Many aspiring home stagers are reluctant to start a business because they claim that nobody will spend money on home staging in this economy. However, the National Retail Federation (NRF) has released statistics saying that American consumers plan to spend more than $447 billion dollars today – the day that has become the unofficial launch of the holiday shopping season.

Traditionally on the day after Thanksgiving, retailers go from being in debt (in the red) to turning a profit (in the black), luring shoppers into their stores with fabulous sales and promotions, hence the name, “Black Friday.”

Compared to 2009 spending habits, $447 billion is an increase of 2.3%!

Home stagers, while it’s true that everyone’s pretty careful about spending these days, as those numbers from the NRF say, if someone really wants or needs something, they WILL spend money on it.

As a perfect example, Apple released their new iPad in April, right in the middle of a recession. This is a gadget nobody had ever heard of before and nobody truly needs. They range in price from $499 to $829 before factoring in the cost of required accessories.

By September, they had sold 3.27 million of them!

Just like Apple did an excellent job of making 3.27 million people think they need their new gadget, as home stagers, you have to make homeowners understand that you can improve their bottom line!

So stop thinking that nobody will spend money on home staging because they will if you show them why they need it.

One way to do this is to remind homeowners of the difference between a cost and an investment. When I think of something that “cost” me money, I understand the money’s gone and that’s that. But when I make an investment, I plan to see a return on my money. Home staging is an investment in your single largest financial asset, just like home staging training is an investment in your future.

This is the perfect time to make that investment because until midnight (Eastern time) tonight, during my Black Friday sale, when you spend a minimum of $100 at the Staging Diva Store you save 15% on your total order!

With Thanksgiving on everyone’s mind, I hope you’ll think about how you want to live in 2011 and what it will take to get you there. I’ve made my staging courses, checklists and other resources as accessible to you as possible. For example, you can save from $400 to almost $600 on the 5-course training program today only. When you order the courses in the download format, you’ll receive it in your inbox within minutes so you can get started on your training right away from the comfort of your own home.

This offer ends at midnight so to take advantage of the savings, visit the Staging Diva Store now!

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging

Debra Gould developed the Staging Diva Training Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging businesses. More than 4000 Staging Diva Students around the world have been trained by Debra, who encourages anyone concerned about starting or growing a staging business in this economy to download her special report: “Ask Staging Diva: Can I grow a home staging business in a depressed economy?”