Home staging business success relies on a few things.
Teaching thousands of stagers since 2005, I’ve noticed the biggest barrier that stops so many in their tracks.
This metaphor occurred to me one of the many times I thought I was lost.
I lived in 3 different cities in 4 years and learned my way around all of them by car. This was before GPS.
I often pulled over to the side of the road to look at a map, convinced that I was headed in the wrong direction.
It happened so often that I coined the phrase “giving up a block too soon.”
I realized I was letting self-doubt force me to pull over, even when just a minute before I was sure I was going the right way.
I had to wonder if this wasn’t a metaphor for how I was living my life in other ways.
The idea of not “giving up a block to soon,” has been useful in raising my daughter on my own.
She watched me pull over and spread out the roadmap in all those cities. Even better, she watched me realize I wasn’t really lost at all (and if I was, a roadmap was the solution).
We still talk about not giving up a block to soon more than 20 years later. When either of us is frustrated by a challenge or second-guessing what direction we’re going in life.
What Does This Have to Do With Home Staging Business Success?
Self doubt is a powerful emotion. It stops us dead in our tracks both literally and figuratively.
When you start your home staging business you may not expect to be an overnight success. Yet, when you’re not sure when your next home staging job is coming, it’s easy to question your decision to be a home stager.
I’ve heard home stagers complain that they started their business 6 weeks ago and still don’t have their first client!
The self doubt is already kicking in and they’re wondering if they’ve chosen the wrong business. The more they listen to that negative voice in their heads saying “this will never work,” the more their enthusiasm wanes. And they start to hold themselves back.
It took me three months to get my first client. And, I made $5,000 on that one project.
Imagine if I had given up just before that first call from a potential client? This home staging career that’s lasted over 20 years would never have happened.
Even if you’ve taken a bunch of home staging courses and have been doing everything right, it will take time to get your name out there. Time to prove why home staging works and that there’s value in the services you provide.
If you’re frustrated because things are going slower than you hoped, the worst thing you can do is give up. Instead you should look at ways to improve your marketing.
You haven’t given your home staging business success a chance if you “give up a block too soon.” And you’ll always wonder what would have happened if you’d stuck in out.
Your first year in business is going to have it’s challenges.
You’re learning how to talk about your new career and getting comfortable with calling yourself a home stager. It’s such a key part of getting established, and building your reputation.
And for many, you’re learning how to be your own boss for the first time!
If you don’t give up and “pull over to the side of the road,” you’ll experience how much easier it all becomes as the weeks and months go by.
As you master being in your own business, and a growing audience learns about you and your home staging services, projects and opportunities will present themselves.
In your second year as a home stager things will be even better because you’ll reap the rewards of all that marketing you did in year one. Plus you’ll feel more confident in your abilities. Those moments of self doubt will happen less. And you’ll be more resilient.
Over time it just continues to get easier. You’ll still experience peaks and valleys because that happens with any business.
The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to panic when you hit another valley.
When you find yourself in the middle of a slow period thinking there’s no business anymore and you’re going to give up, remember that you’ve seen this trend before and you made it. The customers are still out there, you just have to keep marketing and things will come around.
If you’re just starting out, or if you’re currently experiencing a “valley” in your business, stick it out because you never know if you’re giving up a block too soon.
Home stagers, do you have any tips to share about keeping that momentum going? Did you feel like giving up but kept on persevering? Please share by leaving a comment below.
Many times I have felt like giving up but then a call will come thru that once again motivates, inspires and re-enforces the hope and determination to keep going.
Isn’t it amazing how a single phone call can pull us right out of our “this will never work” funk and get us back into the “anything is possible” mindset?
I’ve been supporting myself from my home office since 1989 and I can still go emotionally up and down depending on how busy I am. It’s one of the big challenges of being an entrepreneur no matter what business you’re in.
Don’t forget to re-listen to Course 1 of the Staging Diva Program, there are a lot of my entrepreneur survival tips in there which will help you use the down time to your best advantage and keep those self-doubts at bay so they won’t sabotage your success.
The first year is definitely hard. I have started my business over again in a new city (Victoria, BC) where they are not that aware of home staging yet. It has been difficult to maintain a positive attitude. I am up and down on a daily basis but because of encouragement from friends and Debra I keep on plugging away. This is what I want to do for a living and I’m not willing to give up yet.
Thanks for the well timed boost Debra.
Diana Zinck
The Stage Coach, Victoria, BC
http://www.tscvictoria.com
diana@stagecoachredesigner.com
So true, so true! I think this will inspire many stagers that are facing those doubts. Great article.
One of the things that keeps me going is that I know a lot of my competition won’t have the drive, passion or more importantly – the commitment – to make it past one, two or even three years. (A lot of them will give up a block too early.) And during that time, I will continue to build my business, gaining valuable experience.
There are a lot of talented people out there – in so many professions – but it takes more than staging talent to succeed.
I think it’s important to set short and long term goals. Writing them down, and keeping them visible, helps me stay on track. I keep my short term goals and tasks on the refrigerator, so I check them every day. Long term goals are on my desk, and always visible.
My first anniversary will be March 1st. I developed my website and began marketing myself. Finally in June, I began a reno & staging project on a house which was on market for less than 2 months when it got offer. I de-staged last week.
The realtor for that property encouraged the owner of a 1 bdrm condo to stage with me when he took over the listing. After 6+ mos. with no activity, the staged property had an offer within 6 days. My client on this project is 100 years old: I had never met a 100 year old person before!
This realtor is pleased & referred me to another property for a staging consult and discussed forming a partnership. The realtor who brought the buyer to the house was impressed and phoned me last nite re: staging a small condo. My portfolio is growing & word is spreading!
Staging plus running my boutique Ooh La La!, where I have small furniture, lamps & decor which I can buy wholesale and then either sell or use for staging, have kept me busy, provided me with new experiences and been fun. I am now doing something I really enjoy: I can’t wait to start my next project.
Find your own style and your own way of marketing yourself. It will come together when the timing is right.
Sharon, thanks for sharing your story. As you know I love to support my Staging Diva Graduates with free publicity where I can. This would make a great article about the power of home staging. Submit your details here;
https://stagingdiva.com/homestagingbusiness/staging-success-stories/
I consider myself an established home stager, yet last year’s economy was brutal on my business. It was like my whole service area just hunkered down to ride out an uncertain storm. My phone may not have been ringing, but I kept working on my business. My inbox may have been empty (except for Debra’s supportive messages) but still I kept working on my business. Things like marketing plans, relationship building, and new approaches to branding were all worked on every week. The result… I’m soooo busy right now I can hardly keep up! Staging work, re-design work, mulitple paid speaking engagements, referral revenues, it’s all coming back!
Yes last year stunk, but quitting was not an option for me. Walking away from my “baby” would have probably sent me into depression. Everything worth having comes with hard work… That’s why they call child birth “Labor”.
I haven’t had a consultation yet, but I have been joining every organization and passing out tons of business cards. On weekends going to open houses and putting info in to mail boxes for FSBO houses. I have a lot of determination and know it will happen when it is the right time. Debra has done a fantastic job on preparing me for the business. The only direction I can go now is UP. I want to quit my day job so I can do this full time so I am impatient at times. I have lots of support which is great for helping me hang in there. I really love reading the questions and reply’s, it is so good to be connected to great women!
The thing I love best about staging is that no two projects or clents are the same. That keeps the creative juices flowing and boredom at bay. Recently, I ‘ve been very busy working for a granite manufacturer staging kitchens and baths that will be featured in upcoming marketing materials (direct mail, website, brochures). I get paid to stage beautiful “after” spaces, get my name and company marketed directly to clients that are renovating their homes, and best of all obtain free professionally shot photos of my work! This company has been so impressed with what I’ve done that they have asked me to work for them!
Congratulations on that success Lisa! I’d love to write about what you’re doing for this company in an upcoming article. Please submit your info at this link:
https://stagingdiva.com/homestagingbusiness/staging-success-stories/
Once you’re an entrepreneur and doing quality work for others, lots of job opportunities will come your way. It’s a testament to how good your work is. As tempting as some of them may sound, remember that you can make more money working for yourself than someone else. I’ve been my own boss since 1989 and seen my ups and downs, but so glad I’ve maintained my independence.