"I believe each house has a soul, an essence that one connects with. I have a passion for decorating and designing which began when I was a child. I would drive my parents …
“I’m really good at procrastinating, but this time I’m taking action. My fears are usually what keep me from doing anything, but what I’ve decided to do is face my fears and do what makes me scared!”
“I’m getting all of my facts straight and have just met with a real estate agent who said he may have a couple clients coming up. If the clients decide to go ahead with staging, he would like me to be at his open house.”
“I just got in contact with a painter who would like to add my business cards to his flyers that he sends out weekly. My next line of action is to join the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers. No more excuses for me, and I want to thank you, Debra Gould, for giving me the courage and knowledge to make my home staging business happen.”
~ Trish Mohring, Beyond the Eye Home Staging (Ontario)
With Staging Diva Debra Gould, there’s no reason to fear failure
When Staging Diva Debra Gould quit her high-level job and started her first business, a marketing consulting firm, everyone thought she was crazy. It was at the very beginning of the 1990s recession, but Debra knew that with change comes opportunity and that there is much less security in working for others than in working for yourself.
Debra was right. While her fellow MBA graduates were being laid off from their corporate jobs, she was earning more than she had ever made working for anyone else, with the added satisfaction of knowing she was creating her own opportunities and was in control of her own destiny.
Debra Gould didn’t have the comfort of a spouse to support her. In fact, she was paying a mortgage on her own and later supporting a child too. She didn’t even have the luxury of having her family around to help with childcare. If she didn’t keep her business going, she would be in serious trouble.
Debra never took her success for granted though. Even when she was earning $125 per hour back in the 1990s as a marketing consultant, she still spent time calculating how long it would take to become homeless in case she never got another project. Looking back, she calls this her “Bag Lady Fear Phase.”
Now that Debra Gould has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years, she doesn’t think about this anymore. She’s not as nervous now that she’s become accustomed to the idea of living without a guaranteed paycheck every week.
So if you go through your own “Bag Lady Fear Phase” as you start your home staging business, don’t let it scare you into thinking you’re on the wrong path or that you need the “security” of working for someone else.
The following Staging Diva articles will help you calm your fears so you can build your home staging business with confidence:
> Don’t live with the regret of a path not taken
