Karen Schaefer's (kschaefer1) Blog

When I first started in this business, I was unique.  I was the only home stager out there staging investor homes (which now many of our APSD Certified Home Stagers specialize in because they see how profitable it is to learn to stage Vacant and Distressed Properties which often belong to Investo...

“A Special Panel Discussion with an elite group of Professional Home Stagers from around the Country who are currently booked for a total of 33 Staging Jobs this month alone!”The call will be Tonite Wednesday, February 16th at 6pm MT(5pm PST, 7pm CST, 8pm EST) and I promise you, it is something y...

                                             "Peggy Gehrman, our APSD Certified Trainer, just sent me this fabulous photo of an APSD sign she created to promote her home staging training services.  She is so amazing...and crafty!  Thanks Peggy...looks like a tough contender for the "Pocket of Emo...

A few years ago I used to teach a 5 part business development program for home stagers. I may do it again in the future but for right now, it will have to suffice for me to tell you a recent experience I had that reminded me of how important it is to build a solid foundation today, in order to ha...

One of my mentors always told me to look and see what everyone else in your industry is doing and then, to achieve your greatest home staging success, do the opposite.I have to admit that I am inclined to do this anyway. I have never been all that concerned with competition, always knowing there ...

Hello All! You know how much I like to brag about our members...well here I go again! Our recent team of APSD Certified Stager Pro's (which included some of our APSD Certified Trainers and Property Scene Designers) did such a great job I put together this video about them. Really, it was amazing ...

If you were raised with manners or even if you have been in the real world for any length of time, you know to always say things like “Thank You,” “You look nice Today,” or “Great idea.” More often than not, that is just manners right? Well, you would be surprised how few people do it and when it...

When it comes to staging a home many people think about the furniture, the decorations, and of course the general appearance of the home. But if you want to flip a property fast, your home staging career needs to include the power of scent.Too many people underestimate the power of scent, however...

The idea of developing a database for a home stager can be a scary proposition for many people. But don’t be intimidated by the thought of starting from scratch for your customer database. There are a few important things that you need to remember when developing your system and before you know i...

In today’s real estate market, if you’re selling a home you are up against a lot of competition. That doesn’t make it impossible to flip a property; however you are going to know the secret behind home staging training in order to make your property stand out from the crowd.If you are like most p...