Announcing First Two IAHSP® Conference & EXPO Keynote Speakers PLUS NEW Industry Designation!

IAHSP® Conference & EXPO – the Home Staging Industry Event of the YEAR is bringing exciting, knowledgeable and quality KEYNOTE SPEAKERS to you! We have 3 we have lined up – we have announced TWO so far! The THIRD one will be announced soon!

Go to www.IAHSPConEXPO.com to register now before prices go up! Lock in PRIORITY ATTENDEE STATUS and be first in line for KEYNOTE Meet and Greets, Premier Seating, and Special Exclusive Speak Easy during our Awards Dinner Great Gatsby Gala!

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JONNY FOWLER

JONNY FOWLER: Jonny is a marketing and social media guru. Jonny founded Hancock Mortgage and has helped grow a thriving business. One of his main passions is marketing and social media, as an Industry Leader Professional Speaker Social Media Specialist and Industry Innovator. Jonny shares in-depth, timely information that works to bring you business. He understand how platforms like Facebook and Instagram work and teaches how to work the system to outsmart algorithms that limit our exposure. You will learn not just what to do but HOW to do it. His two-hour keynote session will be one of the BEST you have heard to help your business grow and thrive.

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RAVI HUTHEESING

RAVI HUTHEESING is an international keynote speaker and cultural
catalyst. He empowers businesses, educators, and millions of
people worldwide to pivot and transcend cultural and generational
divides, and his incomparable life story keeps audiences on the
edge of their seats.

The first American-born member of the family that created and
governed the world’s largest democracy for over 40 years, Ravi is
the grand-nephew of Jawaharlal Nehru (India’s first prime
minister) and the cousin of prime ministers Indira Gandhi and
Rajiv Gandhi.

His worldwide visibility skyrocketed in 1997 when he became the guitarist for triple Grammy nominee, Hanson, whose massive millennial fan base catapulted them to the White House, Madison Square Garden, Tonight Show, Good Morning America, Saturday Night Live, and more.

in 2014, he was invited to serve as a cultural diplomat for the US Department of State and went to Russia to give presentations on arts, entrepreneurship, and youth leadership. In 2016, he went to Indonesia and created songwriting and cultural entrepreneurship programs that bridged
the most severe cultural and religious divides.
As a global citizen, Ravi continues to pivot and grow. He shares his experiences and revelations in an effort to increase cross-cultural understanding and create a pathway to world peace.

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NEW INDUSTRY DESIGNATION FOR ALL ATTENDEES!

We have industry experts sharing on this topic. Ravi Hutheesing will be part of this designation education.

All attendees at the 2020 IAHSP® Conference & EXPO will earn their IAHSP®-CDE – Cultural Diversity Expert Designation.

We are in a people business and Staging is a global service. Our cities and communities are becoming more diverse with multi-cultural influences from people from all over the world.

Misunderstandings or misimpressions about differences can offend people by mistake and we need to understand cultural differences, nuances and traditions in order to better serve our clients.

The IAHSP® Cultural Diversity Expert Designation (IAHSP-CDE®) will teach you:

1. About major cultural groups and what their expectations are in business
2. Do’s and Don’ts in working with various cultures and ethnicities
3. How to approach sensitive issues related to Staging
4. Why Diversity and Inclusivity are linked together
   Our Speakers for this session will provide expert insights on the topic.

Go to www.IAHSPConEXPO.com to register now! Prices go up soon! Call 844-IAHSP99 for information!

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IAHSP® Announces Director of Diversity – Deborah Plowden

IAHSP® – The International Association of Home Staging Professionals® is pleased to announce the addition of Deborah Plowden, ASPM, IAHSP-Premier, to our IAHSP® International Board in the position of Director of Diversity.

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IAHSP® is always looking for ways to be inclusive, collaborative and provide opportunities for success for all members of our industry. With the focus on issues of diversity, inclusion and concerns related to racism, sexism and ageism that is in our society, we need to take a responsible approach to how our association and leadership addresses and represents diversity and promotes inclusivity not just for IAHSP® but for our industry as whole.

– Jennie Norris, IAHSP Chairwoman

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This new and important role will focus on the following:

• The Director of Diversity will assess potential barriers and develop strategies focused on recruiting and retaining a diverse International Association of Home Staging Professionals.
• The Director of Diversity will help to maintain cohesion along the dimensions, of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, sexual orientation, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.
• The Director of Diversity will help to dispel any negative sterotypes and personal biases about different groups and cultures and help to build bridges of trust, respect, and understanding across cultures.
• The Director of Diversity will assess potential barriers and develop strategies focused on recruiting and retaining diversity among IAHSP membership.
• The Director will design training initiatives on cultural competency, gender differences, disability, sexual harassment, and other topics designed to increase awareness and support of equity and inclusion values.
• The Director of Diversity will serve to help maintain international and global diversity within IAHSP.
• The Director of Diversity will serve as a referral person to all IAHSP members in the area of maintaining diversity.
• The Director of Diversity will help plan, guide and advise President and executive officers on diversity, equity, and affirmative action matters of IAHSP.
• The Director of Diversity will work with other educational providers to ensure a path to Home Staging education for all socio-economic, race and ethnicity groups so Home Staging is an industry available to all those who desire to be part of it.

For information on joining IAHSP, go to www.iahsp.com. For more information on this program and what we offer, please email Deborah.plowden@iahsp.com

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Deborah Plowden, founder and CEO of Debonair Home Staging & Redesign LLC, is the only Professional Home Stager that’s an Accredited Staging Professional Master® (ASPM®) and Staging Design Professional™ (SDP™), located in Houston, TX and the surrounding areas.

Deborah combines staging and apply design principles, as well as her own unique natural design talent, to every staging project giving her clients maximum results such as offers in as little as one day, receiving  multiple offers and selling over list price.  

Having moved numerous times herself while serving in the  U.S. Military, Deborah understands the importance for all homeowners to sell quickly and get top dollar for one of their biggest investments.  By providing impeccable customer care while demonstrating her expertise and professionalism on every staging project from start to finish, Deborah has received the International Association of Home Staging Professionals® (IAHSP®) Best of Home Staging Customer Service Award.

With her leadership skills and passion to help her fellow colleagues succeed,  she pours countless hours into guiding and mentoring many members of the Greater Houston Chapter IAHSP® while committing herself to various positions as President, Education Chair and Membership Chair resulting in her being a recipient of the IAHSP® Best of Home Staging Industry Leadership Award.

Deborah has appeared on Real Estate radio talk shows, taught many Home Staging classes and been featured in local newspaper articles.

“Great design brings harmony, great staging brings equity!” – Deborah Plowden  

IAHSP® International Launches IAHSP Canada!

The International Association of Home Staging Professionals® continues its expansion around the globe with the official launch of IAHSP® Canada!

“We want to support the Home Staging Community in Canada by welcoming them into IAHSP International as an official country chapter.  Like IAHSP-Europe and IAHSP-Latin America, our goal is to provide resources that support Home Staging Professionals in Canada, and ensure they have the ability to connect with members in their country and around the globe.”

Jennie Norris, Chairwoman, IAHSP International®

Benefits of IAHSP® Membership include:

• Membership in the world’s largest professional Home Staging Industry Association
• Regional Chapters – both physical and remote so ALL members have the ability to stay connected for ongoing education and support
• Industry Sponsor companies that offer products and services for Home Staging Businesses with special rates and promotional incentives unavailable to the general public.
• Annual IAHSP® Conference & EXPO – high level teaching, great networking, and a quality event hosted by IAHSP® International
• Members Only portal with resources to help grow and thrive
• Advanced Staging Business Owner Portal for more experienced Home Stagers looking for information and resources as they grow their companies
• Open communication with IAHSP® International Board Leaders who are receptive to ideas positioned to help members engage and grow
• Social Media Groups with engaging and uplifting discussions
• Weekly Home Staging Talk Show – archived for your convenience
  

For more information, please email Jennie@iahsp.com.

2018 IAHSP Conference a HUGE Success!

We just completed our 2018 IAHSP Conference & EXPO and the positive reviews are pouring in!  We are so THANKFUL to those who attended and experienced this exceptional event!  We are GRATEFUL for those who volunteered their time and resources to help make this event happen!  And we are APPRECIATIVE of all the Vendor Sponsors who supported our event and displayed at our EXPO and throughout the weekend!

 

Your Leadership Team – The Fab 4 – Lyn Spaeth, Jennie Norris, Sandra Holmes & Bette Vos – with the Scott Brothers! (Jonathan and Drew).  We were thrilled to bring the Dynamic Duo to YOU as our Featured Speakers!

WATCH the video montage from our event!

 

We SOLD OUT the venue so next year we are going bigger!!  The Speakers were all top-notch – funny, engaging, inspiring, motivational – and each attendee took away key action items to implement immediately to help their business continue to thrive!  Thank you to all of our conference speakers!! You added so much to this year’s event – and inspired everyone!

One of the highlights was the Keynote Speech with the SCOTT BROTHERS!  They are every bit as nice in person as they are on television – and very engaging.  They gave a great talk and then posed for over an hour for photos during their book signing.  I am sure their cheeks must have been sore from smiling so much!

 

 

Our Business Keynote, Scott Hansen, delivered a great talk challenging us to out-sell, out-smart, and out-market out competition so we can out-earn them!  Scott hails from Chicago and has a hugely successful Podcast called, Success Hackers, so look it up as it is a great resource!

Many of our attendees were also excited to meet Barb Schwarz, the Creator of Home Staging, in person!  Barb gave a heartfelt Inspirational Keynote Speech that had lots of attendees in tears.  It was great to have her with us and to see all those taking pictures and enjoying meeting her for the first time or reconnecting after a long absence!

We were thrilled to host so many of our IAHSP-Europe Colleagues – sisters and brothers from overseas!  They added a true International Element to the event and we hope many more join us next year!!

Our Awards Evening resulted in a lot of deserving industry professionals being recognized for their talent!

We recognized Top Occupied Stager, Top Vacant Stager, Top Individual Stager, and Top Staging Team.  We always recognize the Rising Star – this year we had 4 runner-ups and the winner was Joseph Sipp, a talented 18 year old from Orlando, FL who has a thriving Staging business he started at 17 years old!

Our IAHSP Chapter of the Year is the Charlotte IAHSP Regional Chapter!  These members stepped up and supported our event, and the votes cast for this award made them the winner!  Our 2018 IAHSP Spirit Award Winners are Sanja Radovanovic, IAHSP EU President, and Christa Jessup, IAHSP Vendor Relations Director.  Both are so deserving for their time and effort they put towards growing IAHSP!  Barb Schwarz received the Founders Award recognizing her as the Founder of Home Staging (1972) and the Founder of IAHSP (1999).  And the Barb Schwarz Staging Award of Excellence went to Blair Hamaty of Setting the Space.  Blair has helped mentor colleagues and has grown one of the largest and most diversified Staging businesses!  It was a joy to be able to recognize all the deserving winners in each category!

Plans are already underway for our 2019 Conference & EXPO – we are heading to NASHVILLE!  Look for special announcements for our 2018 Attendees and ticket sales will start in November!!

www.iahspconexpo.com

International Association of Home Staging Professionals   844-IAHSP99 – http://www.iahsp.com

NEW Home Staging Industry Stats Released – Impact of Home Staging on DOM and List Price

The International Association of Home Staging Professionals® (IAHSP® – http://www.iahsp.com), the world’s largest and longest running professional Home Staging Association, has released new industry statistics.  These stats are based on over 2000 properties that have been Staged from around the country.  It provides a snapshot of the impact of Staging on Days on Market (DOM) and List Price of Properties being sold from all major markets in the United States.

Since 1999, IAHSP® provides industry guidance for Staging Excellence, Staging Education and Industry Code of Ethics to which all members adhere.  With thousands of members worldwide, IAHSP® includes Home Staging Business Owners, Real Estate Industry Professionals, and Industry Affiliates as part of its membership.

 

For information on IAHSP® or to join and become a member of the world’s largest Home Staging Association, please go to www.iahsp.com or email Jennie@iahsp.com

Are Real Estate Agents Allowed to Own a Home Staging Business?

by Jennie Norris, Chairwoman for The International Association of Home Staging Professionals® (IAHSP®)

The Home Staging Industry is growing and is the perfect partner with the Real Estate Industry!  In fact, Home Staging is a REAL ESTATE TOOL – not decorating or design.  Yes, there are crossover elements with our sister industries:  Interior Design, Home Decorating, Professional Organizing and even Feng Shui.  However, at its core, Home Staging is a Real Estate Service – because the goal of Staging is to help a property SELL at the best price and in the fastest time!  Our sister industries have different goals – none of them focus on SELLING a HOUSE as the primary goal of their business.

Now – Real Estate Agents – can you own and operate a Home Staging Business?  The answer is YES! 

The industry is a free market industry.  There are no rules from the REALTOR® side that say you cannot have a business in Home Staging, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.  A Home Stager serves the real estate industry, so if you did decide to ADD Staging as a business option for your overall income, you would have two businesses – one where you work with Buyers and Sellers of properties, and the other where you help make those properties look great for photos, showings to help them sell faster and for the best price!   

In FACT, the Home Staging industry was STARTED by a REALTOR® – who saw the need to help houses look better for Buyers.  In 1972, the phrase, “Staging” was coined by Barb Schwarz, The Creator of Home Staging®.  As a REALTOR® she knew houses would sell faster if Sellers were willing to do some basic things to prepare their houses for sale.  The industry has evolved greatly since then, but its birth was rooted in Real Estate!

Your first step is to set up a professional Home Staging Business and to do that you need to understand HOW to make that happen.

First, get some education.  Earn an approved Industry Accreditation or Designation.  Go to www.iahsp.com to see the list of approved courses and make your determination about which one is best for you.  Courses are comparably priced, and there are options for live, in person courses, live webinar courses, and self-paced courses.   IAHSP®, the International Association of Home Staging Professionals®, has approved courses listed on their site.  Our membership is comprised of industry professionals that have education in the industry, which sets us apart from other associations that do not have the same membership standards.  INVEST in your education from the start so you do not struggle and guess at how to be successful.

A quality course will teach you the ins-and-outs of owning a business from marketing, pricing, strategic growth and what to do for various industry services from consultations, hands-on Staging, and vacant property staging.  Staging is not just adding a few plants and towels to a property.  It is a process and when done properly and professionally can be lucrative for a business owner who understands the potential from the start.

RESOURCES:

There are resources available to Home Staging Industry Professionals including rental resources, discounts on purchases from retailers and the ability to establish wholesale accounts.  The Training Company you choose and the Home Staging Association you belong to should provide industry resources and discounts to you.  Not all Home Stagers have huge warehouses and invest in inventory.  There are many very successful Home Stagers that run businesses utilizing 3^rd party industry resources for the furniture and décor needed to Stage properties.  You can also focus on consultations and hands-on Stagings where you use the Seller’s things only – that is a large market segment and one that does not require acquisition of any inventory.  Again, how you grow your business and the services you decide to provide are up to you.

HOW DO YOU MINIMIZE CONCERNS?

You would essentially be working with your colleagues/competitors.  This can present a sticky situation if you are in an area where competition and possible distrust exists.

You bring up the concerns your potential clients will have about you being BOTH an active Real Estate Agent or REALTOR® and a Professional Home Stager – before they do.

Top Concerns:

• Will you steal my client? The trust factor with this relationship is key.  Let your prospective colleague clients know that their clients will never know you are a REALTOR® when you are working with them in Stager mode.
• What if my client finds out you are a REALTOR®? You need to let your colleague client know that if their Seller figures out you are a REALTOR® and asks you to take on the listing, you will decline.  That shows integrity.
• What about Leads? If a lead comes to you from the Staging work you did in the house, and the potential client does not have a listing agent selected, you will pass that lead on to the colleague client that brought you in as the Stager (or refer the lead at an agreed %).  See, if you had not Staged that house for the listing agent colleague client, that person that needs a REALTOR® to sell their house would never have found you.  That shows ultimate integrity.

 

Is it WISE to DIVERSIFY in Business?  YES.

Depending on your market and your financial goals, having more than one income stream is wise.  There are many agents that focus solely on Real Estate. Taught to put all their eggs in one basket, it is sink or swim for their success.  There are also many that diversify and are licensed appraisers, lenders, title reps, business coaches, trainers – they have other sources of income outside the industry.  It is your life and your financial goals are yours – and doing what is necessary to reach those goals is your decision.  Home Staging provides you with another option for income.  You do need to have an “eye” for placement, understand spatial arrangement, color, industry trends, so getting education is key.

 

BOTTOM LINE:  If you want to have a Home Staging Business and you’re a REALTOR® you CAN do both.  Depending on where your passion lies, you will most likely end up gravitating towards one as your primary business.   As the saying goes, “Do what you love and you will never WORK a day in your life!”

Scott Hansen – Keynote Speaker for IAHSP 2018 Conference & EXPO Saturday, Oct 20th Session!

We are excited to have SCOTT HANSEN, Best Selling Author, Speaker, and Business Coach joining us for our SATURDAY, Oct 20th Conference Session as our KEYNOTE SPEAKER!  He will challenge, inspire and educate us about what it takes to increase our business success on all levels!  Go to www.iahspconexpo.com to learn more and reserve your seat at the Home Staging Industry’s most anticipated event of the year!!

In addition – we have the SCOTT BROTHERS joining us Friday, Oct. 19th as our FEATURED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS!! . . . and you will earn your LUXURY HOME STAGING DESIGNATION!  We are your GETAWAY with a TAKEAWAY!!

Advanced Stager Training Workshop

Join us for the event hosted by IAHSP in collaboration with HSRA and RAVE Staging & Design.

SPACE IS LIMITED!  Join industry colleagues for an intensive, collaborative workshop where open discussions will take place intended to help move your business forward!  Tickets are on sale now.   There are qualifications for attendance that you must meet.

Changes to Facebook and How Your Audience Will Engage with YOU

This information is important for anyone that uses Facebook to help build their business or groups.  Facebook is changing the way we engage on their platform, and this is a BIG difference from what we have been used to doing.

This content is reposted from Social Media Examiner: Michael Stelzner michael@socialmediaexaminer.com:

On January 11th, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook’s CEO) said that Facebook’s mission is to bring people closer together.  He went on to say, “but recently we’ve gotten feedback from our community that public content–posts from businesses, brands, and media–is crowding out the personal moments.”

Mark then dropped the bombshell, “Based on this, we’re making a major change to how we build Facebook.”

Fact 1: Adam said, “space in News Feed is limited.”

Fact 2: “We’ll show less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers or businesses,” he said.

Fact 3: “Pages may see their reach, video watch time, and referral traffic decrease,” said Adam.

My opinion: It’s been my experience that historically they have said, “may or may not.” I interpret this may as a “will.” 

Fact 4: “Over the next few months, we’ll be making updates to ranking,” said Adam.  Mark clarified, “We started making changes in this direction last year, but it will take months for this new focus to make its way through all our products. The first changes you’ll see will be in News Feed.”

#1: Video will get less watch time. Inference: you’ll see less video in the News Feed.

#2: Links to external pages will get less visibility. Thus, they won’t be showing as many links to blog posts, news, and so on.  Now at this point, you might be wondering, “are you kidding me?”  You might be thinking, “how could it get any worse?”

I have more data to share. Here we go.

#3: ALL posts from people and pages will be impacted. In Facebook’s News, Media, & Publishing group (which I belong to), Adam said the following, “The update applies to all post types, from pages and people.”

So if you’ve been thinking, “I use my personal profile. This doesn’t apply to me,” think again.

If you’re thinking of starting a group and hoping that will allow your posts to be seen, that’s not the solution. Those are still posts from people and the content itself is still subject to the News Feed algorithm.

So what are the important ranking factors?

Facebook will “prioritize posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people,” said Adam.

In a recent Wired Magazine exclusive interview, Adam said, “we’re going to be (weighing) long comments more than short comments,” and that “comments are more valuable than likes.”

So, actual “meaty” dialog between people (not pages and people, see the language distinction) is critical for News Feed exposure.

Now to video. Adam said, “video is, primarily, a passive experience. You tend to just sit back and watch it. And while you’re watching it, you’re not usually liking, or commenting, or speaking with friends.”

I believe this means a lot fewer shorter videos, a lot fewer Tasty-style how-to videos, and a lot fewer video animations.

At this point it should be very clear that your strategy has got to change.

I’m working my keynote slides for Social Media Marketing World 2018 and have given a LOT of thought to what the next steps are for us marketers.

I’m going to lay out some of my first ideas below:

Step 1: Scale back your frequency of posts. Less is more here.

Step 2: Figure out how to create content that will get people talking to EACH OTHER, not just you.

Step 3: Up your live video game plan.

Adam said, “live videos often lead to discussion among viewers on Facebook–in fact, live videos on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos.”

Step 4: Avoid engagement bait. These are posts that encourage people to comment. Adam said Facebook will “demote these posts in News Feed.”

Step 5: Master Facebook ads: This will be one of the only reliable ways you’ll be able to drive traffic off of Facebook.

Step 6: Learn Messenger Chatbots: Moving conversations into Messenger and using bots will be a huge trend that will allow you to nurture leads and sell.

For more information on how to understand these changes and how you can respond to continue to use Facebook to build your brand, go to https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/smmworld/

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From Jennie Norris:  “What does this mean for YOU:  As someone that uses Facebook for a variety of goals, this is a HUGE change, but you can still be successful in how you get exposure on FB using the following parameters:

This means any time you purposely post something that asks a question only, these will be demoted in News Feeds.  Instead Facebook wants to honor ENGAGEMENT posts – where people comment, and the longer the comments the better.

Find ways to use LIVE VIDEO – this type of media will be honored as a priority for your feed.

COMMENT on other people’s posts and ASK FOR ENGAGEMENT on yours.  The LONGER the comment the BETTER!  Encourage your followers and members not to just simply LIKE a post – but to actually comment and share.”

Why the Story of the Tortoise and the Hare Applies to Owning a Staging Business

Why the Story of the Tortoise and the Hare Applies to Owning a Staging Business

by Jennie Norris, Chairwoman, IAHSP –

The International Association of Home Staging Professionals

Do you remember the story about the Tortoise and the Hare?  The motto, “Slow and steady wins the race,” was the moral of the story.  The same can be said for owning and operating a Home Staging business long term.  Building a business with purposeful goals and steadily growing is a better plan than racing too fast and flaming out.  There are countless examples in our industry of those that did not want to take the time to build a proper foundation, invested in all sorts of things their business could not support, and then flamed out because of debt or frustration.  They wanted to be at the top immediately instead of paying their dues, as they say, and working their way up to the top. Ask any Home Stager in our industry that has a thriving and long term business and they will share stories of steady, intentional growth year by year that has led them to where they are today.

I remember a woman called me after she had been in business about 9 months.  She was calling to find out if I knew of anyone in her market that would want to purchase her business items.  Following her course she bought a truck, a lot of inventory, paid for custom marketing materials, an ad on television and branded business wear.  She was NOT taught this in her course where she was taught to build a foundation, invest in inventory as your business can afford it, do not go into debt, etc. 

My stomach sank when she told me her situation.  

By my estimation she had invested over $150K in funds for a business that was not viable.  She wanted to bypass the foundation she had to build that would eventually have supported the acquisition of inventory,  truck, expensive marketing.  Instant success does not happen.  She got ahead of herself and the market that had softened – so she was not able to capture the kind of business volume she needed to remain viable.  But if she had NOT gone out and purchased things that were well beyond where she was in her business, she would have made it through the tough market and still be here. 

I know, for me, I was not in a place when I got started in 2002, that I would have been able to risk that kind of money, so the concept of spending that amount and then just walking away was mind boggling.  Maybe for her it was just a write-off but that situation has remained with me as an example of what not to do – no one wants to see someone fail and just walk away.  I also don’t believe 9 months was really long enough to truly establish a success record – most businesses you need to give yourself 2-5 years to truly succeed.

Success is a journey and for those that want to be doing this long term, we need to be more like the Tortoise.  We build a strong foundation, slowly and steadily.  We cultivate relationships with REALTORS®, Sellers, Builders and Investors that we want to work with long term.  We establish our brand and processes, learning over time and refining our practices to weed out those that are not working and adding ones that make us better.  This is not to say someone cannot have immediate success out the gate.  There are examples of Stagers that are able to hit the ground running and capture immediate business, grow their foundation and process accordingly and do well.  Those people usually have a business savvy background and people in their lives that are helpful advisors.  The growing pains are there, but there are able to manage them with the support of their infrastructure and team.  No one rises to the top instantly – the plan needs to be a long term process and vision for longevity which entails patience and persistence.

I think people see the successful Stagers in the industry and want to “get there” quickly as it IS attractive and Staging CAN be lucrative.  But the patience factor cannot be stressed enough.  People see Staging companies that have huge inventory and warehouses, that have employees and big teams, that are featured on TV or are strong in their market, paid their dues and they want to be there NOW!  Patience is a virtue.  These company owners worked hard in the early years to establish their businesses.  One of the biggest (if not THE biggest) Home Staging companies in the country (or world!) started off with taking a course, doing consultations on his own, eventually adding one team member, then another, and then purposefully plotting out a vision for growth.  He took risks, said YES when others would have said NO, and took opportunities to expand.  His growth has been a journey.  I am certain people look at him and others like him and want to be where he is – and don’t realize that over a decade of work has gone into his growth.  I have numerous colleagues that all have HUGE businesses – and over a decade of sweat, tears and hard work behind it!

The reason the Tortoise won the race is he was steady in his progress and plan.   He did not burn out his energy and passion by overextending himself as the Hare did.  My hope is that anyone that enters this industry understands that lesson so that they are around long term.

Even though it is a childhood tale, the moral still rings true for us adults.  Slow and Steady wins the prize of long term success and profitability in this industry.  Do you agree?  Share your comments below!

The International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) is here to support our members long term with ongoing education and networking for success.  Go to www.iahsp.com to learn more.