Home Staging courses have been popping up online, in chat rooms and classrooms throughout the nation.

The home staging training industry is growing even faster than home staging itself.  The economic downturn has greatly expanded the number of people interested in pursuing staging as a career.  It is after all a low cost, relatively easy entry business, unless you get into buying and warehousing furniture and accessories.

The pay is good, (if you can line up enough clients consistently), and more importantly for many, it is a flexible business that allows you to integrate your business and family life as necessary.  The opportunity to express oneself creatively is certainly another of the aspects that appeal to many.

Whatever your reason, it’s clear that home staging has established itself as a hot new home based business opportunity, that’s open to anyone who wishes to establish themselves and to work at it.

The recession and snail slow recovery have generated a lot of training programs. Some charge hefty fees for courses that aren’t always taught by active stagers who are doing the job day in and day out in the field.

This seems questionable to me.  If I were to seek out training in a new field or continuing education in an existing field I would want to know my instructors were belly to belly with real clients in real situations on a regular basis and not just teaching theory.

This is particularly true in a field like home staging which is at least partly an art rather than a science.

Now I am not in a position to evaluate all the different training programs out there.  But I am convinced of a couple of things.  You do not need to be certified by XYZ or anyone else to be a home stager.

When I first started exploring the field as an outsider, I was sideswiped by a group of women who thought only their high and almighty leader was the legitimate source of accreditation.

While they took some pot shots at me on Active rain and left me Zero Stars on one of my Squidoo pages, their outrage that I would dare comment on the field actually helped generate interest and lead to additional sales of my home staging survey results. (See sidebar – they are still available)

I mention this, because I see some of the various training programs selling their designation more than the quality of their home staging training course.

When you evaluate staging courses, consider the practical experience of the actual instructor who will be leading the class.  Are they experienced? Are they actively staging themselves today?  Not all are.

Will the course cover both home staging topics and business topics, such as how to set up your marketing plan, and run your business?

Will you be one of 30 in an overcrowded environment, or part of a compact personalized class where you have detailed conversations on the “how to” aspects of home staging.

And finally, shop price.  The most expensive courses are not necessarily more expensive because they are good. Often they are more expensive, because they have high marketing costs or profit margins.

In the final analysis, what you really want from your training is access to a highly experienced and knowledgeable instructor who not only knows the topic inside and out, but is able to teach it effectively and who you can relate to.

Ideally, you want to find a person with whom you can develop a long term personal relationship with that will last beyond the last day of your class.

Within the home staging training field there are dozens of such instructors, perhaps hundreds, so take the time to find a good one.

One possible resource I can recommend is Allegra Dioguardi.  I mention her, because I am familiar with her and have taught a segment on internet marketing for her students.  She offers a choice of day and evening courses to accommodate people’s schedules. The only problem is that she severely restricts the number of students she allows into her course at any time.

She is an active home stager in the Hamptons of NY, and has more experience staging and training than virtually anyone else out there.

Her next opening for students is Sept 13 for morning classes and Sept 14 for evening classes. For more information on her home staging courses go to Home Staging Training by Design

The fall is a great time to take a home staging course.

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