Looking for an exciting new business you can start from home, with relatively little start-up costs? Home staging is a hot new trend for creative entrepreneurs who wish to start their own business.
By decorating homes that are on the market, home stagers help increase a seller’s profit margin. A staged home typically sells more quickly and at a higher price than an empty home, making staging worth the investment for many sellers. Homeowners are willing to spend a few hundred dollars to sell their house for several thousand more.
As a stager, you may spend a day cleaning and decorating a home and make the equivalent of a week’s pay. With several clients in the same week, you could have a lucrative business on your hands.
Here are several more reasons why you might want to consider home staging as a business.
The start-up costs are relatively small.
Some entrepreneurs need to lay out huge amounts of capital to get off the ground. But with home staging, you can set up your “office” right from home. There’s no inventory to manage and no retail space necessary—just a computer, a telephone, and your own vehicle are all you need to get started. A good camera is also great to have, so you can take quality photos of the homes you stage and provide examples of your work.
It’s not a multi-level marketing (MLM) business.
Unlike other businesses models that require you to recruit others to work under you, Home staging is a business that you can run completely on your own. You don’t have to buy anything to start, and you never have to ask anyone to host a “party” where you can sell your business to others. The success and growth of your business is completely up to you.
There is a real demand for home staging.
As the real estate market fluctuates, home sellers are desperate to find ways to make their property stand apart from others on the market. Home staging is an alternative to reducing the listing price when a house has failed to generate interest from potential buyers. In addition, hot real estate markets create a demand for home stagers, as sellers want to boost the perceived value of their home and attract multiple buyers.
You have flexibility.
As a home stager, you have control over your own schedule. You can arrange to meet clients during the day while your children are at school, and can take off days as needed to deal with other responsibilities. In addition, you could start your home staging business as a side business and work only on weekends and in the evening.
Home staging is creative.
Due to the nature of the business, you will constantly be meeting with new clients and new homeowners, and developing new problem-solving solutions. Every home is different, and this aspect of the job allows you to use your creativity in a new way with each home you stage.
The business can be an adventure.
Each home staging may only last for a few days or weeks. A client may have a home in a different city or may have multiple homes that need to be staged. Part of the fun of the home staging business is meeting new people and discovering new places while working.
You choose the clients.
Most entrepreneurs value autonomy. As a home stager, you can choose which clients you want to work with, and steer your business in the direction you wish. Prefer to work with condos? Position yourself as a premier condo stager. Find that it is difficult to work with certain real estate agents? You don’t have to work with them again. There are thousands of real estate agents in most large urban areas, and an even larger pool of potential homes to stage. With your business, you can pick and choose who you work with.
You don’t need an office.
Your real work takes place in other people’s homes, so your office can be as simple as a corner in your dining room, or a spare bedroom that you’ve converted into an office. It’s likely that no one will ever need to visit you at your office, saving you the expense of renting commercial space. Most of your meetings will take place in the home that you will stage.
There is no special training required.
As a home stager, you don’t need any specialized training or certifications. You simply need an eye for decorating and a passion for using home furnishings creatively and effectively.
Home staging can be an exciting business opportunity for entrepreneurs who have creative flair and wish to start their own business. By networking with real estate agents, it is possible to build a viable, profitable business. Not sure you want to take the plunge and quit your day job? Start your career as a home stager on the weekends. Who knows? You may be able to leave your job sooner than you think.
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