|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Become Accredited and Earn Your Certification Through Our
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||
 |
|||
"First Impressions" covers the importance of the initial reaction to a home from the buyer's point of view. Tips on creating the perfect first impression based on your own reaction and insightful ideas for creating a positive first impression by making a few quick changes.
"How to Achieve Room to Room Balance" is the key to staging an entire home and discusses improving the flow of a house from room-to-room. In this chapter, we identify potential hazards such as a poor structural layout, poor color scheme, and clutter, along with ideas to combat these issues.
"Focal Points" will help you understand the initial difference between staging a home for market and interior design. What yo umay play up to live in a home is not necessarily the same thing you would play up to sell that home. We identify potential Focal Pointsin this section, and help you understand the impact they may or may not have on potential buyers.
"Props!" is all about investing in key items to help your job go smoother. We discuss the value of having these items on hands and tell you when to invest and when not to invest, as well as providing a list of pieces I have invested in over time that have been put to use over and over, again!
SECTION TWO - Staging a Vacant Home
We go to great lengths and detail to explain the very popular and seldom offered service of furnishing vacant homes, which has been a HOT money-maker for me! How did I do it without investing in any of my own furnishings or renting furniture or storage? It's all right here. A great service to provide if you take the time to do it right! Get the STAGING EDGE by filling this niche market!!
SECTION THREE - Offering the Right Service
"Offering the Right Service" includes step-by-step instructions explaining the difference between a consultation vs. the bid you will be required to give to provide an estimate for your hands-on-staging services.
You will learn exactly what to say, from that first phone call, as well as what NOT to say to ensure you get the job every time! An example of a written consultation is included for your reference. You may use this example to set up your own format or tweak it to fit your needs.
Consultations are one of my most popular services! Currently, I earn $250.00 for a one-hour verbal consultation! An additional $250.00 to provide it in writing, and I ALWAYS get PAID ON THE SPOT!! No need to bill and wait for your check! This course will show you how to do the same!!
 |
||
 |
||
SECTION FOUR - The Good, the Bad, and the UGLY
"Dealing with Difficult Clients" explains the realities of home staging that other courses DO NOT want to share with you. You will learn exactly what to do when it comes to handling sticky situations or simply how to avoid them, altogether!
"Do Your Dare Repair?" is a brief overview of a few quick fixes you can implement yourself without the assistance of a professional.
"Working with Kids and Pets" offers the best advice on these often touchy subjects!
"WARNING" discusses the NUMBER ONE MISTAKE every newbie Home Stager makes, what it is, and exactly why you shouldn't do it!!
SECTION FIVE - Business and Marketing
It is one thing to have an eye for staging a home, it is altogether something different to know how to sell your services and infiltrate your market. You can't have one without the other and expect to find success! Our 10-STEP PROGRAM will give you the proven formula you need to setup your Home Staging business, quickly, efficiently, and successfully!! How do I know it's 'proven?' I did it myself!!
From how-to take professional before and after photos, designing your website, soliciting business, diversifying, your business plan, press releases, and more! It's all there.... and includes examples for you to build on!
If you simply FOLLOW THESE STEPS, you can not help buy succeed, even if by default, alone. (Though we know that won't be the case!)
At the end of the Home Staging - Home Study Course, you will be given three final exam options, required to earn your Home Staging Expert certificate.
Once completed, you will be allowed to use the HSE (Home Staging Expert) Designation, along with the logo, for your marketing materials, giving you instant credibility in this exciting industry!
Once you have completed your final exam, you will receive your certificate in the mail and will be listed on our web site at www.homestagingexpert.com. You will also receive instructions to sign into our Home Staging Expert Forum for on-going support. And each month, will receive our monthly newsletter to keep you up-to-date on the latest industry trends, news, and stories.
Cost of the Home Staging - Home Study Course is $299.00 USF (United States Funds) and includes shipping and handling. You may pay by check, money order, credit card, or PayPal. There is no additional shipping fee to Canada, Puerto Rico or Mexico. All other countries will be charged an additional $25.00 USF fee for shipping
You may order on-line via PayPal or credit card on this page, or call (952) 412-0566 to place your order by phone. To order by mail, please make your check out to Center Stage Home.
Send check or money order to:
Center Stage Home
PO Box 787
Arlington, MN 55307
By Mark Candor, Real Estate News
|
||
Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Lori Matzke started Center Stage Home in 1999, at the time, only the second company on the Internet dedicated to Home Staging! After professionally
staging home exclusively for three years, she eventually expanded her business into training by creating the Home Staging Expert (HSE) designation and opening
www.homestagingexpert.com.
Since then, Lori has been a guest speaker at many Home & Garden shows as well as Business and Real Estate Expo's nationwide. She has also been featured in television and radio broadcasts throughout the U.S. and Canada, and has written and contribute to numerous Home Staging articles.
In 2003, Lori was the only Home Stager invited by the National Association of Realtors to stage rooms for their cover story on Home Staging. She has continued to work with the NAR by appearing in their educational video on home staging and contributing to a number of articles for their inside and on-line publications.
Beginning in the fall of 2004, Lori has been a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, with her "Staging It" feature running every other week in the Saturday Home Section. Released in December of 2004, she wrote the first book on Home Staging, which in 2007, the very popular Active Rain blog "Stage It Forward" dubbed the 'best book in the industry' in a comparison study with other staging books now on the market.
With her hands-on approach and down-to-earth appeal, Lori has always been a favorite 'go-to' for common sense staging, marketing, and business advice. As a Home Staging pioneer, her dedication to the expansion of the industry has had a long-term effect on today's Home Staging standards and trends.
"Why does your course cost less than other home staging courses?"
Because I am in the business of actually STAGING HOMES! Unlike other staging companies, I do not rely on training courses as my main source of income. I provide hands-on information and teach you to market your business with PROVEN METHODS to succeed without the fluff! And for the record, our course fees have not changed since we started our business in 1999. I love staging homes! And that is where I make my money.
See my before and after photo section for PROOF that this is truly what I do for a living!
"Do I really need certification to become a Professional Home Stager?
NO! There are currently no state or federal regulations governing the Home Staging Industry. Likewise, there are no state or federally recognized certification programs in play. The only certification you can earn from ANY Home Staging Course or Workshop, is the certification granted by the company conducting the training.
"Then why should I take your course?
While you don't actually need to take any formal training, Home Staging is a niche industry. The more knowledge and experience you have, the more comfortable and confident you will be when it comes to actually staging a home on your own. (Trust me... it is NOT what you see on HGTV!)
With the expansion of the Home Staging Industry, it has also become more and more common for both Home Owner and Real Estate Agent to require proof of certification. As a beginner in the industry, it is to your advantage to have formal credentials behind your name to strengthen your image.
"What type of training is right for me?
It all depends on your needs. While I cannot speak for other training courses, the options we offer cater to both the 'how-to' as well as the business and marketing aspects of this industry you will need to get started.
Whether you are adding Home Staging to an already established design or real estate business, or trying to break into the Home Staging industry on your own, the business and marketing aspect are equally as important as knowing how to physically stage a home.
"I am not a designer or real estate agent, can I still do this?
Prior to entering the Home Staging field, I was an accountant and the the degree to prove it.
Nuff said! ;)
"Can I join other Home Staging groups based on your training?"
Some yes, some no. While there are certainly Home Staging groups that will accept any type of training courses you have taken, other groups have been specifically created to benefit their own training programs and do not allow anyone to enroll without taking their course. It is best to check with the individual organization to find out their requirements.
"How long will it take me to finish the course?"
That depends on how much time you have to dedicate to it. Some finish within a week to 10 days, and some have taken several years to complete! It all depends on you. While the course itself is not time consuming, the final exam is more involved. On average, I typically receive final exams back within 60 days of mailing the course.
"I am not good at tests. Why does your final exam take so long?"
It's actually a pretty fun test to take! Since Home Staging is such a visual concept and very home is different, I do not believe in a written exam. To receive your certificate, you will be given three options and are required to complete one, take before and after photos of a room you staged, and include a synopsis of what you did and why. That is the best way for me to tell that you understand the concept of staging, and I am not sending you out into the world fumbling blindly on your own!
"What kind of income can I expect to make as a Home Staging Expert?"
Like any business, there is no way to predict what your earnings will be. The area you live in, the economy, what type of services your offer, and how much you put into it, are just a few of the many factors.
That said, any new business should be realistic about standing on it's own and give itself an incubation period before it is working at full throttle. Real Estate Agents who add Home Staging to their client services can expect to find profitability much sooner wtihin their own listings.
"What about competition?
In every industry, competition is a given. But keep it in perspective. There are literally thousands and thousands of homes on the market at any given time. It is highly unlikely you will be able to stage every one of them! And just like any other service-oriented business, your ability to contend will be based on how you connect with your clients, how you perform, and what you do to make yourself stand out from the rest. While competition should certainly never be taken lightly, it should not be the sole deciding factor in determining your potential for success.
"What if the city I live in is not open to the idea of Home Staging?"
New concepts are difficult in any area. But wherever there are homes on the market, there is room for someone to stage them! In a slow market, an edge over the competition. In a strong market, the ability to list for an even higher profit. It's a matter of finessing your services to fit the needs of your area.
"Is there a federal trademark on the term 'staging', or any variation of the word, as it pertains to perparing homes for market?"
No. There is a federal trademark on a set of Home Staging videos, but not on the term 'staging' itself. For further info, visit www.centerstagehome.com or www.uspto.gov.
 |
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
