staging diva: Staging Diva Shares Importance of Staging with Radio Morning Show - 10/07/08 12:26 PM
I love doing radio but I've never been interviewed by three people at once before.
Katfish Morgan, Darryl Kornicky and Laura Stone grilled me about what to do when a house doesn't sell, whether stagers exist because agents aren't doing their job, what happens when stagers break things and more, on Live 88.5 … (4 comments)
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staging diva: Home Stagers: What's your favorite tool? - 09/12/08 10:31 AM
Looking at the photo of me that's often used in the press, with the drill and tulips, you'd probably guess those are my favorite tools. Actually they come a close third and fourth. The most important staging tools a home stager has (other than their innate talent) is a measuring tape … (12 comments)
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staging diva: Marketing Plans: Does Size Really Matter? - 08/30/08 07:26 PM
I'm a firm believer in the old adage that "failing to plan is planning to fail," but I'm also not from the school of thought that believes you need a full-blown multi-page marketing plan to succeed, especially if you run your own business.
And I say this as someone with an … (33 comments)
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staging diva: Staging Diva Shares House Selling Secrets on CNN Money - 08/06/08 04:14 PM
CNN Money is featuring my House Selling Secrets and before and after photos of several of the homes I've staged through my home staging company Six Elements Inc, on their website.
If you click through the 21 (!) pages of links on the CNN site, you'll see my before and after … (2 comments)
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staging diva: The wrong pricing strategy can kill your home staging business - 08/04/08 04:29 PM
The pricing structure you set up for your home staging services (and items you charge for), can either make or break your real estate staging business. It's great to follow your heart and make a business out of your creative talents, but if you’re doing something you love and not … (14 comments)
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staging diva: Staging Diva Debra Gould front page story on This Old House Magazine website - 07/01/08 12:17 PM
This Old House Magazine's Senior Editor interviewed me for a feature story "House-Selling Secrets of a Home Stager" which will come out in the fall.
But today, they turned it into their front page story for their online magazine. The story includes 22 pages of before and after photos from my … (17 comments)
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staging diva: How many home staging clients will you see in one week? - 06/23/08 09:55 PM
I used to race around like a mad woman trying to fit 10 homes into a week, always afraid to put a client off who needed me and fearing if I didn't see them right away they'd disappear and find another stager.
Then I realized that if you're good at what … (13 comments)
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staging diva: Home stagers: are you on the path to burn out and bankruptcy? - 06/16/08 05:22 PM
When I ask many real estate agents today about the state of the market and its effect on their income, I often get an earful about tiny, intermittent commission checks and complaints of record breaking gas prices cutting into already bleak profits. Things aren’t great for many in the front lines … (8 comments)
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staging diva: Must-Have Marketing Tool for Real Estate Agents - 06/05/08 10:50 PM
I receive countless emails from real estate agents asking if they should recommend a Home Stager to their clients.
My first question back would be, would you rather spend your time and money promoting a listing that looks like the one at the left, or one that looks like the one … (3 comments)
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staging diva: The Importance of Kid's Rooms in Home Staging - 05/26/08 12:59 PM
The goal of home staging is to help prospective buyers fall in love with the home and imagine themselves living there. If you're working on a 3+ bedroom home in a family neighborhood, it's important to show a child's room (even if the current owners are childless).
It doesn't take much … (6 comments)
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staging diva: House Hunting Is A Lot Like Speed Dating - 05/01/08 08:58 AM
House hunting is a lot like "speed dating". You may have heard of this dating craze, whereby singles meet 20 or more potential mates in one evening by having 5 minute dates with each of them. The idea behind the phenomenon is that two people either have chemistry or they don't. … (1 comments)
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staging diva: Staging Diva Radio appearance: Why home staging works and why homeowners need home stagers - 04/17/08 11:46 AM
Morning show host Dale Johnson has tons of questions for me about what home staging is, why it works, and how to find a home stager.
He knows his radio audience wants to know, but he's also confided to me that he's selling his property and has already used some of … (0 comments)
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staging diva: Why Hire A Professional Home Stager? - 04/01/08 12:06 PM
Summary:There are lots of simple things a homeowner can do on their own to decorate their house to sell. However, many homeowners are unsure of where to start.
The process of selling a home can be completely overwhelming, but a Home Stager has the ability to look at a home with … (4 comments)
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staging diva: Interior Design Show (IDS) 08 - Trade Day registration ends today! - 02/15/08 01:34 PM
If you're looking for suppliers and ideas about design trends and you'll be in the Toronto area Feb. 22, don't miss today's deadline to sign up for the Interior Design Show's Trade Only Day.
You can read more about why I like going every year here.
Go directly to their site to register … (0 comments)
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staging diva: Home Staging is a great business in a slowing economy - 02/05/08 12:04 PM
Have you been thinking about starting a Home Staging business? With the economy slowing down, you may be wondering if this is a good time to enter the field. You may be worried that home sellers, your potential clients, will not be as willing to spend money on your services.
As … (2 comments)
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staging diva: Home Staging Helps Real Estate Investors and Builders Maximize Profits - 02/04/08 10:31 PM
When selling your investment property, are you tempted to leave a room or the entire house empty?
Decorating your house to sell, also called Home Staging or Real Estate Staging, will help you sell your investment in record time and get top dollar for your home.
If you have … (0 comments)
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staging diva: Help for butcher block counters? - 01/15/08 03:17 PM
I've got a client with butcher block counter tops that have seen better days.
They're not scratched they just aren't an even tone and they have some rings from coffee cups or salad dressing bottles.
Anyone have any suggestions for how to even out the tone again? I'd like to avoid sanding … (12 comments)
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staging diva: Home Stagers: Did you think like an entrepreneur last year? - 01/06/08 10:36 PM
An entrepreneur by definition is someone who has decided to take control of his/her future. We often start with nothing more than a good idea and a lot of determination, but are we cut out to run our own business with all that entails? I developed this simple quiz to help … (4 comments)
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staging diva: Staging Diva Teaches Home Staging on new HGTV show - 12/13/07 03:25 PM
I just finished an all day shoot for a new HGTV show to air this spring, "The Decorating Adventures of Ambrose Price." He was one of the contestants on the last season of HGTV's Designer SuperStar Challenge.
In one of the 13 episodes of this new show, I take Ambrose under my … (26 comments)
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staging diva: A home stager in the White House? - 12/11/07 09:06 AM
Ed Marshall, of Los Angeles, an MD and head of his successful family-run home staging business, began an e-campaign in the second half of November, and is now ready to "appear live" as a candidate for the GOP nomination for President.
He will hold his first press conference announcing his GOP candidacy … (2 comments)
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staging diva: Starting a business when you're drowning in debt - 12/05/07 11:55 AM
It was reported this week that parents are paying upwards of $1200 per ticket to get their kids seats for the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana concert. Many will be running up their credit cards (in the middle of the year's biggest shopping season) to pay for it.
Has the world gone mad? … (4 comments)
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staging diva: Helping your website get found my search engines - 11/13/07 10:28 AM
One of the barriers to building a home staging or real estate business is getting found by prospects in your area at the precise time that they need your services. That’s why having an internet presence, and coming up higher in Google and other search engine rankings, are so critical.
I … (2 comments)
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staging diva: Will the future of real estate agents go the way of travel agents? - 11/06/07 01:17 PM
There was a time when home buyers needed real estate agents to learn what homes were for sale in an area, what they looked like and what the prices were. That time has long past, but you wouldn't know it looking at a lot of real estate agents' online listings!
A US-based … (2 comments)
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staging diva: 6 Mistakes Home Stagers Make that Can Kill Their Business Success - 10/23/07 03:08 PM
There are plenty of ways for home stagers (or any entrepreneur) to sabotage their business growth, but here are the six mistakes I see most often:
Routinely giving homeowners Free Estimates. I call this the Free Estimate Trap. Not having a proper pricing strategy and thinking the key to getting business is … (10 comments)
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staging diva: Slow real estate markets benefit home stagers - 10/16/07 11:11 AM
I've been hearing from a lot of aspiring and seasoned home stagers worrying that the slow real estate market makes it impossible to build a home staging business. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In a slow real estate market, also called a "buyer's market," prospective home buyers can afford to … (8 comments)
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staging diva: Stagers Ask: What if the house I stage doesn't sell? - 09/30/07 11:49 PM
Many new and aspiring stagers ask me "what if the house I stage doesn't sell?" The question is usually motivated by a fear of being held liable, or a fear of becoming a stager at all and feeling ultimately responsible.
The reality is that a stager might do a fabulous job … (11 comments)
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staging diva: Staging Diva Home Staging Tip: Low Ceilings? Drapes Too Short? - 09/21/07 12:18 PM
I almost always use pre-made drapery panels with tie backs to quickly dress up a window without blowing the budget. It's a great idea to hang drapes as high as possible to make the ceiling look higher. But, what do you do when you can't buy pre-made drapery panels that are … (3 comments)
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staging diva: Home Staging Spreads to World's Most Isolated Country - 08/13/07 04:32 PM
Anyone thinking home staging is a fringe service practiced almost exclusively in California, and only slowly spreading to other states or provinces, guess again!
There's a need for staging anywhere there are:
occupied homes to sellvacant homes to sellpeople needing to move who can't agree on how to present their homesprospective buyers who … (3 comments)
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staging diva: Stagers: How do you organize your portfolio photos? - 08/10/07 09:46 AM
I've staged hundreds of homes over the last five years and along the way I've accumulated over 7000 before and after shots. I tell you this because I've got myself into quite the mess, not adequately thinking through how I'd keep track of all these images for easy retrieval months or … (20 comments)
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staging diva: Staging Diva: Home Staging Tip - 08/09/07 10:05 AM
Chipped paint on door, trim or fireplace mantle and no time or budget to repaint?
Most trim is painted white. When it gets chipped you often see right down to the dark wood below, especially on an older home. The high contrast draws your eye right to the chipped paint.
Try … (13 comments)
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staging diva: Listen in as homeowners grill The Staging Diva - 08/02/07 02:43 PM
Many of you have emailed me wondering how you could listen to the live CBC Radio call in show I did on July 24. The CBC is hosting it on their site for 30 days (then I'm afraid it's gone for good, and they won't even give me a copy!). … (3 comments)
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staging diva: Staging Diva Debra Gould, Live on CBC Radio One - July 24, 2007 - 07/23/07 06:37 PM
I'll be taking calls from homeowners looking for help with home staging during a one hour live call in segment on CBC Radio One's show, "Ontario Today".
The show runs from noon until 2 PM, my hour starts at 1 PM on Tuesday, July 24, 2007.
While I will be answering questions … (16 comments)
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staging diva: Multi-million dollar home needs stager immediately - 05/10/07 06:08 PM
I have a client with a 7,000 square foot, partially furnished home that needs staging. It's located in Berkshire, England. By the way, that's also where you'll find Windsor Castle (seen at right), wonder if this project is for a royal neighbor?
There's also:
a client with a million dollar home in … (10 comments)
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staging diva: You say "house fluffer," I say "home stager" - 05/04/07 08:55 PM
While many home stagers prefer that term to "house fluffers," we can't argue with free publicity for our craft.
Schott’s Almanac which the Sunday Times calls “a social barometer of genuine historic value, ” features the latest catch-phrases as language evolves.
The 2007 edition includes “house fluffing” as sprucing up one’s house … (9 comments)
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staging diva: Don't sacrifice your client when it's time to promote your home staging services - 05/03/07 12:11 PM
I've received many questions lately from home stagers wondering if it's OK to use lawn signs advertising that a client's home was staged by them, in much the same way as a window washer might put out a sign while they're working on a property to attract more business in the … (22 comments)
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staging diva: Home Stagers, are you sitting in a leaky boat with nothing but a yogurt container to save you? - 05/01/07 09:23 AM
I'm amazed at the number of home stagers who contact me because they aren't making any money in home staging. They want to save their business from sinking and they say, "when I make some money I'll take your course to learn how to price my services."
If you aren't making money … (14 comments)
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staging diva: It's only too late to boost your home staging business if you don't start now - 04/17/07 11:38 AM
I was motivated to write this post because of how many home stagers who contact me because they're worried that it's too late to market their home staging business so far into the important spring real estate market.
There is a saying that "the best time to plant a tree is 20 … (12 comments)
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staging diva: What to put on a home staging business card - 04/05/07 01:26 PM
Aspiring home stagers often ask me what I put on my business card, because they aren't sure what to put on theirs. It's something we all struggle with and I know I've reworded, redesigned and reprinted my own home staging business cards a few times over the last 4.5 years.
I'm sharing … (24 comments)
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staging diva: Staging Diva Home Stager Locator Service Nets 43 staging projects in first month - 03/18/07 12:50 PM
I created the Staging Diva Home Stager Locator Service in February to make it easier for homeowners and realtors to find home stagers for projects in their area. Once they complete the simple online form to communicate the needs of their project, I advertise the staging project on The Business of … (5 comments)
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staging diva: Recommending Colors for Clients - 02/07/07 01:24 PM
One of my Staging Diva Graduates expressed some concern about offering color consultation services. She felt comfortable recommending colors for a home staging project but worried about picking colors for someone that wasn't moving. Part of her fear came from knowing that many times she'd repainted a room in her own … (7 comments)
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staging diva: Do Active Rain Members Value Freedom of Speech? - 01/25/07 11:47 AM
I joined Active Rain in August after being invited by a realtor. Since that time I've mostly enjoyed the people I've met through this group and the discussions I've read on the various blogs. Over 40 home stagers who have completed my Staging Diva Training Program have joined the group after … (14 comments)
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staging diva: Real estate agents ask, "Why should I recommend home staging to my clients?" - 01/21/07 11:45 AM
I get a lot of emails from real estate agents wondering why they should recommend a home stager to their clients. I believe there are three key reasons for this:
Not understanding what a stager really does.Feeling that they already provide advice to their clients on how to improve their home for … (10 comments)
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staging diva: Stock Images: Effective Marketing Tool or Misleading Advertising? - 01/12/07 02:00 PM
What is a stock image?
An image, photographed and made available by someone else, and then rented or sold to third parties for their own use (generally marketing communications). Some stock images are royalty free and therefore available without a fee.
Stock images (photographs and illustrations) have been used by major corporations and … (58 comments)
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staging diva: Home Staging: A Real Business or a Creative Hobby? - 01/09/07 09:04 PM
Home Staging can be a lucrative business if you approach it as a business. I'm frustrated by the number of home stagers who call themselves professionals and yet don't even take some of the MOST BASIC steps to get their business off the ground.
I do fault some of the home staging … (21 comments)
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staging diva: Home Stagers, Beware of the Free Estimate Trap - 01/07/07 01:02 PM
Many inexperienced stagers offer a free one hour staging consultation. It's a fast road to burn -out and business failure.Imagine the number of tire-kickers you'll get!Consider the time it takes to prepare for, schedule, travel to and attend these meetings, plus the inevitable phone calls you'd make after the fact to … (44 comments)
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staging diva: The Staging Diva refers first project in Johannesburg, South Africa - 10/01/06 11:56 AM
This week I was able to refer my first home staging project in South Africa to my Graduate in Johannesburg. She just completed the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program 8 weeks ago, and next Friday she's meeting with her first client, a project I found for her because of my … (2 comments)
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