Many of you know that I was an active professional home stager for 10 years prior to deciding to take the plunge and open Lux. I chose to pursue my dream of opening a furniture rental house not only to offer a great selection of contemporary and transitional rental furniture and accessory options to a market that was in need but also to create a space to help home stagers grow their businesses and hopefully not go through the struggles and mistakes I had to go through during the past 10 years.
I started my Home Staging business part time and unfortunately, I did not actually become a full blown full time home stager until 8 years later. After 10 years, I can tell you that the reason why I did not become a full time stager sooner was because I regarded myself as a “designer” and not a business woman. That was my downfall and I find that is a very common mistake that I hear from many home stagers. I am a very big believer in the saying “we rise by lifting others”, so I wanted to share 4 of my top tips that I personally found really helped grow my business.
- Network! Join as many networking groups for entrepreneurs as you can. You will gain new insights and new ideas on how to push your business and you will be surprised at the amount of business you can generate just by meeting with these groups, participating and getting your name out there! People in the groups may use you or people in the groups will often refer you out. You also get to meet some very fabulous and inspiring people in these groups! Becoming a member of RESA and joining a local RESA chapter is always a great way to network in your industry as well!
- Invest in your business! Attend seminars related to home stagers and entrepreneurs. Continue to educate yourself about your industry by attending these seminars/workshops and this will give you the confidence to grow your home staging business and the know-how. At Lux we try to help grow home stagers by offering workshops and seminars in the Lux Studio. Visit us our events page to see our upcoming workshops.
Get certified! I debated for years and years about becoming a certified home stager. I believed it was just a “money grab” for the longest time but I was definitely wrong about that. My staging business had plateaued and I needed to do something to boost it and I decided to take the Certified Canadian Staging Professionals 3 day certification course. This course did not focus so much on what I already knew (how to create a universally appealing space) but more about the business aspects which is what I was struggling with and what essentially was the cause of my home staging business plateauing. After taking the course and becoming a certified home stager, my confidence as a business woman sky rocketed and my business grew more than I had ever expected it to.- You need a great website! In today’s world, most of us research a company online prior to using their services. A client or agent looking for a home stager is no different! You need a clean, simple to navigate website. Utilize SEO (search engine optimization) techniques to push your page closer to the top on google.
In the end, you need to remember that business will not just fall into your lap. As much as we wish it were that simple, business simply does not just come to you magically. You need work for it! The more you give into your business, the more it will give back to you! Now get out there!
What tips do you guys have to share to help others grow their home staging business?
Julie O is the owner of Toronto’s #1 furniture rental house, Lux Furniture Rentals. Lux Furniture Rentals provides rental furniture for home stagers, real estate agents, builders, photographers, event planners, and set designers. We specialize in luxury furniture rental but we offer 2 collections to meet all your project needs and budgets. We deliver to all areas of the GTA, Toronto, Mississauga, Scarborough, Richmond Hill, East York, North York, Vaughan, Woodbridge, Oakville, Stouffville, Markham, Whitby, Oshawa, Pickering, Ajax, Burlington, Milton, Aurora, New Market and Brampton.