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What a Stager Really Needs...Stamina

I officially opened for business September 1, 2005. I took a staging class and was led to believe that once I opened my doors, I would have to beat the business back with a stick. Just like any new stager, I was heartbroken to figure out how much it would take to get my business off of the ground. I had a choice to make - stick with it or throw in the towel.

I decided that I had spent a large amount of money on the class and had invested so much time in it already, I should stick it out as long as humanly possible. I even took a refresher of the original course to see what else I could do get things going and was again told that the Realtors were not only waiting for use, they were actively seeking us.

I wondered what I was doing wrong. If they are looking for me, why am I not getting the business I was expecting? In reviewing what I had been doing to that point and seeking advice as to what to do in addition to that, I quickly realized that it was not me at all. Those statements were just not true, whether they were made with the best of intentions or not.

Again, I had to decide if it was worth it. I was not ready to give up that easily and dug in even deeper to get the word out. The problem was that I was in a big pool of Realtors with very few stagers to help promote the idea. In an area where staging is somewhat established, it may be easier to start out because the public is already aware but that does not mean that you can become an over night success. In NW Indiana, there is still work to be done. Even though I have spoken at many local offices, spoken with more agents than I can count, promoted the business in as many ways as I can realistically handle and have built an impressive portfolio, it is still a long haul to the success I was promised I would have with very little effort.

I have met with a few new stagers and they are all in the same boat I was when I started out. I have offered them encouragement and done as much for them as I can to help their businesses grow as well. Some quit when they realize how much work it will actually take to get things going and how much it will take to maintain it. Others quit when they find out it is not as glamorous as they thought it would be.

Needless to say, it took more than opening my doors to get business and after two years, I'm not yet wielding a stick. I am doing well all things considered, but have not met many of the unrealistic goals I had set for myself - mainly because I had thought them realistic when I set them.

It is an uphill battle to become a successful stager and maintain the enthusiasm and energy level necessary to reach the top. It takes a lot of hard work - physical and mental - to get where you want to be. If you are thinking of throwing your hat in the staging ring and think it will be easy, you are in for a rude awakening. It takes pure dedication and STAMINA to be a successful stager.

If you are lucky enough to be in an area where staging is already used regularly and your transition into the field is fairly smooth, look up the stagers in your area who have been around for a while and thank them for all the hard work they did to get it there.

Posted by Kimberly Wester on 11/07/2007 02:19 PM

Comments (58)

career, commitment, home staging education, professional stager, staging industry, staging profession

Post is included in group: Stage It Forward...
Post is included in group: Real World Home Staging for Newbies

58 Comments on What a Stager Really Needs...Stamina

NOV

2007

Kimberly,

You speak words of wisdom. It is hard, to start a new business, no matter what industry you are in. We just so happen to be in one that is just now really emerging. Keep going! I'm sure you will make it to the top.

Anthea - Thanks. I may actually be the top stager in this area, but I would have no idea. I know there are others but I don't know them or how active they are. I'm hoping any that are active will come to the Chicago round table...

Still alone in my area. I try to get the word out as much as possible, education is a huge part of staging in an area where it has not become mainstream. It is tough to be an army of one, but I'm plugging away! It really is not all they promise you in the glossy brochures.

Maureen - AMEN! I see that two other stagers from my adjoining county joined AR, but I had never heard of them and they are not very active on the site. In my county it is not much better. I know of one that is actually a professional organizer, which she is very good at, but I do not know how much she focuses on staging. I'll keep plugging away despite the reality!

Hello from Indianapolis Kim, Linda and I are very much looking forward to meeting you in Chicago. We have followed your posts for some time now and we certainly find a lot of simularities in the thoughts, feelings and challenges that goes into everything surrounding our two businesses. While her business, like yours has grown very nicely and we feel like we are now well known in our market, we still find ourselves educating Realtors, Home owners, investors and so on, on a daily basis. Her hard work and the resulting successes are the main thing she can point to in her businesses growth. She finds that some will contact her because she is doing something that works, but they don't quite understand what it is. We can look back at our experiences and almost chuckle when we see new Stagers come into the picture thinking that they will move some furniture around and get rich as a result, over night. This is hard work, that takes most of your waking hours to develop and grow. And even at that, you better come to the party with a bunch of natural ability or this just isn't going to be a rewarding experience.

See you soon.

Kimberly ~ my hat's off to you and all stagers. I have never staged full time...the closest I have come to your level is facing 16 model homes back to back...but still there is a big party at the end of each project then I return to the relaxing snail pace of design. Truly students should be paying experienced stagers for endurance training!

The marketing is the test of all entrepreneurs...that is not exclusive to stagers.

Gary - Boy, did you say a mouthful!!! It is true - you gotta bring some natural skill or you are already in over your head! The truth is there is no pie in the sky, even if that is what your instructor told you. We are still in a slow growth period for the industry even if we are in a growth spurt for stagers. Those of us who know the reality and forge ahead anyway are the ones who will survive. It's good to know that you are still educating.

Thanks for following my blog - it's nice to know that someone out there is reading it! I'm so glad to hear you are attending the round table. I'd love to meet you both in person and talk to Linda again.

Kim.. wow excellent post. And it is so true that many Stagers just think that they open their doors and people will be running to them or... they think that because a few of us are busy, we will hire them "all the time", and share our hard earned contracts, insight, and marketing tactics. Hmm. Please don't get me wrong. There are over 100 Stagers in my area. I have 3 very hard working Staging buddies on my team that earned their spot by pounding the pavement, helping me, and being there "all the time" whether they were paid or not. THEY are busy with their own biz as well as me now. It takes guts, stamina, and honest hard work to build this business. There is no FREE ride. It would be so much easier just to pop a Staging Viagra pill, than to drudge the trenches... but we are still smiling... and busy. :))))

Sheron - We must have been posting at the same time - thanks for stopping in!

True that all start ups require marketing and endurance. I feel that I have not been staging full time, but marketing full time and staging on the side. Sad, but true. I wish that was taught in these classes...

Lori Kim - I have quite a few people call me looking for work and I can't help but laugh at them. If I had enough actual work to hire someone, I would call them! It also amazes me the guts of new stagers who want to 'assist' me by doing 1/10th of the work, then ask for 1/2 of the fee. If anyone is truly serious they will knwo that you have to earn it, it is not handed to you. I didn't get to make any money off of anyone else's back, that's for sure. It's hard enough to make money off of my own! ;) LOL

This is so true-I'm jealous that I can't come to Chicago-sounds like a great time. I spend many hours marketing for every sage I complete. I think this is the piece that new stagers don't understand. We have reached a point where we are getting multiple referrals from our agents but we have een around 2 years!

Like you, there are other stagers locally but theya re not active here and even though I have reached out to contact them, I have gotten no response. I know that staging is happening here but I'm unsure who is actually completing the jobs. Must be the staging fairy!

Kimberly, you nailed it perfectly. The only thing we can do is keep plugging away and marketing like crazy. It will come but it takes more time than any of us imagined. We're in the same boat here in our neck of the Florida woods. Everyone understands staging, yet no one wants to dive in. Its a hard sell.

Cheri - I wish you could come, too! I hope many others can make it. I am looking forward to finally meeting everyone in the flesh. I don't even knwo if we have a staging fairy, but I do know that some builders employ decorators. A few are reconsidering the validity of that, but not as many as I would like.

Terry - It is a much longer process than we are led to believe, but eventually it wil pay off. Persistance is the key - the question is how long can we keep it up? If we want to succeed, we had better hang in.

Hi Kimberly ! This is what I have done since I got accredited as a staging professional. I change carrers from bein g a chef and restaurant and catering owner, to STAGING. Im averaging between 1 and 2 stagings aweek, a lot of appointments to give quotes on vacants. My recipe. promote youself via google, I have 10 10 TV spots of 30 seconds on HGTV every Saturday & Sunday, visit open houses and give promos, offer presentations to realtors, YOU GOTTA SPEND IN ADVERTISING to get to the next level. I have actually been in business since May 2007. Luckily Im advertising to the high end Palm Beach County.it works. Bake brownies and put 6 in cellophane bags, tie with curly ribbon add your biz cards and some saying like "Stage those Scary Listings" or Stage it Sell it"...they love that. Keep the SPUNK and enthusiasm, because it is contagious, build a web site and promote it, place decals in your car with the web site address, etc. I remember they told me that the work you do in the first 3 months will pay off. So I took it seriously!

Good Luck

Fernando - This post was meant to be a dose of reality for those thinking that staging is an easy business. It is not. I do not need marketing ideas - I've done them all (except the commercials). Most stagers who have been on AR for a while (like I have) know that, so....Actually, your response frustrates me, so I will stop typing now...

Kimberly - This is definitely a refreshingly honest look at owning a staging business.

The bad news is that the training companies make it sound oh so much easier than it is to start up a new business. The good news is many new businesses, regardless of the industry have a difficult start-up period and fail - you are obviously one of those with the stamina and drive to succeed.

Jackie

Jackie -Thanks so much for getting the point of this blog and responding accordingly... Thanks, too for your vote of confidence. Sometimes the drive waivers, but not for long. I knwo we have all had our doubts about how long we can hang in, but its the hanging in that proves our worth.

Kim, Yes, I did get a bit long winded. We're all on a Staging High here this evening. Linda staged a 13,000 sq. ft. home today, actually the entire Home Matters team was involved in this one. So when I get a Staging high I get gabby, Linda on the other hand gets in a hot tub and soaks. The whole team was pretty excited. We didn't leap down the road like Barb did on her TV special or anything but they were more excited from a job well done than normal.

You are sooo right! Sure when I started my own business in 2006 I thought it would be smooth sailing. Little did I know that you don't just get to "stage" and make the property pretty. There's the accounting, business planning, inventory, furniture moving, photography, endless shopping..which is really only fun when your buying for yourself (IMO), lots of estimates, marketing, marketing and marketing! I am sure there is much more but these are some of the "chore's" beginning stager's don't consider. Lucky for me I have stamina...I wouldn't survive without it! Thanks for sharing and letting me know I am not alone.

Wish I could join your round table too! If you get out to Southern Ca in January we would love to have you!

I was on such a Staging High I forgot to log in...

Gary - You are forgiven. :) Don't you love days like that? So glad to know you had a good day!

Janice - I think if we were all honest, we would find that we all have had similar experiences and that none of them have been easy. I so wish I could make California, but I doubt I will be able to as January is a pretty busy month for the family, but we will see. I hope one day we have a national meeting!

Kimberly - I hope we have a National Meeting also! How about Vegas! ;)

I am doing well all things considered, but have not met many of the unrealistic goals I had set for myself - mainly because I had thought them realistic when I set them.

Okay, fair's fair... I stole the pic of your neighbor...you're allowed to read my mind. ;o)

Janice - I was thinking national this year, International in 2008. You can have Vegas if I can have Paris. Deal?

Lisa - I'm glad someone feels the same way. I have learned to let myself off the hook about this exact thing. I hope you have as well.

Kimberly... Glad you've been successful at it... I'm still a work in progress when it comes to letting myself off the hook... ;o)

Kimberly, what you say is so true. We work VERY hard to build our business and reputation. If you had told me when I started how much marketing I'd have to do, or how oft I'd hear, "Sorry, blah, blah, blah" I would have never chosen to start. But, I'm not a quitter! This job has taught me so much about myself, and pushed me outside my comfort levels. My reward is the downright FUN I have staging a home, helping others, making new friends and oh yea, I even get paid! I LOVE my job!

Kimberly, thank you for sharing this post. Stamina indeed!

I do not think I entered this with false hopes. It is hard to remember now as it is coming up to a year that I started to really think this was something I wanted to do.

I do know I felt passionate about the need for people to see their home as product, and to consider selling it that way. With so much competition and in my area so much of it from new construction, I really approached it from a desire to help people improve their bottom line. To me, staging is just common sense. What I have discovered is that in many cases - people do not want help, or if they do they want it for free.

I guess I am still green enough (pardon the pun) to still have staminaand you are so right about needing that. The part that wears me down the most is all the "other stuff" inventory, book keeping, marketing, loading and unloading the car, shopping and then returning items. Not to mention that every time I do stage a property I am physically exhausted from all the hard labor! "It ain't glamorous that is for sure"

Then when I get home to my office and there is a cheery little message from someone wanting to get into staging, I just cringe and think, yes, but do you want to do all the grunt work, I have to do too? Or do you just want to make things look pretty! Usually the answer is no I just want to assist you on the actual jobs! My response.... then you really don't want to be a stager!

NOV

2007

You're so right about needing both mental and physical stamina -- each and every day of your staging career! If you get into this career and don't have business smarts and people skills, let alone artistic staging talent, you won't survive. Would they always tell you that in training? NO. So, once again, we're back to the need for training companies to teach REALITY and to develop standards for this industry. We'll get there, but it will take time and effort from all of us! I'm so encouraged by people like you and other good folks here on A/R.

It can absolutely be physically exhausting and at the same time extremely rewarding. These are indeed "words of wisdom." There are many stagers who have beaten a path and cleared the way for others. We should be thanking them, recognizing them and sending them gifts (okay, kidding).

Great post, as always!

Kathy

Roberta - Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel certainly does help, doesn't it? Keep up all your hard work. I'm proud of you for staying the course!

Joelle - So true! If you want to do this job, then you have to want to do all of it, including the stuff outside you comfort zone. It's not just creativity that keeps you going.

Maureen - I have gotten so much more from AR than I have ever gotten from my training company. Thankd goodness for AR!!!

Kathy - Just in case someoen new is reading this in my area, I want gifts! LOL!!!

Kimberly, your post is exactly what I needed to read today. The staging business is not always like it was portrayed in the classes we took. Sometimes getting your foot in the door is impossible, then sometimes you are so busy you wish for a day off and then sometimes you go for weeks when there is nothing... I guess I just want to say thank you for pointing out the realism of staging and how it can have its downside too. I do thank the stagers that have cleared paths - it's still not easy, but it is rewarding when it works. Betty

Betty - I love that we can share our experiences here and others relate to them. It's this type of commonality that helps us all through ( at least me, anyway). If not for AR, I think I might have given up already. You are right - it is the few successes amidst our many failures that make it worth it.

WOW! Kimberly! Woo Hoo to you! I have tried so many times to express this and you, girlfriend, have taken my sentiments and shot them right through the roof for all to hear! GREAT, GREAT POST. You are a leader that professionals should follow!

Karen - If you mean leader as in the first one to whine, I agree. ;) JK

Thanks for the confidence and I'm glad I could help you get that off your chest! :)

Whine on - OOOps I meant stage on .

I am still in the educating my public stage and get most of my calls from Homeowners, not Realtors. They have varied reasons why they don't, won't , can't use a stager. I knew this would be hard but some days it is harder that I realized. I see that I am not alone.

NOV

2007

Kimberly,

If I've said this once I said it a hundred times. Stagers are vital to most successful real estate transactions. The work I do to get my listings ready for market is much harder and much more important than the work I do after I put the lock box on. In my opinion stagers are under-appreciated and underpaid. Things are changing. I just wish we'd reach the tipping point.

It doesn't help that the trainers don't address the building of your business in a more realistic way.

Stamina! What a great description. The endless marketing, accounting, presentations. . . and then comes the real test--thos days of working all day in the rain loading & unloading inventory, moving furniture, and the most fun of all--destaging and restocking your inventory! Glamourous-- it isn't; rewarding--it is! It is good to read others comments and share our frustrations!

Kim Dillon, Creative Eye Home Staging

Kathleen - When I have new stagers call me and tell me they haven't made any money in the first few WEEKS, I tell them to prepare not to make any money for the next few MONTHS. I spent the first 6 months doing nothing but educating and generated a $210 income (color consultation). It is difficult to convince someone to pay you for a service they have never needed or heard of in the past. Being a pioneer in your area has its advantages, but it takes a long time to reap those rewards. Unfortunately others will reap them as well.

Susan - Thank you for understanding how hard we work. In my area it is more likely that an agent will take the class and eliminate the stagers all together because they are told in the classes how easy it is. Eventually they will all realize they cannot keep up the pace, but right now it is not helping the industry. I know some decide to do this because their are no stagers in their area or any they want to hire, so I applaud them for taking the plunge to better serve their clients, but that is why realistic education is greatly needed. Some stagers are getting their real estate licenses to cut out the agents.

Kim- One day I will post a list of my staging related injuries. It is hard to feel glamorous when you are trying not to bleed on your inventory.

Kimberly,

I'm glad to hear that stagers are getting their RE license. If I had to chose I'd much rather have a good stager who got their RE license than a Realtor who just took a staging course. I'm thinking about writing a blog titled "Who's more important to the sale of your home a good Realtor or a good stager?" I'm just worried that some of the Realtors will take out a hit on me. LOL.

Kimberly,

I hear what you are saying! I have been in the business now for about 2 years. It's a good thing I didn't need to make an income in the beginning! I'm taking an entrepreneur class that has been an eye opener. Any new business is going to be tough at first so we just need to hang in there. We are laying the foundation. I too thought I would be a stager primarily and have found that I am in a marketing position all the time. But then when you actually get to do what you love and you get good results and the realtors are happy and the homeowners are happy then you realize it was all worth it. You are really making a difference.

NOV

2007

What an excellent topic and discussion. I can not tell you how comforting and encouraging it is to read this blog and everyone's comments. Thank you, Kim for the post!

I have only been officially in business since the summer. I guess considering that short time frame and the fact that people still look at me with that blank stare when I tell them what I do (gotta get that one minute commercial down better, I guess), I have averaged a client a week. Still - I get scared and nervous and question my goals and skills. I always come back around to the simple fact that THIS is what I love and what I want to do and have always wanted to do "when I grew up". I know I still have a lot growing up to do, business-wise, (hhmmm, and maybe otherwise, too...but I won;t go there :) ) and am opened to the challenges, grueling demands on my not so young body and mind - not to mention my family's. I absolutely know that we stagers are a talented, unique and very necessary group of professionals. PArt of that professionalism is the stamina and vision that you speak of, Kimberly. We are the trailblazers and will reap more rewards than we can imagine. And I don't necessarily mean material rewards. Those are nice, sure. But when we are able to look around and see the impact we have made in people's lives (agents, sellers, buyers and future stagers) - wow! It will be awesome. Won't it?

Susan -At first when I heard that stagers were getting their RE license, I thought it wasa good idea. But one expressed to me that her purpose behind it was that if she walks someone through the house for whatever reason and they buy it, she is entitled to 25% of the commission. I'm not sure that is the kind of thing agents will be happy about - plus the fact that she could potentially steal their listings. The second got hers because she was tired of marketing (less than a year in the business) and wanted to situate herself as 'the only stager' for the office she joined. They would have to hire her, right? I think the intent there is questionable. I have no desire to be an agent - that is why I am not one.

Kelly - Good for you for taking the entrepeneur class! I'm sure it will be a boon to your business to have that knowledge backing you up. I, too, was lucky enough not to have to depend on my staging income in any way. One day I hope to b the primary breadwinner, but until then things remain as they were before I started the business thank goodness!

Karen - Congratulations on your client base! You must be doing something right! We all question ourselves - at least I know that I do - when things are not going as expected, or when we encounter a negative response but determination to succeed will get us through. I agree with your non-material rewards statement - many people get into this for the money and though it is a good fringe benefit it is an indicator that they are not really passionate about what they do. I'd rather be broke and happy than rich and miserable...

Kimberly,

Agents have no problem paying referral fees to other agents and if the referring agent just happens to be a stager all the better. I know that some agents will find this sacrilegious, but I just feel that stagers deserve a bigger piece of the pie and the only way to do that is to be licensed.

The main reason a seller can't wrap their mind around shelling out extra money for staging is that they are already shelling out tens of thousands of dollars to have their home "marketed" by a so called professional. I think it's high time that these professionals not only educate their clients as to the value of staging but also absorb some of the cost. Instead of just adding more agents to their teams they need to add a real Stager.

NOV

2007

Kimberly-

I read your post this morning, and boy did it come at the right time! I have been working with an Interior Designer for the last few months, and yesterday I went to the first home I will help stage (3,000+ sq. ft.). I am psyched!

I will keep your words in the back of my mind as we work on it. I think this will let me know if the attraction I seem to have to Staging is pure and true.

BTW, I love reading your posts. They always come from the heart, but are based on reality and not fantasy. I am sure I am not the only one who appreciates your candor.

Wish me luck!

Alice- I am very flattered that you like to read my posts, than you!

I am also very glad that you are 'testing the waters' before you dive in. Knowing the realities of what staging really is and what it takes to become successful is something most newbies don't bother to learn. If you don't love every minute of your staging day and are not sure you want to do all of the work that it takes to just get to that day, move on to something else you really are passionate about. It will save you a lot of money and stress in the long run. I'm pulling for you!

Kimberly,

As usual your post is SPOT ON. Stamina indeed.

Physical stamina is required particularly if you specialize in vacants as we both do. The physical stamina to do a vacant home is something I never heard from anyone in a training class. But James Frazier did an AR post on the "schlepping" the job requires and it goes through my head every now and again when I'm schlepping furniture and accessories (and bruising the $%#@ out of my body).

I have found that the mental stamina is required to face my personal weaknesses nearly EVERYDAY. My weaknesses are amplified and spotlighted in owning my own business. Stuff that I wasn't good at, had no skill at or just despised, I could delegate in the corporate world. But you just don't have the luxury of "focusing on your strengths" when you're trying to launch a business on your own. Believe me, these are the tasks I will farm out just as soon as I can afford it.

Keep on keepin' on!

Veronica

Select Home Staging

Denver, Colorado

www.selecthomestaging.com

Roni!!!! Hey, it's good to have you back girl! I've missed you.

I keep saying one day I will post a list of my staging injuries and how each was acquired - that ought to be a reality check, don't you think? The same with the tasks you are unaware you must accomplish on the business end. This job certainly not entirely what I expected it to be.

NOV

2007

My dear friend, your blog is so true. Isn't it funny that ours tend to draw middle aged women to it, when really, with all the hauling around we do, it should be for youngsters only! I've just come off a long, wretched Owner Occupied where the realtor considered herself a stager but didn't want the seller to know that. She hadn't take any training courses, but felt her instincts were par excellence, bar none!! A nightmare! Everything I moved, she moved again. Everything I tried to put down, she would shout, "no, no, Juliet not, there.' it got to the point wehre I would grab a table or a basket adn just start running away with it, shouting over my shoulder, "not sure where it's going yet... let me surprise you. I'm sure you'll like it this time!!)

Afterwards, as she hauled the last piece of tattered unpainted wooden furniture the homeowner no longer wanted to her car, she said, "gosh, it's hard work, this." And you do this every day? I never thought I'd like the realtor part of my job better."

And my thought? No, yeah, right, but - you don't really stage at all, do you? It IS a lot more than just placing a charming vase near a window and calling the space accessorized!

Juliet-

The next time you post something like that, give us fair warning please. I was sipping through a straw (isn't that a song somewhere) when I read that, and am now cleaning off my screen.

I think you now deserve a good Margarita!

I haven't run into anyone like that YET, but will definitely think of you when it happens (as I am sure it will).

Peace,

Alice

NOV

2007

Leave it to you, Kimberly, to express so well what many of us feel and experience. And, yes the marketing and all the other "stuff" that is involved in owning a staging business, is not what I envisioned myself doing when I started this, even though we were told we'd need to do it. It's so much more fun doing the staging-the reward for all the not so fun paperwork, bruises, broken nails, etc..

Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow. I was hoping you'd be there.

Juliet - You are a scream! I've met many agents who fancy themselves stagers and am always appalled at the results. One agent couldn't convince her client to hire me so she pulled some extra stuff out of her own house to do the job. The breakfast bar had very nice place settings but no stools and the master suite had nothing in it but a pedestal and a very gaudy flower arrangement. It didn't accomplish much. I, too, often wonder as I get closer to 40, why I didn't decide to do this when I was younger and in much better shape!

Joan - I'm so excited you are coming to lunch! I can't wait to get there!

GREAT POST!! I am SO happy that you submitted this one for the carnival. People need to hear it! I think in general people jump into the real estate industry thinking it's very easy. I was one when I became an agent, then found my true calling as a professional stager ;) And THANKS for consistently posting. You are the only one who does that! I really really appreciate it. I have hopes that the carnival will get stronger if everyone posts frequently like you ;) Email me if you wanna host one.

Cheers,

Cindy

NOV

2007

Cindy -I am more than happy to partiipate in the carnival. I think carnivals have value and the fact that there is one centered on staging makes it irresistable to me. I plan to link to the carnival from my blogs, but haven't done so yet. I hope to get more people to participate.

You are so right about the stamina. It's not only physically difficult sometimes, but mentally draining as well. I never thought it would be so physically and mentally demanding. Great Post!

Kimberly. In reading your post over again, please let me add not only stamina, but a strong backbone of integrity and drive. The physical stamina is one thing, but the mental stamina is the one that keeps us afloat. We can't let anything or anyone stop us from our dreams. You looked past the obvious and pursued your dream and for that I applaud you!

NOV

2007

Cindy - Thanks, me too!

Lori Kim - i believe the stamina we need goes even farther than physical and mental, I just don't knwo how to describe it!

NOV

2007

Kimberly, you are so right- it is a huge endeavor to start up any business. I am often physically and mentally exhausted from it. This, by far, is the most un-glamorous job I've ever had!

I understand what a huge setback to realize that your initial goals were unrealistic, but I don't think that is so unusual and you have persevered- congratulations!!

I thank you for all the support and information you provide here on AR, I can't imagine all the ground-breaking you've done in your local market.

GINA!!! Man, am I glad I wrote this post! It brought back you and Roni, both and boy have I missed you two!

I was okay with learning that my goals were unrealistic, mostly because I realize that it was not my fault that they were. :) Anyway, I regrouped, set a new list of goals and away I go, just like everybody else.

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