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The Perks of Networking and how to do it

July 10, 2018 by naomi

Networking is absolutely essential in running a successful business. While technology has made networking easier, this does not mean that you don’t have to work for success in business. Networking is a great way to get your name and business name out into the world, find new clients and expand your affiliates. Regardless of the type of business you run, networking is achieved in similar ways.

Putting yourself out there and going to events is a great way to network. Not only does this lead to new clients but it also has the potential to lead to affiliates and possibly even partner brands. Being around like minded people is great as it allows you to meet other inspirational people, expand your knowledge and your ideas.

Carrying around business cards is still a great way to network, especially at events. Dropping business cards off at cafes and restaurants is another great way to network as it means you have the potential to reach a wide range of demographics! Putting your key social media site usernames, phone number and email on business cards are absolutely essential nowadays. People want to be able to research your business without having any direct contact with the business first, hence the importance of social media sites.

Networking through social media is another great way to network without spending excess time out of your day chatting to people. This can be achieved through paid advertisements, using scheduling programs so you always have content going live across all platforms and live chats. These techniques will allow you to seemingly directly connect with your audience without leaving the comfort of your home! Social media networking allows you to reach completely different audiences depending on what site you are using. This will result in you reaching a much larger audience than what you could when dropping business cards off at a coffee shop or going to an event. Having the flexibility with different audiences on social media also allows you to trial different ideas and techniques on different sites to figure out what works best!

Clutter and Your Mindset

July 5, 2018 by naomi

I wanted to share something with you today that I was reading on my phone earlier, so you’ll see me looking at it a little bit. It’s about clutter and money.

There’s an amazing, good friend of mine, as well as an amazing business woman, called Denise Duffield-Thomas from LuckyBitch.com. Go over and check her out. You’ll find the stuff that she does absolutely amazing.

I was reading the morning about this really great piece she wrote about decluttering. I see a lot of home stagers doing some of the things that she talks about in her blog.

You’ll see in here that she talks about clutter and decluttering is great for money manifesting. She goes on to talk about all the different things that maybe we are doing with our clutter.

For example, in our office spaces, are we holding onto a desk someone gave us when we first started our businesses because we feel that we need to have more money or be a bigger business before we then give ourselves another desk?

A little like – and this is a phrase that Denise talks about, as interesting as it sounds – beggars can’t be choosers. “Someone gave me this when I first started business, so I’m going to keep using it.”

I really want you to head over and read this blog because this is absolutely amazing. It speaks about if we’re holding on to some of the things that we were gifted and we feel we have to be grateful for in our businesses, we aren’t opening up opportunities for new energy, new money and new abundance to come in.

I see this a fair bit in home staging. I see it with people’s stock. When I first started and I was getting stock in and I was like, “Wow! My business is growing!”

Then, as I got more and more stock and I wanted to turn it over, there was this ridiculous attachment to the stock that I had first because, “Oh, gosh. I need that. I need to be grateful. That’s where I can from.”

It wasn’t until I had the most epic garage sale that suddenly my business started to flourish. I got rid of all that old stock that was tying me down and that I wasn’t even really using. I was getting a warehouse full of clutter.

This is something that’s really important in home staging.

Look at your stock, look at your inventory and avoid it becoming clutter. It is the main commodity for many home stagers who have higher for making money.

Why do we allow a money making item to become a cluttered item?
Why don’t we cut it loose and allow more space in our warehouse, more space in our energy, more space in our business for abundant stock, customers, clients and agents coming in.

This is one way that I find a lot of the home stagers that I mentor and that are on our memberships are a bit attached to clutter. But I want to share with you from my phone here. I love reading Denise’s stuff.

She had some other great top tips and I wanted to read you some of my favorites about decluttering in the business because it’s so important; just as it’s important in life, it’s essential in business.

The first one is a really great one about unsubscribing to emails that you don’t want anymore. Deleting old contacts out of your phone.
Backing up and cleaning off your computer. If your desktop looks like a mad woman’s breakfast, clean that up. You’ll be amazed at how good it feels.
Shred old documents. Old documents that you don’t’ need, get rid of them. There is no need to have that clutter and store them.
This is a really interesting one: clean up your Facebook feed. It doesn’t mean you have to defriend people or unlike people, but if there’s someone that’s on your feed and you just don’t want to see their stuff anymore, make sure you remove that from your feed.
The other one that I love, which is really interesting is deleting websites and getting rid of the histories in your browsers. That can be really interesting.
Then, one of the last ones that I want to read to you – and this is a great one – is say no to networking groups that have become an obligation and not a joy.

I believe massively, guys, in the five people that we surround ourselves in are the people that we’re going to become and the people that we’re going to be the biggest reflection upon us.

That could also be said for networking groups. Many of us got involved in networking groups, which can become clutter in our calendar and clutter in our life.

Take Denise’s massive inspiration. Head over to LuckyBitch.com. I want you to get on and read this because it’s a really amazing blog.

I want you then to have a look in your warehouses for cluttered stock; I want you to look in your offices for all those things that you feel you should be entitled and that you’re really gifted to have and you need to keep and I want you to look in your computers and in your phones.

Rid yourself of that clutter and that will open up the energy for abundance and more business, more wealth and more opportunity to come your way.

Thanks so much for listening, guys. I’ll be back again soon.

How to Better Yourself by Questioning Yourself

June 30, 2018 by naomi

In life we constantly question ourselves and if the decisions we make are the right decisions. Depending on your family and friend situation, the decisions we may can also influence their lives. We question everything from if we really had the best dinner we could have, if we exercised for as long as we could have, if we were as productive at work as we could have been. All these things are questions we ask ourselves all the time. Depending on our answers, we might try harder the next time, or we could have pushed ourselves to the end limit. Regardless, when we keep questioning ourselves over the same thing, at some stage, we will begin to see change.

When it comes to running a business, you question yourself and the decisions you make all that much more. Not only does the decisions you make influence yourself, but it also influences your family, your finances, your career and those you employ. Discovering an effective strategy and way of questioning yourself which always results in successful decision making and successful results is of utmost importance. So, what should you be asking yourself to better yourself as a business owner?

“What am I doing?” I know, this is a big question, but it needs to be asked. What is your business, what is its motto and what is it achieving? If these questions and answers aren’t what you want to hear then it is time to make some changes.
“What are my goals?” This is a great one as we enter the new year! What do you want your business to achieve in the next year, 5 years and 10 years? Where do you see your business going and what changes do you have to make to achieve your goals?
“Who are my competitors and what are they doing?” Knowing your competitor’s business inside out is just as important as knowing your own business. What do they do that is highly successful? Is this successful because of who they are or because of their demographic? How can you incorporate this into your business?
“Who is working for me?” Finding your A-team doesn’t happen over night! Don’t be afraid to reevaluate jobs and those you employ, if someone isn’t doing their job properly then find someone who can.
“What can I outsource?” As the business owner you don’t need to be doing tedious tasks that someone else can do! You can outsource locally or you can look for someone to outsource tasks to from elsewhere, this all depends on what you are comfortable with.

While it is important to constantly be asking yourself these questions, it is also important to sit down every three to six months and have a long think about these questions and what the answers actually are. Doing this regularly to ensure that your business will stay on top of its game and in front of all its competitors.

What Beds to Use in Home Staging

June 5, 2018 by naomi

Hey, guys. I’m back again for another installment to answer some questions that have been emailed through to me.

I’ve had a few people email through their question and I’ll read it to you here.

We’re just starting up our home staging business and we really need to know about how you do your beds.

That’s an interesting question, isn’t it? I am going to answer that to the best of my ability and hopefully everyone will be able to take a snippet from that.

I’m assuming that this question is pertaining to what sorts of beds we use in our installs. Let’s look at our options.

The first option is, obviously, a traditional slatted timber bed that needs to be pretty much built on site. It has the side rails that has the header and the footer and the slats that the mattress would sit upon. There’s one option.

The next option is an ensemble bed and, obviously, the last option is a bit of a more temporary bed. It may be an inflatable bed, it may be a camp stretcher with an inflatable mattress on top or it may be a camp stretcher with a foam mattress on top.

These are all different sorts of options. That’s not all of them, but they are some of the different options that you have when you’re staging a property and you want to put in some beds.

What do we do? If I’m going to be dead honest about what we do here at Silk Home, which is my brick and mortar home staging business, we actually use a lot of ensemble beds.

We used to use the slatted headers and footers with the side rails, but the time it took to construct the beds on site meant that our productivity was greatly diminished.

And that meant that we needed more than one person to be on site installing every single house, even after the initial drop off of furniture was complete by the muscle, basically. That was a bit of a negative for us. It really did take some time.

The other thing we noticed is that the mechanisms that you’re adhering everything to did, over time and after multiple assembling and disassembling, wear. We steered away from that.

That pointed us to our ensemble beds.

We have, as well, used all varieties of camp stretchers and foam mattresses/camp stretches and air mattresses, but one of the big problems we found with air mattresses was that sometimes they do go down.

You often find that the time you get a call is 7:30/8:30/9:00/10:00 on a Saturday when, often, you’re busy doing other things, saying,

“I’ve just taken everyone into an open home and the mattress is deflated. I need something else here right now because the open home has pretty much been ruined by the fact that there’s a deflated mattresses and a slump-looking bed sitting in what might have been an amazing master suite before.”

One of the problems I have with inflatable beds is they certainly have their locations, but one of the things that you need to make sure you think about is they aren’t 100% reliable.

I can probably hear many people going, “What about those places where you can’t get an ensemble base into?” Absolutely right. It’s a huge, huge challenge.

There are many places, especially in the older parts of town, where the stairwells are too skinny and the lifts are too small and the landings at the top of stairs are too small to be able to work an ensemble base around.

In those cases, we actually have to use a mattress and we prop the mattress up on tubs.

There you go. There are our sneak peeks and our behind the scenes of what we do at Silk Home for beds. I hope you’ve learned something from that; I hope that there’s something that you can take and integrate into your home staging business and into all the different situations that it may be applicable.

I’ll be back next week. Make sure if you have any questions that you jump onto our Facebook page and we can help you out.

If you have really specific questions about your business, make sure you pop over to our memberships. Our Shine Membership has a closed Facebook forum where you can pretty much ask anything you want.

The members of the community and myself will be jumping in there to help. Jump on over and check them out. They’re all on the website.

I’ll see you guys again soon. See you.

Must Have Home Staging Stock and Accessories

May 25, 2018 by naomi

Acquiring a variety of stock and accessories is a must for your home staging business. At first, purchasing stock might seem like a bit of a leap. However, if you are smart about what stock you purchase, you’ll find you can use it over and over again with great results.

When it comes to stock there is typically two categories, soft furnishings and hard furnishings.

Soft furnishings include pillows, linen, lamps and small accessories. Soft furnishings are those items that, if you needed to, you could pack them in a box and put them in your car. On the other hand, there are hard furnishings. Hard furnishings are big items such as lounges, armchairs, dining tables, coffee tables, and so on. These are the items that can’t be packed into a box and loaded into your car.

Logically, soft furnishings should be acquired first, and then later down the track hard furnishings can be acquired. However, as everyone is at different stages in their business, it is important to be able to look down the track and consider what sort of stock you should be acquiring.

SOFT FURNISHINGS

When it comes to soft furnishings, you can generally purchase these items cheap and in bulk. They should include:

Cushions: Purchasing pillows that work well in a wide range of environments is a great way to get the most out of your money. Try buying cushions in a few colours and designs as they can be used on their own or grouped together.

Faux flowers and plants: When the right ones are purchased, faux plants can look amazing and be used in a range of spaces and styles. The best part is how long they last!

Books: Books are a great way to add texture and a create ‘lived-in’ feeling to any space. These are the most cost-effective soft furnishings and can be used in any environment, from a study, bedroom or a lounge room. Just purchase a few books from your local op shop or you might even have some hanging around the house.

Knick-knack accessories: By this I mean small accessories that can be used in a variety of environments – anything from vessels, small bowls, candle holders, or any other small accessories.

Linen packs: This isn’t absolutely necessary, but I like to at least have a few coverlets and toppers as it can really transform a room from something dull to something amazing.

HARD FURNISHINGS

Hard furnishings are more expensive so it’s usually beneficial to go for quality over quantity. The stock I recommend purchasing includes:

Mattresses: Often clients do not have enough beds to show off the best of the space, or they have moved and have taken their mattresses with them.

Dining chairs: Not all dining chairs go with all tables, so having some neutral dining chairs that work with a range of colours is a great idea.

Bedside tables: Bedside tables have the potential to open up the bedroom and create a space for your soft furnishings. Tables that are unique, yet work well in a variety of environments is essential.

Lounges: When used everyday, lounges can easily begin to look old, worn and unpleasant. Having lounges in stock that are a neutral colour is a great idea as they can be used in a range of spaces in a range of different styled homes.

Coffee tables: Not everyone has a coffee table and if they do, it’s often old and worn. Investing in a few coffee tables can help you to transform and fill a living space amazingly.

Purchasing stock doesn’t have to be a huge expense at first, in fact it shouldn’t be a huge expense when you first start accumulating inventory. As your business beings to flourish with the large amount of stock you accumulate, you will be able to stage more properties and further grow your business.

Get your FREE Crash Course in Home Staging below!

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4 Tips For Hanging The Perfect Wall Art

May 9, 2018 by naomi

One aspect of decorating that many people struggle with is choosing and hanging wall art. If you’ve left the walls of your home blank because you’re afraid of making an error, or if you’ve hung photos and prints only to be disappointed by the results, keep reading! By following a few best practices, you can use your artwork to transform your space with these 4 simple tips.

Hang only what you love

Choosing artwork for your home is highly personal subject, and this is where we let go of any rules, save for one: You must love the works of art you hang on your walls. They should speak to you. Never choose a painting or print just because you think it matches your room — it’s a sure-fire way to be disappointed in the end.

Original paintings can be expensive, but if you have artistic friends or family, you can frame some of their original pieces for a really sharp, custom look. You can also purchase prints, enlarge favourite photos (black and white portraits are very chic), or find some incredible antique signs or other interesting objects to hang on your walls for interest. You just need to love it.

2. Don’t skimp on the frames

If you choose to hang traditional wall art, it’s worth it to spend a little more for professional framing. This will protect your investment, as framers use acid-free materials and UV-rated glass to make sure your artwork doesn’t deteriorate. Framing is also an opportunity to unify your look. For example, you could have several very different paintings in style or subject, but if they’re all in similar frames, you add instant cohesion to your room.

3. Keep artwork in scale with the space

The biggest mistake most people make is hanging a picture that’s too small for the space. If you put a beloved, page-sized portrait on an expansive wall, it will be totally lost and ignored. To figure out how large a picture to hang on your wall, measure the width of the space (say, the area between two windows) and multiply that number by .57. The result is the ideal width of the painting you should center in that space. This bit of arithmetic is based on decorators’ tried-and-true proportions, but you of course have a little leeway. You can also group smaller photos together to reach this number — just be sure to account for additional spacing between each.

4. Hang artwork at eye level

Many people hang their pictures too high on the wall, thinking that there’s a lot of space to fill toward the ceiling. This is not the case! The centre of your artwork should be at eye level of the average person — if you live with someone, split the difference. The one exception is with lettered signs, which are typically designed to be seen from a distance and can therefore be hung higher than eye level if you like.

If you stick to these four simple rules, you’re sure to be pleased with how your works of art transform your walls.

Want more tips? Get your FREE Crash Course in Home Staging below!

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How to transition from your corporate job to running a home staging business

January 12, 2018 by naomi

If you have a passion for styling homes, building your own home staging business can be one of the most rewarding careers out there. There’s the creative freedom, working your own hours and dealing with the clients of your choice. In theory, it’s an easy decision to change your career overnight, but I know that the transition from full time work in a corporate setting to running your own business is a little more complicated than that.

To help make it a little easier, follow these 4 steps to ensure your transition from working a 9 – 5 to running a home staging business is a smooth and successful one:

Set your work hours

I’ve heard people say that the main reason that they want to run their own business from home is because they can work only when they want to work. It IS true that you can set your own work hours when you work at home but it does NOT mean that you don’t have to have set work hours.

When you have a job that you go to outside your home, you are required to be at that job at a specified time on specified days of the week. When you have a work at home job or business, you need that same kind of structure. You need to set regular working hours. The freedom that a work at home job provides is that you can choose the hours…but you do have to choose!

A ‘hit or miss’ work schedule…or rather, the lack of any work schedule at all, simply will not work. Time is of the Essence! YOUR time!

Let your friends and family know your work schedule

The benefits of running your own business means you can be at home to see the kids off to school and be at home when they get home. You can put a load of laundry in and it can run through the cycles while you are working. But you must enforce a work schedule for yourself and insist that your family and friends also adhere to it.

A job out in the brick and mortar world tells your family and friends that your time is spoken for during your working hours. When you work from home, expect your spouse to see you as being free to run errands. Your friends will see you as being available for long telephone conversations, lunch or for a coffee klatch.

You can see the problem. The best way to accomplish using your time to your own best advantage with your business is to make a schedule and tell your family and friends what that schedule is.

You don’t have to be rude but you do have to be firm. Make it clear to all. “I will be working between 9 AM and 3 PM Monday through Friday. On those days and during those hours, I am NOT available to run errands or take personal phone calls or entertain company.” Then stick to it!

Create your own brand

When running your own business, you need to work on creating your brand. A brand is more than a name or a physical feature, it is the perception that customers have about your product or service. It’s your promise to your audience. In general terms, it’s an idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with.

Whilst in the order of things a logo usually comes first, the trick is to then grow your brand from there.

When establishing your brand first work out what the vision, values and personality of your company are. Consider your audience and define them. What’s their age, gender, occupation, location and personality traits? When doing these exercises, also remember that this is not about defining you or describing what you like, you need to put yourself in the shoes of your potential buyers to see what they desire.

Figure out your competition

In the age of technology, you can do a million and one things to switch up your business and create a unique element of interest that set you above other home stagers in your area. All that you have to decide is what ideas you are going to pursue!

This could be creating your own Youtube channel where you share advice or film the home staging process of a property. It could be starting a blog to engage your audience and direct traffic to your website. There’s even options like offering warehouse tours and creating an online op-shop for old furniture stock – get creative!

Are you ready to start your career in home staging? Click on the image below to claim your spot in the first course now!

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Staging Designs | Home Stager of the Month

December 5, 2017 by naomi

At IIHS we love having the opportunity to showcase the work of our Shine members as one of our many membership perks! This month, our Home Stager of the Month is the lovely Dimitra Oldham from Staging Designs.

Dimitra has been in the industry for almost a whole 9 years and has been running Staging Designs in Sydney since 2013!

What made you get into the industry?

After a long career in the Corporate Sector in senior management, we moved the family to the US where my husband took up a new role. I was at home with my little one who was a year old and my daughter was at pre-school.

I always had a passion for property and had worked in a buyers agency in Australia helping clients find their ideal property, so I knew how important it was to have a well presented home for sale. I came across Home Staging and after doing some research I completed the Home Staging course.

At first I set about helping friends and then worked with a local stager. Whilst I was in the US, Home staging was starting to hit the shores of Sydney. So naturally when we decided to come back to Australia it was a no-brainer to build my business here.
Staging was in its early days back then so it was a slow start, but I kept persisting with it. During this time I was also helping investors renovate their properties to increase their returns, so that kept me quite busy too.

Of course now staging has really changed the way property is sold today which fortunately is keeping us extremely busy!

What is your favourite part of working in home staging?

I absolutely love helping clients transform their property and really fall in love with it again. It is great when the client sees the completed home for the first time and they realise the potential their home had. Most clients say ‘I should have had you in sooner so we could enjoy it a little’. But at the end of the day ensuring that our clients get the benefit of the full potential value from their home is the best part.

I also love that no two days or properties are the same. Each property is different and presents its own possibilities and challenges. Seeing the look on the clients faces when we have completed our recommendations..is priceless… and the satisfaction I get that moment, never gets old! That’s what keeps me doing this everyday!

What advice would you give someone wanting to enter the industry?

Watching the home renovation shows people get the impression that it’s easy and fun. And yes whilst I do absolutely love what I do and have fun it is also a lot of hard work. To build a successful Styling business you need more than just a creative eye. It’s about building relationships, solving complex problems, being flexible and adaptive, learning to run a business, requires some real estate understanding and can also be quite a physical job.

The best advice I can give is find someone you can work with so you can get first hand knowledge of what’s involved. If its what you want to do then educate yourself in Home Staging as this is very different to just Interiors training.

To get in touch with Dimitra, head over to Staging Designs at www.stagingdesigns.com.au.

IIHS Success Story: Jaculin Dodson

November 2, 2017 by naomi

Here at IIHS, we strive to make a difference in the lives of our students that goes beyond the course content. It could be through giving you the tools you need to succeed, or the confidence you need to make positive changes in your lives. Each year, we are so proud of the growth and determination we see in our students and we’re over the moon to share some amazing success stories of some of the best home stagers and stylists from the IIHS community!

So without further ado, we would like to introduce…

Jaculin Dodson – Peony Property Staging

How has your business grown since studying with IIHS?

“I’ve always had a passion for interiors and for property. While on maternity break with my children, I knew that I didn’t want to get back into the corporate world and I wanted something that would give me the freedom to be around for my growing family and that also fuelled my passion.

I came across the International Institute of Home Staging, as being a Newcastle based girl, had followed the growth of Naomi’s Silk Home business with much interest.

I took my leap of faith and bought my ticket to attend the first Home Staging Symposium in 2015. My business was a dream at this time and after attending the Symposium in Sydney, I was inspired and fired up to make this a reality”.

Home stager success — Image from Peony Property Staging

What has been one of the best parts of becoming a member of the IIHS community?

“I signed up as a Shine/Professional Member at the Symposium and also enrolled in Course 1, The Art of Home Staging and to be honest, I haven’t looked back. I completed my studies in the Art of Home Staging and then enrolled in Advanced Home Staging and Business Development.

My business growth has been incredible since I studied and I took on Home Staging as a full time job. I have moved from being home based, to storage sheds and a desk in a collective office, to recently taking on my own warehouse and office in Newcastle where I now operate all facets of my business. I’ve taken on staff and the plan is to bring my husband into the business next year!

I will not ever look back and I’m so glad that I took that leap and went along to the IIHS Symposium and studied with IIHS”.

What are the goals you have for your business and how did studying with IIHS help you achieve these?

“I am wanting to continue to grow and increase my capacity to service more agents and clients in the local area.

I am a believer in investing in myself and in my business and aside from the IIHS Course, I have also attended a number of other events organised by IIHS including travelling to Bali for Business & Balance Retreat!”

We are so proud of you Jacci!

You can find out more about Peony Property Staging here: http://www.peonystaging.com.au/

If you would like to follow in Jacci’s footsteps and take a step closer to getting your dream job, you can enroll in our last home staging course of the year here.

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IIHS Success Story: Jessica Dwyer

November 2, 2017 by naomi

So without further ado, we would like to introduce…

Jessica Dwyer – Right At Home Staging

How has your business grown since studying with IIHS?

“For me personally, I did not want to go out into the real estate market trying to sell my services without having any formal training behind me. I came from a corporate environment with no experience in Property Styling or owning my own business, so commencing studies with IIHS gave me the framework l needed to start my business.

From the smallest things l would have struggled with – things l would never have thought of, to larger things like templates or reading materials – the IIHS Course really helped put things into perspective.

Right at Home Staging is a regional business, so its taken a little while for the concept to be embraced, but its really started to pick up for me and l have no doubt that being an IIHS student and professional member has given me the right skills and confidence to stay focused, positive and professional.”

Home stager success story — Image from Right At Home Staging

What were the biggest things you learnt from studying with IIHS?

“Everything! As mentioned above, l had no experience in running my own business or property styling, so l really felt that the course and materials were such a good starting point for me. I think things would have been a lot more difficult for me if l were trying to start this business without the course or support of IIHS.”

What are the goals you have for your business and how did studying with IIHS help you achieve these?

“The goal was to become a reputable property styling business for my area. I can’t even imagine how this would have happened without the support of IIHS. IIHS has given me so much more confidence and for that l am so grateful. It’s a pleasure studying with IIHS, the feedback on each assignment is always valuable and getting support from other members is also priceless.”

Congrats Jess, we’re so proud of you!

You can find out more about Right At Home Staging here: www.rightathomestaging.com

If you would like to follow in Jess’ footsteps and kickstart your career in home staging, you can enroll in our last course of the year here.

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IIHS Success Stories 2017

April 24, 2017 by naomi

Does your idea of a dream job feel unattainable? Do you wish you could quit your 9 – 5 and start your own business? Imagine doing what you loved for a living every day! For 3 very talented women, this became their reality and so it does for many people who complete an IIHS Home Staging Course!

Homing staging is booming and it’s much more than just redecorating people’s bedrooms. Home staging is all about looking at what’s on trend, designing property aesthetics and staging properties for the market that will sell at the best price possible. So, why should you start your home staging career in 2017?

Three of our most successful students are here to tell you their story.

JESSICA DWYER – RIGHT AT HOME STAGING

2015 Symposium Success Story

March 16, 2016 by naomi

As the National Home Staging Symposium 2016 is right around the corner we are reminiscing of the excellent turn out we had last year!

If you are unsure if you should come to the symposium or not, this success story is one that will definitely make you buy your tickets straight away!

Gary and Lynette Landy were considering jumping into the home staging industry before they attended last years summit, but after they were convinced that they had finally found the right career path for them.

Dynamic Home Transformations

“Prior to attending the summit we had decided, a few months earlier, to start up our own staging business. Gary had completed a course with Melissa Marro (USA) & is a qualified Home Stager. Lynette has a Diploma of Interior Design, which encompassed an additional unit of Property Styling.

Our history is, Gary was a retired, very senior, policeman of many, many years service & Lynette had a background in Insurance (many years ago); Property Management & office management. After a very trying 2013 (health wise) we decided to take our lives in a very different direction. Our decision to get involved in Property Staging / Styling was twofold really. Firstly, Lynette had completed her Diploma of Interior Design and we had previously had numerous investment properties that we had renovated, leased, decorated and sold.

When we arrived at the 2015 Summit we were quite unsure of ourselves & whether the documentation we had printed to hand to Agents & potential clients was appropriate. Research on the Internet only provides so much information – and almost all of this is based outside Australia!

There were a number of things we took away from the Summit that have made a huge difference to us.

Firstly, it gave us the confidence to go forward and promote our business. We had the opportunity to ask questions of those running the Summit & the Guest Speakers, which proved to be invaluable. For example, it was our intention to commence marketing to Agents by arriving at the office & requesting to speak with the Sales Director. We were then hoping to be able to attend their weekly sales meeting & present our Company. At the Summit, we spoke with Andrew Robinson (Estate Agent) and Andrew Dart (Director – IIHS) that this would be the wrong approach. Their advice was that we attend Open for Inspections & seek to gain an appointment with each individual Agent directly. This has actually worked!!! Not every time but we did manage to speak with a number of Agents over coffee.

Another very important aspect that we took away was that we needed to maintain continued contact with the Agents. Yes, that is common sense but sometimes it takes someone else to highlight it to you. This task alone has meant numerous opportunities for us to advise and quote.

Finally, what is probably the most vital aspect we came away with was that there are others who have been in exactly the same position as us. We met many others at various places in their staging business, either just starting out or having been doing this for some time, who were eager to talk and listen. Knowing we were not alone in this endeavour (even though logically you know there are others out there doing the same thing) was comforting. The fact that there is an Australian Membership available for us to join so we can continue to learn, share the successes of others, understand the issues that we can be confronted with is very empowering to us.

So attending the Summit in July 2015 gave us the confidence that what we had commenced with regards to our documentation printing & business plans were in fact on track with where we needed to be. We are stoked that the information we came away with at the 2015 Summit has meant that our business has grown from a fruit pip to a ripening peach. There is nothing that will stop us attending the 2016 Australian National Home Staging Symposium”.

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SOFT FURNISHINGS

HARD FURNISHINGS

Hang only what you love

2. Don’t skimp on the frames

3. Keep artwork in scale with the space

4. Hang artwork at eye level

Set your work hours

Let your friends and family know your work schedule

Create your own brand

Figure out your competition

What made you get into the industry?

What is your favourite part of working in home staging?

What advice would you give someone wanting to enter the industry?

Jaculin Dodson – Peony Property Staging

How has your business grown since studying with IIHS?

What has been one of the best parts of becoming a member of the IIHS community?

What are the goals you have for your business and how did studying with IIHS help you achieve these?

Jessica Dwyer – Right At Home Staging

How has your business grown since studying with IIHS?

What were the biggest things you learnt from studying with IIHS?

What are the goals you have for your business and how did studying with IIHS help you achieve these?

JESSICA DWYER – RIGHT AT HOME STAGING

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