Today I received another of what has sadly become a typical phone call.
“Hi, I’ve taken a home staging course and I was promised a guaranteed job as a home stager, but that’s never materialized. Does your company have any job openings?”
This 27 year old confessed that she had quit her full time job to take this other program expecting that she would be working by now making $31.45 per hour as a home stager.
After months of delays, she’s finally realized that it’s time to take her home staging career into her own hands.
I feel badly for her and the fifty others I’ve heard from with the same story.
But in every case I’ve had to ask, “did you do any research on this company and its claims before handing over your money?” Like most, she admitted to a certain doubt and realization that it all “sounded too good to be true.”
Yet she went ahead anyway.
I guess that’s the same kind of irrational hope that gets millions of people to pay money for programs that promise you’ll lose 45 pounds in 3 weeks with no diet or exercise. While eating desserts and fast food just like you always have.
So for all the people out there with decorating talent and hope, please know: home staging is not a field that offers guaranteed employment because home stagers generally run their own small businesses from home.
They don’t need full time staff but they might hire assistants on an as-needed basis. That’s not to say there aren’t staging companies with ongoing staff, but this isn’t the norm.
I started my staging company Six Elements in 2002. I’ve personally staged hundreds of homes and referred hundreds of other home staging projects to graduates of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Rather than hire employees as home stagers, I prefer to send projects to others who have their own home staging companies.
The reasons are simple:
- It keeps my overhead down.
- It keeps my business easy-to-run and manage because I don’t have employees.
- I can be selective about what homes I want to stage and refer the rest to others.
- I’m not directly responsible for how others stage the homes, the way I would be if they were my employees.
- I can reward the home stagers who have invested in my program with projects for their own companies.
So, please don’t call and ask me to hire you as a home stager. It won’t happen.
If you’re serious about making a living as a home stager, you need to consider starting your own home staging business and being in charge of your own destiny.
Does it offer guaranteed job security? No.
Does any job offer guaranteed job security these days? No, you just have to open the newspaper to know that.
Consider this: There is actually far more security in being your own boss then there is working for someone else. But just like weight loss, you’ll have to actually work at making it work.
Please let me know what you think about this topic by adding your comments here.
Thanks for talking about this subject.
I have had way too many calls from would be assistants who ask if they can work for me for free. Apparently this school needs them to get 3 projects as experience before they ‘graduate’. These are not dumb women. They called, questionned and visited these headquarters.
But that guaranteed salary put them into la-la land. And now they are left with regret. And are unemployed while waiting for that promised hourly wage.
I would love to hear from someone, anyone, who benefitted from this school.
Thanks again Debra.
I, too have had quite a few inquiries about employment. I have even been sent design portfolios. I just keep referring them to Staging Diva.
Hi,
I own my own staging company. It hasn’t been easy marketing the business to Realtors and convincing homeowners that staging in a ‘must’ in today’s market, but I agree that there’s nothing like being your own boss. I admire Staging Diva for the time she takes to educate everyone about Home Staging. As for those that took courses at this so-called school offering guaranteed jobs, I would suggest take this training and run with it. No point in regretting the past. Create your own company, it’s not so hard as other businesses. You have low start-up costs and high return. Some who do staging for a living don’t even have a Home Staging certificate so you’re ahead of the game. I was fortunate enough to train with a good school that earned me a ISRP certificate. It’s important to get referrals from others that have taken courses before throwing your money away. Staging Diva’s business training program sounds good for those that need a bit more info on the business aspect of a business, because believe me, you really need marketing skills and to know the ins and outs of taxes and what you can write off, especially if you own a home-based business. And may I also take this opportunity to thank Staging Diva for your wonderful newsletters! I’ve just listened to your live radio show and you sure know what you’re talking about. And quite coyly, may I add that you can check out my website http://www.designcontours.com if your current workload is overbearing. 🙂
Thank you all for your comments. Subi, I have 1000 Staging Diva Graduates, when I have a home staging project it goes to them. I’m pleased you’ve enjoyed my newsletters and blog posts and wish you well in your staging business.
Thank you all for this information. I have been looking into staging courses for about a month now, and was waiting to save the money to go to the school that “guarantees” employment. Just yesterday, My husband said it sounded too good to be true. Thankfully, I’m studying a little further to see what I should do. I can say, I cannot wait to learn more and begin to work!
Amanda, your husband is a wise man. Anything “too good to be true” usually is! Make sure you’re learning from someone who has actually run a successful home staging business and can give you contact information from others who have done any program you’re considering. It’s also important to learn from someone who is an acknowledged expert in the field.
I think you’d enjoy this free recording and find it helpful: https://stagingdiva.com/preview.html
I just recieved my home staging and interior redesign certification in the mail. I am not sure exactly how to get things going.I live in the Bradenton/ Sarasota Florida area and thought that I would start by doing mailbox flyers along with my business cards, placed in mailboxes of homes with for sale signs in their yards. Also going to real estate offices. Is this a good idea, or would you happen to have some advice on where to begin. I am anxious to get started and would love some advice. Thank You, Robin
Hi Robin, It concerns me that you (and thousands like you) have paid for a “certification” instead of paying for a program that would actually teach you how to have a successful home staging business.
It’s so important to research any program and trainer before paying your money.
As you know I share a ton of information for free (if you haven’t subscribed to my free monthly newsletter you can do so in the yellow box in the top left of this page), but I do have to offer my best advice to people who have invested in the Staging Diva Program.
I will tell you that placing flyers door to door is largely a waste of time and effort (because at BEST, you’ll get a response rate of one tenth of one percent), as I discuss in course 4 “Staging Diva Marketing Secrets to Boost Your Home Staging Business.”
There are many better ways to get known that will actually cost you even less money! You can learn more about what’s covered in this home staging marketing course at:
https://stagingdiva.com/store
Don’t lose faith, home staging is an incredible career that really pays well once you figure out how the business works.
Best,
Debra
I just want to say thank you to Debra!
I too, signed up for a Staging company that I thought would be beneficial to exploiting my natural talents in Art, Organization, and De- cluttering (aka Staging); the more I explore the Diva’s websites, the more I realized that my ‘school’ is not very helpful. Because I invested in a school already, I want to finish the homework projects; but, Debra has help me many times with her many free helpful hint offerings! Thank you again for providing them. I assure you that as I grow my own business and start making money I will buy her books!! Any hints for marketing and staging I can get will only make me stronger. Debra, I greatly appreciate everything that you do; thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with me/us!!
Karen and Kari, Thank you for your comments and I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t get valuable information from the program you invested in before discovering Staging Diva. I advise anyone looking to invest in training to do Google searches on companies before parting with their cash! This is a completely unregulated field and just because a company spends lots of money on advertising doesn’t mean their program is worthwhile.
Here are 15 questions to ask before investing in home staging training.
I share tons of free information to benefit the home staging industry, but of course my best secrets of success are for my students. You can see the full line up of products and services I offer to help you make money as a home stager in the Staging Diva Store.
Yep, I felt victimized…until I realized that all was not lost. After all, I had:
1. Honed my talent to a professional level;
2. Earned a certificate in this certificate-crazy country;
3. Accomplished my portfolio and Suppliers’ Directory, regardless;
4. Learned the nuances of Canadian preferences vs. American vs. my home country via keen observation, time and training. Nuances are very elusive, you know.
I floundered, got bitter….and resurrected via Staging Diva. While I am not yet in my dream income, I am confident about how to get there and know now that staying creative is still a viable dream for me(despite all the frustrating detours!). Definitely, my dream income includes continuing education from Debra. Meanwhile, thanks, Debra, for your helpful products and genuine concern.
Hi Loi,
Thanks for your comments and I’m so glad I could help resurrect your dream of becoming a home stager.
Hanging onto bitterness from a past mistake only holds you back. Glad you could let go of it, get the right information and move forward!
Best,
Debra
As a 28-year-old considering a career change, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your honesty on the topic. I’ve been researching online and reading ever book I can get my hands on that “tells all” about home staging. I’m learning that some questions are best answered by those who have “been there, done that” and this blog post was the perfect testimony for that. Thank you for your insights, and I wish you the utmost continued success with your business.
Thanks for sharing your comments Lindsay. I was a year older than you are now when I first took the deep dive of quitting my job at a communications agency to launch my own business. I was giving up an income of $150,000 a year to do it, plus it was the start of the last great recession (1989). Everyone thought I was nuts (I’ve found that always happens when I make my best decisions).
Wishing you every success in your career change. You might want to read my free report, “Can a regular person like me become a home stager?” You’ll find it offered on the right side of this page, https://stagingdiva.com/homestagingbusiness
Thanks again for commenting!