The home staging industry is getting a lot of attention these days. With a booming real estate market, home sellers and buyers are enjoying the perks of staging services. With home staging, homeowners may attract more buyers and shorten their home's time on the market by hiring someone to decorate (or "stage") the property before listing it for sale. Buyers benefit from staged homes because they can envision living in a space that is not yet their own. Of course, real estate professionals and developers appreciate the value of home staging since it makes their job much easier.
If you've been considering starting your own home staging business but are unsure where to start, you've come to the right place. Here, we'll go over the ins and outs of planning, marketing, and running your own home staging company.
Home Staging Qualifications
Home stagers come from all types of education and backgrounds. Many licensed real estate agents offer home staging to help bring in more prospective home buyers, while interior designers add staging services to fill the void when design jobs are slow. Others have no formal education or training but have a passion for creating attractive living spaces. Those who fall under this category may choose to attend a specialized training course, such as those offered through the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA).
While professions like real estate and interior design require a license for their industries, specialized training or certification is not necessary to work as a professional home stager. All you need to bring is an eye for design and the tools to get your business started.
Setting the Stage for Your Home Staging Business
As with any great idea, you need a business plan to get started in the right direction. What are the costs associated with your small business? Who is your target market? How do you plan to reach potential clients? How much do you charge? These are important questions to ask yourself when planning your home staging business.
Startup costs can depend on how heavily you want to invest in the early stages of your business. Marketing materials, such as business cards, liability insurance in the event of property damage, RESA fees to stay current on home staging industry trends, and office equipment and supplies are typical costs when starting your own home staging business. Knowing and understanding these expenses can help you better prepare and plan a successful home staging business.
Unlike interior designers whose role is to personalize a space for a client, home stagers depersonalize a space so that potential buyers can better visualize themselves in that space, such as a home or commercial property. Connecting with real estate agents, developers, and private home sellers can get your home staging business off to a running start. Attend local networking events relevant to this industry or get in touch with nearby real estate agents or developers by email or through social networking sites like LinkedIn. Introducing yourself to your target market can help get the word out about your business and may help you land staging jobs.
Professional home stagers typically charge $75 to $125 per hour. This can vary depending on your location, especially high-end districts, so be sure to research the average pricing for your area to stay competitive.
With a plan in place, you're ready to put your business idea into action.
How to Form, Market, and Run Your Home Staging Business
Taking your passion and turning it into a small business is exciting. However, there are a few key steps when it comes to forming, marketing, and running your home staging business. Here, we'll break down these three components to help you get started.
Legally Forming Your Home Staging Business
Deciding on a business structure for your home staging business is an important consideration. Common types include sole proprietorships and limited liability companies (LLC). An LLC offers several advantages for small business owners, including limiting personal liability and tax benefits.
According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), your business is automatically considered a sole proprietorship if a business structure is not chosen. This structure is one of the most common and simplest to form. Sole proprietorship puts you in complete control of your business but also means that your business is not separate from your personal assets. In short, you can be held personally responsible for your business debts. Before deciding, carefully review the different types of business structures and choose the one that offers the right amount of benefits and protections for your home staging business.
Once you have determined the type of business structure that's best suited for your small business, it's time to register your business with the state in which you will offer services.
You can use your name or create a unique name when registering your business with your state. This name typically can't be in use by another company in your state. Visit your secretary of state's website to check for this and to register your business. Once you have registered, you can apply for an employer identification number (EIN) for your business. This works like your Social Security number but is designed for your business.
Once you have registered your business name and have an EIN, you can open a new business bank account. Having a separate bank account for your home staging service can help keep your business transactions and income separate from your personal accounts. This can help simplify the day-to-day operations of running your business.
Now that your home staging business is legally formed and functional, it's time to get the word out to potential clients.
Marketing Your Home Staging Business
Marketing is an essential component of your home staging business. How else will anyone know what you have to offer? Getting the word out about your home staging business can be one of the most time-consuming - and beneficial - aspects of running your business. Let's go over the most important elements of a small business marketing strategy.
A good starting point for marketing your business is to create a website. Nowadays, just about anyone can make a website inexpensively and with little to no frustration. Platforms like Wix offer user-friendly website builders that allow you to create a high-quality website for your business. If building your own website gives you a case of the butterflies, there are many qualified professionals who can help you design and build a website to reflect your vision.
Social media is an excellent marketing tool for any business, including your home staging business. If your only experience with social media is posting photos for family and friends, there's no need to worry. With a little know-how, you can be on your way to developing your brand and content that will attract potential clients and build your home staging business. Platforms like Coursera offer a variety of marketing courses, including social media marketing. These courses can help you develop strategies to build your social network. The key to social media marketing is regularly posting on a variety of social media channels. Include images, helpful tips, and current projects you are working on.
Some other simple ways to promote your business include registering on Yelp and creating a free business profile on Google. Be sure to include your business name, business category, and contact information.
Running Your Home Staging Business
Although not always the most fun, day-to-day operations are an essential aspect of your business. This includes all the paperwork associated with running your small business. Skynova's accounting and invoicing software can help business owners like you with all of this.
To get paid for your services, it's important to set aside time for billing. With Skynova's invoice template, you can create professional and customized invoices anywhere and anytime. These may be downloaded, printed, or emailed directly to your clients.
As part of your bookkeeping practice, store receipts in a designated safe place for storage. Receipts may also be stored digitally for easy retrieval. Skynova's accounting software tracks and stores receipts in one place for you.
Business Made Easy With Skynova
In today's real estate market, home staging services are on top of everyone's list of ways to attract buyers. Make your job easier with Skynova's software products while you're making life easier for realtors and developers.
Designed with small businesses like yours in mind, Skynova helps businesses get paid faster through customizable business templates and accounting software that helps you easily track business expenses and store receipts. See how Skynova's products can help keep your business organized.