MY VERY FIRST JOB AS A HOME STAGER

Mary Lou: Thank you for sharing your story.  Those are great pictures- You do nice work; you should be very proud!

Congratulations Mary Lou!  Your love for your profession and hard work are paying off and show in the pics!  Much success in the future!!

Cindy Eanes

Best of luck and sounds like you are having fun - that is a great job to have if you enjoy it.

Mary Lou, staging is one of those things that provides almost instant gratification.  When you see the results of your transformation and the difference it makes in the lives of your clients it's a win/win.  Continued success in your chosen field.

Mary Lou, sounds like a great first staging job. I had left brochures at a Realty office - one of many.

I got a call from a young agent. He had a house that wasn't selling. He had talked them into updating the home and wanted me to advise them. I drove up to the multi-million dollar home and bravely knocked. The house was stuck in the 80's. I chose hardwood to replace the teal wall to wall and tile for the kitchen and a bathroom. By the time the house was finished they had done flooring throughout the house, painting and replaced the built-in appliances. A double garage of a relative and 2 storage units were filled.

The house was stunning and sold within the month.

That is a great story.  Thanks so much for sharing it.  Continued success to you!

Mary Lou - congrats!  How exciting to get that first job. 

My first job came through a Realtor/friend who knew I had just become accredited as a stager.  The second job was for a vacant property.  (Yikes!)  The homeowner had found me on the internet.  I remember standing in that big, empty house waiting for the furniture to be delivered.  I turned to my staging partner and said, "I sure hope we know what we're doing."  It was great fun.  I've never been so proud of anything in all my life.

Great story Mary Lou!  Hope things continue to pick up for you!

Mary Lou,

I remember how thankful I was to get my first project.  I did a post on it.  We painted walls and kitchen cabinets much like you did with your first project.  The house was still in the 70's and we updated everything.  We really were happy when it sold 21 days after the Staging for 20k over the estimated price.  The pictures of that project were the best before and after pictures I have...it was a big transformation. 

I really enjoyed reading your story and how your success started. 

Mine was a vacant, new construction, million dollar house. Needless to say, I was completely overwhelmed with the process of pricing my services and making the necessary furniture/accessory selections! The seller was thrilled with the results when it sold within a few months after more than  a year on the market. I learned an awful lot from that job.   

LOL! Well our first job came before my partner and I had even officially decided to start a staging company. A local realtor who had seen some of the designs I had created came to me and asked if I could help her out with a listing. I was stunned, excited .. and instantly overwhelmed. I called a good friend and fellow designer who I had tossed around the idea of staging with and asked if she was free to help me at a listing the next day. We filled our vans with "stuff" and drove over 45 minutes before the open house. The realtor was overwhelmed by the transformation and the house sold in 5 days for $10K over the listing price. From that job we got calls from other realtors in the area .. and then a home owner found us online and the rest is history. We all start somewhere, somehow but its always interesting to hear what got your foot in that first door ..

That's a great story, Mary Lou.  I can feel your anxiety.   I didn't sleep much the night before my first appointment (or for many appointments after that).  The realtor had found me on HSR's website even though I had no website of my own.  I offered to show him my portfolio (from my own house and a friend's), but he said, "No, I found you on the internet, so you must be good."  Ha! 

It turned out that he purchased the furniture used.  We are using that same furniture in another house tomorrow - 2 years later!