In any business there is that never ending term of taking a gamble or a risk. Like a roulette wheel, you have several possibilities of an outcome... could be good... could be bad. So why would you take a risk in this market?
Real Estate has changed dramatically in the last couple of years. What once worked for many of us, does not work today.
2 years ago I said I would never cut my fees. Nope, I was sure of it. But in light of the market and all the challenges that my Realtors and homeowners have, I decided to take the risk and change my fees. I also took a risk and changed a few of my services. I threw the dice and it ended up being a good thing.
The onset of all the short sales and foreclosures has also changed the market. Do you take a risk of picking up a short sale? Do you take the risk of working with bank owned properties? Do you change your services to account for a need in your area? These are all questions that you have probably asked yourself. Taking the risk depends on you and your specific area that you work.
This can be a tough time for many, but it does make us all look at what we can do to stay afloat while keeping our integrity and remaining ethical. We may need to change our thinking from a few years ago. We may need to take a risk and step out of the box a bit. All in all, it may take some time to see where the dice lands, but you could score a big reward for your throw.
Lori Kim Polk and Ryan Dressel are owners of Stage Right Design, a full service Home Staging and Design Corporation and nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry located in Roseville, California. Lori and Ryan have combined forces in order to better serve their growing list of clients in the Sacramento areas. They have been recently featured in Staging Standard Magazine, Sacramento Magazine, Sacramento News and Review, KFBK radio and SMUD's Home of the Future. Sponsors for the PCAR 2010 Masters Club Awards and proudly serving Granite Bay, Rocklin, Lincoln, Sacramento, and surrounding areas with exceptional home staging.
See our most recent listings: Listings for Stage Right Design
We are presently the #1 Staging Company in the Sacramento area having staged over 50 homes in the first 2 quarters of 2010. Our stats say it all.....current DOM with our staging is 20 days. Call us today at 916-300-0402 or 916-517-5710 for our premier services. "We are changing this market one home at a time!"
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I agree Lori Kim....
A business is an ever evolving entity. When our clients' needs change our business must change following our business plan, code of ethics and abilities.
With your eye always looking out for the best interest of your clients, You will stay in business no matter what changes await us.
Change is inevitable and if we don't keep up with it, we don't evolve. Great analogy!
My business has changes and evolved with the market-Years ago sellers were staging every room-not it is just the main rooms in many vacant homes. We have to change or we are left behind.
Lori, I'm creeping up on my 2nd year in business. I don't think anything has stayed to same since I started. As I learn more about my business and market the more changes that come along.
Leslie... you said that right! We must change and evolve. Thanks for stopping by ;)
Sharon... thank you. I always say that staging is like a chess game, but the market is more like a roulette wheel. We need to find ways of having "fun" in the game.
Cathy Lee... you bet! Who wants to fall behind, but sometimes I think people have a problem with taking risks... more like an un-educated gamble ya might say. Change or trying something new does not have to a big risk.
Well said! My mom, a longtime floral business owner, and I were discussing this very thing a couple of days ago. I told her that I had really, really wanted to help a client who had called several times, but the price was a drawback...it is VERY reasonable, (our state is far less than many others!). I did not lower my price, but offered to leave the staging for 60 days for the price of 30...still no go...my mom said that's enough, she said she had gotten into a spiral of "oh, I really want to help them", cut her prices, and found that they had spent double or more on the cake, after she cut her floral prices. Sometimes we have to trust that the client will determine how valuable we are, (or not) and decide where ELSE they can economize. I will help when I can, and pass when I cannot!
Hi Cheryl... Thank you for your input. We all have our bottom line.. we all need to survive without eating beans and weenies for the next couple of years. My point is that we need to diversify and step out of the box a bit. This is really hard to do, but when you need to pay your mortgage and put food on the table... you do need to be creative in your efforts to stay in business while maintaining your integrity as a professional.
Good post Lori - If we are not changing our business...we are dying. We haven't cut our prices. We actually raised them, but our services have gone up dramatically. We added more services because we have more experiences and resources and found that the market had changed. We really do just enhancement staging any more. We usually spend weeks on each project before doing the enhancement staging and our fees now are usually double what they use to be! The more we are the experts the more our clients can trust that we know what we are doing. The proof is in the pudding as they keep trusting us and the houses keep selling so we must be doing something right! The main point is to keep changing. Whatever it is for your business that is right for you is the right thing!
Hey there Kym... we DO need to accept change. You are right in that we need to do what is best for our own business. If differs per area, but to accept change in what we are used to is not always easy. Thank you for commenting. Your WOW... words of wisdom always ring true ;)
Sounds like a book I read many years ago; "Who Moved My Cheese." Change is good. Adaptation is necessary. Creativity is spectacular. Sometimes, something has to move our cheese in order for us to be willing to taste a different appetizer :)
Melinda Peterson ~ Real Estate Cafe ~ Where Something Good is Always Brewing!
I love Melinda's response! Who moved my Cheese is a great book and I highly encourage everyone to read it.
I am working on an adaption for my business profile and services currently, so I am am finding your post quite timely Lori! Thx for the boost!
Lori - I think this has already been said so well ahead of me, but since you sent me the link I want to make sure to respond.....
The most successful businesses have been required to change and adapt to stay in business and thrive. Those who always do what they've always done will find that it is no longer good enough. Times changes and so must our businesses. The reason we create business plans is to create a solution to the maze of success, starting at the end result and working our way backwards so we can navigate the maze from front to back with as few course corrections as necessary.... with that said, sometimes the end is moved and course corrections are a requirement to stay in the maze itself.
Your business is certainly not the only one experiencing the need to adapt or fail..... the real estate industry as a whole is experiencing a turbulent time and the necessity of staging is one of the adaptations it needs to embrace - again, continuing to do what you've always done is not enough any longer....
now, my business.... well, that's also in for some pretty interesting changes in 2010.... I'll share those at some point but not yet and not in this blog.....