Hello,

I know,  I have been delinquent lately, too busy with everyday running of a Home Staging business (and travelling to France to teach - poor me LOL).

But there is a topic that has been on my mind for a while now and that is the training programs available out on the market as well as the number of Home Staging graduates in the market.

 Home Staging services in Quebec are  on the rise !  As the general awareness of the concept is spreading, the demand for Home Staging is increasing and more sellers and realtors are open to the idea.

On the SUPPLY end,  we are seeing a proliferation of Home Staging training courses and dozens of Home Staging graduates every month.  The interesting phenomena at this time is that there seems to be more newly minted Home Stagers on the market than clients!  And they seem to think that easy money is coming their way.  As there is NO OFFICIAL accreditation of Home Stagers in the industry, anyone can claim to be one!

 So, how do you choose? What makes one training program better that another? 

 In my opinion, EXPERIENCE, honesty and a healthy dose of realistic expectations is what makes a difference.  No training program can guarantee a full proof success formula for its graduates.  But teaching them the ropes of the business, from the decorating basics to specific staging techniques to selling techniques as well as some essential business skills is what will help the graduates the most.  Providing means of coaching, follow up and participation in client projects will assure that the most motivated graduates will acquire additionnal skills. 

So choose carefully and ask a lot of questions before taking a decision!  Don't be fooled by the fancy marketing terms and false promises - ask a lot of questions and be realistic.  Home Staging is a wonderful profession and it deserves to be practiced in a professionnal way!