atlanta home staging: Is Social Media a Waste of Time?
- 05/26/11 10:23 AM
A couple of months ago I received a phone call from Whitney. “Patsy,” she said, “I found you on the web and need to talk to you about staging my Atlanta home.” (As an aside, the most beautiful words in the English language to the small business owner have to be, “I found you on the web.” Hooray! My SEO strategies are working!) She asked what the procedure is for home staging. Here is what I shared with her: I always recommend that we start with a staging consultation. This is a two-hour service where we walk through the home, … (15 comments)
atlanta home staging: What I Learned in 2010
- 12/31/10 02:02 AM
Here it is, the final day of 2010. It's time to be reflective and think of what worked this past year, what didn't work, and what I want to do differently in 2011. Here's a recap of what I learned, both good and bad, in 2010: Being a professional color consultant is lots of fun!!! Flying squirrels love to party after midnight -- especially in my attic! Here's a shot of Zack with Caliber Pest Solutions holding (dead) flying squirrel #8. Gaining weight is much easier than losing weight. (Okay, I already knew that.) If you eat too much chocolate, you … (40 comments)
atlanta home staging: A Funny Thing Happened At My Microsoft Outlook Class
- 11/07/10 10:52 AM
A Funny Thing Happened At My Microsoft Outlook Class Since I cranked up my Atlanta home staging business in August of 2007, I have been using Windows Mail. For some reason it recently occurred to me that, in order to give a more professional appearance to my mail and take advantage of the calendar and incredible tools available in Microsoft Outlook, I needed to make the switch. So I signed up for a class which was taught at the Gainesville KW office last week and headed out. I had heard great things about the instructor, so I was looking forward to it. The … (14 comments)
atlanta home staging: Mentoring - A Real Kick
- 04/09/09 01:48 PM
Last week I received a call from a woman in the area who is contemplating becoming a stager. She found me on the internet, saw that I was close by, and asked if I had time to discuss the business with her. I immediately said, "Absolutely!" What an honor to help bring someone else along into the wonderful world of staging! We met for lunch a few days ago. She whipped out her sheet full of questions and the fun began. She asked questions such as, "Do I need to be accredited?" (Yes, I highly recommend it. It gives you credibility … (31 comments)
atlanta home staging: My Kid is Inmate of the Month at the County Jail
- 03/17/09 09:07 AM
Aren't you sick of parents bragging on their kids? Several years ago I initiated the annual Overton Christmas letter. With my first edition I made 3 promises: I would never write more than one page. (I have had to reduce the font size a couple of times in order to keep that promise.) I wouldn't sell my mailing list, no matter what they offered. I would never brag on my kid! Okay, back to my title. I actually saw this today in bumper sticker form on the car in front of me. The question that immediately popped into my mind was, "How … (14 comments)
atlanta home staging: Vignette Staging - Do You or Don't You?
- 03/14/09 06:16 AM
I had a call from an agent a few weeks ago requesting a bid to stage the townhome he had recently listed. The homeowner's budget was limited (as usual) and there were few options. I mentioned that vignette staging seemed to be the only way to go, but that I was, in principle, opposed to it. The reason is that I have seen too many "tacky" vignette stagings gone wild and I think the work is seen as "less than" staging. That is certainly how I viewed it. In order to clarify, my definition of "vignette staging" is using only lightweight pieces … (38 comments)
atlanta home staging: Agents, Do You Partner With a Stager? Why or Why Not?
- 03/14/09 01:20 AM
Okay, there it is. I've put it out there. The burning question that's on every stager's mind. First, let me explain my position and where I'm coming from. Two years ago I became a licensed agent. I immediately signed up with a local RE office and began my work as a Realtor. In the meantime, I realized quickly that what I REALLY wanted to do was to stage homes. So once I settled into the RE routine, I set out to become an accredited stager. I've been working as such ever since and have never looked back. RE is not my … (16 comments)
atlanta home staging: Elvis is Dead, Tiger's Back, and I'm Somewhere Stuck in the Middle
- 02/26/09 10:45 AM
So I'm better off than Elvis, but not quite on par with Tiger (no pun intended). What's a Stager (or Realtor) to do? I went to an evangelism conference at my church Monday night. The keynote speaker, trying to encourage the pastors, told us a great story regarding Van Cliburn, the world renowned pianist. In case your are not familiar with Van Cliburn, here are the basics: he was a child prodigy first performed at the age of 4 played a performance of Tchaikovsky with the Houston Symphony Orchestra at age 13 at age 14, performed at Carnegie Hall graduated from Juilliard with … (15 comments)
atlanta home staging: Agents, Can We Talk?
- 02/21/09 11:34 AM
I am both an accredited home stager and a licensed agent, but not selling. (I was thrown under the bridge one too many times early in my illustrious RE career and decided I didn't have the stomach for it, but I digress.) The point is, I know the business from both sides. As a home stager, may I be so bold as to remind you of something I share with other agents when I give home staging presentations in RE offices? They always seem to appreciate hearing this. Here it is. The online photographs of your listed properties are MUCH more important … (8 comments)
atlanta home staging: Staging for Demi and Ashton!!! (sort of)
- 02/21/09 04:19 AM
I'm sure you all have a staging story that's just plain fun to circulate. I'd love to hear yours! Here's mine... Last fall I performed a staging consultation for an owner/agent on his beautiful metro Atlanta country estate. While the home was staged to near perfection to begin with, I did make a few minor suggestions. To say that I "staged the home" is a drastic overstatement, but I was involved to a small degree. A couple of months later I called the owner to inquire about activity on the property. Was I surprised to hear his story??!!!! It seems that Demi Moore was coming … (4 comments)
atlanta home staging: Don't hold your clients hostage!!!
- 02/06/09 11:11 PM
Agents, Are you (unknowingly) preventing your clients from staging their homes, even though you understand the value of staging? Please allow me to explain. Last week I received a cry for help from an agent. She had just taken over a listing of a vacant property that has been sitting for over a year. She said, "I know the home needs staging to add warmth to give it that 'homey' feel to potential buyers, but the homeowner will never go for it. She simply will not spend the money for staging. What can I do?" I proposed having her send before and … (0 comments)
Welcome to my blog! I'll be writing mainly about my life as a home stager and all the crazy things that happen along the way, but will also post on the "other stuff" from time to time. I hope you find the read informative, interesting, and just plain fun.
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