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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.;)
;)
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58 Comments on What a Stager Really Needs...Stamina
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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!
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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