A Home Staging Business

Issues

I follow other home stagers on Facebook, where we have a group business page to exchange ideas, ask questions, or just show our latest staging photos. Some issues have come up lately that I would like to address.

Plagarism

One home stager says, “In less than 1 week I have had to confront 3 people on plagiarism. 2 within the past 24 hours. Another one a few weeks ago. Why do people feel that they can just steal others intellectual property? . Why the thievery? My copyscape case list is up to 66. Yesterday’s even stole a tag line!”

Another stager’s photos were copied without permission on their own website, “At least be creative and change the verbiage if you’re going to use our photos as your own work…”

While “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” one needs to be mindful that someone else’s work should not be passed along as your own.

Virtual Staging

From PadStyler Virtual Staging http://www.padstyler.com/index.php?page=home

There are pros and cons regarding virtual staging. It is definitely less expensive. The computer technician can use whatever furniture and high-end accessories they choose–i.e., a baby grand piano. Virtual staging is better than looking at empty rooms online. The drawback is when a physical showing is scheduled, the house has that empty feeling to it.

Inventory

How does a home stager get the furniture and accessories needed to stage various vacant properties?

Either you rent furniture from staging rental companies like Cort or Brooks, or you have your own inventory. Since each of these companies are located in the Milwaukee or Chicago area, and I am located in the Madison, WI area, I have my own inventory.

If you have your own inventory, you need to figure out how to manage this inventory. You need to have a way to keep track of what inventory you own and where it is located–in a house or in storage. You may need to rent a storage facility, or if your inventory is larger, you need to rent a warehouse. How do you physically store this furniture in your warehouse? (photo from Shawn Varwig, Oregon)

There is no one system that works for everyone, but this is a typical way to organize smaller furniture items. Usually sofas either are positioned on the bottom shelf, or they are stacked on end on the warehouse floor.

Then you have to figure out how to get this furniture from your warehouse to and from the vacant house. Some stagers contract with delivery firms, some hire people to load and unload a rented truck (Uhaul, Penske, Home Depot, etc), and some tow a trailer behind their SUV.

Staging Questions

Stagers are very helpful and kind to other stagers, even within their own territories. There are many more realtors than stagers, so there is room for everyone.

Some questions that stagers want advice from other stagers are:

how to price both vacant and occupied homes
what should a staging contract contain
how should a particularly challenging room be staged
what paint colors are other stagers recommending
how to conduct a realtor presentation
how to work with investors and flippers

Even though attending regional and national staging trade organizations each year, there is still a lot of advice and knowledge that can be shared when a particular question or problem arises.