read more about this topic on the Business of Home Staging Blog.

Home Staging featured at CNNMoney.com

Back in July of this year, CNNMoney.com published a 21 page feature article on Home Staging. It included a description of what home staging is, my tips for selling quickly in a slow market and lots of before and after shots of my home staging projects. According to the article,

"Debra Gould, founder of Staging Diva has helped scores of homeowners clean up, rearrange, and style their homes to command top price."

I was pleased that the article linked to the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers. This exposure in the media always leads to more work for Staging Diva Graduates who are listed in the directory.

You can read the article here.

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Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva is president of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company that is frequently profiled in the media in both the US and Canada. Debra Gould developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging, real estate enhancement businesses.

Staging Diva on This Old House!

In July of this year, I was thrilled to discover that I was featured in a front page story on the This Old House website with some of my best home staging tips. What great exposure for the home staging industry and especially the more than 900 graduates of the Staging Diva Training Program and enjoyed some great leads I got from that article.

Read more about the entire This Old House experience on my Business of Home Staging blog.


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Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva is president of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company that is frequently profiled in the media in both the US and Canada. Debra Gould developed the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging, real estate enhancement businesses.