Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Ooooo, you guys are thinking today! Thanks for all the responses thus far.

Delta: Yes, there are many realtors who offer staging. But there are many who don`t. I think this is a good choice (and I would enjoy it) since Dallas has yet to be severely affected by the housing downward spiral that nation has seen.

Craig: Thanks. When I searched "staging" I didn`t get that.

Nikole: My secret? Don`t hate me for the simplicity: God (or your higher power). Motivation. Networking, networking, networking..... There are times when I don`t have a client and I worry, but God provides. I am a highly motivated person who gets things done. I do some networking and if I did more I would be on overload. I have yet to do any marketing for my company. It`s all been networking and word of mouth.

I also appreciate your words of wisdom, Nikole. I am always on the search for improving my skill, learning another aspect of design. That`s fun to me! And it seems you are the same! And you know what your back up is!! :D

jillybeans: After talking with a realtor who offers staging, she gave my number to a staging company and they have already emailed me. Will be checking that out.

And yes, I hope my expertise will help me stay in this industry a long time. Maybe I worry too much, you know? It is a real fear though. When you see your parents, your father-in-law, a friend, and a friends mother switch careers at an older age, it is worrisome.

drvag: I don`t believe I`m sacred of the competition today. I know what I offer. I am great at what I do and better than most. My fear is, as you noted very well, technology advancing to the point that we "designers" aren`t needed for the majority of work.

How many of you visited Vista Print, made and purchased your first set of business cards? Or printed cards on Avery business card paper at home? How many of you have designed a newsletter or flyer using Microsoft or Publisher? People are doing that these days and in a few years, there will be programs anyone can use that will provide better results than Word or Publisher. I see the technology moving in that direction.

Look at printing costs. Did you know to print 1,000 postcards 2 years ago cost $700? Today you can get them for under $200!!!! And now these companies offer Word or Publisher templates for non-designers to use. Things in this industry are changing quickly and not for the betterment of the designer.

Today designers face: small businesses that do not need, cannot afford, do not understand the importance of having a graphic designer. Medium sized businesses know they need the expertise, but can`t afford a graphic designer so they piece mill their stuff out and do the other stuff themselves. Large businesses hire graphic designer employees and some hire a firm for smaller projects.

Right now, I`m lucky: I have three large biz, a few medium but the bulk are small companies. When these new software applications come in, I will lose half of my small business. I already have one client who thinks she knows how to update her web pages, and then comes back to me asking me to fix it for her. J

Anyway, now I have gone on a tangent. I will work hard to preserve my talent and my industry. I will strive to learn and be “better” and offer my client complete satisfaction. But I will also prepare myself for a change in the industry so I an support my family and do something else (should I NEED to) that I enjoy.

Again thanks to all of you for your excellent responses and for reading through this gray matter!

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Make it count! My Passion: www.jdawgdesign.com - My Rush: www.wyliephotos.com

I think the tools exist now to do your own web pages and make your own fliers ... but it still looks bad.

I don`t know every intimate detail of your work, but I do know that no amateur or program can come close to the work we do. Yes, someone can slap something on the page, but they don`t know the background knowledge needed to create loyal users, run a business, conduct marketing campaigns, make something so user friendly (this is harder than you think!) that people can`t help but look around, and just create visually stunning work.

Personally, I like to fight against the ready-made stuff, not just bow out. I really don`t want everyone using FrontPage or Dreamweaver ... I think it brings the whole web down. Part of my job is not only to educate myself, but to educate everyone else why VistaPrint is bad for branding.

I`m hoping that eventually, we`ll just weed out all these cheapy bad designers and the real ones will come out. DIY tools will always be there, but then again there will always be some people buying Saturns and some people buying BMWs, right?

Nikole, you are right on!! Your words are uplifitng and is what I needed. You have reminded me that I must, WE must continue to educate people. And the fortunate thing is, there will always be people who want the BMW. It`s finding them that`s the hard part! Hee hee! But we will!!

Have a good week!

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Make it count! My Passion: www.jdawgdesign.com - My Rush: www.wyliephotos.com

jdawg, so it sounds like it`s not fierce competiton, but the real threat is technology.  and not age for that matter either.

What are the other threats facing your industry?  More importantly, what are the opportunities?

And what strengths can you exploit and what weaknesses can you eliminate?

Have you done your S.W.O.T. today?

nhgnikloe, I like your spirit and determination to fight the fight and win the war.

 

 

 

drvag, you`re proabbly right about what my concern truly is. I know experts are needed but how many spots will be filled by people who think they are experts? Yes there are some now, but with new techology there will be more of "them" and as I get older (thus my thinking it is an age issue) there`s just more of them to contend with. BUT I too like Nikole`s attitude and will stand strong to educate and fight against it. I do it now, so why wouldn`t I in 10 years?

Okay, stupid question: What is S.W.O.T.?

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Make it count! My Passion: www.jdawgdesign.com - My Rush: www.wyliephotos.com

Hi jdawg.  SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats.

Strenghts and weaknesses are internal, that is, they are about your company and its people.  eg. one could be the depth and breadth of your organization and their skillsets.  Or lack there of would be a weakness.

Threats and opportunities are external, about anything and everything in the outside world today and on the horizon.  the technology you refer to is a threat. 

in our business plans we would to SWOT analysis on our competitors also, especially their strengths and weaknesses and compare them to ours.

AND important note, is that a strentgh is something that nobody else has or can easily duplicate.  eg, our company has deep pockets because our partner is a wealthy investor.  Our competitor does not have the money or resources that we have.

But I argue, they could easily find an investor tomorrow.

So, jawg, what are the opportunties that you can be the first in your market to take advantage of?

hope this helps 

 

 

And also jdawg,  it`s ususally best to try and come up with at least 3 - 4 of each SWOT, and hopefully you have more strengths than weaknesses.  Don`t just stop at one threat either because I`m sure that if you really dig deep, it is more than just technology that will have a negative impact on your biz on the horizon.

SWOTs are good to do, especially in a business plan if you are seeking investors.  It shows them you have thought about the risks that could occur.

 

Best of luck

drvag, thanks so much for this information! I have not done this... I`m interested to see what comes up. Thanks again for your input.

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Make it count! My Passion: www.jdawgdesign.com - My Rush: www.wyliephotos.com

JDawg,

It seems the convo got a little off topic, as per your initial question. From a practical standpoint, I definitely think a convenience niche service such as home staging will be around in 15-20 years. One thing that has not changed since the beginning of time is that people need a place to live. Therefore, a service business based upon real estate seems like a safe bet. However, that being said, this particular business does not just depend on real estate but actually on real estate turnover, or at least attempted turnover. From what I read, I do not see the number of houses for sale being overly affected but rather the time on market and price of sale. This actually seems like a good thing for this service niche. The longer a house is on the market and the more competitive prices get the more likely home sellers are to differentiate their home from others. Home staging, if marketed correctly, offers just the solution.

Now, instead of marketing directly to the home seller, maybe you could form an affiliate type relationship with real estate agents. I know some of them already offer this service themselves as a value add. However, I`m sure many of them would love to offer their clients "JDawg Design`s Home Selling Staging Services", with, of course, a percentage referral relationship worked out.

Also, you could approach furniture companies and form a similar strategic partnership. When people move, one thing that is common is the purchase of new furniture. Well, if you formed a few exclusive partnerships with furniture providers then their furniture, and more importantly brand name, would be in front of a highly targeted audience right before new furniture buying decisions were made. At least, that is how I recommend forming your pitch.

Well, this has become a longer post then I attended, but I thoroughly enjoy questions like these. I`m pleased to hear you`re already a successful entrepreneur and wish you the best of luck on future endeavours.

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J.J. Thomas, JD/MBA

Entrevisor - Entrepreneur Advisory Services

www.Entrevisor.com

Entrevisor@Gmail.com

Hi, JJ. Thanks for the input! You offered some great ideas!

I meet with a prominent home stager in Dallas next week. Will follow up.

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Make it count! My Passion: www.jdawgdesign.com - My Rush: www.wyliephotos.com