This is the third part of a series concerning acquiring “passports” which you will need in order to adequately pursue and receive your dreams. If you haven’t seen Part I you will need to start there to satisfactorily understand what this business with “passports” is all about. If you are interested in knowing which “passports” an excellent home stager uses you will want to look at Part II of the series.
You know you must sell your home and you are ready to begin collecting the “passports” which will be of the most importance to you concerning how to sell in the shortest amount of time and at the top end of the possible price range for your particular property. The following “passports” will serve you well and will be significant to realizing your dream of selling your property.
The first Passport a home seller needs is Proper Professionals to serve you in the process of preparing, merchandising and marketing your real estate. They are:
Real estate agent or broker
Home staging professional
After you have secured your real estate agent or your home stager you will be given information concerning which other professionals will be best suited to your particular needs. Some of the types of professionals home stagers will be able to recommend or provide for you on an as-needed basis are:
Landscaper or yard maintenance crew
House cleaning professionals
Pre-pack specialist
Moving company
Storage providers
Pet sitting providers
Handyman service
Painter
Plumber
Electrician
The Third Passport needed by a home seller is a Mind-set that today’s market is not yesterday’s market. The actual value of your property is guided and decided by what home buyers are willing to pay in the buyer’s market in which we presently find ourselves. Further, the Mind-set that your home has once again become a house and is a product to be displayed, to be promoted and to be sold.
Understanding that the professionals with whom you surround yourself have been chosen by you to boost your opportunities within the real estate market is your Fourth Passport. Additionally, you need to recognize that the advice, suggestions and guidance offered by these trained and specialized pros are given with the express purpose of easing your transition; finding the best way to minimize your expenses; and, most importantly, selling your real estate.
The Fifth Passport you need is A Budget which will take into account your time, skills and monetary involvement in the organizing of the tasks involved in properly preparing and displaying your real estate in today’s market.
Gathering and using the above passports will be your way of moving toward your dream. Collect these passports and get ready to move!
Information provided by Yvonne Root of rooms b.y. root located in central northern Arizona. Find the team of rooms b.y. root using the various passports acquired through time and purpose in Anthem, Prescott, PrescottValley, Cottonwood, the VerdeValley, CampVerde, Cornville, Dewey-Humboldt, Mayer, Spring Valley, CordesLakes, BlackCanyonCity, New River and surrounding communities.
A few months ago I noticed that my merry-go-round was spinning a bit faster than the speed at which I felt comfortable. But. . . but, I was having soooooooooooo much fun. Finally there came that moment when I recognized that growing my home staging business (a part of the fun) had to be a priority over some of the other things where I was involved.
One of the tasks I realized I should give up was that of moderating every other week for Stage it Forward and writing the Week in Review on that same week. Doggone it, I was having a blast and thought perhaps there was some other way to lighten the load. After a bit of thought and a few conversations with the crew at rooms b.y. root it became apparent that I would indeed have to let go of that particular “job.”
It has been a blast and a privilege to have been a part of the moderating gang. I’m grateful for the opportunity.
Thank you, Craig Schiller for opening the door for me.
Thanks to all of you for being such faithful readers and for all your great comments!
The ride is still turning and I’m still enjoying it – I just have one less task to be concerned about for a while as my home staging business in central northern Arizona grows.
In this, the second portion of the Passport Series, we will take a look at some passports which are important to growing a home staging business. If you haven’t already seen Part I you will need to take a look in order to understand what purchasing or acquiring multiple “passports” is all about.
Following is a segmented list of the various passports you will be using as a home stager.
In order to be prepared to serve your clients you will need a well stocked:
Various types of tape (duct, painters, electrical, etc.)
Mounting squares
Other items you will need while staging are:
Bottled water
Bottled water
Cleaning supplies
Marketing materials
A portable music system
A clock or watch
A timer
A notepad
Pens and pencils
A cell phone
A calendar (I use a Planner Pad others use a hand-held device)
Some alliances which will be beneficial to a home staging business are:
Real estate agents and brokers
Builders
Investors
Photographer
Landscaper
Garden cleaning and maintenance crew
Pre-pack specialist
House cleaning crew
Moving company
Storage providers
Pet sitting providers
Handyman service
Painter
Plumber
Electrician
Fellow home stagers
Some skills needed by a home stager are:
Ability to see the big picture
Attention to details
Understanding of basic design principles
Communication skills
Knowledge of various target market expectations
Awareness of real estate trends in your particular locale
Discernment concerning
Your clients’ needs
Your family’s needs
Your needs
Daily and life-long flexibility
If you don’t have all the passports listed above it is OK. At least you know which you will need to plan for. You may also decide that not all the passports are necessary for your particular home staging business. And, I’m sure there are other items or skills which you can add to the list.
One way to use the above lists is to print this article, check off the things you know you already have, then highlight the items, skills, alliances you want to have, and begin planning for how and when you will be acquiring them.
Decide which will require time, education or a monetary investment. Then decide how you will proceed toward your goal of attaining the passports you will need.
Information provided by Yvonne Root of rooms b.y. root located in central northern Arizona. Find the team of rooms b.y. root using the various passports acquired through time and purpose in Anthem, Prescott, PrescottValley, Cottonwood, the VerdeValley, CampVerde, Cornville, Dewey-Humboldt, Mayer, Spring Valley, CordesLakes, BlackCanyonCity, New River and surrounding communities.
Speaking of Answers, Karen Dembsky (with tongue planted firmly in cheek) gave us this fantastic bit of information to help our clients know all about using the Home Staging Stimulus for All!
The above quote from Winter’s book is written on a 3 X 5 card which is stuck in the French Memo Board that hangs at eye-level next to my computer.
That small reminder takes my mind back to the pages in which Winter describes how she realized she needed to purchase a passport if she truly believed in her dream of returning to England. The unfolding of the tale which goes from desire to dream to a trip to England is the backdrop Winters uses to help readers understand the importance of being prepared to receive their individual dreams.
When I began to understand the principles behind the story I also began to think in terms of which “passports” I needed to purchase or achieve in order to go to the place (being a great home stager) I wanted to go.
Following are some examples of what items or skills (passports) I already owned when preparing for my journey:
Business savvy
Display trained background
Interior Design education
Computer
Cell phone
Desk
Daily Planner
Here are some examples of items or skills (passports) which I found I needed to acquire:
Color laser printer
Marketing savvy
Separate office space
Another file cabinet
Business alliances
Wide variety of staging accessories
Quality steamer
You get the picture – being prepared requires thoughtfulness and, yes, some time and some money.
This is the first in a 3 part series concerning being prepared to receive your dreams.
Information provided by Yvonne Root of rooms b.y. root located in central northern Arizona. Find the team of rooms b.y. root using the various passports acquired through time and purpose in Anthem, Prescott, PrescottValley, Cottonwood, the VerdeValley, CampVerde, Cornville, Dewey-Humboldt, Mayer, Spring Valley, CordesLakes, BlackCanyonCity, New River and surrounding communities.
When you hire an independent contractor (your local home stager) to prepare your property to independently stand out in today’s market you will no longer be dependent on the hope of independence from mortgage payments, taxes, yard maintenance costs, housekeeping expenses and insurance payments on the real estate you wish to sell.
After you take time to celebrate the independence of the USA be sure to call your local home staging specialist who will help you move towards your goal of celebrating the next holiday in your new home.
Have an exciting, fun and safe Independence Day celebration! Then call your local professional home stager and let him or her show you which fuses are best to light for the finest display of your real estate and get ready to move!
Because we shop at Safeway (sometimes in Anthem and other times in Prescott Valley or Prescott, even on occasion in Cottonwood, Arizona) for much of our family’s food needs we have experienced first hand much of what this BusinessWeek story speaks of concerning the new look and feel of Safeway stores.
“Safeway wanted a fresher, healthier image. The first step was to become fresher and healthier.”
Apparently, when Safeway began feeling the crunch from so called “big-box” stores from one side and upscale specialty stores from the other they began to take action to change not only their image but also their offerings. According to the story their plan and their implementation of the plan has paid off and their earnings have increased accordingly.
We are going to look at what the folks at Safeway did to stop their decline and increase their earnings and how home stagers (or other entrepreneurs) can benefit from the example. The people from Safeway who developed these strategies understand that marketing is NOT just advertising – marketing is the total package of who you are and what your company does to serve your customers. [Some people call it branding, but because I’ve been in on a few round-ups and because just thinking about the branding of the cattle recalls horrid smells for me I try not to use the word branding too much.] I’m smiling; are you?
"We [needed to] differentiate our offering from other conventional supermarkets."
Find your niche. Here are some good posts found right here on ActiveRain which will help you know more about choosing a niche
Here is a whole group devoted to the essence of creating a niche.
“. . .the company used what management gurus call authentic marketing: the art of telling consumers a story they want to believe, then delivering the products and experience that make the story real.”
Put together a marketing package which tells the true story of who you and your business are. If you are a more staid check-off-the-list business person like SandyDixon then let that show in how you market yourself.
If, on the other hand, you are exciting, excitable and excited like Melissa Marro by all means show that to your potential clients.
Or you may consider yourself, like yours truly, to be a mixture of these personality types. The type of client you desire will be the type of client you will most often receive when they are alerted through your marketing materials what type of business person you are.
Your marketing package should include everything which you put on the internet and anything you create on paper. For example the agreement we use at rooms b.y. root is only a few pages long, has NO small print, shows our logo, is easy to read and easy to understand. (See, I told you we’re are a blend of check-it-off and lets-have-fun!)
Speaking of showing our Logo
The rooms b.y. root logo is designed to show a bit of whimsy while at the same time being easily readable, identifiable and “rememberable.” Another point of interest about the logo is that people often ask about the punctuation in the middle. We are able to tell the story of how the b and the y with the periods after each of them came about and give our potential clients another connecting point.
"Safeway committed to spend $1.6 billion a year over six years to remodel all 1,775 of its stores."
Well if you have $1.6 billion a year to spend over the next six years then give me a call and we will work out a deal. If, on the other hand you don’t; then make plans for spending as much as you possibly can towards development, growth and marketing.If you are not willing to take a risk with your cash, your retirement plans, your network of friends or even your basic routines then you are much less likely to discover a way to grow your business. This post by Xan, titled You have to spend money to make money. . . pretty much shows it all.
“The company also resolved to pare back labor costs, which led to strikes and lockouts.”
Understand there will be obstacles and setbacks as you move along your path towards success. Gosh, if it was easy, then just about anybody could do it; right? You sent emails, snail mails, you showed up at open houses, you baked cookies till they were taking over your life, you vowed to call “your real estate contacts” every Wednesday and still you have yet to find a viable client. Do Not give up. Try a different tactic like becoming a member of your local home builder’s association or a networking group; offer to teach classes about décor at your local library; continue to show up at the open houses and this time take house specific information to the lonely real estate agent. Working through the problems will make your business more healthy and ready to take on the market, your competitors and even yourself when the time is right.
"We were very careful not to talk about quality until we had stepped up quality,"
Deliver what you promise. You are much more likely to grow your business when your reputation as a business person who gives more than promised precedes you. Here is an example of (Kathy Nielsen)
"The moral of Safeway's tale? A compelling story is key to authentic marketing."
Have you found your niche and learned how best to serve within that framework? Does your marketing material tell your story? Have you made a business and a marketing plan and are you willing to take some risk? Are you prepared to deal with the obstacles and setbacks you are certain to encounter? Do you deliver what you promise and more?
Most importantly -- What is your compelling story?
One of the basic tenets of good design and of good organization is to group like things. You know how it works – I mean, it is so simple. Open your cutlery drawer and you have a shining example; all your knives are in one slot, all the desert forks in another, the dinner forks take yet another position and so on. Want another example? Bookshelves. Yep, you want to be able to retrieve your decorating books easily or your tomes concerning the civil war – whatever – you group them together for easy access.
So what does all that have to do with the Stage it Forward week in review? Typically, no matter what format I use to present the posts which are used in the reviews there is a grouping of the information in one way or another. So this week when I looked at the list of posts I had gathered through the week to be highlighted in this post my goal was to see the pattern in which they would fit.
I had a few categories which made sense to me but some of the posts were giving me trouble and I couldn’t figure out how to group them. Then it finally came to me. I’ll use my mom’s favorite grouping. Check out the categories and see if you know which is my mom’s. :)
Category One: Sandy Dixon (hey, Sandy was on a roll this week – what can I say?)
Because this table top discussion seemed to be a bit of a hot issue this week I decided to include a few posts from the past to round out the discussion a bit more. There were many to choose from but these 9 were easy to find and had some interesting information in them. What do you think?
I am the administrator of an exclusive home display and merchandising firm. Our clients are intelligent and highly motivated individuals, who seek quality, expect expertise and understand the importance of capitalizing ventures which will provide high returns.
By providing imaginative thinking, problem solving skills and understanding the importance of proper decision making the associates within my firm, rooms b.y. root, operate with our clientele to place their individual properties in the advanced strategic position of garnering the most advantageous price point possible within the individual property’s acceptable range.
Further, the whole blasted team (from rooms b.y. root, of course) has a collective fun and productive adventure with each house to which we are invited. That is to say, we love what we do and we do it with joy and exuberance.
Now tell me; what do you do dearie?
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Information provided by Yvonne Root of rooms b.y. root. The associates of rooms b.y. root are known to practice their art with joy in the central northern Arizona locations of Anthem, Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Prescott, Prescott Valley, Dewey-Humboldt, Mayer, Cordes Lakes, Black Canyon City, New River and surrounding communities.
If you haven't read that piece then just click on the blue words above and you will know what I'm talking about.
BUT, preparing your home for sale may not be as big an outlay you as you may have thought.
There are three major factors concerning what you need to stage houses for sale. They are:
Time
Money
Skill
By using a mixture of all three (time, money and skill) in the amounts best suited to your particular property and your specific needs and capabilities you will be able to move your real estate up the market ladder.
When an excellent home stager assesses your property and discusses your abilities and your budget you will be assured of being on the fast track to present your home in its best possible light.
Calling your local home staging expert costs you nothing!
Failing to properly prepare your property to be its best in today’s market is much more likely to pinch your purse. Can you afford it?
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Information provided byYvonne Root of rooms b.y. root. You can find the rooms by root team staging houses in Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Anthem, New River, Black Canyon City, Cordes Lakes, Spring Valley, Mayer, Dewey-Humboldt and all surrounding communities in the central northern Arizona corridor.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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