We all love Staging - it feeds our creativity. But the difference a business that is good and one that is great is all about Project Management. You may disagree with me - but the Stagers that make the most profit have found out the secret to success is all about TIME - maximizing it and managing it TIME waits for no one - and when we are not effective Project Managers on our staging projects, we end up wasting time. And this costs us money.
Project Management begins with knowing how long it will take to Stage a house - getting the team together and then making sure the job stays on track. When the project starts it's up to us to make sure all team members stay on track according to the time allotted. When I blog about being able to Stage a house in 5 hours from loading up to parking the truck back at the storage, that is not fantasy and it is not out of reach for you if you want to make that your goal.
What I decided early on was that I could either take all day Staging a house or do it in less time and be back home with my family. Or I could Stage only one house or get 2-3 houses done in the same time as I was taking for only 1. As much as I love Staging, I love my family time more, and I don't want to be working all day unless I really have to. In the beginning things did take me longer. It always came back to planning. Where I lost time was in forgetting something and having to make a second trip to the storage unit or to a store to buy something. My motto now is that I am "the one trip woman" and I am not going back! I discovered along the way that when I give clear directions on what I expected to the movers or other Stagers that were with me - things went more smoothly. People don't know what we don't tell them. So, communicate clear expectations of time and what the vision is for the project.
When we began to load up only what was needed on any project, and not take our entire storage facility, we became very efficient at the Staging. Instead of having too much to choose from and have to sift through bins and boxes to find what we needed, we had just enough and came home with empty boxes. The LIST that I have written about in other blog posts is the heart of the Project Manager. The LIST is what keeps us on traack, and lets us know what we need, how much, and how long things will take.
I know, for example, the average bathroom takes about 15 minutes to Stage. When we stage a typical bathroom we dress a couple of towels, hang some art, dress the counters, and boom - we are done. None of this 45 minutes in a bathroom with a colleague - I mean, what could 2 people possibly be doing in a bathroom for 45 minutes? Washing their hair? When I hear those stories, I say to myself, "The PM role was lost."
So WHO is the Project Manager or PM? The person running the job or project that is ultimately responsible for the financial success of the project is the PM. The PM may have the creative oversight as well - and they are the director for the project. Finding ways to become more efficient on Staging projects is the goal and this begins with a vision of how each room is going to evolve, and being able to clearly communicate that to the team. When the truck pulls up the thouse, I don't want to be wondering how I am going to place furniture - I already know. There may be tweaking of the plan, but the overall placement has already been determined.
The PM has the vision, the PM has the time management and the PM manages the money on the project. Being able to earn $200/hour on a project because we got it done in short time (and it looks great) is much more appealing than only earning $50/hour because we took 4 times as long as we needed to stage the project.
When we have a business to run, the fun of Staging is part of the package - but it is at the end of the day a business. Keeping profit focused as part of our planning and management is essential for long term success.
- Jennie
Jennie Norris, ASPM, IAHSP, We Stage Sacramento — Premier Home Staging Services for the Greater Sacramento Region
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You are so right Jenny. I always knew my past experiences in Project Management was a great asset to running a staging job. I have my handy dandy inventory lists, allotted times for each task, etc... Sometimes the people I work with think I'm a little overly detailed, but when we get a job done quickly and efficiently, they think it's just pure luck. They don't realize that the time and effort you put into it up front is well worth the effort. I never have empty bins coming back when we're done, but that's only because I always take a little extra - just in case.