While the economy was taking its toll on established home stager, Leah Fritz’s business, Leah was hunkered down, 
working on her marketing despite the storm of uncertainty swirling around her.
- She wasn’t distracted by a constantly ringing phone so she invested time in the development of her marketing plan.
- Her email wasn’t full of client inquiries so she focused instead on building relationships with past customers and potential clients.
- She wasn’t running around from appointment to appointment so she used that downtime to tweak her branding and try some different marketing tactics.
Besides all of those activities, Leah had her Profile Listing on the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers working for her.
She didn’t panic, like some stagers do, saying they weren’t getting enough business to keep their listing active.
Leah knows that’s the wrong way to think about marketing, because she knew if nothing else, with her presence on the Directory of Home Stagers she was out there where potential clients would be looking for her.
In fact, she recently renewed her listing for a fourth year!
Here’s What Happened
Do you know what happened? Leah eventually got so busy that she could hardly keep up with herself but even though she was busy with staging projects, paid speaking engagements and redesign projects, she kept on marketing.
In fact, Leah has been busy developing her own home staging blog which she has recently launched to help grow her business even more.
The word is out about her business, Perfect Place Home Staging. Leah was recently contacted by a local property flipper who had his latest flip on the market for a couple of months with no offers. It was a small house at 960 square feet and buyers were having difficulty imagining themselves living in a 17×11 living room. Leah staged the space with appropriate scale rental furniture and accessories.
As a result, the homeowners received a full price offer less than 24 hours after staging.
Leah’s client said he would have many houses for her to stage because he would “hate to see her working for the competition!”
Leah has put everything she learned from the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program (especially Course 4 which focuses on marketing) into effect, ensuring that she’s building her business no matter what the economy is doing and she has the confidence to sell her staging services for what they are worth.
She writes, “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.’”
Well done Leah!
You can get the same Staging Diva tools Leah has been using to build her business, in the Staging Diva Store.
Thank you for the wonderful write up Debra! In business there are highs and lows, so staying your course is key. The Staging Diva Program has taught me to stay calm, stay positive, and work my business everyday.
P.S: So sorry I didn’t comment here earlier Debra. My morning has been full of staging work and I couldn’t be happier!
Leah has been an inspiration since I found the Staging Diva program 3 years ago. I love to hear these success stories. Proof that hard work and consistency pays off and that we are proudest of the things we work the hardest for.
I can relate. When I’m busy it’s great, but when there is a slow moment I worry. But, no matter what, I work on my business every day and eventually it becomes busy again. Nature of the business, I believe.
Good luck with the blog. I started mine over a year ago to hold my newsletter content. It’s great fun and one of my favorite things to do. And in the last few weeks it has also become my website.
Great work Leah and a very timely post.
I’ve been reading a bit about stagers struggling in the current economy. Some stagers are doing it really tough right now. Thankfully, I’m not one of them.
Several weeks ago I made a concious decision to align and market my home staging services specifcally to real estate agents. In part, the reason for that was because I figured they were easier to find and contact.
I packaged and priced my services to suit their needs and then went about getting my ‘stuff’ out there.
This week I sent out an email to a number of agents in areas I want to work in to introduce myself and my services. I also included a ‘get acquainted’ offer. In one week I sent out 13 emails, then got 5 responses taking me up the offer.
I’m pleased with the result. For me it was all about researching the needs of my market and tayloring the service to suit. It was also about feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
Great post.
Thank you for the kind works Susan and Donna, and I love hearing about your businesses as well! Sounds like we’re all a bunch of hard-working ladies!
When I took the Staging Diva Courses, Debra shared that the staging business (like all business) can have a natural eb and flow. Busy months and slower months… but to me that does not mean non-working months. If we as stagers are commited to the growth of our industry, then we must build awareness about it everyday. Yes, I work to market my services, but I also work to spread my home staging message. These 2 bodies of work go hand in hand for me… not seperate, but equal. I’m paid for my home staging services, but my staging message is free to all who care to hear it…. Staging is smart, Staging is worth the investment, and Staging Works!
A very encouraging post indeed! I too have experienced the “ups and downs” of this market. However, I’m in this for the long haul and figure that if I keep working (marketing) eventually I’ll be positioned for success as other home stagers drop out.
The “free” home staging consultation has hurt our business here in Denver as well. But, I ask clients if they are making their decision on price alone or if they are looking for the most effective home staging they can find. If they are serious about selling their home, they realize that nothing is really free. Those “free” home staging consultations aren’t free – in fact, they will end up costing the consumer much more than my services in the long run.
Good luck to all of us! When the market really picks up, there will be plenty of work!
Debbie Fiskum, “PerfectHomeStagingDenver”
Hi there, i am contemplating doing your course Debra but at the moment my funds are tight so am waiting for your next promotion im afraid!!! i am so desperate to know after reading all the positive emails, blogs etc how the International staging divas do with your program as i notice there arent too many of them. most seem to be in America. Do you have many people from other countries using your services and site, predominantly it would be America i would assume. Reason i ask is i am struggling with terminology when i am talking to friends about what i want to do, homestaging, stylist etc are not phrases they recognise, more interior designer, interior decorator, what are your feelings on these comments and how can i choose a business name if people dont know what i actually do……………………………………………………………………
Homestaging is not a term i have ever heard before, and i know a little about google analytics so what is it people are looking for on the web when they need my service in australia………………………please help
Meg, If you take the Staging Diva Program you will learn how to make money in your home staging business. So saying you have no money to learn how to make money is really a paradox with no way out unless you do something different than you are now. You don’t have to take the full program all at once. You can sign up for courses one by one at the price of US $249 each. Frankly, that’s an amount you can easily make back during a single home staging consultation of a couple of hours if you really know how to price and market your services correctly, which is what I’ll be teaching you!
My students are from all over the world, though you are correct most of them are in the US. I have many successful graduates in Australia and I’ve written about them in articles too. Property styling is the more common phrase there to answer your question.