Today we’d like to introduce you to Manuela Paninski.
Hi Manuela, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started my business in 2009 after watching a few shows on HGTV about home staging. I really fell in love with the concept of staging a home to sell. It was a mix of design and a marketing strategy to help sellers with preparing their home for market. I must have read every book and googled every home staging link I could find. After doing my research and knowing how much I love designing and creating marketable spaces I set up my home staging business The Staging Fashionista.
At that time home staging was not very popular so it took a lot of networking with realtors to build the trust and convince them of the overall value of staging. Also at that time I was working full time in the federal government. When I say it was long hours and long weekends with few hours of sleep I’m not exaggerating. However, it was my passion and I wanted it to succeed so I didn’t give up. It took me 6 months to get my first staging job and I was over the moon. After that I started networking even more and through word of mouth my business started growing. I went from storing items in a room in my home and garage, to 4 storage units and then ultimately my own Warehouse. I ended up leaving the federal government and became a full time entrepreneur and I never looked back. It was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. I’ve been in business now for 17 years running a 6 figure home staging business, and have established myself as an award winning and a leading home staging businesses in Northern VA. I followed my passion and succeeded. My motto has always been “If you believe it, you will achieve it”.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t know any entrepreneur that’s running a business has had a smooth road. Every business has its ups and downs and daily struggles and I’ve had my share. The most difficult part for me was convincing realtors and sellers that home staging is a marketing tool not a decorating service. The hardest part was showing realtors and sellers the value of staging as well as the return on investment (ROI). It has been proven that staging helps homes show better and sell faster as well as selling over asking price. Clients normally just looked at the up front cost of staging instead of the overall benefits of it and it was really difficult at times to convince them of that.
Now that home staging is more well known through HGTV flipping and renovation shows, realtors and home sellers are more open to the concept and see the overall value. Now my struggles are more on the operational level and managing a team of stagers, movers and warehouse employees. Also there is managing clients’ expectations and ensuring that they understand how the process works and how we work as a business. Although things have gotten easier through the years due to trial and error we still have things that pop up that put a wrench in our day or week, but nothing that we can’t handle to keep moving forward.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are an award winning home staging business serving Northern VA, DC and parts of MD. We have been in business for 17 years and we have helped thousands of home sellers to sell their home. The services we provide are consultations, vacant Staging, occupied Staging and redesign. We offer staging packages for our clients depending on the level of the staging they want. Our prices are very competitive. We stage all sizes of homes from 500 sq ft to 6000 + sq ft. We own our own warehouse and have our own truck and team to service our clients. We also offer a pay at closing option for homeowners.
We pride ourselves on our professionalism, responsiveness and our staging work. We have created packages that realtors and sellers can choose from and there is no guess work on what they will receive. Our clients are very happy with our work and love our staging style. We also believe there are enough homes to go around for every stager and we are not in competition with anyone. People hire us based on our style and our staging packages and our quick turn around. Our prices are very fair and you get a great value. We have won many awards from Best Vacant Home Staging, Best Occupied Staging, Best Home Staging Business, Most Influential Real Estate Staging Professional of the Year and many more.
When working with us you get great service and quality staging. We understand that time is money so our turnaround time is fast and professional. We have a great team and we know how to get the job done.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is building partnerships and relationships with our clients. I want my clients to feel that they can trust us to get their properties staged and ready for the market without worrying if it will be done right. I want our clients to be happy and satisfied with our work and if we mess up we will fix it. I want them to have a great experience when they hire us and want them to keep coming back and refer us to their clients, friends and family when the opportunity arises.
Pricing:
- Consultation $350
- Staging Fees are based on size of home; number of rooms and price of home.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thestagingfashionista.com/
- Instagram: @stagingfashionista
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheStagingFashionista/
- LinkedIn: Mannie Paninski
