In part 2 of this series we talked of the importance in creating a niche for your home staging business. During this part I am going to show you exactly how to do the research in order to make sure the niche you choose is fun, abundant and profitable.
As you commit to your niche it is always tempting to slide backward. It is just human nature as we fear that there will not be enough work.
That is why it is not enough to just love doing a certain type of home or working with a specific genre of agent and so on. You have to do your research. Yes, it is always awesome to be able to do something you love and you are, by being in the home staging industry. Now though, you must take the next step and do your research.
Let’s say for example that you have decided to focus on staging homes that are in the $1-$2 Million dollar price range. You may have an affinity for affluent home, own several great home staging décor items that lend themselves well to high end staging’s and not enjoy doing small homes, hence your selection.
Now you have to go out and find enough $1-$2 million dollar homes in the area in which you are going to offer your home staging services.
There are 3 things you need to pay attention to:
1) Are there enough homes in your home staging area within this price range to support your home staging business goals? This is easy, if there are several neighborhoods with this type of home, the answer is yes, if there is only one, I would proceed with caution.
2) If there are enough, how many are for sale, how often do they go for sale and how long do they stay for sale? You need to make that there is enough turnover to keep your home staging funnel filled with home staging jobs and the only way you can do that is by finding out these statistics. Once you know there are enough, how often they get listed for sale, you also need to find out how long they stay on the market. If they generally sell in under 30 days without any staging, they will be hesitant to use your services in a buyers market. In a sellers market, this may not be the same case as then, they will be looking to get a higher price so you need to know what type of market you are in when you begin your research.
This is not difficult information to find, usually you can find it on the county assessors site, city-data.com, zillow.com or by calling a local real estate agent in the know.
3) Finally, do they have a history of buying? Specifically, do they have a history of buying home staging services. Again, this is where your agent will come in handy as an agent that works the area would know whether or not these homes have a history of buying home staging services. If they don’t have a strong history at this point, the other point upon which to inquire would be if they are trending toward home staging services. So it may be a new idea or need in the area that is just now coming. Either way it is great news.
Remember, yes, choose your niche according to what you love, and what you are good at but be a business person first and do your research. That way, you will also love the income you are now making with your new niched home staging business.
***To receive Karen Schaefer’s APSD Certified Home Stager Session #1 Free CD along with the Session #1 workbook, Karen’s book on the 5 Steps to Selling a Property or Listing in 30 days or less and her favorite Pocket of Emotion, just go to www.APSDmembers.com or call 1-877-900-STAGE
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