The Day I Realized Growth Would Cost Me Comfort, Clients, and Control
Staging Sips
There's a business season that doesn't get talked about enough; the one where growth stops feeling exciting and starts feeling heavy. It's a different phase from when you are the only person and you are tired from being overwhelmed. Here, you're no longer doing everything yourself. What you have running are systems, training, and leadership, but these feel harder than any work you have ever done. This episode is grounded in what that season looked like inside my own business, because it's a phase so many owners experience but rarely name out loud. I walk through what was really happening for...
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The Business of Luxury: How Strategy Shapes Successful Staging With Heather Russo
Staging Sips
Heather Russo is building a luxury staging business in the Boston area. And her path here? Eighteen years in insurance first. I know, right. She is like most of us out there who didn’t set out to build a staging business. Today, Heather and I talk about what it really looks like to grow a staging business intentionally. From learning how to and capacity, to making decisions that allow the business to support long-term goals instead of constant burnout. We talk about the moment success starts to stretch you, why hiring often has to happen before you feel ready, and the shift from doing all...
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The Hidden Complexity Behind “Simple” Workflows in Staging Businesses
Staging Sips
We love to say we want things to be simple. Simple workflows. Simple systems. Simple days. But if you’ve ever felt exhausted by something that looks straightforward on paper, please come closer. On Staging Sips today, I am pulling back the curtain on why “simple” workflows in a staging business often feel anything but simple. Also, why that doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. Rather, it means you’re running a real business with real moving parts. This episode isn’t about adding more software or forcing yourself into tighter systems. It’s about understanding the invisible...
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5 Ways To Use An Email List To Grow Your Staging Business
Staging Sips
Building an email list was invaluable for growing my staging business. And no, not in a flashy, overnight way. I mean in a steady, reliable “this actually works” way. And why am I bringing this up again, it is because it is one of the most valuable yet untapped points of growth for your business. As the CEO of your staging business, one of your most important roles is keeping your pipeline full of the right clients, often starting with face to face moments. But once those meetings are over, how do you stay top of mind without chasing people or feeling awkward about it? An email list. ...
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Start Your New Year Like a CEO: The Ritual That Changes Everything
Staging Sips
Today’s episode is intentionally gentle. We would rather end the year not forcing goals, not creating pressure, and not deciding who you are supposed to become when the calendar turns. Instead, this is a guided CEO year beginning ritual meant to help you step into the year ahead feeling steady, supported, and clear in your role as a staging business owner. Why? Because the truth is constant “A new year does not make a new you, your capacity does.” To round up the year, let’s take an honest look at what you are carrying into the new year and what no longer needs to come with...
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MVP: Belief Plans | You Need Them
Staging Sips
What if the most powerful tool in your staging business isn't your inventory or marketing strategy but the thoughts you choose to think? What if "I am an in-demand stager" was your most practiced, intentional thought? How would you show up differently? What actions would you take? How would your entire business shift? The truth is, we get to choose the sentences we tell ourselves. And when we choose empowering thoughts and practice them deliberately, everything changes. Our confidence, our decisions, our results - all that makes your staging business thrive. Today, I'll walk you through...
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This One Shift Will Make You a Stronger, More Sustainable Staging CEO
Staging Sips
Can I be honest with you? Most of us are growing our businesses all wrong. We're adding more clients, more inventory, more team members, more stress and wondering why we feel like we're being dragged behind the business we created instead of leading it. You've probably 10x'd your to-do list, your warehouse space, and your sleepless nights long before you've 10x'd the care you give yourself. And that? That's the problem. Because here's what nobody tells you when you're building a staging business: The business doesn't grow because you work harder. It grows because YOU grow. Not your hustle. Not...
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Leverage The Extraordinary New Staging ROI Data In Your Business
Staging Sips
The newest data from the Real Estate Staging Association just dropped for Q2 and Q3, and I need to share something with you that honestly broke my heart a little bit when I saw it. The ROI numbers? Absolutely extraordinary. We're talking about the kind of returns that would make any financial advisor pause and say, "Wait, are we talking about a Ponzi scheme here?" But here's what got me: The average staging investment sits under $5,000. A $3,800 to $4,300 investment producing anywhere from $58,000 to $100,000 in additional seller equity. Now, I'm not sharing this to make you feel bad about...
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MVP: How to Position Your Home Staging Clients for Success Every Time
Staging Sips
Most homeowners move so rarely and so few have ever worked with a staging company, that it's no surprise they arrive nervous, unsure, and unclear about what to expect. And that confusion can lead to preventable hiccups for you and your team. The good news? A little intentional communication goes a long way. In this episode, I’m sharing simple ways to anticipate your clients’ questions, address their concerns, and guide them through the process with clarity. I’m walking you through simple tools, scripts, and touchpoints you can set up once and use over and over again. All designed...
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Stand Out as a Stager With Heather Cook
Staging Sips
Let’s talk about something so many stagers quietly struggle with: figuring out how to stand out in a sea of gorgeous rooms and beautifully staged homes. If you’ve ever caught yourself scrolling and thinking, “We’re all posting pretty pictures… so how am I supposed to be different?” this is your “guide to” I’m sitting down with Heather of Social Savvy Stager today. Heather ran her own staging business for over a decade, doing all the installs, presentations, and wearing the marketing hat long before it had a name. Along the way, she realized something many of us feel but...
info_outlineHave you ever caught yourself saying, “I just need more time”? If you’re in the growth or acceleration phase of your staging business, this episode will lovingly challenge that thought. Because what if time isn't the issue at all?
Today, we’re diving into one of the most important mindset and structural shifts a CEO can make. If your days feel like a non-stop game of calendar blocks, your team still needs you to make every decision and your brain is carrying the entire operating manual, you’ll want to listen to this episode mindfully.
This isn’t just about scaling. It’s about reclaiming your time, restructuring your business, and stepping into the CEO role your company needs. Not the one it's outgrown.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Why the feeling of needing “more time” is just a symptom, not the root issue
- The neuroscience behind burnout and why your brain defaults to YOU as the shortcut
- How to identify whether your business has outgrown its structure
- The 3 CEO reactive loops and how to break them
RESOURCES:
- Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp
- Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate
- Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth
- Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool
- Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhome
If you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
- Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you.
- Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible.