Many women approaching their 40s write to me wondering whether they should go to Interior Design School.
It’s an issue I struggled with myself many times over a 20 year period.
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 2 to 4 years, with a bunch of kids 20 years younger than myself was not that appealing.
And the cost was huge considering the significant income I’d be giving up over that period.
Now that I’ve staged hundreds of homes I’m so happy I went with my instincts and stayed out of Interior Design School!
You wouldn’t believe the number of interior design graduates that have approached me during the past 15 years to hire them for Six Elements, my home staging company! Most seem to be working as sales people in furniture stores and looking for a way out.
One interior designer called me this week who was working on 100% commission!
Imagine working retail hours for a furniture store after studying interior design for 4 years of college, and not even earning a salary!
I was shocked.
If you’re going to be on 100% commission, 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 being a Professional Stager instead of being an “interior designer” over the past four years. Being a home stager:
• You get lots more projects to work on because they are shorter term in nature. So, lots more variety.
• Your staging clients give you creative control because they know they don’t really have to live with what you do to their homes. So, you get to be creative and make the decisions.
• You get interior redesign and color projects because your staging clients love what you do with the house they’re selling and ask you to work on the one they’re moving into.
• You get to work with the kinds of people who wouldn’t normally hire an interior designer or decorator, in other words a much larger target market.
The other important thing I learned, is that I would have hated being an interior designer!
It’s really frustrating doing a beautiful room only to see your client later clutter it up with additions that clash with everything you’ve done. Or, having to sit there for hours while they can’t decide which fabric they want to pick.
I love having the creative control I get from staging houses.
I get to execute my vision because clients realize I’m decorating their house to sell, not for them to live in it. I know there is no way I could have done hundreds of homes in so short a period with an interior design degree fresh out of school.
Granted because I’ve never gone through an Interior Design program, (or ever taken an interior design or color course!), I can’t tell you if a chair is Louis the XVI, or draw plans to build an addition off the back of a house, but I don’t miss having those skills!
The kind of people that hire me (upper middle class, usually professionals) don’t really care!
They hire me because they know I’m an expert in decorating a house to sell because they’ve visited my websites, they’ve heard about me from their neighbors or real estate agents, or they’ve read about Six Elements or Staging Diva in the media.
For the things I don’t know, I’d happily refer them to a trained interior designer!
I know they have many skills that I don’t. But like I said, I learned I wouldn’t want to be an interior designer so that’s OK by me. And, it was a relief to finally let go of all the wondering about it!
In case you’re wondering about the photo at the top of this article, it’s from a kitchen I decorated that was featured in Woman’s Day Walls Windows and Floors. Not only did they do a 6 page spread on the house, I was the photo stylist.
Never once did the magazine ask for my “design” or “stylist” credentials. They did the spread and hired me because of the strength of my home staging portfolio of before and after photos.
I wanted to tell you that I love this article and agree with it. I have had 4 recent graduates from Interior design schools contacting me recently – I will use them as needed. I might take a non credit course from a local college for my personal satisfaction.
Thanx!
I find that interior designers are jumping on the Home Staging bandwagon. I truly feel there is a conflict of interest. Designers design for their customer’s personal taste and Home Stagers design to sell. I do educational speaking for Real Estate groups and I tell them I usually go in and take out everything a designer does so a potential buyer can see the home.
LJ Pilant
Alamo Home Staging
Proud Graduate of Staging Diva
Of course interior designers are jumping on the staging bandwagon, there’s MORE MONEY IN STAGING!
One property I staged belonged to an interior designer. She hired me to stage it for her, it sold in days at $40,000 over her $1.4 million price.
Fast forward 18 months and she has her latest home on the market. I didn’t stage it and only realized it was hers during an open house when I realized I recognized much of the furniture and art. It was obvious to me why it isn’t selling… it’s been on the market for 5 months now… but funny thing is she hasn’t called me to help her out again!
I am interested in becoming a stager, not sure how to go about it though and how much to charge clients for consultations. I am considering the course hoping this will help.
thanks Janniece
Hi Janniece, You’ve come to the right place. I teach my students all about how to get started, what to charge and more. My focus is taking your decorating talent and turning it into a profitable business. I’ll help you avoid common pitfalls like falling into the free estimate trap and more, because I’ve personally built my own successful home staging business.
If you’d like to join me live on the phone tomorrow night, or get the recording of it after, sign up for Ask Staging Diva Live at this link:
https://stagingdiva.com/homestagingfreepreview.html
I’ll be taking audience questions for 90 minutes all about what it’s like being a home stager and more. This is FREE!
Debra
Debra, will this training help me if my business is to help people set up their new homes they just bought or if the just want to freshen up their house and are not moving how do i charge for that.
Barbara, most home stagers also offer interior redesign and color consulting services — which is really what you’re talking about when you think of helping people set up their new homes and freshening up their existing ones even if they aren’t moving.
Yes, these are all covered in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, you can read more about the courses at this link:
https://stagingdiva.com/homestagingtraining.html
I discuss pricing strategies at length in course 2, and they apply equally whether you’re going in to discuss “decorating to live” or “decorating to sell.”
What’s very cool about using “home staging” as your lead service (the one you talk about most), is that you’ll still attract lots of clients who aren’t moving. Many will contact a “home stager” before contacting a “decorator” because they understand that stagers mostly work with what you have. The perception out there is that a decorator will want to replace a lot of what you have meaning to get the look they recommend will be far more costly. For that reason, I get calls all the time from people who say, “I’m not moving now or in the foreseeable future, but I realize you can probably help me enjoy how I live in my home better right now.”
Dear Debra,
I’m a 56 yr. young woman working in furniture retail. In a word-yuk. I have staged a loft for a local property through our company (which sold right away-as is because the client loved it), and I used to help staging model homes -so I know I can do this, however, I have no business expertise, and do not desire to be a realtor. You are acutely aware of the slow housing market, so how would I start? Fear is a small factor, not knowing how to network, set up a website, find clients, etc. I want to work hard ,but earn a good living with job satisfaction. I literally have no start up money so what’s the next step? Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Martin
Hi Debra! I absolutely love the information you’ve provided on your website. It’s quite informative and VERY professional.Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with us. I have the questions raised by Stephanie, how does one start without any ‘starting capital’? I’ve completed a home staging course & have a few interior design classes. I’m interested in the business side of to get started. Thank you & God Bless!
Hello Im a hair stylist for over 30 years with a gift in design wanted to take classed in staging not sure were to start at please give some input want or were i can take some classes. Thanks Casssadra
Hi Cassandra, You’ve come to the right place because I can teach you how to take your natural gift and turn it into a profitable home staging business.
You can read about the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, one of the most respected and well known names in the field today at:
https://stagingdiva.com/homestagingtraining.html
Since you mentioned being a hair stylist for 30 years, I know you’ll enjoy this article about Carol King. She owned her own salon for about 30 years. She took my training and now has her own staging business in Texas. You can read about her here:
https://stagingdiva.com/homestagingbusiness/home-staging-gets-divorcing-couple-more-than-asking-in-one-day/
I’d love to help you do the same!
I love the concept of home staging and can’t walk into a room in somebody’s house without thinking in my head what I would do differently design wise, where I would move or remove certain items etc. I am really thinking I want to start my staging career however I am only 22 years old and from most of the profiles I read the woman making this career choice are often middle aged or have young families. I’m wondering if I would be taken seriously with my competition being able to relate more to the average home seller.
Hi Whitney,
You said, ” I can’t walk into a room in somebody’s house without thinking in my head what I would do differently design wise, where I would move or remove certain items etc.” You have just described exactly the sort of person who was born to be a home stager! It’s an impulse, we just can’t help ourselves. Now you have a way to take that natural gift that you have and turn it into a real money making career. Not a year from now, or ten years from now, but RIGHT NOW!
As for your age, I have women writing to me all the time saying, “I’m 40 is it too late for me to start a career?” You’re 22 and you’re worrying that people won’t take you seriously, cause you’re too young. I’ve met plenty of middle aged people I would never take seriously.
My point is, it’s not about age, it’s about how you present yourself. I’m coming up on age 51 now, so everyone looks young to me. I see a doctor or a policeman and I think, “they look like they just finished high school!” But if they open their mouths and sound like they know what they’re talking about and carry themselves with confidence, then I can easily get past how young they look (to me).
There are many home sellers who are in their 20s and 30s. There are also tons of real estate agents in that age range. Don’t let a fear that you’ll be seen as too young stop you! That would be crazy. I got my first BIG job in a corporate office with a secretary and the full deal when I was in my early 20s and fresh out of business school. Looking back now, I think we all looked quite young, but there we were managing multi-million dollar budgets and we didn’t see ourselves as young.
Age is a state of mind. If you start now, think about how incredibly experienced and polished you’ll be by the time you’re 25! Think how much easier it is to start now, life only gets more complicated when you get older, especially throughout the late 20s and into your 40s. By late 40s you’ve let go of many of the “complications” or outgrown them and that’s why you see many people starting this business later in life (relative to where you are now, that is).
Hope that helps!
I have to say I do not appreciate the way it seems you are portraying the Interior Design profession. I have a BA in Interior Design and working on a MS in Environmental Design, and I have just started my own consulting company. The job of an Interior Designer entails much more than that of an Interior Decorator or Home Stager, and is most definitely more work. You do receive jobs less often, but the jobs you receive are on a much larger scale and you are paid accordingly large. Upon going through the proper education, experience, and examination qualifications, you are a “Licensed Interior Designer” and are qualified to actually make construction specifications. Home stagers can only specify furniture, fixtures, and finishes.
When you make the decision to begin higher education in Interior Design, you have to be clearly informed on what the entire profession entails. If attending an accredited college or university, you will be informed of this in an introduction course before beginning studio courses. Interior Designers are relevant because they design the entire interior built environment, vertical and horizontal planes: ceiling, floors, and walls. I love being an Interior Designer because I am not confined to decorate the construction some else designed, instead I can completely gut a building (or take an existing empty building) and make a consistent design throughout the entire interior construction and decoration.
This is not at all to discredit Home Stagers, because that is a necessary art as well. Everyone has a role in making our living breathing built environments as comfortable, sustainable, and beautiful as possible.
Brittney, Thanks for sharing that explanation on the training and potential responsibilities of a properly trained Interior Designer. I totally agree that a Licensed Interior Designer can do what a stager or decorator cannot. I would never presume to recommend structural changes to my clients, for example. Nor would I be able to do the structural drawings you are trained to do.
When I had a client who wanted a kitchen totally gutted, I was the first to admit that I’m not the person to design it or create the drawings for the contractor. When I renovated my own kitchen, I hired a kitchen designer to plan out all the cabinets, etc. That said, I’m more than capable of choosing the finishes and have done this for myself and other clients. For example:
I can do all of these things because I have good taste and I’ve taken the time to learn about different materials. I read books and magazines, visit show rooms and trade shows and learn about what’s out there. I didn’t need to study Interior Design or go back to school for 4 years.
That doesn’t mean I undervalue your choices!
Clearly you have training that I do not and it’s quite right that Interior Design is a regulated industry because if you’re going to start taking walls out of buildings or designing extensions, you need to know what you’re doing! I totally agree with you that we all have a “role in making our living breathing built environments as comfortable, sustainable, and beautiful as possible.”
While you’re here, though I can’t help but point out that if you would like to earn money while you’re working on your MS in Environmental Design, home staging is an awesome way to do it. This is a low cost business and a great way to use your design talents. I don’t teach people how to decorate but I do teach them how to turn their talents into a profitable business.
My point was NOT to belittle your training. My point was to share that if a person really wants to decorate and stage, they don’t need a 4 year Interior Design degree to do it.
Thank you Brittney for explaining what we do as Interior Designers. I felt offended as well by this article. I am very proud to be an Interior Designer. Interior Designers are trained in all aspects of interior design. From drawing plans to the finish products. Please don’t put it out there that many Interior Designers aren’t making money and are crawling over to home staging. It is a choice that those designers are making. I have also looked into home staging as another tool under my belt. But, I would not give up the skills that I have acquired by my interior design program!
RegiReRe, Perhaps you didn’t read my reply to Brittney. I readily admitted there (and in the article itself) that Interior Designers with proper college degrees in the subject know how to do tons of things that I do not. I don’t undervalue their abilities at all, and am the first to recommend a proper Interior Designer to do things that I’m not qualified to do. For example, I would never tell a client to remove a wall.
You are wise to consider home staging as another service you can offer, because it’s appealing to many people who would never dream of hiring an interior designer (perceiving rightly or wrongly) that interior designers are only for “rich” people.
Of course you wouldn’t give up the valuable skills you’ve already learned, and I’ve never suggested that you should 🙂
By the way, there are many interior designers (even ones with 10+ years experience) who have said my program showed them how to make more money on the interior design side of their business as well.
what programs do you use? Cad or Photoshop or something else? Debra do you train in these software programs? or is this all just informative?
Hi Meri, I only use Photoshop in my staging business to fine tune my portfolio images. However, that’s a much more complicated program than most people would need. Plus, there are plenty of photo editing apps that will do almost the same thing. If you’re looking for help with that specifically, check out the Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide.
I have never used a Cad program and I’ve been staging and decorating homes since 2002. It’s never been a requirement.
Hey! My name is Sarah and I am a student at a community college earning an Associates in Arts. My problem is that I cannot decide on what career I should pursue. The main reason interior decorating sounds fun is because my mom is a local interior decorator (with a certificate) and I have had the experiences of working with her. The main reason I am concerned with pursuing interior decorating as a career is because I feel so limited working with certain clients. I would love for the clients to leave and come home to a fully decorated house, but I get frustrated with the thought of the clients not liking what I do and getting me to redo it. (I helped one of my friends redecorate and organize her room. The next time I saw her room, her things were back unorganized and it just frustrated me.) After reading your helpful information and doing a little bit of reseach, I am thinking about home staging. I also think I would like helping people fix up their new homes before they move in.
I know that interior decorating definately involves changing and re-doing projects over and over again so I am aware that I would need other people’s advice. Also, just because I design a space does not mean that I am not up to changing it. I just do not want to be so restricted that I am forced to decorate traditionally when that is not how I am geared. I guess the question I have for you is this: After I finish getting my AA, I was planning to transfer to a four-year school. In order to pursue home staging and the designing I mentioned above, would you reccomend me getting a 4-year degree in Interior Design and minoring in Home Staging? I am just a little confused on what to aim for. Thanks for your help!
Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your experience, interests and concerns. It’s completely up to you whether you want to devote 4 years to an Interior Design degree. What I’ve learned is I didn’t need it to be a highly successful home stager and most of my successful Staging Diva Graduates don’t have an interior design degree either. I’ve never heard of minoring in Home Staging at the college level, and would be surprised if you’d find such a program. I can say that few college programs prepare students to actually run a money-making business. That’s the common complaint I hear from art students, interior design students and even professions like law and medicine! You learn the skill of the service you’re performing, but not how to build a business around it.
As for what concerns you about interior decorating specifically with regard to clients changing what you do or “getting in the way,” of your vision, that’s one of the primary reasons I prefer home staging. They let me do what I want because they don’t actually have to live with it. I get to create my vision and make the home picture perfect for showings!
I hope you’ve subscribed to this blog so you can get notified when I post a new article (see green box above). You can also visit the archives by looking for posts by category, or by searching specific terms in the search box, in the right column. You’ll find several pertaining to interior design and decorating. You’ll also find several about how home staging is a perfect way to recession proof an interior design business that your mom might also find helpful.
As a home stager, you can get plenty of decorating projects. Without that 4-year Interior Design Degree, you won’t be qualified to recommend walls to remove or total renovation projects, but do you want to do that anyway?
I’m hosting a FREE course via telephone conference call next week. I know what you learn in it will help clear up many of these questions you’re currently struggling with.
Hi Debra,
I graduated from college in the interior decorating program. Lately, I have been contemplating on whether I should peruse interior “design” instead. I understand that the interior design program is a 4 year course. Would this mean I would have to start from the top and do 4 years from the beginning even though i already have my certificate in interior decorating?
Thanks in advance.
Michela,
I have no idea whether a college would recognize your previous credentials, you really have to ask them. But before you go plunging into a 4-year program, I’d recommend really thinking about what you hope to get out of it. Sadly, so many graduates seem to be working in furniture stores on 100% commission. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
In the meantime, remember you could be using the talent you already have to make a very nice living as a home stager — with no requirement for an interior design degree. If you’d like to learn more about how to do that, check out this link.
Thanks for commenting! If you haven’t ordered already, I recommend the FREE report mentioned in the left side bar of this page.
I love staging homes mostly family. But now i would love to do it
Professionally, bt i dont know how to start. I work for Pineapple house
In the work room. I make drapers . Bed skirts, pillows, e
Every thing for the home. I would love to know what to do to start staging
Antoinette, I offer a complete home staging training program that will teach you what you need to do to start and grow your business. I’ve also written a number of guides. You can find more information about these options in the Staging Diva Store.
You would also enjoy the free report offered on the right side of this page. Just fill in your name and email address in the form provided and I’ll send it to you right away.
Thank you so much for sharing your favorite picture and ideas with us this December. As always, you are inspiring as well as reminding us to look to nature for inspiration.
You’re most welcome Laura, glad you’re enjoying my monthly newsletter, Staging Diva Dispatch.
I believe people should be able to decide for themselves what profession they wish to be in. I think it’s based on what they’re comfortable with. On the one side, you have interior design, which I believe you have to go to school for, and earn a license for as well. Or there’s home staging, which may need less preparation, while it could be equally rewarding. It’s a cliche I guess, but the usual answer would be to follow one’s heart.
While I love reading your enthusiasm for what you do, I hope you realize that interior design isn’t what you make it out to be. Interior design is all about space planning and meeting building code all while keeping aesthetics in mind. What you are is an interior decorator. That is completely different from an interior designer. Designers are basically architects for the inside. That’s why some are referred to as interior architects. And there’s more than just residential; there’s commercial, hospitality, etc. With all due respect, please do some research before you go about putting down my career. Thank you.
Kalyn, Thanks so much for commenting! I certainly didn’t intend to “put down your career.” Not at all, you know how to do all kinds of things I have no idea about because I didn’t spend 4 years in university studying interior design.
I love your term “architect for the inside.” You are right, I wouldn’t begin to tell someone to take out walls, for example. I know I’m not qualified to do that and it’s better left to an Interior Designer.
I still stand by all the points I was actually making in the story about why I’m glad I didn’t go to Interior Design School and became a Home Stager instead.
Thanks again for commenting and sharing some great info on what you do.
I want to learn to stage the houses my husband flips
That’s a great idea Janet. Check out the Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide for Home Stagers for room by room tips and floor plans!
Debra – I want to do some part-time decorating and staging for family, friends and for flips but in or to do that I need to be able to buy at trade shows and markets at the discounted prices. How is that done?
Good for you! You’ll find plenty of tips on this blog, Home Staging Business Report. And if you want even more in depth learning so that you can actually make a living as a home stager, I encourage you to take a look at what I offer in the Staging Diva Store.
Hi, Debra this is Kim I just wanted tell you I congratulate you on your course although I have not went through it yet but just reading through all your comments on your website I have been looking for a course like this for about five years and I don’t know how I come across yours but I can’t wait to get started thank you so much Kim A CATALE
So great to hear from you Kim! I want you to have an incredible life, enjoying work that uses your natural creative talents, helping people and making money at the same time.
And I hope you won’t let another 5 years (or even months) go by before making this happen. So happy you found me, because you’ve come to the right place to make that happen. I can’t wait to welcome you to my inner circle of students and grads who get all my best tips, tools and more!
Thanks for commenting!
This is a very nice read and definitely worth sharing.
Loved this! It helped me a lot! I have a question though… As a home stager do u still get jobs of decorating?
Great question Christina! Yes you will be able to get decorating jobs. There are many people who come to a stager who wouldn’t dream of calling a “decorator” or “interior designer” because they perceive it as being too elite, or they worry that the decorator will tell them to replace everything they own. The fact that home stagers often work with what a client already has, in new and better ways, makes it all seem more doable.
I get many calls from people that start with, “I’m not moving anytime soon, but hoping you can still help me with my house…”
Plus, many of my home staging clients (who are delighted by what I can do with the home they’re selling), immediately vow to never live the “old way” again and want me to do their new house too.
HI Debra 🙂 My name is Sa and I am finally taking the initiative to move in what God has called me to do: interior decorating. i need so much guidance. Your blog was very inspiring!
My question right now is, where do i start? and who’s home did you first decorate?
My first homes to decorate were all my own. After that, I had my first paying client and made $5000 from that project. That was the launch of my home staging business.
Glad you want to follow your calling. As a start, why not try my FREE Jumpstart Course? You can sign up for it for free here.
Thanks for commenting!
I am currently completing an interior design certificate not a degree at a top school, how much will this help me in paring a staging Career with realtors?
Chelsea,
Nothing wrong with studying interior design. But if you want to make a living from your talents, be sure to also get the right business training. One of the many things I teach in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, is that — contrary to popular belief — the REAL money in home staging isn’t made through Realtors. I hope you’ll check out my program in detail. It will teach you how to make money from what you know about design right away, even as a sideline while you’re going to school. Here is where you can learn about it in detail.
What steps to take as a stager
Hi Lavonna, I’m not really sure what you’re asking me here. I’ve just emailed you an invitation to a free course I’m teaching by telepehone conference call on Monday evening called 5 Simple Secrets to Making Money in Home Staging. I hope that will help 🙂
Thanks For Your valuable posting, it was very informative.
Very interesting read Debra, It’s definitely true that you can have a lot of success with a business without going to school. I think it depends on whether you plan on blazing your own path or planning on working for someone else, as that degree is in large part for the certification that you can put on your resume. Awesome to hear about your success with your staging business!
Thanks Robert, glad you enjoyed the article. And you make a good point about resume building if you’re planning on being an employee.
What really shocked me is how many Interior Design Graduates who have been through 4 years university programs are working in furniture stores on 100% commission.
Great article. Thank for sharing this informative and helpful post.
Hello,
I am a novice here and I don’t know the difference between interior designing and home staging; matter of fact, this is my first time hearing about home staging. Well, what brought me here in the first place, is my passion for home decor. I have little or no experience but home decor is what my heart longs for.
P.S. as much as I want to learn about home decor, I don’t want to go back to school for 2-4 years again. Thanks
Iya, Glad you found your way to me 🙂
I hope that now that you’ve read this article, you realize you DO NOT have to go back to school for 2 to 4 years. I’d love to show you how to make a living from that talent you have, doing what you’ve longed for.
You might also enjoy these two articles:
Addicted to Decorating or Born to Be a Home Stager
Why a Home Staging Business Beats and Interior Design Business
It sounds like you are making more money TEACHING how to be a home stager instead of doing so much successful staging. This seems to be the trend these days. I think the teaching and promising people that you can be this or that “if you just take my how-to course” is the part that really pays.
Thanks for commenting Vicki! You’re quite right, now that I’ve been teaching the business of home staging since 2005 (!), I do make more money doing that because I have over 30,000 students in 24 countries.
This was not always the case though, and when I became a home stager in 2002 I had no intention of teaching anyone anything!
I only started the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program because I was getting hundreds of emails from struggling stagers asking how I was actually making money in home staging.
They had taken courses and become “certified” or “accredited” home stagers and didn’t have a clue how to earn a living! They were never taught that, apparently because the courses they took focused more on having students take turns rearranging rooms and learn about color wheels.
So you might be wondering about my claim that I was getting “hundreds of emails”. How is that possible?
Frankly, I never would have imagined that when I started staging houses.
I was just trying to build a creative business that would support myself and my young daughter. Because I understood business and marketing (from past careers), I was able to get major media attention across the US and Canada. Wall Street Journal, CNN, Woman’s Day Magazine, etc.
That’s how so many struggling home stagers heard about me!
By the time I was 18 months into my home staging business I was making up to $10,000/month in staging and redesign. That’s when I knew I had figured out the right business formula. I kept it to myself for another 6 months, continuing to run my staging business and I even appeared on HGTV!
So back then I had zero income from teaching and all my income from staging, redesign, color consulting (and the commissions I earned from outside suppliers – a topic I teach in great length in Course 5 of the Staging Diva Program).
Once I began sharing my successful business model with others, it took me another year or two to make more money from teaching than staging. That was by choice though, not because I couldn’t have continued to earn a 6 figure income as a home stager.
Vicki, you DO raise an excellent point.
Home staging is a completely unregulated field so anyone can teach a home staging course, whether they know what they’re talking about or not! That’s why people should do their research before signing up for anyone’s course.
There are plenty of home staging and redesign courses taught by people who have never even worked in this industry. Others teach because their own business failed. In my opinion, those aren’t the people you should be learning from.
Your quickest route to success is find people who have succeeded at what you’re trying to do, have put their roadmap into a formula that’s repeatable and then learn from them so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
The fact that someone can make money teaching something they know how to do doesn’t make them wrong or bad. Would you rather learn from people who don’t know how to do what they’re teaching?
I encourage you to check out these related articles:
The Staging Diva Difference
Choosing Home Staging Courses: 5 Money Wasting Mistakes to Avoid
Thanks for commenting!
Where fo I look if I just need for help to decorate my house? Desing schools looking for a project?
Hi Ileana,
I’d love to help you find someone in your area. Please visit the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers. If you don’t find someone listed there, it will open up a form where you can fill out exactly what you want and I can find someone for you from my network of thousands of Staging Diva Graduates.