Summary
Expert home stager Debra Gould discusses the importance of a good home staging logo.
Home stagers, are you harming your image
“Do I put together some clip art and a nice font and do it myself or do I invest money in getting a professional to design it for me?”
That’s the question everyone embarking on a journey of self employment faces when it comes to finding the perfect logo.
Home staging expert Debra Gould says, “I’ve heard complaints from many home stagers over the years about how they have no business and those stagers are without exception the ones with the worst logos and the least compelling portfolios.”
Home stagers wondering about whether or not they should have a logo professionally designed should remember that a logo is a professional reflection of their company’s identity and image.
Gould, creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program says, “Go ahead and try to ‘get by’ with a logo that looks cheap and badly designed but you will quickly see how it reflects poorly on your reputation as a home stager and your business is going to suffer for it.”
A company logo has several jobs to do. One is to distinguish a company at a glance as part of a brand, but more importantly for a home stager, it has the job of convincing a potential client that you understand the importance of two basic tenets of home staging that “there’s only one chance to make a first impression” and “how something looks is key to whether someone wants to buy.”
“If you give that advice to a prospective home staging client, yet don’t appear to take it yourself when it comes to promoting your own company, why would they trust you?” asks Gould. She adds, “If your home staging logo looks unprofessional and makes no aesthetic sense, why should a homeowner look to you to decorate their single largest financial asset? Simply put, they won’t!”
| A logo doesn’t have to include a photo or image. Many of the world’s most effective logos are for successful companies that have only “wordmarks.” Think: Google, Coca Cola and IBM.
Your logo should evoke a feeling in your prospective clients. It suggests a tone for your business which might be, for example:
These examples, from different Staging Diva Graduates, Monica Bunde of Create Home Staging, Leah Fritz of Perfect Place Home Staging and Terri Gunn of Baltimore Home Stagers illustrate how different three strong logos for the same type of business can be! |
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As you review these logos, and the many others you’ll find at the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers, you’ll see that a home stager’s business image is conveyed in the type style, layout and use of color in their logos.
As a home stager, you have to determine how much your image is worth to you when deciding whether you want to hire a designer to create your logo.
The Staging Diva says, “You’ll notice the stagers with the logos that are well-designed come across as being the most professional. I can tell you as someone who has been teaching home stagers for 5 years, that the most successful stagers also happen to be those with the most professional images. This is no coincidence.”
Hiring someone to design your logo can cost anywhere from $20 to $1000 and like anything else, in most cases you will get what you pay for. Check samples of a designer’s work and stay away from clip art which always looks tacky. Search for designers on elance.com or use a service like Logo Design Guru.
Another source is local graphic design schools. You’ll pay less for a design student because they’re dying to build a portfolio, but you might find an excellent designer who can help you with not only your logo, but other materials down the road.
Gould suggests home stagers keep the following in mind, “The cost of a bad logo in lost revenue could cripple your business especially when you’re in an image business like home staging. For additional information on creating your logo, consider getting a copy of the Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide.”
About Staging Diva
The creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program, Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate, including seven of her own homes. She is the president of home staging firm SixElements.com and has trained over 4000 home stagers to start and grow their own businesses.
Debra has gained international recognition through features in major media in the US and Canada including: This Old House, HGTV, CNN Money, CBC National News, CBS Radio, Global TV, City TV, The Wall Street Journal, Women’s Day, Reader’s Digest and more.
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