The Home Staging Show

On today's show, I answered listeners' questions on social media marketing for their home staging businesses. Here are the questions:

• I really just don't know how to market to the realtor. I think I am a little intimidated by them. I always think they are too busy to entertain what I have to offer.

• I am just starting a home staging business. I'm a graphic designer and this will be another revenue stream for me in the "visual arts" arena. I love interior design, have done only 1 job so far with a realtor (for free - for experience!) and have staged a couple friends and families homes for sale. I'm wanting to know how to properly network starting out - how do you get your first "real" paying job when you are just building business/inventory. How do you get the realtors to give you a chance when first starting...

• I'm stuck when it comes to making presentations at real estate offices and getting myself in front of agents. I've done almost no marketing so far and have been lucky to get referrals... but when the slow times come I know I need to be putting more time into marketing. Then I get overwhelmed where to start (this is least favorite part of the business for me, so it is the easiest to put as last on my "to do" list). What are 3 most effective ways to reach realtors?

On today's show, we talk about social media marketing for home stagers: What skills should I look for in a marketing professional? What is an average budget should I consider for marketing my home staging business? Where to invest marketing money, social media (what to post, when to post, hashtags to use), getting new realtors on board/getting new staging clients to see the value in the investment.

Here's Today's Listener Question: My struggle is to what directions I should focus on and how I can start to network and create my client base. Website? Business name? Portfolio not yet, how do I start to create my portfolio? Capital budget? Thank you very much! Looking forward to hear you soon. Have a lovely weekend. Helena R.

Don't forget to check out our Anniversary Giveaway this Friday! Go to www.staged4more.com/giveaway to see all the details and prizes.

What are the key things that I can do to market my new home staging business with good ROI?

Question 1: Start up and buying items.

Question 2 from Dwayne: is it smart not to go out and buy a whole lot of decor and furniture when you are a start up business?

I'm very new to home staging, just starting to get myself educated. While doing some research I noticed a lot of companies like to advertise how long they've been in business and why that means they are reliable and successful. I obviously won't be able to claim any of that; how do I not highlight my lack of experience in the field while still convincing prospective clients that I am talented and worth their consideration?

I did my first home staging consultation. It was on a vacant home. The home is a model home for new construction townhomes in a community which attracts many young professionals as well as those looking to downsize. I did not want to say no to a business opportunity, however, since I am just starting out, I do not have any inventory. If I am asked to help stage this home, how do you recommend I go about getting the furniture without going over my head in inventory expenses.

This season, the format will be a bit different. I will be answering all the questions you've submitted via our online form. If you still want to send in questions, you can! Just scroll all the way down and fill out the form, and I will answer them on a mini podcast episode this season!

I'll also live stream when I record these mini episodes this season. There is not a set schedule, since I will be finding holes in my schedule to answer them one by one. The best way to catch me will be to follow us on:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/staged4more

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/staged4more

I'm in the process of setting up a Home Staging / Interiors advise service locally and am feeling a bit overwhelmed with information and where to start. I have a Textiles background and have studied Interior Design part time courses. I also work part-time for an Architecture and Interior Design company but they tend to have more architectural work than anything else. Interiors and Home Staging is where I want my business to be. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks x

Today we're talking about all things profit and what you need to know to build the most profitable and sustainable home staging business you can. It can be hard to know what to charge, what your numbers mean, and what you should be looking at in your books - no matter what stage you're at in business. Luckily, we have a wonderful guest back with us to talk about it all: Profit First Coach Michele Williams!

Michele Williams is sought after for her ability to easily explain complex business principles and processes in a simple, straightforward way. With a varied background in working in small, medium and large businesses, Michele has a great grasp on the scalability factors that are essential to growing a business.

Michele and I cover a lot of great topics related to profit, including how to figure out how much income you need, how much you need to work in a year, and how many sales you need to be making to reach your goals. And Michele shares some of her best tips and practices for running a business that pays you a fair wage and delivers tons of value & a high level of service to your clients.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.

We have a return guest on the show today, and this time she's here to talk all about the pros and cons of virtual home staging. This can be a pretty controversial topic in the home staging world, so I wanted to hear what Krisztina had to say about why virtual home staging can be a good option for some real estate agents and home sellers.

Krisztina Bell is an Atlanta-based home stager, vacant properties specialist, and the pioneer of "virtual staging". She provides her clients with over 14 years of experience in the real estate and home staging industries.

Krisztina and I talk about why she decided to add virtual home staging to her services and why she thinks it makes staging more accessible to more people. We talk a bit about how virtual staging allows agents to present rooms in a variety of different ways, why this might be overwhelming for clients, and other pros and cons of virtual staging.

Find more info at staged4more.com/podcast.