You’re taking the time to read this post, so there’s a good chance you’ve determined that home staging is the right career for you. Now the next step is searching for the right training.
If you’re searching for home staging training that will get you some fancy letters to put after your name, there’s something you should know.
Those letters are meaningless.
The home staging industry is not regulated, which means there isn’t a governing body that issues certifications or credentials. The “accreditations” you see offered by some home staging training companies were simply invented by them as a marketing gimmick.
In your search for home staging training, you shouldn’t factor in the accreditation you’ll receive when you graduate. Your primary focus should be on the credibility of the trainer, the reputation of the company and the skills you will learn.
You should look for a training program that’s taught by someone who has grown their own successful home staging business. If a person has only taught and has never actually had a staging business, they are teaching you unproven techniques. Worse yet, there are many trainers who started teaching because they couldn’t make money as home stagers.
Ask yourself a few questions. Is it a reputable company? Are there lots of graduate testimonials available for you to view, and do you have the sense that they are real? If there are only initials, no photos, and there’s no way to check them out, that’s a red flag.
Has the company or trainer been mentioned by the media, indicating that they are a recognized expert? You should want to learn from a leader in the field, not someone who just decided out of the blue to offer training and make you their guinea pig.
It’s also not a good idea to take a program that will spend most of the time teaching about the design aspect of staging. There really are only so many ways you can arrange a living room; the challenge is making money doing that. What you should be most interested in is how to get your business started and how to get it to grow into a successful and profitable enterprise.
Within two years of starting my home staging company, Six Elements Inc., I was making up to $10,000 a month for my staging advice, which doesn’t even include rental fees. So, I do have a track record as a stager and can offer proven ways to grow a staging business so that you can be successful too.
I also know from personal experience how to build this business on a shoestring, so I share with my students how not to waste money on marketing tactics that don’t work in the real world (you’ll get a sneak peek at some of these ways later in this 12 Tips Course).
In the next post, I’ll talk about the income you can expect as a home stager by implementing a smart pricing strategy. In the meantime, you will find tons of free articles and tips that I’ve written for Home Staging Business Report.
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Did you know that there are over 1000 Graduates of the Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program all over the world? You can read many of their comments at http://www.StagingDiva.com/ravereviews-students.html
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