Phyllis's Blog

Here are the before and after pictures of the woman's house that I had the pleasure of staging the other evening. While I mentioned in my article that she was depressed and overwhelmed, you can see how junk was just piled everywhere. Folks, this is her kitchen. Where did she eat??

I have been Staging homes for Sale in New Jersey for some time now and I have to say as staging has grown more popular in large part due to HGTV, oftentimes I have gotten depressed about my abilities. WHY?? Because some, if not most of my homes, don't look like model homes after they are staged. They certainly do look wonderful and show better than before I got there, you would have to agree. The realtor loved it and was thrilled!! 

Then I read Judy Kincaids blog about finding your niche and (thanks Judy), it set me free to be me and continue doing what I loved in the manner that I have been doing it. Staging homes by ReStyling them to Sell is MY NICHE. I am happy doing that!! Really happy doing that!! This home does not look like a page out of a Pottery Barn catalogue but doesn't it look a heck of a lot better and more appealing to a buyer??

I had to re-evaluate my priorities, my abilities and my talents and stop and really ask a hard question. What do I want out of MY business?? When I knew in my heart what it was, honestly my business has taken off. Now I am having fun, because I am not trying to copy anyone else's style or business model. I AM ME AGAIN and trusting in the "thinking out of the box theory" to create ways to make something from nothing...LOVE IT!!

I encourage all to sit quietly and ask yourself that same question..Who are YOU, what are YOU called to do, and what is it that YOU really want from YOUR business. 

This world is filled with real people who have real (tight) budgets and real houses and there are plenty of those houses for sale. ReStyled to Sell Home Staging NJ is ready and willing to help these people move on, are you?? 

Hey Fellow AR Stagers

I know that we have written to each other over the past few months and commented on the fact that we have to be like psychotherapists at one time or another. We need to be sensitive to the sellers needs and we need to do a good job to help these sellers move on.

The other night I got called to do a Free Consult (Remember my Christmas coupon)??. Anyway, the realtor called me and said she has a house that has been on the market for 6 mths. A ton of people come to see it, the house is priced right, but it looks like crap. The realtor did not want to hurt the clients feelings, so she called me in to do that, just kidding..

When I got there I realized that I had looked at the same house 5 years ago for my daughter and her husband and it is an adorable house in a great neighborhood. I immediately saw that it was in poor shape. I entered and thought OH MY GOD!!

The story goes like this! Husband left wife (after 19 years), moved out and married girlfriend. Now the wife has to sell and MOVE ON...to what she is not sure, a new house, a new life, it all can be pretty scary! So after my initial walk thru I saw that the client was getting pretty nervous, so I decided to show her some changes that could be made. Before you knew it, the realtor and I (2 tough italian chicks from Bklyn, LOL) started moving things.

We started to notice the woman's countenance lift and before you knew it she started throwing out all sorts of crap, and I have to admit she was having FUN!! We put our arms around her and told her that this was our Gift to her from one girlfriend to another, since we had both experienced Divorce and encouraged her that there was LIFE after DIVORCE. Her spirit and house got a whole new facelift.

The realtor called me yesterday and was so thrilled and could not thank me enough. The Open House is Sunday, let's see what happens. Yes I gave away a service for FREE, but the return on my investment could not be put into words..but the realtor did give me another referral...When you give, you receive.

Let us continue to be in the business of helping our Sellers move in more ways than one. Be a blessing to someone today.

Happy Staging I could not load pics this morning because AR is experiencing a problem. I will forward in another blog

Phyllis Pafumi

Hey Everyone I have been away for a few days because Staging HAS HIT NJ!! ReStyled to Sell Home Staging, NJ has begun to see the fruits of hard work and marketing pay off. The phones have not stopped ringing and we are getting back to back jobs. WOO HOO!!

This takes me back to another blog about meeting and greeting. Take the time to get yourselves OUT THERE and personally meet with the realtors. They need to see you and get a feel for what you are all about as well as being educated on the benefits of Home Staging. Presentations that I did last year are now paying off!

Realtors are realizing that for a minimal amount, all their listings can benefit from Home Staging. Realtors are also realizing that when they partner with ReStyled to Sell Home Staging NJ, we can work together to get their house sold!

I personally staged (2) vacant houses this weekend. Each house was bought by a realtor for investment, rehab and flip. While they realized the benefits of staging a vacant house, they were each met with some hesitancy from other realtors in their office. Each realtor told me that they would have second guessed their decision NOT to Stage if their house did not bring the return of profit that they are expecting. While I worked with each realtor on staging the premises with what they owned from their own homes, plus a $300.00 budget for accessories, they were amazed at the results and they themselves said they don't understand why every realtor does not stage every listing.

Let's face it, last Spring was a sluggish market and realtors know that they need to do everything to make their listings stand out from the competition. Staging homes for sale, I believe, is the only way to go when you are ready to put your home on the market.

It is such a blessing to be doing something that I absolutely love doing. Honestly, I am having waaay tooo much fun, as I am sure the rest of you are as well. Realtors are actually excited about staging and I have to say, once again, if I did not make my presence known (in person) last year, these same realtors might not have found ReStyled to Sell Home Staging, NJ.

We, as stagers, have been waiting for this time. We all have known that our talents can totally transform a home from Blah to Wow, yet we all know that it took a lot of convincing. I urge all of you to take a step of faith and get out there to Meet and Greet Realtors..They are ready to hear what we have to say, but will they hear it from you or your competition, it's your choice!

Happy Staging      

ReStyled To Sell Home Staging, NJ www.restyledtosell.com  would love to share some valuable thoughts on cleaning our own homes this new year. Basically the home where our hearts and thoughts dwell. Follow His path and you will be blessed. enjoy this!

Last Week I threw out Worrying, it was getting old and in the
way. It kept me from being me; I couldn't do things God's way.

I threw out a book on MY PAST (didn't have time to read it anyway). Replaced it with NEW GOALS, started reading it today.

I threw out hate and bad memories, (remember how I treasured them so)?

Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too, threw out the one from long ago.

Brought in some new books too, called I CAN, I WILL, AND I MUST. Threw out I might, I think and I ought.  WOW, you should've seen the dust.

I ran across an OLD FRIEND, haven't seen him in a while.
I believe his name is GOD, Yes I really like His style.

He helped me to do some cleaning and added some things Himself. Like PRAYER, HOPE AND FAITH, Yes I placed them right on the shelf.

I picked up this special thing and placed it at the front door. I FOUND IT- its called PEACE.  Nothing gets me down anymore.

Yes, I've got my house looking nice. Looks good around the place. For things like Worry and Trouble there just isn't any space.

Its good to do a little house cleaning,  get rid of the things that don't belong on the shelf. It sure makes things brighter, maybe you should TRY IT YOURSELF.

BE BLESSED AND BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!!

May the Lord open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing
that you will not have room enough to receive it all.
Malachi 3:10.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as I did, and mostly I hope it brings us all back to what is most important in our lives. To all may you have continued success in the New Year. Once we clean out our own houses, we could focus more clearly on cleaning out others.

Phyllis Pafumi

First let me start by wishing everyone at AR a Happy, Healthy and Properous New Year!

My goal for New Year's day was simple. I was determined to organize all my receipts and get my books ready for tax time. Well after 10 hours, yes 10 hours, my work was accomplished. I strongly advise all to start sorting and organizing for two reasons.

1. When you see how much you actually spent on marketing and accessories, this will cause you to revamp your marketing strategies as well as shop a little more savvy for accessories.

2. The relief, after the shock wears off, is just an incredible weight off your shoulders. Organizing our own work spaces as well as our own inventory books and receipts will destress us, leaving our creative minds to focus on what we do best.

I, for one, will definitely not be spending as much on advertising this year as I did last year. WHY?? Because most of it did not work. What I have found to work best is meet and greet. I have shared this information before and it is worth sharing again. Form alliances and pick a few key businesses to network with.

Some of the companies that I network with are:

A. All Jersey Movers - The sales person and I met at a realtor's presentation and hit if off. Now we each have our own territory that we cover, yet include each other on the jobs. Just today, the sales person called me because he was meeting with a big builder about doing a Sellers Seminar and asked if I wanted in....YEAH! Then I asked him to come with me to a realtors presentation on January 16th. Each of these contacts would have not been possible without each other getting out there.

B. Pulte Home Builders - I am starting a big job on January 13 for someone who is buying their new construction, but needs to sell their home. Meet with builders, their buyers cannot buy until they SELL their house first.

C. Real Estate Attorney - He has many realtors that he works with and when he visited each one for Christmas, my Gift Certificate for a Free Staging Consult was in each basket. He has also displayed my brochure and articles in his office. OKAY he was my former boss, but you have to know some attorneys, or someone who knows someone, right?

D. Go back to realtors offices that have used your services before and tell them you think it is time to come back into their office and address their agents again. It works, I am going back to a company I spoke at in May of last year. If a company has 45 agents and you only met 20, that is alot of work you could be missing out on.

E. Mortgage Companies - They do loans for new buyers, right? Don't those buyers have to sell their houses in order to buy? Establish a relationship with one or two companies and work with them exclusively.

F. Join your Local Chamber of Commerce and GO to their meetings. This has worked for me and honestly has cost me the least. One was $75/year and another one was $125/year. Each event (breakfast, lunch, dinner) has a small fee attached, but guess what? I went to a breakfast event in December, put my card in a raffle drawing and won....$100 worth of FREE events, so if breakfast meetings cost $5.00 that is a lot of FREE Breakfast and networking I can do. 

G. Visit Open Houses - Val Allocco has some goodies she gives to the realtors. I only did this about 4 times, but guess what, I got 2 jobs out of it which generated 2 realtors presentations which generated 3 more jobs..JUST DO IT!

Again, these are the things that I will be focusing on. It is easy to sit behind a computer and email or do mailings because let's face it, sometimes we are just not comfortable meeting people one on one. BUT IT WORKS! People will buy you, before they buy your services. Let them get to see what a great person you are and let them know that they could trust you. BE YOURSELF and DON'T TRY TO COPY SOMEONE ElSE.

Here are 2 quotes that have motivated me in the beginning of my business and I plan on going back to my humble beginnings, I hope they help you as well. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL IN 2007!

First Quote: Every day do (1) thing that makes you uncomfortable!

Second Quote: If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.

Happy Marketing to all