Home Staging Expert Provides Advice for Taking Vacation from Business

Aug. 14, 2012 - PRLog -- According to Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, home stagers are often hesitant to take a vacation from their businesses because they are fearful of losing out on client projects and other opportunities. On Gould’s blog, the Home Staging Business Report, she shares advice for taking a vacation and keeping a home staging business running at the same time.

“First, there is a natural seasonality to home staging, so consider scheduling your vacation during a non-peak period,” Gould suggests. “Since the key real estate seasons are spring and fall, you may be able to take off for a week in the summer or winter without many clients noticing.”

In addition, Gould recommends that home stagers tack their vacation time onto a national holiday, such as Christmas, New Year’s or Independence Day. Since most potential clients will be away as well, vacation time can be maximized while taking off relatively few business days.

Gould also suggests enlisting help during a vacation: “While you’re away, hire a friend, relative or a virtual assistant to check your email and voice mail. Provide detailed instructions for how often messages should be checked and responded to.”

According to Gould, it is advisable to prepare a script for handling certain situations like new client calls, appointment scheduling and urgent situations with past staging clients.

“It’s also important to gain some perspective on what ‘urgent’ really means,” Gould advises. “No one will actually die if you’re not there—they’ll just have to wait a few days for you to return. Providing quality customer service is essential, but it’s also important to maintain healthy boundaries around your availability.”

Gould admits that it can be frightening to take a vacation while running a business, but she also believes it is crucial not to become a slave to the business either: “You have to give yourself permission to step into your future and create the lifestyle you desire.”

To read Gould’s remaining tips, she invites home stagers to visit the Home Staging Business Report on the Staging Diva website.

About Staging Diva

The creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars’ worth of real estate, including 7 of her own homes. She is the president of Voice of Possibility Group Inc., which operates a home staging division, SixElements.com, in addition to StagingDiva.com, which has trained over 7,000 home stagers to start and grow their own businesses.

Debra has gained international recognition through features in major media in the US and Canada including: This Old House, HGTV, CNN Money, CBC National News, CBS Radio, Global TV, City TV, The Wall Street Journal, Women’s Day, Reader’s Digest and more.

Contact

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
Voice of Possibility Group Inc.
416-691-6615
debragould@stagingdiva.com
http://www.stagingdiva.com