Home Staging Blog by Jennie Norris

I love Roller Coasters - I love that climb to the top with the anticipation of the big drop in my stomach when we speed down a hill.  I challenge myself to hold my hands-up in the air - screaming like a kid!  We took our kids to Sea World over spring break and rode this Atlantis ride no less than 7 times - a combo roller coaster/water ride.  We even got my in-laws who are in their 70's to take a turn on the coaster.  It was great fun - and our kids were thrilled!

Roller coasters at theme parks are great. Roller coasters in our business - not so great.  We tend to jump on the roller coaster for business that takes us UP and DOWN, UP and DOWN - and may even whirl us upsidedown!  We may even feel sick to our stomachs when we think, "no one is going to hire me."  One day we are UP because we got a call and things are FABULOUS!  The next day we are Down because no one called.  One week we are UP because we are busy with work, and the next week - we are DOWN because no one has called and we think, "ALL the business has dried up."  or "They must not like me anymore."  That is called FEAR and fear is an unproductive motivator.  It causes us to shut down or shut off.

Get off the Roller Coaster!  The way to do this - is to measure success and activity month to month.  When we take too small increments to evaluate how we are doing, that is a sure invitation to jump on that Roller Coaster and strap in!  We need to use the perspective of time to evaluate the success of our businesses.  Months of time are a better measure of how you are doing than week to week or day to day.  Month to month, we can look at revenue, number of overall jobs, and properly assess if we are on track, and then make needed adjustments.  As business grows, look quarterly at how you are doing - bigger chunks to get perspective, especially if you are in a market that is not predictable.

This is what I have experienced on average and have seen over and over with other newer Stagers.  With consistent marketing at all times - the first year - business is growing so you will have ups and downs.  You are building your foundation - so there may be big chunks of quiet time - and that is our time to get out and network and share with others, and to get our systems in place.  By your second year - your business stream should be more steady, because you have a foundation of clients you worked with in year 1, but you are still in the building mode.  There will be lulls in activity - could be based on the market and the busy versus slower season, or could be a factor of not enough of a client base to sustain a steady level of business.  By your third year, as you continue to build, you should have a reliable number of jobs that you can count on to sustain you monthly.  And the successive years, you are in maintenance mode, and sustaining your level of business.  If you are adding to your Staging team, then you remain in building mode to add clientele to sustain a needed level of business.

After doing this for 5 years, I don't look week to week or freak out when I have a slow week.  I am happy because it allows me to get other stuff done that I have been putting off - because I KNOW that it will get hectic again with lots of jobs and demands for Staging.  I know that the income I need is there - and so I don't stress about the slow times.  If there is an elongated slow time - just get out and remind your client base that you are there to help them, and ASK for others to work with.  There are so many avenues for business as a Stager - and many that have nothing to do with Selling homes at all.  It's all how we present our services to our potential clients that determines what activity we will have.

When our market slowed considerably for home sales the past 18 months, this also meant slow down for Stagers - or flipping it around - meant the need to go and get more clients to sustain the same level of business.  It's a numbers game.  Asking current happy clients to share a few names of their colleagues that could work with you - is a warm referral - and a goal to double your client base annually (if you want to do that) begins by asking for the referral.

So, as much as I enjoy the pitch in my stomach, the churns and turns of a thrill ride at the amusements part - I got off the business roller coaster as soon as I could - and now just enjoy the trust that I have put in the work to ensure a steady stream of business - and don't freak out if the phone does not ring.  It will - in a day or so - and then I will be running around wishing for some time to breathe!!  Enjoy your restful interludes - we need them to refresh and rejuvenate our Staging spirits!

- Jennie