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Your Home Staging Business - What certification did you get to become a home stager? Would it be beneficial for me to get this?

Your Home Staging Business - What certification did you get to become a home stager?? Would it be beneficial to me to get this?

Here is the first question and answer in my blog series Your Home Staging Business - You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers!

Q: What certification did you get to become a home stager?? Would it be beneficial to me to get this? from Marlene Pellegini

A: Marlene, thanks for this question. I took the on-line classes provided by Home Staging Resource and I am "certified" by them. I thought it was a great program for what I needed. 'What I needed' is the key phrase here. I had been staging for a few years for my interior design clients whom were putting their homes on the market. We didn't call it 'home staging' though. We called it 'getting a house ready for sale'. I already understood the nuts and bolts of how to stage a home. I really needed help with setting up my home staging business - contracts, forms, etc. I wanted to make sure all my i's were dotted and my t's were crossed. Home Staging Resource was perfect for me in that regard because signing up for their program gave me access to a ton of staging business forms and marketing materials, as well as hints and tips for growing my business. HSR will also build a stand-alone web site for you and get you business cards rapidly (I didn't avail myself of this offer as I already had a web site and cards). They do not provide hands on training, but Home Staging Resource was perfect for what I needed. If you choose to pursue staging training there are many reputable training programs out there. You need to do your due diligence and determine which program is right for you.

Regarding 'certification', there is no independent national organization currently that is certifying Home Stagers, as far as I know. All 'certifications' are currently issued by the training providers, again, as far as I know, and there is no governmental or regulatory agency standard for what these certifications mean. I personally prefer to "stage naked" meaning that, until there is an independent national organization certifying home stagers (RESA is working on this), I don't use any letters after my name. I have never had a single client ask me if I was 'certified', and to my knowledge, I have never lost a job because I was not 'certified'. There are a number of very talented and successful stagers that are 'certified' by their training provider(s), have multiple 'certifications', or "stage naked". For me, until there is certification issued by an independent national organization, my portfolio of my work and my referrals are my best 'certification'.

I'm sure there are many established professional home stagers that have an opinion about these 2 questions. Please feel free to respond to Marlene's questions in the comments below.

Question #2: Your Home Staging Business - How do I grow my home staging business?

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Michelle Minch is an award winning designer and home stager. Please visit our Los Angeles home staging web site to learn more about home staging and how we can help you sell your home faster and for the best price. You can also call Michelle at (626)441-8975.

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Moving Mountains Design Home Staging

Moving Mountains Design is one of the most successful home staging companies in Los Angeles, CA.

We measure our success by the speed in which our staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price. We work with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.

Some of our services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.

For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.

Click here to see our Los Angeles home staging portfolio

Click here to go to our Los Angeles home staging blog

Click here for more information about home staging in Los Angeles and how we can help sell your home faster and for the best price

Posted by Michelle Minch Home Staging Los Angeles & Pasadena, CA on 01/05/2009 03:16 PM

Comments (11)

Home Staging Business in the Networking Channel

home staging business, home staging company, pasadena home stager, los angeles home stager, home staging resource

Post is included in group: Stagers Open Forum
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11 Comments on Your Home Staging Business - What certification did you get to become a home stager? Would it be beneficial for me to get this?

JAN

I think staging is very important and there are more and more folks getting certified. So I guess someone in our organization needs to do this.Thanks for the post

Charlie: I agree 100%. Staging is very important in preparing a home for sale and getting it sold quickly. Thanks for commenting.

Michelle,

Thanks for the link love! I have thought about getting certified in home staging and I may be pursuing this. Thanks so much for the info and the inspiration! I saw what you did for tasteful Christmas decorations in that lovely home you blogged about recently. I would have enjoyed that job. :-)

Since ya put it out there here's my 2 pennies...Being "certified", "accredited" or "trained" does not necessarily a stager make - and in the same sentence, knowing "how to stage" and "running a staging business" are not the same either. And this is NOT to say that there is no value in taking a staging course - I believe there is and as you said Michelle, what I got was right for me at the time. I do wish there were standardized norms or generally accepted business practices that would essentially "govern" this business & the staging community but since it is not regulated it's anyone's game. RESA is a step forward in this direction.

The mentorship of other real estate professionals and staging colleagues and the good ole school of hard knocks has shaped and molded me and I will always be a work in progress. I do wish there were more hours devoted to the business side of things in the variety of staging courses out there. It's virtually impossible to get everything you need in a week or less but it's definitely a start.

Karen: Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Every stager or wanna-be stager's needs will be different. Some take great comfort in knowing they paid for a class and they have some letters behind their name. Others prefer to go it alone. I agree that finding a mentor (or a group of mentors), mentoring others and networking with other staging professionals has been most important in my development.

group of sistahs

:o))

HSR--Home Staging Resource has been very helpful to me as well. I had absolutely no idea how to run a staging business and HSR has given me the knowledge and confidence that I need to succeed. Audra Slinkey is very motivational and knows how to market your business. Thanks for your comments.

Lori: Nice to meet a fellow HSR alum. And thank you for your comment.

JAN

I too am a certified Home Staging Resource Stager and Redesigner. GREAT Program.

I am also the Raleigh Chapter President of ASHSR!

This is a great business to be in!

Teresa: It is important for all of us to be involved in networking and moving staging forward on as many levels as possible. Thanks for the comment.

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