Learning the most important home staging business lessons will put anyone who wants to start their own staging company on the fast track to financial independence. As a person who runs a prosperous home staging consulting business, I can tell you that the best way to make a good living in this, or any, industry is to start your own company and be your own boss.
While this proposition is intimidating for many new stagers, it is a worthwhile long-term goal for those who have the skills, training and courage to go out on their own with the hope for real success. Of course, this is not the ideal advice for new or inexperienced staging professionals. But for seasoned veterans, this is certainly a path worth traversing.
This commentary teaches some of the most valuable of all business lessons in the property enhancement sector.
Home Staging Business Lessons / Planning
The majority of new staging businesses fail. This is not because the principals lack skill or drive, but instead, because of a lack of a proper and realistic business plan. The vast majority of businesses do not have enough capital to get them going strong and the owner has few, if any, thoughts on actually making a go of things from a realistic point of view.
Now, the home staging sector is blessed, since a new business can get started with limited investment funds and can even be a part-time gig while the boss retains a “day job”. Of course, at some point, if the business is to grow, more investment of time and money will have to be made, in order to survive long-term. Never consider investing time or money into any industry, without first having a proper and well-developed business plan.
Home Staging Business Implementation
Once you have a realistic map of what you need to do in order to succeed in business, then you can go about designing your life to accommodate the plan. You may need time to save money or to develop the connections or skills that you will need in order to thrive on your own. Do not rush this process, since haste truly does make waste. Take each step as you are ready and able, and do not leap before you look.
Many people, including myself, develop a part-time business while they are still employed doing other things. This is a great way to move slowly and carefully into a new career, while still providing yourself with a financial safety net, which can be very comforting indeed.
The only time I recommend jumping in with a full commitment attitude and no other work obligations is if you truly need to devote a full time effort to keep up with your growing new company or if you simply have no other way of making money. Either way, you will work 100% towards your goal or go down fighting.
Value of Home Staging Business Lessons
Starting a staging business can be very expensive for owners who choose to buy many of their own furnishings for rental. I generally advise this path only for experienced corporate stagers with huge investment capital and a formal business education. For the rest of you, I would recommend developing good business relationships with area furniture and art rental suppliers, saving you the investment upfront, while simultaneously expanding your offerings exponentially. This is a win/win scenario for all involved.
Most of all, do not worry too much about heavy advertising at the beginning. Instead, take time to develop personal and business relationships which will lead to the best types of clients: those which come by way of personal referral and recommendation. Once you have a good core customer base, that knows you and trusts you, the path towards success will get easier by the day.
