We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mitchell Bage. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mitchell below.

Mitchell, appreciate you joining us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

We’ve been in the home staging industry going on four year and in that short time we’ve seen great stagers unfortunately close their doors. We’ve also some staging companies that while their work is not the best, they’ve managed to succeed. The reason behind this is that most creatives get into this industry for the love of design and forget that they need to run a business. If you don’t know how to run your business, you will fail. I was lucky that my partner, Luis Santiago has more of a business mind than me, otherwise I don’t believe that I could’ve made it work on my own, especially in the early days.

There’s more to this business than meets the eye. People only see the pretty pictures of the beautifully decorated rooms and houses and assume that that is all you need. But no, you have to know your numbers and how to price your services to stay in business. Not having a clear understanding on how to price with profitability in mind is the best way to turn a business into a hobby. Far too often, newer home stagers believe that in order to compete they need to charge less than their successful counterparts. Rarely does this work as you have to build a sustainable business model.

Yes, the quality of your work will go a long way to establish your credibility but without a solid business foundation, you won’t be able to be profitable in the long run. A Home Stager that carries their own inventory (as we do) has a lot of overhead not only because of the cost of purchasing the items, but also storage and logistical expenses. All of this coupled with establishing company policies, marketing, social media management and also the time spent going back and forth to our clients homes and engaging new clients need to be taken into account when setting your prices and your offerings.

Running a profitable business requires us to have a clear target and goals set in place, and to spend time building your team and your assets to fully be fully self sustained.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Growing up, I always dreamt of being an architect—a path I most likely would have followed had I not had the opportunity to join an aerospace consulting firm when I graduated from High School and had to put my passion for Art, Architecture and Interior Design on the backburner but it was never forgotten. After years of supporting NASA programs and assisting colleagues, friends, and family achieve their dreams of stunning homes, I finally decided to branch out officially and create my own interior and staging service business. With the support of my husband Luis, it was finally time to follow my true love and change direction from Aerospace to Design. Big change, right?

Maison de Campagne (MDC) was inspired by my passion for the french countryside aesthetic, a mix of rustic elements and refined details that results in a showstopping, simple, and elegant home. I pride myself in the ability to merge a more traditional style with a modern look by layering a mix of materials onto a classic foundation. I bring my love for interiors into every project I work on, and it truly brings me so much joy to be able to explore my creativity, show my talent, passion, and express myself in ways that I had never done before.

As the co-owner and creative director of MDC, I am the lead designer and face of the company. I interact directly with our clients and help curate their spaces. I also plan and execute every single staging job so that each one is unique and has the most impact.

The greatest thing about interior design, is that there are truly no “rules” that must always be followed. An interior space]is a form of art. Therefore, it should create an emotion for the ones dwelling within it. This is what I love most and what I hope my work conveys.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Luckily for me, my business partner is also my life partner. Luis and I met in 2013 on an online dating app and we hit it off pretty quickly. In the fall of 2016 we got married and in the summer of 2018, we stumbled upon the home-staging industry and immediately knew it was something we would be great at doing. I knew that I could use Luis’s business mindset and my natural talent to create a business that would truly allow us to flourish. We use our creativity and passion for real estate and interior design to add true value and create beautiful spaces on a regular basis,

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

In the beginning we were both juggling full time careers, me in the aerospace sector and Luis in the oil and gas industry so we were in a position where we could divert some of our savings into jump starting our business. We sacrificed as lot as we were working around the clock and had almost no time off but we knew that if we wanted to succeed that we needed to put in the work. For the first year and a half we didn’t take any profit from our business, which looking back now it might not have been the best decision but it allowed us to slowly grow and be debt free until we were ready to take the plunge and go full time and work for ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mdcfineliving.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdcfineliving/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MDCfineliving
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maison-de-campagne-llc/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mdcfineliving

Image Credits
photos taken by Realist Drone Services (https://realistdroneservices.com)