Seems to me a lot of issues could be resoved if we, as stagers, decide if we are in a profession or doing a job.
I consider staging a bonafide profession like Realtor, Doctor, Attorney, CPA. Many stagers are highly educated, have had other professions, jobs, businesses and other varied backgrounds. While the background of a stager does not determine whether or not that stager is in a profession or job it may help to analyze it a bit. What is the difference between a profession and a job?
The (loose) definition of professional ----One who engages in a learned activity for gain or livelihood after extensive education in a field, to be an expert in a particular field or in a particular interest, a person who makes a business of an occupation or hobby in which amateurs frequently engage, or an expert player in sport, as in golf or tennis. Usually there are boards which must certify persons engaged in certain professions ,and tests have to be completed to verify fitness to engage in that given profession.
The loose definition of a job -------work done routinely as part of one's occupation, the process of working, a duty, a responsibility, a position of employment where one reports to a manager or boss and is accountable for getting specific responsibilities accomplished.
In my view what makes the difference between whether the stager is engaged in a profession or performing a job depends upon the amount of education in that professional endeavor. Someone told me today, I could teach staging. I was flattered, but floored and told them I will continue to be a stager. I am just learning to be a stager and to run my business. I am self employed in a profession in which I intend to keep learning. I would not think of teaching others to be stagers. My sense of ethics would preclude any such activity on my part because I would not think of putting someone elses livelihood in my hands at this stage of the game. I am not qualified, nor do I frankly, have an interest in it. So, in short, for one to be a professional stager one has to obtain the requisite education. A week just won't do it. Can't do it, never will do it. Not one profession I know of can be acheived in a week! Get real, maybe being a stager is not rocket science, (though sometimes I think its worse) but it takes a lot of learning. A lot of it comes from the school of hard knocks!
I have had individuals call me from all over the US and ask about courses. I tell them what I know. Anybody offering to educate you to be a qualified, professional stager in a week is a charlatan. Don't do it. Do your homework and find out if this is the profession you want to pursue. I tell them it can be frustrating, demanding, time consuming, costly and downright tough. Part of being a stager is setting up the biz, running the biz, establishing a marketing plan, advertising, inventory management, credit management, and last but not least, rejection management. Are you really tough enough to hear NO for weeks before you get a yes on a small, complicated job? What about dealing with clients who just cannot make up their minds? After all you are a small business owner with all that goes with that. What about professional realtors who just don't get it and won't give you the time of day? It ain't easy.
As a stager you are an independant contractor not an employee doing a job. There is no paycheck for just showing up. There is no boss to blame for your failure, or credit for your success. It is not a 9 to 5 job. For me it is full-time, that is to say 24/7. To do a job is to show up at a certain time, do basically the same job and work regular hours. You know you have to show up, on time ,every time and usually do the same-o-same-o.
And another thing, all stagers are not created equal. Some are divinely creative and some are dismally disadvantaged. I have heard horror stories of bad staging.
This PROFESSION OF STAGING needs to have standards, certification and qualifications like any other profession and that includes those who teach stagers. Staging is a job and a half and it is a profession.
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