Most live performers, feel nervous before a show even if they’ve been touring for years. Once they’re onstage they use their adrenalin rush to their advantage. I like to think of the moment that a home staging project comes together as “show time,” and I never totally relax until that happens, even though I’ve been staging homes for over 7 years now.

There will always be small hiccups (and sometimes large ones) that can throw you off but these are the challenges that keep things interesting, help you grow as a stager and help you learn to anticipate future problems.

One time I experienced this was when I rented an armchair that wouldn’t fit up the client’s narrow staircase because the legs did not unscrew. Another time I took two drapery panels out of their packages only to discover one had been mislabeled and was 14 inches too short. Did I mention this was happening a mere hour before the photos were due to be taken of the property?

Despite these challenges both houses still looked fabulous and thanks to some last minute creative problem solving, nobody knew the difference and guess what? Nobody died. The world did not come to an end.

As a home stager, you will see that it always comes together, even if you feel anxious until that moment. This is totally normal!

Letting stage fright stop you would be as silly as deciding never to have children until you know absolutely everything there is to know about being a parent! Any honest parent will tell you that they mostly made it up as they went along, using their wits, their intuition, and hopefully an open heart.

Looking back on my years as a stager, I can confidently say, these are pretty much what you need to decorate a house to sell and to deal with your clients with honesty and integrity.

Many Staging Diva students have shared their own “stage fright” stories and I would love for you to read them and share your own comments.