Buyer's Eyes
You have only one chance to make a good first impression--beginning the moment potential buyers drive up.
You can help create that good first impression by presenting potential buyers with a well-cared-for yard including mowed lawn. Your front door and porch should be clean and neat, preferably freshly painted.
These first important encounters create a positive impression that carries through to the rest of the home. An inviting atmosphere implies that the house has been well maintained. Homes that convey pride of ownership, especially those that have been staged by a professional, generally receive the best offers.
If the home appears disheveled or uncared for, prospective buyers may quickly conclude it's been neglected and is in need of repairs. Such a negative impression can result in a less-than-generous offer--or possibly no offer at all.
Always pretend you are a potential buyer. Would YOU buy the home?
International Staging Directory
Announcing!
The International Home Staging and Interior Redesign Directory
Get your business listed in the fastest growing, most prestigious international directory for home stagers and interior redesigners and designers.
If you aren't being found, you're losing business.
Advertising and promoting your business are key elements to building and sustaining a business. The International Staging and Redesign Directory is set up to send you highly targeted inquiries. If you have a website, you can list it in the directory. The listing will help your own website rankings, as well as prove to the world that you are a legitimate staging or design professional.
To visit the directory, go to:
The International Staging and Redesign DirectoryTo join the directory, visit:
Join DirectoryTell them I sent you.
Cheers!
Five Affirming Beliefs for Home Stagers
1) Regardless of what life brings to me, I will be happy.
2) I seek to improve every day in these areas: knowledge, awareness, curiosity, caring, adaptability, success, control of my life.
3) Since I am my own best friend, I continuously encourage myself, support myself and respect myself.
4) Working together, my mind, body and spirit are united in the goal to allow me to excel in my home staging activities.
5) Problems and setbacks are only opportunities to improve myself, my work, my goals and dreams. I am always seeking ways to improve and grow - and I'm always on the look out for ways to help my clients too.
When was the last time you gave yourself a good compliment?
When was the last time you treated yourself for a job well done?
Today in the mail I received a check for $200 from my daughter's dentist. It seems I had overpaid my bill. How nice they were honest enough to return the money to me.
Since my computer crashed last Friday, and my external hard drive got blown out on Saturday from a power outage, and my printer up and died today, I'm in need of treating myself.
While it was a lot of extra work to restore my systems, I took the opportunity to improve my business at the same time. Even though tempted to get frantic and frustrated (and I admit I did a little of that - I'm only human), I chose to look overall on this series of problems as an opportunity to excel and grow and make my home staging and redesign business better than ever.
And now I'm going to go spend that $200 on myself!
Home Staging for the Chinese
QUESTIONI really appreciate your books (
Silver Combo Training), which are what I have been looking for! And you are the best of all! And I read most of Rich Dad books, but I still learned a lot from your book about business.
I live in Toronto and have a B.A degree of Visual Arts from Canada, and I am the first and only HomeStager in the Chinese community right now, and Toronto has almost 5,000,000 Chinese.
I see I am standing in certain advantage in terms of starting early, but the challenge is: although their houses are in big need of being staged, this homestaging idea still not be accepted or recognized yet, and most people don't want to pay any for that, even though my service charging is really low compare to the local market. I have to do a lot of education by writing articles in community newspapers and giving seminars.
I have another choice, is to move to Chicago, and there are not much Chinese as in Toronto. But I think I can try to do for other communities. (My boyfriend is there)What would you suggest in this situation? Does it worth me to try in Toronto? Or you think Chicago has better business potential?
ANSWERWhoa, I'm totally afraid I can't advise anyone on where to live and work. I can say this, however.
I grew up in Japan and visit there every year because I have a mother and brother living there still. While I don't know much about Chinese people, they are still Asian in their thought and practice. They will probably always have much different thinking on homes than Caucasians. It would be a tough sell to the Japanese culture, though I have done one home for a Japanese lady in Japan.
They may also have religious reasons, perhaps borne out of Feng Shui or Buddhism that contradict American interior design concepts. There could be resistance there for that reason too.
And as you say, they are probably strong savers and guarded about spending money. They are also typically pretty traditional in their thinking. If you had any chance at all, I would venture to say it would be with younger generations rather than older and whether their homes were Canadianized or Americanized rather than Asian styling.
Your best bet is the press release and seminar route, whether you stay where you are or move, no matter what culture you're speaking to. Try to get into some Chinese organizations and make friends first without any thought to what you might gain. Get to know the most influential people there. Offer to do a home free in exchange for referrals. Offer to do a home free for a real estate agent working heavily in the community. Many times all it takes is for one agent to believe in you, then others find out and suddenly you're hard at work. You have to break down that natural resistance first, however. It will take time.
Thank you for the kind remarks about the training. Much appreciated.
Home Staging and Franchises
If you're thinking about investing in an expensive franchise, do your research. While there are many advantages, there are many disadvantages. So watch for Clues to know when you should move on.
Clue #1Franchise sellers must disclose any lawsuits that have been brought against the company. You'll want to investigate both the quality of the suits as well as the quantity. 1-2 cases per 100 is considered a lot. Look at who began the suit, whether the franchisor or one of the franchisees. Check to see what the outcomes were.
Clue #2The franchiser must also disclose the failures of their franchise's. A high turnover rate is not good. A high turn over rate of terminated franchises is not good.
Clue #3Viable franchisors will be able to provide detailed numbers of how the business works on the individual level and how much money you can reasonably expect to make.
If this information isn't readily available, this is not good.
Clue #4Unhappy franchise owners are another clue. If there is a consensus of unhappy owners, you'll probably wind up feeling just like they do. This is not good.
Clue #5The franchisor and employees don't share similar values to yours. You want to associate yourself with people you feel comfortable with, who you believe you can trust and who you believe will support you every step of the way. Not every culture or person has similar values. If you cannot feel totally at ease, this is not good.
Fortunately the home staging business doesn't require anyone to own a franchise. You can learn the business quite affordably. I offer a basic tutorial, a gold course and a diamond combination course (staging and redesign). For details on all of these options, visit:
Home Staging Courses.
Impact of Your Self Image
You're staging homes for a living. You're excited about what you do. But things aren't going so well. You don't know why.
I was standing this morning looking out my kitchen window. In the distance are 3 large palm trees swaying in the wind. The sky is a brilliant blue with large white bellowy clouds passing overhead.
The temperature is already warm and I know it's going to be a hot day. But I stand there enjoying the cool breeze coming through my window, caressing my skin and I thank God for giving me such a beautiful day.
The wind blowing the trees in the distance can't be seen. The breeze filtering through my hair can't be seen. While I can't see the wind, I know it exists because I see the effects with my eyes and feel the effects on my skin.
The same is true for your self image. How you feel about yourself can not be seen with eyes nor felt by other people in and by itself.
It can only be witnessed and it can only be felt by the effects our self esteem causes. In other words, how you feel about yourself, how you talk about yourself in your mind, will cause something to happen - either good or bad.
Your self esteem is unseen - but the effects of it can be seen everywhere you go. So be kind to yourself. Lighten up. Be good to yourself and you're bound to see good things come into your home staging business as well as your personal life.
Managing Critics in Your Home Staging Business
I believe that the best way to develop someone I'm training is by giving out plenty of appreciation and encouragement. That's why you'll find many postings on my blogs of an encouragement nature.
There is very little that will kill ambition quite a thoroughly as criticism - especially from one's superiors. I try not to criticize anyone. But I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who jump to criticizing others, for no apparent reason.
We would all do better to follow the concept: Be anxious to praise but slow to find fault.
Be specific in your praise. Talking in generalities is nice, but it isn't remembered by the recipient because it doesn't reach their emotions. So when you praise, be very specific. The person receiving your admiration will really respond when you are very specific about why you are giving the heartfelt compliment.
When you enter a client's home, look for something to compliment the home owner about. You may have to really look deeply, but no matter what the condition of the home, you should be able to find something to be genuinely complimentary about.
It will thoroughly please the home owner and gain you significant good rapport immediately. You'd be amazed at how many of your competitors will fail to give any compliments at all.
A Home Stager's Rationalizations
Do you have a number of reasons as to why you haven't started your home staging business yet? Do you find yourself saying, "I'm too tired" or "I'm too unsure of myself" or "I don't know what to charge" or "I'm not sure what to say"?
This type of excuse making masks something else going on inside - something you might not realize about yourself.
That something is "rationalization".
When fear gets hold of us, we can come up with all kinds of excuses as to why we aren't functioning yet. And the reasons we give all "appear" to be valid reasons as to why we can't move forward. But in reality they are excuses to justify our fears.
Did you know that most fears we have never are realized in actuality? Well, except if you venture on a car lot to buy a new or used car.
I've had to live the last several nights with my garage door propped open because of some repairs being done. My husband was out of town. While I took every precaution to secure the home, I was none-the-less apprehensive that I had not done enough.
Even though I reminded myself that my concerns were exaggerated, I felt nervous and anxious until I fell asleep.
Most times, what we fear is of our own making and never becomes a reality in our lives.
But in order to stop feeling fearful, we have to take a first step. Even if it's a little step. Take the first step, then another, then another, then another. You'll quickly discover that your fears were totally unfounded and rather silly.
Destructive Beliefs for Home Stagers
1) You must perform as perfectly as humanly possible in all circumstances. There is no room for error of any kind, because you must prove to everyone that you are perfect.
2) You can't do anything without the total love and acceptance and support of the significant people in your life. You must always be successful and right and a high achiever in their eyes or you can't function at all.
3) You must worry everyday about your reputation and do everything at all cost to protect yourself from criticism or failure. If something feels risky, then it must be risky, too risky for you to attempt.
You don't need everyone's approval. Yes, it's nice if you get it, but sometimes you just have to strike out on your own and not be so overly concerned with what other people think. Fear of failure and incurring the disapproval of those around us can paralize us. Without action, nothing is achieved.
You can have all the dreams in the world, but if you don't push past your fears, especially those fears of what other people might think of you, then you haven't got a prayer of success.
If you fail, you pick yourself up and go right on. Learn from the mistakes you make, but don't assume you are the only person in this business to make a mistake. We have all made them. The key is to keep on growing and learning and taking action.
Dealing with Difficult Realtors
QUESTION
There is a condo next to my parents up for sale for $899,900. No furniture, no up-dates. It really needs my touch. Mom says the realtor is a real, well I'll be direct, bitch. Any comments?
ANSWER
If you know going into something where the realtor is reported to be a "bitch", I don't advise cutting your teeth of this type of person. It could wreck your reputation among other realtors in your area if you have problems, and it certainly won't be any fun for you. Just a thought to ponder. You might want to start with a more simple approach of consultation only, then go for the whole works if you get along. Better yet, wait until you have a good deal of experience under your belt, then approach that realtor.
Fairness vs. Reputation
Some people are more concerned about reputation and what others think of them than other people. Some people are consumed by worry. Others don't care at all.
I will admit that when I was younger, I was more concerned about what someone thought of me than I am now.
I've been taught many times that when in business, the "customer is always right". By that I always took it to mean that no matter what, I was to treat the customer as if they were completely in the right, whether they were or they were not.
But I've had clients and trainees who were clearly in the wrong.
I've toyed with the idea of just giving them what they want regardless, and sometimes I do that. But on the other hand, I many times don't give in to that kind of pressure.
Sometimes it's out of fairness to everyone.
Sometimes, however, it's because I want to teach that person something more valuable: like respect, honor, truth, fairness, rightness, responsibility.
My policies are not to do something for one client that I am not willing to do for all. Where would I be if I gave something to one person and refused it to another and the word got out that I was "playing favourites".
So, at the risk of many a trainee unhappy over an issue that is unfair to others, I rule in favour of others. That's just the way it is. Case in point: if you purchase a training product or package and a few days later it goes on sale, I don't make retroactive refunds. It defeats the purpose of the sale in the first place, and it would not be fair to issue a refund to one person and not to everyone.
Is my reputation at stake? Will there be negative feedback passed around about me? Maybe. But I would rather be known for treating everyone the same and being fair to everyone. I don't give in to pressure. I don't give in to being compared with other businesses. I set my policies and then adhere to them in a manner that is fair to everyone, and fair to us at the same time.
Control Your Tongue and Behaviour
A house guest arrived to spend a few days with a family. She was the adult daughter (40 years/single) of one of the parent's in the family. She had never met the other members of the family before.
Within 5 minutes of arrival, she had proceeded to tell everyone that she was a very outspoken person, has gotten into trouble for doing so in the past and how she goes about engaging people she meets in conversations, by asking questions.
Nothing novel about that.
Within the next few minutes, she proceeds to insult the 24 years old daughter in front of her parents and other friends. An hour later, when the parents are not in the room, she chastises the 24 year old daughter regarding the daughter's chosen profession and the daughter's choice of boyfriend.
Before and after the meals, she let's everyone else help with meal preparation and clean up, expecting to be waited on by her new "servants". While she had been very talkative before the meal, to the point of sermonizing to everyone, when she sits down to eat, she spends 97% of the time looking down at her plate, eating quietly, sometimes playing with her food, not joining in the conversation at all, and not even looking at other members of the family when they are speaking.
It is not known whether she has ever received etiquette training or not, but my opinion is that there are many things in life one should just inherently KNOW and not have to be taught.
Unless you are in someone's home as a trusted adviser, consultant, stager, redesigner or what have you, keep your opinions to yourself. Offer to help whenever tasks need to be done. Even if your help is not accepted, you must at least offer to help.
When you attend parties, remember that you are there as a guest, but you should also be there to serve the hostess/host and their guests. Part of building a successful business is the ability to and desire to help other people. Never lose sight of that.
