HEY HOMEOWNERS - DO-IT-YOURSELF (AND I'LL HELP!)

Everyone's trying to save money. I get it! Me too! So if you're ready to sell your home, and you know that "staging" will help you sell faster and for more money, but you don't have a budget to hire a professional stager - what can you do??

Do It Yourself! And I can help. Check out my new book: "Stage It Well, Watch It Sell - A Do-it-Yourself Home-Sellers Guide to Staging." Go to www.amazon.com and use the search words "Stage It Well, Watch It Sell." You will find tons of great staging tips and tricks (used by home-staging professionals) that cost little or no money. There are lots of ways you can help yourself and increase the chances of selling your house fast and for a better price than you may be expecting! Good luck and call if you need help!

MEET YOUR PERSONAL SHOPPER

HATE THE MALL? GIVE US A CALL! We love to shop - and that's not all!

Staging Designs is now offering a new service for the busy homeowner/business professional/hard-working Moms and Dads/anyone who's too busy to shop!

Personal shoppers aren't just for glamorous movie stars. Busy people, like you, can benefit from the services of a personal shopper. From selecting unique gifts for family and friends to selecting the perfect home decor, we can make your life easier. Be the "star" in your own life! Give us a call to see how we can help.

Take a look at some of the services we offer, and if you don't see what you're looking for, contact us and let's see what we can do.*

- Home staging/interior decorating services (perfect for home sellers, or anyone looking to update the look of their current home)
- Home decor shopping/decorating (furniture placement, picture hanging, etc.)
- Gift purchasing (great for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, & holidays)
- Clothing/image consulting (job hunting or starting a new job? Dating? Going to a fancy party? Attending a professional function? Lost or gained weight???)
- Party/holiday decorating using your own decorations in a fresh, new way (we'll shop for party/holiday decor, too!)
- Training to learn how to decorate your own home, or train to become a professional home stager and start a new career!

*shoppers may decline certain requests

Call 408-691-2037 and ask for Karen (author of "Become A Home-Stager Today!"

SAVVY STAGERS - THE IMPORTANCE OF NETWORKING

Hello Stagers! I'd like to take just a moment to talk about the importance of networking as you're growing your home-staging business. I have always believed that face-to-face networking was instrumental in creating success in my own business. Over the years, I've networked with local realtor groups, the American Business Women's Association, BNI, the Chamber of Commerce, the Women's Council of Realtors, and more.

I've recently joined another professional business women's group. They are a group of dynamic, diverse, talented, and funny women. They offer a wide selection of services. For instance, there's Donna West from Lighthouse Travel & Tour (www.lighthouse-tours.com) who offers travel packages and custom tours throughout the US and Europe and is also a writer. There's also Sharon Ferrer, a land investment consultant (408-480-3126) who offers unique investment and incentive opportunities. We also have a marketing expert, a TV host, and a professional organizer, to name a few. It's a supportive and welcoming environment which helps strengthen and promote all of our businesses.

If you're not networking almost every day, you may find you don't have much business at all. So get out there and let people see you and meet you face-to-face. There's nothing like it for getting your business known. Good luck!

WANT A NEW CAREER IN HOME STAGING?

For most people, the start of a new year brings hope, optimism, and a delicious expectation of what wonders the future may hold. It's also a time to make new beginnings, fix or discard things that aren't working in our lives, and meet new challenges head on.

The start of a new year is also a great time to try something new--whether it's a new restaurant, a new hair style, or a new job. It's also the best time to think about starting your own home-staging business. The holiday season (at the end of the year) and the start of a new year are often slow times for many business, so use this time wisely and get prepared! If you're going to start a staging business, get going NOW! Sign up for training (be sure to visit www.stageitwell.com for training options and prices,) stock your inventory, start networking and meeting potential new customers, develop a mailing list, send out notices, etc.

When the weather warms up again, home sellers will be ready to put their houses on the market, and you'll be ready to help! Use this slow time to your advantage and get your new career off to a great start! You're gonna be awesome! I believe in you--believe in yourself!

HEY HOMEOWERS - MEET YOUR OWN PERSONAL CONCIERGE

SHERREE HELLINGER, co-owner of Amaree Living

TAMAH VEGA, co-owner of Amaree Living

Have you ever been staying at a nice hotel while on vacation and wanted to get tickets for a show, or find a great restaurant, or get help changing your travel arrangements? Who did you call? Most likely, you contacted the hotel’s concierge and they took care of everything, right? How wonderful to turn over those tedious details to someone else, so you could get on with the business of enjoying your vacation.

Now, what if you could have your own personal concierge to handle the tedious details of your everyday life? Someone to plan an activity for out-of-town guests, or someone to coordinate errands and chores, or someone to help you organize your closet, or someone to help you plan a party, or any number of other tasks. Well, now you can have your very own concierge to help lighten your load.

I’d like to introduce you to a fabulous new company called Amaree Living. Its two owners, Sherree Hellinger and Tamah Vega, describe their business this way: Full Service Eco-Savvy Consulting and Concierge. And though that may sound a little complicated, it’s really quite simple. Sherree and Tamah are there to take over any or all of the tasks you need to complete each day in order to do your job, nurture your family, and live your life with ease and comfort. Who wouldn’t love that??

And if you’re a home seller with a house for sale or you’ve already sold your home and you’re packing for the move, Sherree and Tamah can help you with that too! Amaree Living can assist a home seller in many ways: like helping you make decisions about what items you should keep and what you should get rid of, or helping to coordinate the many details of your move, or handling the huge job of unpacking and perfectly organizing your belongings so you can just walk through the door and be “at home.” When I asked what home sellers could do to make their moves go easier, Sherree had this advice: “Start preparing as far in advance as you can. Get rid of stuff you’ve not used in years.” And to really eliminate headaches, she suggested forgetting about garage sales when you’re getting ready to move. Just donate what you don’t want and be done with it—you have better things to worry about.

Though anyone can use these services, Sherree and Tamah have a special commitment to empowering women with a fierce desire to help them live their best lives.

To learn more about the wonderful services offered by Amaree Living, and to get on the mailing list to receive their info-packed newsletter each month, visit Sherree and Tamah online at www.amareeliving.com. You’ll find their contact info as well so you can call and reserve the services of your very own concierge! Happy living!

SAVVY STAGERS - PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR PROPERTY

In my staging business I've been very lucky that I've never had any of my staging props stolen (that I know of). However, just today, I learned that a friend and fellow-stager had some of her furniture and staging inventory stolen from one of her staging jobs. The front door was found open and some of her property was missing.

This is something, as stagers, we all need to be prepared for even though we hope like heck it will never happen. But it very likely may happen and you need to be sure your staging inventory is protected. GET INSURANCE! If you don't have it, GET IT. I can't stress this enough.

It's unpleasant to have to deal with things like this, but it's a reality. And it would be too bad if you lost some property, but let's go one step further--what about your own personal safety. Because it is such a scary world out there, and many of you work alone in the house while staging, make sure you're taking measures to protect yourself! Take extra care to be sure doors are locked and be cautious about who you let in. Try to avoid working alone at night and be sure that other contractors who may have access to the property are really who they say they are. If you can, try to find out from the agent who, if anyone, will be visiting the house on the day you are scheduled to work.

Be aware, observant, and keep yourself safe!

HEY HOMEOWNERS - BUYERS VISITING DURING THE RAINY WEATHER

When your home is for sale during the rainy season, you have to be concerned with prospective buyers tromping through your house with wet, dirty shoes. Of course you want them to come in, but how can you be sure your clean floors and carpets stay that way?

One solution is to leave a basket of "painter's booties" by the front door with a sign asking visitors to put them over their shoes (or their bare feet) before walking through your home. This solution is a double-edged sword in my opinion. Booties can be slippery, for one thing, and someone might take a fall. Secondly, a lot of people may get annoyed with having to stop, take off their shoes, and put on booties (I suggest just slipping them on over their shoes). If someone isn't wearing socks or doesn't want to expose their bare feet to others, being asked to remove shoes is gong to irritate them. So you have to weigh the risk of annoying a potential buyer or keeping your floors and carpets clean.

If you choose to use the booties, you can find them at any home improvement or paint store.