It’s hard not to panic with all this coronavirus news and wonder what it means for home staging.
So many of you are wondering, “Does Covid-19 mean the end of home staging?” or “Should I even think of becoming a home stager with this pandemic?”
The short answer is that the coronavirus is NOT the end of home staging. And YES, if you have a talent and passion for home staging and decorating, this is not the time to abandon your dream of making money as a home stager.
I’ll explain why, and I welcome your follow up questions in the comments section. This begins a series on what the coronavirus means for home staging, now and in the months ahead.
Why Coronavirus is Not the End of Home Staging
Depending on where you live (and when you’re reading this), your local real estate market may be completely shut down, partially open, or fully open. There is a place for you as a home stager in all three scenarios!
And for markets that are totally shut down or only partially open, imagine how much demand is building as people anxiously await the day they can sell, buy, move . . .
People want/need to buy and sell homes for a variety of reasons. These don’t suddenly disappear because of coronavirus, just as they don’t disappear during a recession.
There will always be a real estate market
People move because of: marriage, divorce, death, job loss, new babies on the way, kids moving out, new job in a new area, wanting to be close to a specific school, needing more (or less) space, wanting a fresh start in a new environment, etc.
In fact, many of these reasons will increase the number of people needing to sell their home in the months ahead as a result of Covid-19!
You’ve probably read that both births and divorces are expected to increase after this period of staying at home. Not to mention how many families will be ready for a new home, just because they’ve been forced to spend way to much time together in this one.
There are also tons of potential clients who were already planning on listing their homes before any of us had even heard of the coronavirus.
Their listing plans may be temporarily on hold. They’re stuck at home trying to figure out how to get their home showing-ready. And the more time they spend there, the more they realize how much there is to do, with no idea how to make it happen.
How to make the living room less awkward? What color to repaint the dining room? They’re lost when it comes to how to make the bathrooms or kitchen look like they don’t need to be completely gutted.
These home sellers need your home staging advice right now! With your game plan or “to do” list, they’d be able to do most of the work themselves and get their house together while they’re stuck at home with time on their hands.
Millions of people will need to downsize or upsize their homes.
Everyone selling will want to get top dollar and sell quickly as soon as the real estate market is partially or fully open.
Which means the demand for home staging will go up. And that means more money for home stagers, when they have the right business model to follow. When they understand what to charge, how to get paid, how to attract clients, and more. That’s what I share in the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program.
Luckily, there’s no need to attend a live event to learn from me, I’ve always offered “distance learning!”
Since 2005, I’ve been teaching home stagers in the United States, Canada, Australia, and more than 20 other countries how to make money from their staging and decorating talent. My home staging courses can be downloaded as soon as you order them, or I can send them to you in the mail.
Either way, you can do the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program from home, at your own convenience. You can get through it in about 12 hours because I keep it simple and focussed on exactly what you need to know.
No added fluff or complexity! And you don’t need to buy any furniture or accessories. This a very low cost business to start when you follow my approach.
While you’re staying at home now, you can learn everything you need to know to be ready for that surge in demand for home stagers.
Staging Diva Professional Home Stagers know how to transform a home to show at it’s best. And we don’t even have to get within 6 feet of our clients to do it 🙂 You can still practice social distancing while home staging, and stay safe while making a living, once I show you how.
I have thousands of home stagers all over the world who still have a business. Since the Staging Diva business model is based on having no overhead, their business isn’t costing them anything during these challenging times!
No store front or storage locker to pay for, no inventory, no employees.
All those recurring expenses that are putting other small businesses out of business right now, don’t effect Staging Diva Graduates. Their sales may have taken a temporary hit, but at least they aren’t losing money each month trying to keep their business open.
Home stagers work from home with a laptop. We have extra time right now to work on our websites, marketing, portfolios and more. And many of us are making money doing virtual consultations working from photos or video our clients provide.
If not home staging, then what?
While you ponder whether being a home stager makes sense during or after a pandemic, compare it to what else you could be doing instead.
Perhaps you’ve lost or retired from your job and you’re not sure when you can get another one. Or you may still have your job, but you don’t love it anymore.
Or maybe you want to make a side income so you’re not so reliant on your boss/job that you have no control over. Think about:
- How many jobs you have a natural talent for.
- What you can get into that doesn’t require months or years of study.
- Life is short. What have you always dreamed of doing?
- What are you great at?
- Is there another business can you start without a big upfront investment?
- What jobs are recession proof?
If you have natural decorating talent, I’ll show you how to turn that into a business, step-by-step.
You’ll be able to do home staging, decorating, interior redesign, color consulting, professional organizing and many other services. These all fit within the Staging Diva business model. You choose what you want to offer based on your interests. You’re in total control of your schedule, working only as hard as you want to.
What’s Next in This Series on Home Staging During Coronavirus
Next time, I will share how you can make money from virtual home staging and design consultations. Even if the real estate market is totally closed down.
You’ll be able to get paid upfront, and give your clients advice without even leaving your own home!
Please add your comments and questions below. Then I’ll know what else to cover in this new series on home staging and coronavirus.
Thanks for reading. Home staging is a great career (or way to make a side income)— even with the coronavirus.
Stay healthy, try and stay calm. Limit your time with the news, and we’ll get through this together 🙂
Great article! And there are so many ways to help people virtually right now. I know from experience, the Staging Diva Program is the best one on the market! It really teaches you how to run a profitable home staging business.
Thanks so much Mary Ann, glad you liked the article! And I appreciate that feedback on the Staging Diva Program. I’ve been noticing your activity on social media and how creative you’ve been with the many different ways to build awareness for your services. Smart marketing, great job!
Debra,
Thanks for your encouraging article! I have struggled to generate significant business. I am in a major city and there are lots of stagers here but what do you think is the best way to generate leads?
Hi Leslie, I’ve yet to see a market that has more stagers than there is business. Plenty of opportunity to go around. There are a ton of marketing ideas for getting leads in Course 4 of the Staging Diva Program. I recommend listening to those. We also continually talk about new marketing ideas in Staging Diva Network and Staging Diva Dialog which are both available to you. Glad you found this article helpful!
I love reading all your articles.
I don’t have business yet, but I guess I have talent in decorating .. I do decorations in our church (small church). I was thinking to do staging business.
Thanks a lot.
Hi Melanie, Thanks for commenting! I’d love to show you how to turn that talent into a great side income or even full time income. And when you follow my approach it costs almost nothing to get started because you don’t need to buy any of your own furniture or accessories. You can read more about the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program here.
I am in south Florida which is now ground zero with cases of Covid-19 surpassing 15,000 per day. I do not want to leave my own home for fear of catching this deadly disease or passing it on to my husband and no one wants me in their home for the same reasons. I have to admit that I am very depressed after beginning the year with a big bang, only to come to a screeching halt.
Do you have any suggestions for me?
Hi Linda,
I totally understand your concerns. You should be thinking about doing consultations the way I discuss in this article, Virtual Home Staging Consultations Get Boost From Coronavirus.
I also talk about this more in a free recording I did recently.
It’s also important to note that even if you did go into a client’s home, there’s no reason you have to get within 6 feet of them and you could both be wearing masks to keep everyone safe.
Great article Debra, very optimistic and encouraging during these difficult times. And especially for those who have a fear that they will not succeed if they took that step to start their own business. Thank you
Thanks Linda, I really appreciate that feedback! I hope you saw part 2 of this series, Virtual Home Staging Consultations Get Boost From Coronavirus
Hi Debra. I am not a home stager. But as someone who has been considering becoming a stager for quite some time now, even before the pandemic, I’m worried that there may not be a need for home staging. Homes are currently selling for thousands over asking price after being on the market for only a day or so and bidding wars among potential buyers have ensued. With homes selling so quickly, is there really a need for staging? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Great question Debra J., thanks for asking it.
I became a professional home stager in late 2002, in a super hot real estate market. Back then most properties were selling within days AND most people hadn’t even heard of home staging. So you’d think that would be 2 huge strikes against my success. I didn’t let this stop me (even though many people thought I was crazy). I knew I’d figure out the right marketing strategies to use. That’s part of what I teach in detail in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Program.
Here’s the short answer to your question about whether there’s a need for home stagers in a hot real estate market:
If you drive around your neighborhood, you’ll probably notice that not every house is selling fast, despite the hot market. There are always lingerers. That’s because they don’t show as well as they should for the price they’re asking. Hiring a home stager would fix that problem.
Most houses are selling fast in your area now, often above asking. Since those are two goals of home staging, on the surface it would seem that there’s no need for us. Yet, with a home stager’s help, there will be more potential buyers believing they’ve found their dream home. Imagine what happens to the selling price when you have 5, 10 or even 20 potential buyers in a bidding war! So yes, they may not sell any faster. But the selling price will be higher than without staging, plus they’ll have several back-up offers in case the deal falls through.
As I said, this is only the quick answer. I actually talk about this more in my FREE report “Will Home Staging Work in My Area?”
The real estate always moves in cycles. With more than 15 years of watching Staging Diva Grads thrive in hot markets and even in the great recession and real estate collapse of 2007/2008 (not to mention a global pandemic), I know what I teach works in any market (and any economy).
Isn’t it comforting to know that with the right business model to follow, you can make a living as a home stager whether the market is hot or not?! I’d love to teach you how to do it. You can learn more about my program here.