My Successes & Failures Are Teaching Me

This is what these flowers look like from the sky in Northern Ireland. BRIGHT yellow, called Raipe seed I believe. 

Fantastic photo! I love yellow ! This is a nice post, I always like your style Sue and you really have a way with keeping it real!

Hi sue,

I to have learned from my sucesses and failures I feel the whole business is a learning process sometimes. But i do learn and i move on. thanks for the post 

I think you made some very interesting observations -- I have had lots of success and some failures -- my biggest failures are not taking enough time for myself and not "firing" clients that aren't worthy of all the time and effort I put in.  I could go on and on, but those are the things that come to mind at the moment.  I have learned to get rid of bad prospects early on, but it is much more difficult when you begin working with someone and they turn out to be your worst nighmare.

Thank you Michele from Atlantic Beach, NC!

What a nice compliment you gave me :)

Maria, hello there!

Success is a journey, not a destination, right? Thanks for reading.

Joan, you're a great person and I know you don't want to be hurtful. It's a tough balance sometimes, isn't it?

Thats how the game works!  We must strive to constantly improve our knowledge base.  Knowledge can be gained not only from failures, but successes also!!!

Failures as are any experiences in our lives, are lessons therefore necessary and important for growth (even when painful) - without them we would never understand success. 

It's accepting, learning from and moving forward from them that keeps us on the right path. I wouldn't be the person I am today without the mistakes and "failures" I 've made along the way. This was a powerful post Sue. Thank you for sharing and your honesty, I can truly relate!

Thanks for your upbeat comment tonight Kaushik!

The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know very much :) 

Karen, I'm on an introspective high, can you tell?

Thanks for everything, my TX friend.

I think one of the problems I run into is giving the client a staging report with all the information they need to stage the home.  Sometimes they don't have the time, energy or budget to complete everything so they pick and choose.  Except they are choosing easy things that really don't make much of a difference.  I've started including a top 5 list with my reports. 

Roll with it Baby!

Maureen,

staging consultations are tough. People have good intentions of doing the work themselves, but selling a home is a stressful time. It just gets to be too much for most people.

I hear sellers saying, "Oh I can do that." But the response back is, "OK, but will you?" There's a lot of money at stake if the home doesn't photograph & show well.

Sue... you can't "guarantee" that your Staging will sell the house any more than a Realtor can guarantee a quick sale...all you can do is Increase their odds!

Sue, thank you for your post.  You are so right - there are no absolute guarantees, but if your house looks good and is price right, your chances of selling in a reasonable time for top dollar are a lot better.

Pat,

A Kennedy from DC reading MY blog? I've hit the big time :)

I thoroughly enjoyed looking over your personal blog, especially the article Are We Taking "Staging" Too Far?

It flows well in here...overpricing is indeed an issue. And your blog reminds me of a huge home that I staged that had white walls, white trim, no mirrors, no pictures and off-white furniture. I spent most of their staging budget on accessories, and it still looked empty! A Realtor told me the place looked sterile and cold, and my staging job was poor. All I could do was laugh and say, "You should have seen it before!"

Thanks for reading Pat. 

Sue~

I read your BLOG every day. This post is an example of why I do that. Not only do you offer your observations i terms of design, but you share perspectives and a philosophy that translates for all your readers. THX!

Allison, thank you for starring me in Realtors group :)

I agree with Joan..you can't guarantee a sale---but we know staging DEFINATELY increases the odds of the home selling quicker and for more money...

This is a blanket statement, but there are MANY variables to this statement; some are out of our control...ie budget, effort on the client's part, ...and that's just the staging end of it.

I remember one of my first jobs. I had a male client, who owned a publishing company and I suppose quite used to being boss(y) :). He towered over me as he stated "So if my home doesn't sell, I'm going to sit in your office until it does"!

Well, I almost laughed out loud.

I said..."Well, firstly, I have a home office and I share it with my husband...trust me, you DON"T want to go there"..

"Secondly, it's up to you what you do...I am a  professional that YOU have hired to give you direction...whatever YOU choose to do with it is up to you." "It's not ME telling you that your totally blue room should be changed, it's statistics. If you're looking for an arguement, go argue with the statistics."

I'm rambling.........bottom line......we can only do what we're ALLOWED to do.

Hi Sue,

I'm not reading through the comments, so I hope that I'm not be repetitious...

How BRAVE of you to be so HONEST!  This post really 'blew me away'!

I can totally relate to the 'being all things to all people' complex because that is one of my major 'faults'...I AM a "people pleaser" in all areas of life, so OF COURSE it carries over to my business.  I find myself practically 'giving away the store' sometimes just so that I can get my 'message' out there - that Home Staging works!

Thanks for the 'eye-opening' post!

VAL

Val, I want to please all of my clients too, but...firstly, I can't please them all, secondly, I need some balance in my life. I'm sure I'll make plenty more mistakes.

Now get a new cell # ok? You deserve some time off :) 

LOL...OK Sue!  Either that, or I'll take the suggestion to get ringtones for the people that I 'care' to hear from!

VAL

Sue: I think it is corageous and honest of you to be able to admit your failures. It speaks well of the kind of person you are. I think these are all lessons we need to learn. In addition, I would add:

Lesson #3: Always trust your gut instinct.

Lesson #4: Always honor your (own) boundaries.

Lesson #5: Ask for help when you need it.

Michelle, definitely some wise additions here.

Asking for help can be interpreted as weakness. We are taught to "fake it until you make it", and perhaps some people give up, quit, and blame it on their local market.

Sounds like a very balanced life to me, great comments.

Thanks for reading, Pat from Sarasota, and welcome to Active Rain.

Sue -- This was a very heartfelt post and one I can definitely relate to.  I can't think of any staging job that I have ever done that I didn't second guess the advice I gave or come up with something I could have done better after the fact.  I have learned not to beat myself up over this but just to vow to make sure that I learn something from each experience. 

Judy! It's great to hear from you. 

I can't imagine you second guessing your work, it's very good. Maybe you need a time out? I hope you've gotten some vacation time in this summer.

Thanks for your comment tonight. 

Sue, this is a great blog.  Too many times agents and sellers believe that now that the home shows better that they can up to price, even if they were already over priced.  They need to realize that we are trying  to get their home to show good enough for the price they are asking.  The only way to justify raising the price is if they price it low, due to how it looked.  This isn't usually the case.  Thank you for the blog.  Earl "The Pearl"

Money is a hot button. Realtors have to walk a fine line.

Sue: Just so you know? We, as Realtors, can't always sell their home for them either with or without staging. You are right though about being very clear about how much money it will cost and just what you can do for that. As a Realtor, I would need to be very clear about clarifying with the Seller that this is just to "help" get your home shown, depending, of course on the situation. Sometimes you can only do so much with a home, but the little touches can obviously make it more appealing to a potential buyer.

If we don't learn from our failures and missteps, then we continue to make them.

Lady in Red, thanks for stopping by with that gorgeous, rather glittery dress. It's a journey here, and I'm having fun :)

Great post Sue.  Thanks for letting us know we are not alone.  I just recently de-staged a property.  No sale.  It was sad.  I blamed myself.  Then the realtor told me they had 3 offers and just couldn't come to terms!  WOW.  We as stagers always want to please and help....but we can only do so much. 

My successes and failures help me become a better person.  I learn something new everyday!!

Janice, from looking at your profile page, I'd say your work looks very good.  Chin up, my friend! 

Sue, We ask for an exit report from our clients which is to help us better understand what we do right and what we do wrong for each of our clients. We really want to know. But the other thing we do after each staging is to sit around and talk about what we want to do differently next time. Hum. Mistakes? Maybe. But we call them learning experiences. In general our mistakes are ones of communication also.   

Yvonne,

Communication is key. So easy to assume what someone knows. And people are afraid to ask, or don't know what ?'s to ask.

You are not alone.   Just last week I worked my butt off completing a vacant house for an agent/homeowner that needed to put it on the market the next day.  I spent about 12-14 hours on that house and did it alone, but it turned out great.  The next day the home owner/agent e-mailed me and told me how disappointed she was with my work and that if she ever hired a stager again she would never hire someone just because she liked my personality and that I was funny.  I was shocked and felt destroyed inside as I read her e-mail.  She made me question my ability and even my career choice for an entire day.  I e-mailed back telling her I was shocked and that I would fix or change things that she wasn't happy with as I do not want to have unhappy customers.  After waiting for a response or a call from her all day later that evening she called me to apologize and said she had really had a bad day and unfortunately took it out on me.  She ended by saying she loved what I did to her house.

What I learned and am still trying to learn is that some people are gonna be great clients and then there are those that may not be so nice but what I need to remember are all the positive and wonderful comments I usually get from people and not let one person's comments ruin my day.

Keep your chin up and in the long run we will be better stagers and more knowledgeable in the long run.

Reece

Simplicity Home Design

Reese: You are the Professional Stager. You are the home merchandising expert. Remember that the next time you get a phone call like that one. If you know you did a good job, then don't sweat it when someone who isn't a home merchandising expert critiques your work - in, I might add, a nonconstructive and very rude fashion. They are usually reacting from a purely emotional place, that probably has nothing to do with you or your work anyway.

At least she was a big enough person to call you back and apologise.

Sue, I've been there and feel your pain.  Just remember that staging is only one marketing tool and that there are many other factors involved in selling a house.  You did what you could with what you had.  I think they would have raised the price anyway - after seeing your work.  Betty

Reese - I'm so glad she apologised to you.  It is never easy to receive criticism like that, especially when it is not justified.  How come, in life - the mean and rude comments stand out so much more than the positive ones?  Betty 

Thank you for your comments here, truly!

My intent here was not to blog about disappointment in my successes and failures, quite the opposite! They have taught me a lot and I've grown professionally and personally thru the process. I'm well !!

I hope you all can say the same. Owning a business is a journey of ups and downs. The journey should be fun, most of the time :)

Great post, Sue.  It was all very well put.  We continue to learn every day, and without some failure, we would cease to learn from our mistakes.  Like you, my failure is in being fearful of telling people what I thnk they don't want to hear. 

Great post, Sue.  It was all very well put.  We continue to learn every day, and without some failure, we would cease to learn from our mistakes.  Like you, my failure is in being fearful of telling people what I thnk they don't want to hear. 

Great post, Sue.  It was all very well put.  We continue to learn every day, and without some failure, we would cease to learn from our mistakes.  Like you, my failure is in being fearful of telling people what I thnk they don't want to hear. 

Great blog.  Thankyou. You gave me something to think about.  I love the picture you used.  Very fitting.

Chris, Thank you for commenting from Texas today. Maybe we shouldn't call them "failures", how about "unproductive choices"?

Hello Karen from Ontario!

I got very lucky with this photograph. The sky was getting ready to rain, which it does A LOT in Ireland, so the gray sky was a dramatic background for those vibrant flowers.

Hi Sue-

Thanks for your candor. You are so right. Our failures do teach us alot. I really enjoyed meeting you in Chicago and would have loved the opportunity to talk with you more. Your photography is outstanding.

Trish,

Thank you for your kind words. Chicago was a very busy week...maybe we can spend more time in Seattle?!

I think Failure #2 is not as much your fault than it is the realtor's. Some stagers had claimed that they got more. In some cases, that could be true. But I doubt it would be tens of thousands dollar more. A well-staged home sells a house faster. Much, much, much more money? Hmmmmmm.... I doubt it.

Loreena, I have not experienced "more" either. In this market, "faster" is what we're aiming for. In a seller's market, "more" is what we shoot for.

Thanks for your comment. 

All we can guarantee is that we will do our best with what we have to work with - ie $, time, furniture, carpet, etc - and that the home will look better after we are done.

Kathleen, is that an American Idol on your profile? Wow, that's a beautiful picture!

I assume you are referring to my daughter the future "Miss Minnesota " !  Perhaps American Idol after that

( seriously)  she can really sing and is a great speaker. 

She will be off to Brazil and the surrounding countries this winter working with Elevate Industries in the public and diplomatic schools. In 2005 she was in Italy , Holland and Belgium helping rescue "women of the streets" who wanted out of the business and spent time in the Cajun Dome as part of a medical team with the hurricane  refugees and then in New Orleans in a distribution center.