Admin

Opinions needed- What do you think of my business plan?

By
Mortgage and Lending with National Realty Guild

Hello Everyone,

 

Well I hope everyone had a great holiday and got to spend time with family and friends. Well, I'll get straight to the point- my neighbor and I are in the process of starting a business and our main focus is stagers. Since my neighbor has been in the furniture business for over 20 yrs he can get furniture at prices that are very competitive. He already has a warehouse with plenty of space and we are interested in offering the following services to stagers and I was hoping to get some feedback as to if this is a needed service. Here is the basics of our plan:

 1. Sell furniture to stagers - we already have over $30,000 in antiques and plan on adding more quality furniture soon. Our goal is to provide furniture that stands out when a home buyer is out looking at 20 homes, so some of our stuff will be a little more contemporary, but we will have the basics too. I was thinking if you had one or two pieces that would help a potential buyer remember a certain property- it would benefit the seller.

 

2. We will store your furniture at our heated warehouse.

 

3. We will have some unique furniture to rent- something that will make your staged houses stand out.

 

4. We will deliver and pick up your furniture for you too.

 

Your opinions are greatly appreciated and please don't be shy-if you think this is a crazy idea let me know. 

 

Thank you,

 

Jason 

Show All Comments Sort:
Frank Rubi
Frank Rubi Real Estate, LLC - Metairie, LA
FrankRubiRealEstate.com
Jason, I am not a stager, so my thoughts don't apply. I do hope you have success with your new venture. Good Luck.
Nov 29, 2007 01:49 AM
Susan Boeldt
Century 21 Rautmann/Schils Real Estate Inc - Sheboygan, WI
Staging in my area is not so hot. I do not reccomend it, I found that people want the house empty. I have had severl buyers say who do they think they are trying to kid?  Maybe in your area it is "the thing" to do, I just wonder if it is another fad!  Best of luck to you.
Nov 29, 2007 01:56 AM
Nancy Brenner
Referral Associates of Georgia, Inc. - Roswell, GA
Roswell Georgia Real Estate Agent
I deal mostly in foreclosed homes - sold "AS IS" and have never hired anyone to stage a home.  I think, though, that what you're doing is a good idea and I wish you much success.
Nov 29, 2007 01:57 AM
Kimberly Uksik
Independent - Pickering, ON
Home Stager - Durham, Toronto, On.

Jason,

This sounds like a great idea.  The biggest complaint stagers have are trying to find good rental furniture and a good cost.  Especially different items that aren't the same as what we ususally stage with.

 

Good Luck!!

Nov 29, 2007 03:07 AM
Janice Sutton
1st Stage Property Transformations - Murrieta, CA
Home Stager - Temecula Murrieta

Best of luck to you.  Having a business plan is key!

I am a little concerned about the type of furniture you will carry in your inventory.  As a home stager I make sure that my inventory is not a distraction to the property. Keep in mind that we are selling the house "not the stuff in it."  Our inventory should enhance the space but not take away from it.  Does that make sense"  The "unique furniture" may be a bit too much.

I do not use any antiques in my inventory since that only appeals to a certain % of the masses.  Contemporary furniture is more attractive to the masses.  Make sure your inventory will appeal to the masses so that you don't box yourself in with inventory that will only work for a few.  Good luck!

Nov 29, 2007 03:20 AM
Jackie Peraza
Perceptions AdverStaging(TM), LLC - Framingham, MA
Home Stager - Framingham, Massachusetts

Jason - Good luck with your new venture!  Are you only going to be local to the area in MN that you're in?  If so, the best market research you could do would be to pick up the phone and make appointments with local stagers, asking them to take a look at your inventory as well as catalogues of furniture you will have available to them.  Also, allow them to take a look at the storage facility you'll allow them to use.  They'll give you the necessary feedback - otherwise the 'market research' data you gather is going to be too broad and you might end up purchasing 'stock' that is not best suited for your geographic area.

Jackie

Nov 29, 2007 03:42 AM
Marci Toliver
438-4642 - Mauldin, SC
Anderson SC, Spartanburg,Greenville SC, Home Staging
Can you come to SC!  this is a good business plan! and I agree with Janice- we don't use many antiques as stagers! 
Nov 29, 2007 03:42 AM
Julie Dana
The Home Stylist - Buffalo, NY
ASP, Staging for Buffalo, NY area

I also think that unique and antique furniture is not appropriate for staging. I want nice "on trend" (think Pottery barn basics) pieces.  Really interesting pieces of furntiure distract buyers.

Take a look at the group Staging Before & After pictures. You will see some examples of typical staging there. 

The folks who commented on staging is just a fad certainly have a right to their opinion but they probably also thought the Internet is just a fad. Staging is here to stay.

Nov 29, 2007 03:44 AM
Jason DeMarre
National Realty Guild - Lakeville, MN
Thanks to everyone that has responded so far, I really appreciate it.  Any other comments are greatly appreciated. Since I'm new to this area of business getting feedback from people who are in the industry is priceless to me. Thanks again!!
Nov 29, 2007 03:45 AM
Kimberly Wester
Valparaiso, IN

Jason -

I'm obviously unfamiliar with your market, but if it helps, I would not make a huge investment in the antiques.  Like Janice stated above, they are more taste specific than we would ususally look for.  However, you never know when you may need that one special piece for a historic property so having a few on hand may work to your advantage - even for those stagers who carry their own inventory and rearely need those pieces. Renting from you periodically is much better than making the investment themselves. Just know that this category in your inventory may not have a high turnover.

One thing most rental companies lack is high end furnishings. That would be worth looking into as well.  Good luck!

Nov 29, 2007 07:46 AM
Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate
Fred Griffin Real Estate - Tallahassee, FL
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

We invite you back to ActiveRain!

    Much has changed since your last visit to ActiveRain.  I encourage you to take another look at the website. 

    Surf some blogs, leave some comments.  Better yet, post a Blog.

    Best to you!

Dec 20, 2015 01:38 PM