Home staging is more popular than ever, thanks to shows on HGTV and other media attention in recent years. This attention has made the job of a home stager so much easier — no longer do we have to sell homeowners and agents on the value of our service. Read on to see how to start a home staging business.
Since it’s already a well-known fact that buyers love staged homes, and staged homes sell for more, you don’t have to educate potential clients as to the benefits of home staging. They already know that it’s a wise investment.
This makes your job so much easier, and you can focus on running and growing your business without having to explain what home staging is as a concept. So if you want to become a home stager, the timing has never been better. (Back when I got started, it was usually like, “Home staging? Never heard of it.”)
Here is an interesting article written about a home stager. It’s from 2008 but still gives you a great look at the business. (Opens in new tab.)
How to Start a Home Staging Business
Whether you want a part-time income stream or a full-time business, home staging is an ideal option since you can get started without a lot of upfront costs.
With home staging fees starting at around $75 per hour and reaching $150 to $200 per hour, depending on your area, you can earn a substantial income even if you only take two or three jobs per month.
As a home stager, you can have control over your schedule and the hours you work. If you hate sitting in traffic, you can schedule all of your appointments so you miss rush hour. You’ll be in charge of your own schedule, your vacation time, how far and where you drive for appointments, and how many hours per week you work.
Depending on how much you already know about home staging and starting up a business, of course the first option may be to just go ahead and choose your business name and go for it. This could be the way to go if you’ve got the skills and the business know-how, and you’re comfortable with setting your fees, managing projects, and interacting with clients.
If you need to get the staging know-how before you start, there are a lot of course options for you.
Choose a Home Staging Course
One thing you can decide on is whether to get a certification as part of your start-up. Although it isn’t necessary, you may find that it helps. Certification can boost your confidence and give you an extra marketing edge. In my experience, which specific certification or credential you have is not something that clients ask.
Courses are the most common route for new stagers. With the right course, you can learn what you need to know about staging, plus get all of your how-to info for the business start-up. There are courses out there for all budgets, including the courses and optional certification that we offer here at School of Home Staging.
Our business start-up course shows you how to start your business without having to make a hefty upfront investment in furniture and accessories. You can do consultations only, or you can strictly take on jobs where you’ll be using a furniture rental company. So there’s no need to spend tens of thousands on inventory and carry the monthly expense of a storage facility the way other programs would have you do. Not everyone is in a position to make that kind of investment, or would even want to.
Check our our list of course reviews to find a program that offers the training you want in a price range you feel comfortable with.
To be completely honest, some of the most expensive ones tend to give you more information than you really need to get going. At this point you don’t need to be concerned with the tiniest details like how many inches apart the frames should be in a grouping of artwork on the wall.
Stuff like that is not going to make or break your business. When the situation arises you can always Google any of the small design-related details you need. So don’t get too wrapped up in knowing every design rule off the top of your head. This is something that can slow students down and cause anxiety about “how much there is to learn” before they get started.
It’s important to keep up your momentum when you decide to become a home stager ? keep moving ahead and don’t get bogged down with all the “what if” scenarios.
In my 12+ years as an instructor, I’ve seen this happen with students many times. There simply isn’t a program that can cover every situation that might possibly happen when you start your business, even if you devote weeks or months to studying every possible situation and solution, every rule of thumb, every formula…
Trust yourself and “Just Do It” like the ad says! Keep moving forward.
Keep Taking Action Steps
Getting your business started comes down to the same basic steps no matter which course you take.
Read more about how to become a home stager.
I hope this article has been helpful and I wish you the best luck and success in becoming a professional home stager. Home staging has been very good to me and I hope you enjoy the same rewards. You can always email me if you have any questions, just go to the contact page.
-C.M.
