Life decisions are hard. People don’t usually randomly decided to buy a house, have a baby on a whim, or switch careers because today they think it might be interesting to try something new. Even after doing a lot of thinking and planning, people still hesitate! There are many common reasons why people pause when they think about getting their staging certification. Most are completely valid! We’re going to cover some of those reasons today! And we’ll also let you know how to decide if you should take the plunge.
So keep reading and see if any of these reasons sound like you!
You’re Scared
One of the biggest reasons we hear is that people are afraid. Not in the same way they’re afraid of sharks or ghosts, but afraid that getting their certification signifies a large shift in their life. They’re not sure if making a career change is going to disrupt their family dynamic or if it will add stress to their relationships.
It’s a big step to get your certification! But if you’re strongly considering it, you should really think about the pros and cons that factor into your life. If fear is the only thing that’s really stopping you, is that a good enough reason to hold off? We say no! Think about all the other scary things you have done in your life. Not all of them have paid off, but the ones that have are probably some of the best decisions you’ve ever made!
Don’t forget that you can take a slow transition into a new career. You don’t need to quit today and become a home stager tomorrow. You can work both jobs for a while until you get yourself grounded. A common practice we suggest is to keep your current job. Or maybe take your current job from full-time to part-time to give yourself a chance to ease into this new life. So don’t let fear get in the way. It’s never too late to start your dream career!
You Don’t Think You Need One
You’ve done your research. Home staging is not a regulated industry and you don’t need to get a certification to start a career in staging. You’ve thought about the time and money involved in getting a staging certification and you’re thinking you might as well just jump into the job!
You’re not wrong! And if you have a lot of experience, a great portfolio, and a strong client base there is no reason to waste your time and effort on a certification. It would be better to put that time and money towards your marketing efforts. However, staging is a highly competitive market. If you’re just starting out the best thing you can do is invest in an education. You’ll become an industry expert, develop an amazing portfolio, and learn all the business basics to find clients. Not only that, but when you have a certification people will see you as more reliable and trustworthy! When you graduate, you prove that you can manage deadlines, get tasks done, and reach goals.
If this is the main reason for your hesitation, think about how you currently fit in this industry and how much of a novice you are. If you’re right on the edge and you think you probably have enough experience and a good enough portfolio, we would suggest you get the certification. Probably usually means not quite enough rather than just the right amount!
You’re Worried About the Cost
Education is always an investment. Courses can be extremely expensive or super cheap! Unfortunately, the cheap ones are almost always too good to be true and the expensive ones really make people question if it’s worth it. Not only that, but you might not be able to afford giving up your job to go to school!
Cost is not a factor we want to downplay. It is a big deal. Thankfully, there are options available! One of the best ways to find a less expensive school is to go for an online course. Not only is it cheaper than a brick-and-mortar school, but it also offers flexibility so that you don’t have to give up your current income to attend classes. You can work at your own pace and get your assignments done when you have time to do so. Some online schools even have payment plans so you can pay a little each month instead of spending hundreds or thousands on tuition all at once!
Make sure that you can afford to get certified before you start. If you need to take some time to save up money first, do that. The certification can always wait a few months while you get your finances in order!
You Haven’t Done Anything Like This
You know you have a passion for interior decorating and home staging. And love designing the rooms in your own house. But, what if this is just a hobby? You’ve been at a desk job your entire life and you can’t even imagine what it’s like to be a full-time home stager!
This is actually one of the great perks of getting a staging certification! You don’t have to know what to expect or how to do this job. You don’t have to know how to turn your hobby into a career. Your home staging course will teach you everything from how to work with clients to being your own boss – and everything in between!
You’re never going to be 100% certain until you try. Especially if you have never done anything like this before, you have no real frame of reference to evaluate this career path! A course will give you that framework and guidance. Sure, there is a chance that you get to the end of the course and you realize that this is not the path for you. But if you have that passion and interest in home staging there is a much higher chance that you get to the end of the course. And you realize this was the best decision you ever made.
It’s a tough decision to get a staging certification, but getting a certification doesn’t mean that you have to follow through with being a full-time home stager. You can always do it part-time or just for friends and family. And there are so many transferable skills that you develop that even if you decide it’s not the path for you, you will get something out of the experience. So stop waffling! Make the call… are you going to do this?
Did we miss any of your hesitations? Let us know in a comment below!
