Authored by Kate Beswick in Real Estate
Published on 06-13-2009
Home staging is something that has become incredibly popular in recent years. Home staging involves preparing a home to be sold by really ‘setting the stage’ for showings and open houses. A home stager will make sure that all the small details are in place to make potential buyers visualize themselves in the home, and bring the sellers one step closer to that final sale! Home staging is not just a popular option for home sellers though. It’s also becoming a very popular career choice. This is because of its low overhead and expenses and because it’s one of the easiest businesses to start! And learning how to become a professional home stager is most likely much easier than you thought!
First, you must honestly assess whether you have what it takes to be a professional home stager. To be a good home stager, you must have excellent organization skills and a keen eye for detail. Things like placing a good book with a pair of reading glasses on a night table are all very important to a home stager, so being able to pick up on these types of details is important. It’s also wise to have some idea as to how the real estate industry works. This is because professional home stagers must know what buyers are looking for, and what areas of the house to focus on. And of course, because the main job of a professional home stager is to make the house look as perfect as possible, a knack for design is also very important.
Once you’ve decided that you not only want to be a professional home stager, but that you also possess the skills to do so, you should take a course to receive some certification in the home staging field. Although these courses are not necessary to start your career as a professional home stager, it will give you a more experienced and professional background that clients will feel good about when hiring you. These courses also are not very long and can be completed within two weeks. There are many professional home staging courses available, and a simple browser search will bring you many opportunities.
The next step is to practice, practice, practice! You can start by practicing on your own home or with the homes of friends and family members. However, once you gain some confidence in your staging abilities, you should ask your friends and family if you can stage the home that they are selling. This will give you a more ‘real world’ practice and will gain you experience in the actual field.
The final and most exciting step is to start your own home staging company! You can do this by sending word to the real estate agencies around you. Ask if you can leave your business card at their offices. Also place an ad in the newspaper, deliver flyers, or hang up announcements. Do whatever you have to do to get the word out that you’re the best professional home stager in town, and then start setting your own rates and hours!
