Enjoy,
Rebecca

RALEIGH, NC – Mary Larsen, owner of MaryLarsenDesigns.com and GrowYourDesignBiz.com and author of “How to Open and Operate a Financially Successful Redesign, Redecorating and Home Staging Business” reached the top 10 on Amazon.com best-seller list in the Consulting category this past December. Published in February, 2008, Mary’s book has received 5 Star reviews from professional Designers, Home Stagers and Trainers in the industry as well as Real Estate professionals who appreciate the value of Home Staging and Redesign.

While there are many other how-to business start-up books on the market, “How to Open and Operate a Financially Successful Redesign, Redecorating and Home Staging Business” focuses on being financially successful in the Redesign, Redecorating and Home Staging business. Beginning with questions about whether or not you are cut out to be an entrepreneur and ending with a comprehensive appendix, packed with custom forms, checklists, contracts and sample sales letters, already created and ready to use.

Mary’s book is filled with very specific and creative marketing and public relations strategies, especially e-mail and Web marketing, to help you develop and grow your business. Offering great tips about pricing, questions to ask yourself and your clients, common business myths, tips on naming your business and the need to continuously educate yourself and your clients on how they can benefit from working with you, the book prepares the reader with realistic, positive and negative aspects of owning your own business. Even if you already consider yourself an expert in redesign, redecorating or home staging, Larsen’s book is a necessity to make your business succeed and thrive in today’s market.

Using true-life examples, “Mary’s Trade Tips” are sprinkled throughout the book. Larsen offers advice on ways of getting testimonials from current customers, giving presentations along with a list of possible topics and an outline detailing how to present the topic. Basic design details are covered, including important things you need to know to stage a home for a real estate sale with before and after pictures showing great design work you can easily duplicate using the design elements of color, shape, and spacing.

“This book is great and it’s also timely, easy to read and follow. While the market slows down, this is the time to truly help clients to redecorate and stage homes to sell.” Says Loren Keim, author of How to Sell Your Home in Any Market: 6 Reasons Why Your Home Isn’t Selling… and What You Can Do to Fix Them.

“Mary Larsen has done a thorough job explaining the actual steps it takes to launch a successful (financially successful!) business in Interior Redesign and Staging. As a Nationally Certified Trainer in this area, I look forward to adding this book to my recommended reads for students, new & experienced. Worth the time to read it!” –Laure Gill, Nationally Certified Trainer

About Mary Larsen:
Mary Larsen is a well established speaker, author, trainer, consultant and widely recognized expert in the Design field; Mary’s work has been featured on ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover – Home Edition. Larsen offers hands-on Redesign and Home Staging Training as well as the “Designing Your Success” Mastermind program to help established Designers grow their Design business.

To sign up for Mary’s Newsletter and download a free copy of “The 5 ½ Things you Must Know to Start – and Stay! In Business!” or to learn more about her Training or Mastermind programs visit http://www.growyourdesignbiz.com .

To purchase a copy of Mary Larsen’s book, “How to Open and Operate a Financially Successful Redesign, Redecorating and Home Staging Business” (Atlantic Publishing Group), http://www.designandstagingbizbook.com

To schedule an interview with Mrs. Larsen, or request original content for publication, contact:

-Mary Larsen
Mary Larsen Designs, Inc.
Because every home has a story to tell™
www.MaryLarsenDesigns.com
Designing Your Business, Designing Your Life™
www.GrowYourDesignBiz.com

3340 Langston Circle
Apex, NC 27539
919-773-1445

* Spend the money to get your carpets and upholstery cleaned. It’s amazing what a difference that will make.

* Buy some new houseplants. They’re pretty, give off oxygen and brighten every room.

* Install new light bulbs in your lamps and overheads, hopefully green ones.

* Concentrate on cleaning every nook and cranny of your house.

* Go through your home and sort out those things you’re not using or don’t absolutely love and donate them. This will declutter your home and help somebody else at the same time.

* Go to your local discount store and pick up a few cozy throws for your sofas or beds and some bright throw pillows. This small step will enliven even the dullest pieces.

* New bath towels and shower curtains also make bathrooms look new, even if you can’t have the new tile or floor right now.

Enjoy,
Rebecca

I have looked at this micro-houses before and thought they were a brilliant idea. Some folks need extra space for aging parents or a small shelter to use as a vacation or second home. But many land steward types find the micro house to be a step up from rustic camping, without leaving much impact on their land.

Although this doesn’t relate specifically to home staging, it is a great option for those in the real estate industry to be aware of. Lowes is planning to offer these tiny houses for sale this year, after exclusively offering them to Katrina victims.

Enjoy,
Rebecca

As a mom of a 3 1/2 year old (and another on the way in May 2007), I thought this article was top shelf!

Click here to read the entire article.

This article makes an excellent point that staging typically costs LESS than that first price drop. Another good point is: if no one is coming to see your house, the price is probably too high. But if you’re getting traffic without any offers, staging might just do the trick.

Enjoy,

Rebecca

Click here to read the entire article.

Enjoy,

Rebecca Wolfe

Enjoy,

Rebecca

Click here to read the entire article.

Click here to read the entire article.

Here’s a press release I wanted to share with you:

Enjoy,

Rebecca
Home staging experts say there are ways to succeed while other home sellers are struggling

RISMEDIA, October 18, 2006—When it comes to selling your house in an increasingly competitive home market these days, the old real estate adage “location, location, location is taking on new meaning. Staging the optimal location of the furniture and items in the seller’s home usually makes a difference between sale or no sale. Home staging experts say there are ways to succeed while other home sellers are struggling.

“Edit, reduce clutter, and rearrange existing furniture,” says Dana Dickey, vice director of Interior Redesign Industry Specialists (IRIS), an organization for professional interior redesigners and home stagers – http://www.WeRedesign.com www.WeRedesign.com>. Dickey’s comments describe what industry insiders have termed “staging.” Staging, the process of preparing and cleaning a home to make it more marketable to potential home buyers, is something that has gained national popularity in recent years. “It’s a fairly simple process,” says Dickey. “It’s also cost-effective. Homeowners I work with are amazed at how the look of their home can dramatically improve with just a little assistance.”

Meeting Homeowner’s Needs
IRIS trains members to tailor their staging services to meet the needs of individual homeowners based on the homeowner’s budget and desired level of assistance. Some homeowners have no problem with organization, for example, yet need assistance with the exterior of their home, to create more curb appeal. Others seek professional assistance for re-organization of furniture and decorating. Whatever the task, the goal remains the same.

“We want to give each home that ‘wow’ factor,” Dickey says. “Especially in today’s housing market, in which home buyers largely make their final decision based on emotional factors, it’s important that a house make a good first impression.”

In addition to the increased speed at which a home sells, staging can also help homeowners boost their asking price. Many professionals focus their attention on two rooms in particular: the kitchen and the bathroom. Due to the high level of traffic through both rooms, each tends to collect clutter and becomes a source of hidden messes.

“It’s not that people don’t want to pick up,” said Dickey. “It becomes a situation where the homeowner just naturally looks past something without even noticing it.” She explains that professionals act as objective observers, seeing decorating possibilities and unwanted clutter that a homeowner might not otherwise see.

Popularity Equals Competition
The recent national popularity in staging services seems to have sprung from the popularity of television shows such as HGTV’s “Designed to Sell,” A&E’s “Sell this House,” and TLC’s “Clean Sweep.” While Dickey acknowledges the competition that her business faces, she is reluctant to compare it to the competition that homeowners face when selling a home.

“It can be brutal,” says Dickey of the housing market. “That’s why we offer our service — to let people know that the smallest detail can mean the difference between a quick sale and a depressingly long stay on the market. We’re here to give their home the edge on the competition.”

For more information and tips on home staging go to: www.WeRedesign.com.