http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/business/small-business/home-staging-helps-real-estate-investors-and-builders-maximize-profits.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/small-business/home-staging-helps-real-estate-investors-and-builders-maximize-profits.html Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600
If you have gone through the expensive and time-consuming job of renovating, don't decide to save money when it comes to furnishings and accessories.

When you've gone through expensive renovations, suffered with delays or extended beyond your budget, it's difficult to stay motivated to the bitter end. It can be tempting to say, "It's good enough. The paint's dry; let's put it on the market as is!"

This is short sighted and can cost you a bundle!

It's relatively inexpensive to rent anything you need, and these finishing touches help ensure you make the profit you deserve for all those costly repairs.

Imagine it's the Academy Awards. A big star is wearing a fabulous designer gown so she decides she doesn't need to get her hair done. Does everyone talk about the fabulous gown? Of course not, all they can remember is the terrible hair!

Or imagine a fine painting stuck in a dollar store frame. Does the painting have the same appeal as it would if it had been framed by a professional? Conversely, have you ever taken one of your child's paintings and had it framed? What a difference it makes compared to how it looked when it was stuck on the fridge with a magnet.

5 REASONS IT'S A BAD IDEA TO LEAVE ROOMS EMPTY WHEN SHOWING YOUR HOUSE:

1. People don't buy houses, they buy homes.

2. It is difficult to understand how large a room is when there's nothing in it as a reference point.

3. People can't visualize how furniture will fit in an empty space, and if they're unsure, they don't buy.

4. When a room is empty prospective buyers focus on negative details instead of falling in love with the overall space.

Instead of looking at the flow of one room to another, prospective buyers get bogged down in questions like: Is the drywall smooth? Will those bumps in the carpet come out? Why doesn't the closet have a hanging bar? Why doesn't that molding fit perfectly? Why is the light switch in the middle of the wall?

5. When a house or even a few rooms are empty prospective buyers can get distracted from paying attention to the house and shift their focus to the home owners.

Instead of focusing on whether this is the home for them, they may be busy wondering: Is this a divorce? Have they left town? Are they selling because they have money problems? This train of thought can then prompt buyers to starting thinking, "maybe I can put in a low ball offer since the seller might be desperate." Definitely not the picture you are trying to paint.

Home staging is about packaging a home to show off its best features and downplay the flaws. You romance the buyer and entice them into making an emotional connection with your house. So, bring in some furnishings and accessories to add character and warmth to the home. Taking the time to do these final details will ultimately translate into a higher return on your investment.



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Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is president of Six Elements and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Debra is the author of two home staging guides and offers a Directory of Home Stagers to help homeowners and real estate agents locate home stagers who will decorate homes to sell quickly and for top dollar. Visit http://www.stagingdiva.com




Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/desperate-home-sellers-turn-to-home-staging-for-a-competitive-edge.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/desperate-home-sellers-turn-to-home-staging-for-a-competitive-edge.html Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600
Most importantly, the home must stand out from the crowd and be a welcoming island in the sea of homes for sale. Without a doubt, having a home professionally staged is the single best way to outshine the competition. Home Staging (House Staging, Real Estate Staging) is the art of decorating a home to sell quickly and for top dollar.

People shop with logic and buy on emotion. If prospective buyers don't fall in love within minutes of walking into a house and have that same emotional connection all the way through, they'll be off to the next appointment. This is especially true in a buyer's market when they feel no pressure to make an immediate offer.

New home builders offer model homes for viewing, because they know how important it is to help potential buyers imagine themselves living in the house. Staging allows individual homeowners to employ that same proven concept.

There are several points you should keep in mind when hiring a Home Stager, including the home stager's knowledge of real estate and the local market in particular. Most importantly, however, you should be aware that the Home Staging industry is unregulated. There are no official home staging credentials, so you should not assume any Home Stager is an expert simply because he or she is "accredited" or "certified". It is always important to ask questions of anyone you are considering hiring.

Real estate agents or neighbors are excellent sources for referrals or individuals can locate a Home Stager in their area by visiting the Staging Diva Home Staging Directory at http://www.stagingdiva.com/homestagingdivadirectory.html

In the current real estate climate with so much inventory and competition, achieving the best possible sales result has become even more difficult, and many sellers are simply hoping that their home sells at any price or that they can avoid the significant price cuts recommended by their agents.

But in order to sell, a home must be marketed wisely. Statistics show that staging homes results in faster sales and higher prices than homes that are put on the market "as is". A small investment in staging can make a significant difference in the outcome of a sale.



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Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is president of Six Elements and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Debra is the author of two home staging guides and offers a Directory of Home Stagers to help homeowners and real estate agents locate home stagers who will decorate homes to sell quickly and for top dollar. Visit http://www.stagingdiva.com


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/interior-design-or-home-staging-which-is-career-right-for-you.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/interior-design-or-home-staging-which-is-career-right-for-you.html Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600
I interviewed a number of interior design schools at various points in my past career but never followed through on actually applying. I already had a BA, an MBA and years of experience. The thought of being a full time student for two to four more years with a bunch of kids twenty years younger than me was not very appealing. And the cost was huge considering the significant income I would be giving up over that period.

Over the past five years, I have been approached by a surprising number of interior design graduates that asking me to hire them for my home staging company, Six Elements, Inc. Most seem to be working as sales people in furniture stores and are looking for a way out.

Just this week, a woman called me who was working on 100% commission. I couldn't image working retail hours for a furniture store after studying interior design for four years and not even be earning a salary. If you are going to work on a commission-only basis, you should absolutely be in your own business. At least then all the sales come to you instead of a hefty percentage going to your employer.

Here's what I've learned over the past five years about being a Professional Home Stager instead of an "Interior designer":

* As a Home Stager you get many more projects to work on because each project is short-term in nature which translates to much more variety in the job.

* As a Home Stager your clients often give you complete creative control because they understand that they only have to live temporarily with the changes you make to their homes. So, you get to be creative AND make the decisions.

* As a Home Stager you get many referrals for interior redesign and color projects because your staging clients love what you do with the house they are selling and often ask you to work on the new home they are moving into.

* As a Home Stager you have a much larger pool of potential clients to work with because many people who would not normally hire an interior designer or decorator do hire a professional Home Stager when selling their home. As a designer fresh out of interior design school, I know I would not have been able to decorate hundreds of homes in so short a period.

Although I have never attended design school or a design course, the people who hire me never seem to care. They have usually visited my websites, heard about me from their neighbors or real estate agents or have read about Six Elements or Staging Diva in the media. They are not interested in whether or not I can tell them if their chair is Louis the XVI or if I can draw plans to build an addition to their house. They hire me because I'm an expert in decorating a house to sell.

Now that I've staged hundreds of homes, I'm so happy I followed my instincts and stayed out of Interior Design school, and it was a huge relief to finally let go of the stress I had about the decision. Once I had focused my creative energy and talent on my own Home Staging business, I knew I had made the right choice for me.



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Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, knows how to make money as a Home Stager. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Free quiz to see if a home staging business is right for you at http://www.stagingdiva.com



Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/selling-your-home-7-tips-to-hiring-a-professional-home-stager.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/selling-your-home-7-tips-to-hiring-a-professional-home-stager.html Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600
When hiring a professional Home Stager, there are several things to keep in mind:

1. While some Home Stagers claim to be "accredited" there is no independent organization that grants such accreditation.

Some Home Stagers have essentially purchased their "credentials" by taking a weekend course open to anyone. There are no exams or criteria for being "accredited" other than paying for a course. And unfortunately, these courses often give their students a portfolio of before and after photos to claim as their own work.

2. Ask for references and photos of projects the Home Stager has actually worked on.

If you are planning to sell your home for $200,000 or more the Home Stager you hire should have a track record of homes he or she has staged. Have they worked on houses in your price range and in a variety of styles? Do they have reliable suppliers that they can refer you to? If you have a limited time frame before your house hits the market, you especially want to know if the person has had experience working under a deadline.

3. Try to determine whether the Home Stager is recognized as an expert in the field.

Are they quoted by the media? Do they speak at events? Have any of their projects been featured on TV or in print? Do they teach courses or publish articles on the subject?

4. Home Staging is more than decorating or de-cluttering.

Real Estate Staging is more than just "decorating" or "de-cluttering". It is merchandising a home's best features, downplaying its flaws and understanding the psychology of what makes a person fall in love with a home.

5. Real Estate knowledge is critical.

Before you hire a home stager, find out how much they really know about real estate.
Have they bought and sold their own homes in a variety of market conditions? Do they really know what it takes to turn a house into a "hot property"?

6. The Home Stager should understand that preparing to sell your home is a very stressful time.

As with any major life change, preparing and selling your home can be very stressful. Undoubtedly, many fears are triggered.

* Which real estate agent should I list with?
* Will the house be ready on time?
* Are we making the right decision?
* What if we get stuck owning two houses?
* Where can I put all this stuff?
* What will the home stager think of me when she sees this mess?
* Why didn't I decorate before now?
* Who can I get for repairs, gardening, painting and cleaning?
* Do all my rooms need to be furnished?
* How will I cope with showings?

When you hire a professional Real Estate Stager, part of their role is calming these anxieties and answering your questions. Before hiring anyone, ask yourself if the person seems organized, calm and in control and if he or she listens to your needs.

7. Avoid being a penny wise and a pound foolish.

Beware of hiring a Home Stager based on price alone. You may save yourself a couple of hundred dollars only to lose tens of thousands of dollars you could have earned if your home was staged properly from the beginning.

If you are in the market to sell your home, one of the best decisions you can make is to use the services of a professional Home Stager. But before you hire anyone, ask lots of questions. You will be working closely with this person during the project, and this is your chance to see if you will feel comfortable working with him or her.





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Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is president of Six Elements and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Debra is the author of two home staging guides and offers a Directory of Home Stagers to help homeowners and real estate agents locate home stagers who will decorate homes to sell quickly and for top dollar.† To learn more visit http://www.stagingdiva.com ††


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/top-10-reasons-home-staging-is-a-great-home-based-business.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/top-10-reasons-home-staging-is-a-great-home-based-business.html Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600
Home Staging is a great service business to run from a home office for these 10 reasons:

1. Home Staging is a low cost business to start.

You can work from your own home office. You don’t need a store front or inventory. You also don’t need expensive advertising to grow your home staging business successfully.

2. There is no need to invest in inventory or recruit others into the business. Home Staging is not a multi-level marketing scheme.

If you’ve researched the subject of home-based business, you’ve probably encountered lots of schemes that want you to buy inventory and recruit others into the business too.
These are multi-level marketing businesses. Home Staging is not a multi-level marketing business. You don’t have to buy anything and you don’t have to recruit anyone else to join the business. This is something you can do on your own without any recruiting pressures. You aren’t expected to pester every friend and casual acquaintance you’ve ever had to invest in your “unique opportunity.”

3. Home Staging has been recognized as one of the best growth businesses.

Entrepreneur Magazine identified home staging as one of the hottest growth businesses, and the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program is the ONLY home staging business opportunity recognized by the magazine for the last three years in their business start up guide books.

As your own boss, you are in control of how fast you want to grow your home staging business. There are no outside income pressures because this is not a multi-level marketing scheme.

4. The financial rewards are there if you work hard to build your Home Staging business.

Home Stagers create real wealth for their clients by effectively decorating their homes to sell quickly and for top dollar. Once clients realize the significant return they can make on their investment in home staging services, they don’t feel it’s unreasonable to spend several hundred dollars for even two hours of a stager’s time. In other words, working only half a day, you can make what many people take a whole week to earn. If you have five clients in a single week, you can earn more than you did in an entire month of working full time.

And with real estate markets slowing in many parts of the US, the demand for (and interest in) home staging services will continue to grow as desperate home sellers look for an alternative to the costly price reductions their agents recommend.

Home staging businesses can also thrive in a hot real estate market as savvy home sellers realize the greater profits they can make when they have 10 or 15 buyers bidding on their homes, instead of the two or three they might have had before staging.

5. You can still have time for your family or other demands while running a Home Staging or Real Estate Staging business.

You control when you meet clients. If you only want to work during the day when your children are at school you can arrange it that way. “I have an opening for you on Wednesday morning at 9:00 AM works well!”
Or, if you want to start this business on the side while you already have a full time job, then you can meet your clients on evenings and weekends. Many of them will really appreciate it as they work themselves.

6. As a Home Stager, you will have daily opportunities to be creative and meet interesting people.

Home Staging projects very much depend on the creative solutions you develop for your clients, and each one is unique. You get to see the end result very quickly and meet lots of different people as you deal with real estate agents and homeowners.

7. You will enjoy variety and a sense of adventure in a Home Staging business.

Home Staging projects are very short term in nature, lasting days or a couple of weeks. Each house is different and you’ll be visiting streets and neighborhoods you didn’t know existed as you build your home staging client base.

8. You decide who you want to work with and what kind of Home Staging projects you want to take on.

Since a Home Staging project is short term in nature, if you find yourself with a "client from hell," you know they won’t be in your life very long. If you find there are certain real estate agents that don’t share your approach to business, or treat you with less respect than you deserve, don’t work with them again! There are thousands of real estate agents to choose from in most markets. Did you know that in California alone there are 200,000 agents? Clearly not all of them are equally good or equally pleasant to be around!

9. Since you visit clients in their homes, you do not need to worry about what your own home looks like to run a successful home based business in Home Staging.


Nobody needs to know where your home office is and they certainly don’t need to visit your home. So, don’t worry if your house isn’t a reflection of what you want to present to Home Staging clients. The most important thing is to always present yourself in a professional manner.

10. Home Staging does not require specialized training or official credentials because there are none for the Home Staging industry.

Despite what some organizations claim for their own marketing reasons, there are no official credentials to be a Home Stager. You can call yourself a Professional Home Stager today and no one can say anything about it.

Of course calling yourself a Home Stager doesn’t mean you’ll automatically know how to price your services, build your business and get clients. These are important skills to acquire if you want to be financially successful. The relevant point here is that you don’t have to undergo years or even months of training to get into this business.

In fact, the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program will teach you how to grow a profitable and creatively satisfying business in only 10 hours. But you need to already have a basic talent for how to arrange furniture in a room because this is not a hands-on decorating course. Visit http://www.stagingdiva.com for more info.



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Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, knows how to make money as a home stager. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Take the free quiz to see if a home staging business is right for you.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/an-eye-for-decorating-creates-new-career-opportunity-in-2008.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/an-eye-for-decorating-creates-new-career-opportunity-in-2008.html Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600
Some people know what the ideal career would be for them, but feel it’s beyond reach. Others have a passion or a hobby but don’t believe it could ever make them any money. And most people would like to set up a business but don’t have the right experience.

The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program gives individuals who are interested in turning their decorating talents and creativity into a new career the tools to start and grow their own successful home staging business. If you are one of those people who has a passion for design and decorating, home staging may be the ideal way to marry your passion with a highly lucrative business opportunity.

Home Staging (House Staging, House Fluffing, Real Estate Staging) is the art of decorating a home to sell quickly and for top dollar. Home staging has been named one of the hottest growth businesses by Entrepreneur Magazine.

"My mission is to inspire and empower others to discover new opportunities to live the life of their dreams", said internationally recognized home stager Debra Gould, President of StagingDiva.com and developer of the Staging Diva Training Program. "For many of our Staging Diva Graduates, it's their first opportunity to combine their passion for decorating with a desire to run their own business."

The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program is the only home staging program taught by someone with an MBA and over 25 years of business experience, who has also personally built a successful home staging business (not as a sideline to selling real estate). The program’s emphasis is on business practices, marketing strategies and pricing of services. It is not a "decorating" course but instead encourages those with an eye for decorating to turn their passion into a business.

Want to know if Home Staging is the right business for you? Gould has also developed an online quiz to help you decide. View the free quiz at http://www.stagingdiva.com

Heather Ray Ryan of Florida says, "The Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program gave me the knowledge, power and confidence to quit my job of eight years and start doing something I have only dreamed of. Family and friends have a new found respect for me for being an example to my children by stepping outside my comfort zone and going for what I really want!"

The next Home Staging Training Program begins January 9, 2008. For the course description and schedule, visit http://www.stagingdiva.com. Debra adds, "Over 700 Staging Diva graduates worldwide agree that my course is not theory, it’s practical hands-on advice you can use today and in the years ahead as your business evolves."


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Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, knows how to make money as a home stager. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Take a free quiz to see if a home staging business is right for you at http://www.stagingdiva.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/new-year-new-career-for-hgtv-addicts.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/new-year-new-career-for-hgtv-addicts.html Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600
If you have ever watched these shows and said to yourself "I can do that" or "I want to do that", StagingDiva.com offers a specialized program just for you. It's called the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. This program provides individuals with an eye for design the opportunity to combine a passion for decorating with the tools to run a small business. It transforms armchair decorators from dreamers to successful business owners.

Home Staging (House Staging, House Fluffing, Real Estate Staging, Interior Redesign for real estate) is the art of decorating a home to sell quickly and for top dollar.

Heather Ray Ryan of Florida says, "The Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program gave me the knowledge, power and confidence to quit my job of eight years and start doing something I have only dreamed of. Family and friends have a new found respect for me for being an example to my children by stepping outside my comfort zone and going for what I really want!"

Not sure where to begin when starting a business? The Staging Diva Training Program taught by internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, President of StagingDiva.com and Six Elements, Inc. teaches the business side of home staging. It is not a "decorating" course but instead emphasizes best business practices, marketing strategies and pricing of services.

January is often a time when we look to make improvements in our lives particularly in our careers. For those who are ready to take the first step toward a career in decorating, the next Home Staging Training Program is scheduled for January 9, 2008.

If you’re not sure if home staging is right for you, Debra Gould has developed a free online quiz also available at http://www.stagingdiva.com

"My mission is to inspire and empower others to discover new opportunities to live the life of their dreams", said internationally recognized home stager Debra Gould, President of StagingDiva.com and developer of the Staging Diva Training Program. "For many of our Staging Diva Graduates, it's their first opportunity to combine their passion for decorating with a desire to run their own business."

According to Gould, students of the Staging Diva Training Program are quite diverse. They differ in background experience, nationality, current income and age. However, the common denominator among the male and female students is their enthusiasm for decorating. Seventy-six year old Jean Smith says, "I’m so happy to be starting a new business at my age. Thank you Debra for everything you have done to make my dreams come true!"

Maybe it’s time to get off the couch and learn how to put your decorating talent to work for you too.


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Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, knows how to make money as a home stager. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Take a free quiz to see if a home staging business is right for you.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/do-you-think-like-an-entrepreneur.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/career/do-you-think-like-an-entrepreneur.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0600
As a business and marketing trainer to hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs and someone who has a proven track record of growing successful businesses from scratch since the 1980s, including Six Elements (a home staging & interior redesign firm), I developed the following simple quiz to help others gauge their ability to think like an entrepreneur.

1. You get a business referral for a project in your area. You know the potential client has your contact information.

Do you:

a) Wait to hear from the potential client and assume they hired someone else if they don't contact you?
b) Wait a week to contact the client so they won't think you're too desperate?
c) Contact them immediately to introduce yourself and express your interest in learning more about their project and how you can help them?

2. You discover there are other competing companies in your area.

Do you:

a) Assume the market is saturated and give up your dreams?
b) Decide to go into business anyway and charge less than the competition because you're just starting out?
c) Research the size of the market and evaluate whether that sounds like enough potential work for you and your competitors? (If you're an aspiring home stager, for example, this would mean researching how many homes are for sale in your area over a year and dividing that by the number of home stagers you can find.)

3. You invest in your own web site. After less than two months, you've only had one project.

Do you:

a) Decide the Internet is a bad way to promote your business and take down your website?
b) Decide to run a newspaper ad or send flyers door-to-door instead?
c) Evaluate whether you web site has had any traffic. If it has, you try to determine whether there is anything you can do to encourage more of the visitors to actually contact you?

4. You've been in business for several months but you don't have as much business as you'd like.

Do you:

a) Sit at home and wait for the phone to ring?
b) Spend hours discussing your lack of projects and hoping someone will give you the "quick and easy" solution to building your business?
c) Research marketing tactics, business building ideas and strategies for dealing with the "slow times" and take action to change your situation?

I listened to a very interesting teleclass this week. The topic was the shared characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. One of the characteristics was a "sense of urgency around achievement". In other words, entrepreneurs don't wait for success to happen. They take action to make it happen, and they treat their business as a main priority not something to get around to sooner or later.

As you might have guessed, you are thinking like an entrepreneur if you answered "yes" to all the questions above. Could you identify with these choices? If so, congratulations . . . You just might be a future entrepreneur.

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Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is President of Six Elements and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Debra has staged hundreds of homes and uses her expertise to train others worldwide. Visit her at http://www.stagingdiva.com and http://www.sixelements.com


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>