| Issue 63: December 2011 |
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To Set the Stage
Backstage with Debra
Staging Success Spotlight
Red Barrineuvo, Melissa Goulet, Julie OverbyeLedy
How I Conquered One of My Biggest Fears: And How You can Too!
New Parents, A Great Market for Home Stagers
Your Invited to Join Our Monthly Coaching Call!
Hats Off to New and Returning Members
Dolly DeWald, Gloria Salvetti, Jodi Whalen, Red Barrineuvo, Loi Diaz
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To Set the Stage
"I will see it when I believe it." - Wayne Dyer
Backstage with Debra
If you're one of the 350 new members of the Staging Diva community this month, welcome!
December marks 7 years since the creation of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, which I first mapped out from my laptop at Starbucks while my 10 year old was on a playdate! At that point, I'd been a home stager myself for 2 years and was anxious to share what I'd learned along the way about making this a successful business.
I had already been contacted by about 100 struggling home stagers at that point who had found my home staging business online after reading about me in a decorating magazine, newspaper or website. I had been on HGTV and caught the attention of CNN, the Wall Street Journal, National Post, Readers Digest and others.
Many of these stagers had taken hands-on courses but had absolutely no idea how to make a living as a home stager. They really didn't understand the business of it, so I set about creating my program to answer that need.
It's been quite a journey since then and I've derived more joy than you can imagine from helping others succeed as home stagers and redesigners. You all break your way past the same fears, only to discover you're capable of far more than you've given yourself credit for.
Helping people reinvent their lives has always been my mission.
Even when I first started as a home stager, I got the biggest kick out of the difference it would make in someone's life when I helped them sell their home faster or for more money. Both of these outcomes gave them freedom, whether it was financial or emotional.
In this month's issue, you'll learn how I conquered one of my biggest fears and picked up a huge sponsor (the world's largest real estate company!), tips for staging for new parents, how you can take on holiday decorating projects, and you'll meet 7 inspiring home stagers!
As Wayne Dyer says, you will SEE it when you BELIEVE it! The time rushes by whether you're living your life's purpose or not, whether you're miserable or happy, whether you wake with a sense of dread or filled with hope. The best time to put aside the doubts and fears and move forward with your life is the beginning of a new year. If not now, when?
Warmest wishes for the holiday season and I hope you set aside some time to enjoy your achievements of the past year and that you plan to grab hold of even bigger dreams for 2012!
Debra Gould, President Six Elements Inc.
Creator of The Staging Diva Program
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Staging Success Spotlight
| I'm continually blown away by the progress and enthusiasm of recent Staging Diva Graduate, Red Barrineuvo of Redesign4More (Toronto). By day he's a stock trader, but on the side, he's a very talented home stager and redesigner. I'm delighted that he has just joined the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers as I know it will bring him tons of new projects! In his latest email he shares this news: |
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"I just got paid $9,500 for my redesign project in Cabbagetown. Debra it is unbelievable, I never thought I could get paid this much for decorating. I was just all smiles the whole day yesterday because I feel like I got paid to play!
And while choosing furniture for my current project, I met a different couple in the store and helped them choose the right artwork and lamps for their own place. It turns out they just renovated their Rosedale home and because they liked the ideas I shared in the store, they want me to do their whole house right after Christmas! Isn't that amazing?! Honestly, the $1300 I spent for the Staging Diva Program is by far the best purchase ever. I am still in shock with the turn of events with my new company! I'm so excited for more things to come in the new year!"
If you'd like to learn the exact business and marketing formula I taught Red, these products will help you:
Staging Diva Home Staging Training Business Program
Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers - Profile Listing with Free Brochure
Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide
Staging Diva 14 Marketing Ideas to Boost Your Home Staging Business
Congratulations to Staging Diva Graduate Melissa Goulet of In The Details Home Staging (Hamilton, ON) on another outstanding month of success. I wrote about Melissa's new staging and redesign projects in last month's issue of Staging Diva Dispatch. A further "congratulations" is due to Melissa as the December winner in the Stages of Success™ Contest. She posted photos of two exciting projects:
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| Photos by Melissa Goulet, In The Details Home Staging. (Left) Melissa provides much needed punch with red accents. (Right) Great room staged for sale using furniture from the vendor's other properties. |
If you'd like your own chance to win $25 in Staging Diva C@sh, simply post one of your Stages of Success on The Staging Diva Facebook Wall and you could be the January winner. You don't have to be a Staging Diva Graduate to enter!
Each month, we'll draw one name at random from our Facebook Fans who have posted. If you don't post, you can't win. Really you have nothing to lose!
My goal is to give the Staging Diva community a chance to help you celebrate a milestone in your journey as a home stager. All you need is a sentence or two about what's happening in your staging business, not a whole long story. The winner receives a $25 coupon redeemable on any purchase of $25 or more from the Staging Diva Store.
> If you already have a success to celebrate, click here to post it to the Staging Diva Facebook Wall. You could have $25 in return for the minute it will take you to post this now, so please do it before you forget!
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How I Conquered One of My Biggest Fears
And How You Can Too!
When you decide to follow your dreams and do work that you love, there are so many fears that can stop you in your tracks, if you let them. That's one of the reasons I write so much about mindset, confidence, fear and more. I'm sharing how I conquered one of my biggest fears in this article with the hope that it will help you conquer your own fears (whatever they are). Along the way, I learned the importance of:
- Forcing yourself to move forward even when it's easier to hang back.
- Taking baby steps to ease toward the scarier thing.
- Realizing everyone else has similar fears.
- Understanding courage only means taking action despite your fear.
- Watching little kids learn. Do they give up walking when they fall down? Do they give up climbing monkey bars when they fall off? Should you give up just because you're worried it will be too hard?
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Back in college, I was the student who woke up with strep throat the morning of a class presentation. Not once, but repeatedly! How powerful is the mind/body connection that I would cause my throat to literally close up just to avoid looking like an idiot in front of my class.
I knew I'd have to get over this fear or it would forever hold me back in my career.
To force myself to get used to making public presentations, I got involved in the Student Council while I was pursuing a graduate degree. That meant I'd have to make a short class announcement every week (in other words, take baby steps).
The second year I ran for a position and was elected Social Director— which meant I had to make an election speech and forever put myself out there as I organized all social events for the students, including the Graduation Formal (rather like planning a wedding but I didn't get presents or a spouse out of it!).
Once I was working for huge corporations like Nabisco Brands and American Express, I had to make presentations in corporate boardrooms. Later, working for advertising agencies and in my own marketing consulting business I had to make lots of sales presentations where my livelihood was tied to how well I performed.
While my child was very young, I didn't have to make presentations anymore and gradually my unease returned.
When I launched my home staging company in 2002, I started small by answering decorating questions in mom's groups, which I found "non-threatening" and a chance to practice! Then I joined networking groups and did mini-presentation about home staging. There were never more than about 50 people but still my palms were sweating and my heart was pounding.
I must have sounded OK, because I always picked up at least one client whenever I spoke (that's a tip for how you can grow your own staging business!).
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Speech in Marriott Marquis Ballroom NYC to audience of 350, November 2011
Out of 1300 entries from around the world, I was a finalist for:
* Best Mentor/Coach of the Year
* Best Entrepreneur of a Service Business Under 100 Employees
* Best Blog of the Year for Home Staging Business Report
* Best Canadian Entrepreneur
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To this day, it never feels comfortable to go to big events that have a networking component. I hide in the bathroom powdering my nose and re-applying lipstick for about 5 minutes when I arrive, mustering up the energy to turn myself into an extrovert for the next few hours.
Last May, I started to toy with the idea of getting up on larger stages after a very vivid dream about inspiring women to follow their own dreams. I've certainly been inspiring large groups of people for the past 7 years, but it's been through blogging, teleseminars, courses and group coaching calls.
Once I imagined speaking to hundreds of people from a stage, all my teenage fears returned.
So I spent much of the past summer taking various courses and watching the masters— people who actually make a living from public speaking. I soaked up their tips, watched how they behaved on stage, etc.
I wrote a pitch to speak at NLP Canada's HOPE Symposium in September which was to a group of about 150. After that event, I entered the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, knowing that a win would mean a speech to a very large group from a Manhattan hotel stage! As it turns out there were 350 people, including the cast and crew from Real Housewives of New York (Ramona Singer won the Mogul of the Year Award and they were there to film her for their show).
I got up and made a speech thanking the Staging Diva Team and the thousands of women (and a few men) who have trusted me to help guide them on their journey into home staging. I also congratulated all the business women in the room for having the courage to think big and go for their dreams. Despite my nervousness, it REALLY wasn't such a big deal!
It feels amazing not to be worried about this particular fear anymore!
After my speech, the Director of PR and Social Media for Century 21 offered to feature Staging Diva on their blog with a regular column. This is the world's largest residential real estate company with 121,000 agents in 71 countries, and an opportunity that would never have come about had I not taken the steps to place myself where I could be "discovered" by new audiences.
The Century 21 connection, which will lead to tons of exposure for Staging Diva and all members of the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers in the coming year, is not something I could have foreseen. But that's just it, you just never know what opportunities might "fall in your lap" in advance!
So take baby steps to overcome one of your own fears and discover the magic that awaits you too! How about declaring 2012 as the year you make decisions from a place of strength rather than fear?
Related articles:
> Is Negative Self-Talk Killing Your Home Staging Business?
> Why Did You Become a Home Stager?
> Home Stagers - 5 Steps to Boost Your Confidence
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New Parents are a Great Market for Home Stagers
A new baby's arrival is a common reason for people to put their homes on the real estate market. Because of their needs (and the urgency of listing, selling and moving), new parents represent a very lucrative market segment. They desperately need our help!
Most new parents' homes look like my client's that you see at right.
Home staging for new parents is a great business opportunity for home stagers because these clients:
- Are totally overwhelmed.
- Want to sell their home quickly.
- Don't have the time or energy to do what's needed themselves.
I always turn my first meeting, or Home Staging Consultation, into a working session so that my client isn't left with a bunch of tasks they won't have the time or energy to complete.
This makes the consultation run several hours and it's a rare mom who doesn't hug me at the end in relief because of the obvious transformation of her home.
Did I mention I generally earn about $700 or more for an afternoon spent this way?
> Click here to read the full article and get more tips for dealing with new parents.
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Glad the staging consultation (or new baby) didn't disturb Dad!
Course 3 takes all the mystery out of how to handle a home staging consultation and make sure you get paid. Includes the Home Staging Consultation Checklist Free!
> Download your Course and Checklist now!
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Your Invited to Join Our Monthly Coaching Call!
On the third Thursday of every month, I set aside about 90 minutes to speak with home stagers (both new and established) answering questions that will help them move forward in their business. Sometimes it turns into an in-depth lesson on a specific topic, like how to start a blog or what to do if your client doesn't like your recommendations.
This program is called Staging Diva Dialog and it's open to people who have never taken my courses as well as Staging Diva Graduates. You'll have a chance to share your triumphs and challenges in a small group coaching setting. We all get to know each other as we share opinions and ideas.
Membership in this program has been running at the introductory rate of $47 per month for 2 full years and when you join this month, you will be able to stay at that rate for as long as you remain a member! In January, the cost to new members will be $57/month.
Why not get in now and guarantee the Introductory Rate. Try it out for a month, or as long as you like! Your rate will never increase as long as you beat the end of the special this month.
Your membership fee in Staging Diva Dialog includes the live call with me, plus a recording. If you can't make it live to any of the sessions, you can submit your questions in advance so you'll hear my answers on the live call!
Our next live call is: Dec. 15 (7pm Eastern / 4pm Pacific) — your membership includes the recording!
If you could ask a staging expert absolutely anything about your staging business, what would it be? Here are some recent topics:
- BUSINESS TYPES - Pros/cons, accounting and taxes: Sole proprietorship, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, Provincially Registered Corp.
- KNOW WHAT'S BEING SAID ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS - Time saving and no cost ways to stay on top of the staging industry.
- CLIENT SERVICE - Managing expectations, shopping, finding your niche.
- PUBLIC RELATIONS - How to write a good press release, story ideas.
> Join us this month + get the recording too!
This is your LAST CHANCE to get into this program at the Introductory Rate! You can become a member for as long as you like at the current price, as long as you sign up in December! It's totally worth it even at the regular price, because you'll get at least 10 times that amount back implementing a single idea you get in a single call.
There's a reason people pay me $300 per hour for business coaching — now you don't have to!
Hats Off to These Directory of Home Stagers Members
Once you're a Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers member, it's easy for agents and home sellers to hire you! PLUS, members enjoy FREE project referrals, notification of guest speaking opportunities in their area, as well as media interviews!
Congratulations to these Staging Diva Graduates who renewed their Directory membership for a 4th year and to our two newest members! Visit their profiles and get inspired:
Dolly DeWald, NE Year 4!
D3 Dolly DeWald Designs
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Gloria Salvetti, VA/MA Year 4!
East Coast Stager
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Jodi Whalen, NY
Year 4!
Pear Tree Home Designs, LLC
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Extra Benefits for
Profile Listings!
You can have a f/ree brochure produced by Staging Diva for your company when you have a full year Profile Listing.
 
Sample front & back of custom brochure
Plus, you'll get a download link on your Directory Profile Page so your customers can access your company brochure instantly!
Sample download button that goes on your Directory listing Profile Page
Get top listing for your area
The sooner you join, the higher up on the list you are for your locations. If you're first to join the Directory for your areas, your listing will always come out on top in a Directory search!
> How to get your own Profile Page
> How to get a Mini Listing
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Red Barrinuevo, ON
Redesign4More
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Loi Diaz, ON
Changes by Stages Home Staging and Redesign
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You can add these Social Media icons to your Profile Listing and link them to your profiles on these sites:
Sample of the Social Media icons you can have as links on your Profile listing. Choose any or all of these: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
This is a FREE perk if you commit for a full year, or $75 if you're on the quarterly billing plan.
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