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

Sharon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I absolutely love owning my own local business and working for myself! Prior to having children and being a stay-at-home mom, I held many 8-5 office jobs that included the hotel industry, convention and visitor bureau, planning special events in our downtown area, and being employed as the public relations & special events coordinator for our nationally-ranked zoo. All fun jobs in their own right and many, many special people who are still my friends.

With that being said, I like having the control over setting my hours and days, vacation times. I don’t know that I would ever return to a normal 8-5 job.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Because of my husband’s career, we moved often over a short amount of time, with two toddlers. It was during this time that I learned about having to keep our home “show ready” because there were literally times when a real estate agent would call and say, “We are right around the corner and would love to show your house.”

Friends and family started to tell me that I had a knack for staging and decorating; one of our Realtors in the south told me that if we were not moving back north, she would hire me to be her full time stager! So when we moved back home, my husband encouraged me to turn my passion and gift into a business. That was seven years ago.

I consult with sellers in their home, on behalf of real estate agents, to advise them on what to sort or minimize, space plan, color changes (if any), and problem solve spaces in their home before pictures for the upcoming listing. If needed, I assist sellers with ‘occupied staging’ by either using what they already have, or setting a small budget with the sellers where they purchase items that I can stage for them in their current house and then take to their new home.

I also offer ‘vacant staging’ which is the most physically demanding part of my job. Everyone thinks it is a “glorious, fun job” ~ and it is, fun ~ but it is also a mentally and physically demanding career. Mentally, because it’s up to you to envision what to use and how to use what in each house; mentally because the entire day I’m staging, I’m constantly thinking (and talking) about what looks best here and there and changing around as needed. Physically, because once I drive to see and walk the actual property, I then go to start the furniture selection process. Once that is complete, I begin selecting smaller pieces from my warehouse and physically packing each piece and then loading bins into my vehicle to arrive onsite and then carry all full bins inside and unpack and walk the full day to implement. And then eventually, there is destaging day which is everything backward (well, minus the furniture selection, lol). A third aspect of my business is offering in-home decorating assistance/consultations for owners who want guidance or help in decorating their own space. This is an hourly fee, and I guide the client how much or how little they want when it comes to decorating.

I am a perfectionist. It’s a double edge sword, but at the end of the day I want the house to look its best for my client. I want that house to attract top dollar for my client and agent and feel like home when potential buyers enter.

On a few occasions, I have returned the next day to change up something that kept me up most of the night because I knew it could be done better.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I think the most effective strategy for growing my clientele and actually building my reputation within the market is being a person of my word, which is how I was raised.

It’s delivering what you promised. It’s being on time. It’s being prepared. It’s being communicative. It’s knowing what you’re doing and having a vision. It’s being consistent.

My work (and work ethic) should be able to speak for itself without evening saying a word. People can see through the crap. I am an honest, straightforward professional. There is no drama with this stager!

I think that’s been my most effective strategy in building my client list and building my reputation over seven years.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

What helps me to recover from difficult conditions, is first of all, God. He helps me in every aspect of this business; it’s His. In addition, it’s seeing the before/after pictures of each project. It is hearing and seeing the reaction of the client and the real estate agent when they return to see the staging. It is the success story after success story of how staging helped sell a house quickly and for more money. It’s the client who falls back in love with their own home after working with GCS. I have also learned over seven years when to walk away from a potential difficult person without regret; it’s okay to say no.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.glasscitystagers.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glasscitystagers/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glasscitystagers/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glasscitystagers/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/glass-city-stagers-lambertville
• Other: https://www.bbb.org/us/mi/lambertville/profile/home-staging/glass-city-stagers-llc-0422-211007207

Image Credits
Sharon Schaffer