We were lucky to catch up with Racheal Gummadi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Racheal, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I began by offering interior design services. I did virtual and local projects. I love design and curating furniture, home decor, etc. However, creatively, I felt that I was at the mercy of my clients. Clients would hire me to do the job but then try to change my ideas frequently. So, I already had my real estate license and started to consider home staging as an alternative to design. I completed another two certifications in staging, purchased about 1 and 1/2 homes worth of furniture, and began marketing myself to local real estate brokerages. I would sponsor team meetings in order to have roughly 5 minutes to present my business. After joining RESA and learning more statistics and background about home staging as an industry, I felt like I was finally falling into my own niche.

Racheal, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My style is a little bit different. I’ve heard other stagers say that staging is a tool used only to neutralize the space and allow potential buyers to visualize furniture placement. For me, I like to get creative with it. I think it’s more than just aesthetics. It’s about inducing positive emotions in the buyer’s mind. Purchasing a home is often a very emotional event. So, I use psychological principles and the psychology of color to put people at ease from the moment they walk through the front door. They say we get roughly 7 seconds to make a first impression, and I’ve seen first hand how photos alone can sell a home. I like to use pops of color and quirky decor. This technique is not to distract the buyer from the actual home. The staging can help buyer’s remember the home, especially if they’ve been viewing many. It can also help show the potential of the home.

Since January of 2024 my inventory has grown from a small 225 sq ft storage space to a 1700 sq ft warehouse. I have around 12 homes worth of furniture. My business started in Albuquerque and is now expanding into the Santa Fe real estate market.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I began building my audience by following other interior designers with small followings. Usually, they would follow me back in return. Then I started following local realtors I would meet at team meetings in the brokerages I went to. I also added my instagram QR code to my business card to make it easier for people to view my portfolio online.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Word of mouth. It’s all about word of mouth, especially in real estate.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.echinaceastaging.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echinacea_staging/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566119255523
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/racheal-gummadi-271554223/

Image Credits

Taken by me from my iphone