Episodes
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For years, every time a client wanted to move forward, I found myself jumping between multiple tools, entering the same information over and over again, and waiting for the next step. I'd send the proposal, wait for a response, send the agreement, wait for a signature, then figure out payment. It was just the way I thought the process had to work.
Then I tried something different.
I combined two of those steps into one. The very first time I sent it, the agreement came back signed within the hour. It was one of those moments when I thought, "Why have I been making this so much harder than it needs to be?"
Today, I'm sharing what that process looked like, what changed when I simplified it, and why I eventually realized there was still one piece missing. If you've ever felt like your staging proposal workflow involves too much waiting, too much follow-up, or too many moving parts, I think this conversation will give you a different way to think about it.
What You'll Learn
Why treating your proposal as its own standalone step creates friction instead of removing it The exact process I used for years, and every re-entry point that was wasting my time The one change that got me a signed agreement in under an hour How what I have built finally closes the gap for goodRESOURCES:
Join the Harlowe Inner Circle Waitlist: https://waitlist.harloweco.com/ Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhome
If you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
For years, I was convinced I just hadn't found the right tool for our styling evaluation reports. So I kept searching, rebuilding, and starting over. Every new solution fixed one problem while creating another, and every switch demanded more time, money, and energy than I ever expected.
Looking back, I wasn't really searching for better software. I was trying to create a workflow that actually fit the way staging businesses operate. What I didn't realize was how much opportunity I was losing while trying to force tools to do a job they were never designed to do.
Today, I'm sharing what that journey taught me. Not just about technology, but about systems, opportunity cost, and why the right solution isn't always the newest one.
What You'll Learn
The hidden opportunity cost of forcing software to do a job it wasn't designed to do What worked and what didn't with paper checklists, Google Docs, Dragon Dictation, GoCanvas, and Jotform The features I was searching for but couldn't find in any existing platform Why efficiency matters just as much as presentation when creating client deliverablesRESOURCES:
Join the Harlowe Inner Circle Waitlist Here: https://waitlist.harloweco.com Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
Missing episodes?
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When you think about growing your staging business, it's easy to assume the next step is better marketing, more social media, or a steady stream of leads. But what if those aren't the exact things holding your business back?
This week, I'm joined by my friend Heather Cook, founder of Social Savvy Stager, to talk about a realization that completely changed the direction of her business. After spending the past year helping stagers with marketing, Heather discovered that the real challenges weren't content calendars or Instagram posts. They ran much deeper. Business owners were struggling with brand positioning, systems, leadership, and building businesses that could actually support sustainable growth.
As we unpack what she learned, we also have two exciting announcements to share. Heather introduces her brand-new mentorship program, The Six Figure Stager, and I share why I've decided to officially pass the torch on something many of you have been waiting for. Sometimes the best way to serve our community isn't by creating something ourselves, but by recognizing when someone else has built exactly what our industry needs.
Whether you're brand new to staging or you've been in business for years, this conversation is a reminder that building a successful staging business takes more than becoming a great stager. If you've also been looking for guidance on building the business behind your staging business, you'll want to hear this conversation from beginning to end.
What You'll Learn
The four foundational pillars of a sustainable six-figure staging business How strong brand positioning helps you compete on value instead of price How to identify what makes your staging business different from everyone else Why mentorship can accelerate your growth more than another online course My exciting announcement about the future of Staging Business – Growth and why I'm so excited to support Heather's new programRESOURCES:
Join the Harlowe Inner Circle Waitlist Here: https://waitlist.harloweco.com Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhome
If you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
Some moments stop you cold. This episode is about one of those moments and it came in the form of four words written in my youngest son's handwriting, slipped under my closed office door on a Sunday night.
This is one of the most personal episodes I've ever recorded, and I hope it lands for you the way that night landed for me. Because what started as a wake-up call became the question that changed everything about how I run my business.
What You'll Learn
Why the closed-door boundary I set with my kids showed me how broken my business really was How going from asking how do I get more done? to how do I make this easier? changed everything How I audited my business without a formal spreadsheet, but by focusing on 3 things The first operational change I made that began reducing my workloadRESOURCES:
Join the Harlowe Inner Circle Waitlist Here: https://waitlist.harloweco.com Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerateJoin the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhome
If you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
Have you ever opened your computer in the morning and immediately found yourself clicking between six different tabs just to figure out what's happening in your business?
As we've been onboarding founding members into Harlowe, I've been asking our staging business owners a simple question: How many tools do you log into every day to run your business? The answer is almost always the same…at least three, usually more.
The reality is that most of us didn't build these systems intentionally. We solved one problem at a time. We added a booking tool, then an email platform, then project management software, then invoicing, then file storage, then proposals. Before we knew it, our clients were living in six different places.
In this episode, I'm giving a name to that problem: the Six-Stack Symptom. I'll talk about why it happens, what it's really costing your business, and why adding more tools is rarely the answer.
What You'll Learn
What the Six-Stack Symptom is and why so many staging businesses experience it How disconnected tools quietly create more work as your business grows The difference between automation and true integration What a unified operating system for a staging business can look likeRESOURCES:
Join the Harlowe Inner Circle Waitlist Here: https://waitlist.harloweco.com Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
I want to talk about a question I get asked all the time: Where does the admin role stop? Where does the lead stager role begin? And where exactly does the CEO fit into all of this?
The truth is, most of us never learned to think about our staging businesses this way. We started because we loved staging. We learned the craft. We got clients. We grew. And then one day we looked up and realized we were running a company with real complexity while still trying to wear every hat ourselves.
What I see over and over again is that businesses often grow faster than their structure. We hire people without clearly defining the role they're stepping into. We add services without assigning ownership of the operational pieces that support them. And before we know it, everything feels heavier than it should.
Today, I am breaking down three core roles that exist in every staging business—whether you have one person on your team or twenty. Understanding these roles is one of the fastest ways to identify where your business is creating unnecessary complexity and where you may be carrying work that does not actually belong to you anymore.
What You'll Learn
What the CEO should actually be focused on (and what they should not) Why the Admin Ops function is often the most overlooked role in a growing business How operational ownership impacts everything from scheduling to inventory visibility The hidden mental load many staging business owners carry every dayRESOURCES:
Join the Harlowe Inner Circle Waitlist Here: https://waitlist.harloweco.com Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
Most staging business owners don't wake up in the morning excited to think about scheduling. Yet somehow, it becomes one of the biggest invisible jobs in the business.
As I've spent countless hours mapping workflows and talking with staging business owners, one theme keeps showing up. Most scheduling systems work beautifully when the business is small. The challenge comes when growth introduces more team members, more service types, overlapping appointments, public booking links, warehouse logistics, and multiple moving pieces that all need to stay connected.
If you've ever felt like you're the glue holding your calendar together, this episode will make you feel seen. I explore why scheduling becomes increasingly complex as businesses grow, where traditional systems begin to break down, and what it could look like when your scheduling system starts doing more of the work for you.
What You'll Learn:
The two key variables every scheduling system must balance How multiple calendars, color-coding, and manual processes can create hidden points of failure The difference between client schedules and team schedules in staging businesses A simple scheduling strategy Lori used with her first team member to reduce back-and-forth communicationRESOURCES:
Join the Harlowe Inner Circle Waitlist Here: https://waitlist.harloweco.com Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
If you've ever hired someone and still found yourself overwhelmed, still turning away work, and still wondering why your capacity hasn't moved, this episode is for you.
We were recently talking about hiring, growth, and capacity when one business owner shared that she had successfully hired and trained team members, stepped back from doing everything herself, and yet she was still turning away work. Her spring felt better personally, but the business still hadn't truly expanded capacity.
Not only her, but that is what most staging business owners do not realize: having a team does not automatically mean having more capacity. That one distinction is exactly why I built a framework around it.
Today I'm walking you through what I'm calling the Stair-Step Capacity Framework to act as a guide for how to think about hiring at every stage of your business. Once you understand it, your hiring decisions start to make so much more sense, and a whole lot of the frustration and self-judgment disappear.
What You'll Learn:
The four distinct hiring stages in a staging business and what each one accomplishes. Why replacing yourself as the lead stager doesn't automatically increase your capacity. The critical moment when your business can truly begin to expand its volume. Why simultaneous hiring often creates organizational whiplash instead of smooth growth.RESOURCES:
Join the Harlowe Inner Circle Waitlist Here: https://waitlist.harloweco.com Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
AI has become one of those conversations that instantly makes people feel either excited or completely overwhelmed. This episode is for the staging business owner sitting somewhere in the middle. The tools available right now are changing the way businesses operate in real and practical ways, and there is so much opportunity in learning how to use them intentionally instead of avoiding them altogether.
This week, I'm walking through the AI tools I'm personally seeing used well inside staging businesses and sharing practical examples of how they fit into real workflows. ChatGPT, Canva Magic Studio, Plaud, and Notebook LM all have the ability to remove friction from parts of the business that normally take hours. The opportunities with these tools are only growing from here.
What is however most important to know is that AI is not actually the missing piece for most businesses. Infrastructure is. A generated layout still needs somewhere to live. Notes still need to be connected to the project. Presentations still need to be easy to find and share with your team. How then do you combine AI and systems to work together to make your staging business feel lighter and more efficient? Come find out.
What You'll Learn:
Why most people are already using AI without realizing it How AI can help you with hiring and capacity planning, image generation, client communication and so much more. The difference between AI tools and business infrastructure What I am considering in my own staging business about AI while building HarloweRESOURCES:
Join the Harlowe Founding Members Waitlist www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/harlowefounderapp Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
There's a very specific kind of exhaustion that comes with running a staging business.
People often see the finished installs, the styled shelves, the walkthrough videos, and the polished final product.
What they rarely see is the operational side happening late at night after the installs are complete, where the CEO is trying to hold everything together with proposals, invoices, scheduling, client communication, bookkeeping, and operations through systems that were never actually designed for the way staging businesses function.
The responses to Harlowe echoed "I thought it was just me." But like I have always said, it is never just you.
In what ways does running a staging business overwhelm CEOs like you? In what ways do you expect relief with your systems and processes? Let's talk about that!
What You'll Learn:
The invisible workload behind a "beautiful" staging business Why so many stagers feel like they're constantly white-knuckling operations The emotional weight of holding an entire business in your head What happens when systems finally support the way you actually workRESOURCES:
Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
A missed renewal, a lost proposal, a delayed payment… we often brush these off as "one of those weeks." But often, these tiny, mundane moments are actually red flags pointing to a much larger problem.
Working more closely with staging CEOs lately, I've noticed a pattern: a quiet drain on time, energy, and money. It's not that these Stagers are disorganized; it's that their systems are failing them.
Running a staging business on fragmented, disconnected tools creates a massive, hidden mental load and operational bottleneck. Instead of trying to "duct-tape" a broken backend, it's time to build systems that support your growth. Let's talk about how to implement a functional fix that serves you for good.
What You'll Learn:
Why a booked-out, thriving staging business can still be one admin's resignation away from chaos. Four shifts that make the biggest operational difference, regardless of what tools you're currently using. What "designing for delegation" means and why it matters even if you're a team of one. What Lori has been quietly building for staging businesses and how to be part of the founding group.RESOURCES:
Apply to be a Harlowe Founding Member: www./rethinkhomeinteriors.com/harlowefounderapp Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
Today, let's dip into the world of mindset to talk about something I see come up over and over again as most CEOs grow their staging business. Not strategy, not pricing, and believe it, not even systems. It is guilt.
And not in the way you might think. I am talking about the guilt that creeps in when you try to step back, when you hand something off to a capable team member you trained really well, and then you become what I can only describe as a weirdo lurker. Checking in, hovering, making sure it all got done.
Sounds familiar? In this episode, I share my own experience delegating, how I thought I set my little bird free and then very much did not, and what I eventually understood about why.
I have found the thing about guilt that nobody really talks about: it is not a character flaw and it is not a sign something went wrong. It is a signal, pointing you directly to the belief that has not caught up to where you are going yet. Once you understand that, everything changes and you can be what your staging business needs you to be.
What You'll Learn:
Why stepping back feels uncomfortable even when your team is fully capable How guilt disguises itself as "being a good business owner" The identity shift every staging CEO has to make as they grow The one question that reveals the belief driving your guiltRESOURCES:
Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhome
If you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
Think of client filters as your business's "red velvet rope." They're not about turning people away. They're about creating alignment between your home staging services and the clients who benefit most from them. When that alignment is clear, your staging projects run more efficiently, expectations are easier to manage, and your team can focus on delivering the high-impact results that you actually want to render,
If your staging business feels harder to run than it should, your client mix may be the issue. In this episode, I talk down what client filters are, when to use them, and how they help you build a profitable, scalable home staging business that operates with clarity and consistency.
I also cover a critical question many home staging business owners face: should you be using client filters while you're still growing? Or is it more valuable to work with a wide range of staging clients: homeowners, real estate agents, and investors, to gain the experience needed to define your ideal client first?
Listen in to find out!
What You'll Learn:
When to implement client filters as a staging business owner How to identify ideal staging clients (realtors, investors, and homeowners) The Client Filters we have at Rethink Home Interiors Why refining your client selection leads to stronger referrals and repeat staging businessRESOURCES:
Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible.
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If you feel like you're solving the same problems on repeat, this episode is your wake-up call…in the best way.
In this staging CEO Reset episode, we're unpacking a powerful shift: moving from reactive problem-solving to intentional leadership. When your staging business grows, your old ways of fixing things stop working. And what once felt productive can quietly keep you stuck in cycles of overwhelm, rushed decisions, and temporary fixes.
This conversation will help you pause, step back, and ask a better question: What is this problem actually a symptom of? From missed items on installs to team frustration and time pressure, we're getting underneath the surface to build real solutions that last.
You'll also learn the Fix-It Protocol—a simple, repeatable framework to help you diagnose root issues, implement smarter systems, and lead your staging business with clarity (not chaos).
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
Why solving the same problem repeatedly means you're fixing the wrong thing How your brain defaults to quick relief instead of real solutions The difference between people, process, and tools problems A step-by-step breakdown of the Fix-It Protocol (F.I.X.I.T.)RESOURCES:
Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhome
If you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. I'd love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Also, include links to your socials so that more Staging CEOs can find you. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible.
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If your business feels harder to run than it should, it might not be your strategy. It might be your capacity.
This week, I'm sharing a real-time decision I had to make when I hit a wall with my own staging business capacity and why I chose not to push through. Overextending yourself doesn't just happen in big, obvious ways. It shows up in squeezed calendars, last-minute yeses, and the quiet pressure to "just make it work" for your clients.
Here's the truth: what feels like good staging service can slowly create stress, inconsistency, and burnout for you and your team.
Let's talk about how overextending actually happens in staging businesses, why it's often rooted in fear (not strategy), and how to start leading from a place of intentional capacity instead of reaction.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
How overextending leads to team burnout and inconsistent delivery The difference between operating your business and leading it A simple decision filter to check your real capacity before committing How capacity-aware leadership supports long-term growthRESOURCES:
Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to market and grow your staging business, enrollment is open for Rethink You Accelerate. This is a year-long mentorship program, where I help you and other staging business owners plan, grow, flow, and thrive with the results that you've always wanted. The doors are open and I would love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. -
Let's break down a pattern that quietly creates friction for staging business owners: how clients pay you. What seems like "being flexible" can lead to delayed cash flow, extra admin work, and unnecessary mental load.
Every payment method comes with a built-in workflow. Some create ease. Others create chaos. Still, you are in charge of what your business allows and what it no longer supports.
When you tighten your payment processes, you're not being difficult. You're building a business that can handle more volume, more consistency, and less stress behind the scenes. Flexibility might feel generous, but every exception adds complexity your team has to manage.
If things have felt heavier than they should lately, this might be the shift that changes everything. Your payment method is a double-edged tool. It can create convenience for your clients or quietly complicate how your business runs. You can simplify it in a way that supports you both.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
Why checks, Zelle, and Venmo add more complexity than you think The hidden cost of free manual payments How to shift your payment policies, simplify your systems and cash flow without losing clients What to do about estates, trusts, and complex payment situations
RESOURCES:
Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhome
If you want to learn how to market and grow your staging business, enrollment is open for Rethink You Accelerate. This is a year-long mentorship program, where I help you and other staging business owners plan, grow, flow, and thrive with the results that you've always wanted. The doors are open and I would love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible.
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Renewal Pricing Is Where Profit Can Be Maximized
Some numbers in a staging project feel more defined than others.
The initial staging fee is usually built with care. It reflects scope, inventory, labor, and experience. It has structure behind it.
Renewal pricing tends to sit in a different category. The number is there, but the reasoning behind it is not always as clearly outlined. It can be influenced by instinct, habit, or what feels reasonable in the moment.
In this episode, we continue the vacant staging pricing series by focusing on how to approach that number with more precision. This is a closer look at how renewal pricing can be grounded in the ongoing value of your inventory and its role inside your business.
Because even when nothing new is being installed, your assets are still actively allocated. They continue to influence capacity, availability, and what your business can generate next.
The opportunity is in understanding how to translate that into a number that is intentional, consistent, and financially sound.
We walk through:
The difference between "what makes this profitable" vs. "what makes this powerful" Why standard renewal math often lands at the bare minimum How to shift your thinking from monthly pricing to total asset value The 8–12% renewal model that creates stronger margins, flexibility, and cash flow How renewals can quietly become one of the most impactful drivers of your bottom lineThis episode also addresses the internal tension many owners feel when raising prices.
Because pricing is never just numbers. It's belief, identity, and decision-making. When you anchor your pricing in clean math, you create stability and confidence that ripple through your entire business.
Renewals are not an afterthought. They are a strategic lever.
And when used well, they fund your growth, your team, and your ability to actually enjoy the business you've built.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: Why most renewal pricing models leave money on the table The difference between baseline profitability vs. strategic pricing How to use the 8–12% inventory-based renewal model The real role renewals play in cash flow and business stability How to think like a CEO when pricing—beyond fear, competition, or guesswork -
What happens when a stager with a tech background gets tired of duct-taping together Trello, QuickBooks, and a CRM that wasn't built for her? She builds something better.
In this episode, I sit down with Kate, co-founder of Hutch — a purpose-built project management and inventory platform designed specifically for home stagers. Kate shares her journey from SaaS startup life to staging side hustler to software founder, and walks us through exactly what Hutch does, why the staging industry has been underserved for so long, and how better data can finally help stagers price their services for what they're actually worth.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
How Kate went from staging side hustler to software co-founder Why so many stagers are stitching together tools that were never built for them and what that's costing them What Hutch does as an all in one staging business tailored platform Why your average inventory investment per stage might be the most important number you're not tracking
RESOURCES:
Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhome Hutch Staging Website: hutchstaging.com Hutch Staging on Instagram: @hutchstagingIf you want to learn how to market and grow your staging business, enrollment is open for Rethink You Accelerate. This is a year-long mentorship program, where I help you and other staging business owners plan, grow, flow, and thrive with the results that you've always wanted. The doors are open and I would love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible.
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Last time, we talked about overhead allocation—the cost of just turning the lights on in your business. Today we're continuing with the other two pieces that make up the three checks every staging project needs to write for you: the people check and the furniture check.
The people check covers what it actually costs to deliver the service. Your team's time, movers, truck rentals, fuel, all the admin work from the first client call to the moment that last throw pillow is back on the shelf.
The furniture check is about inventory recovery. You're putting thousands of dollars of inventory into every house, and that inventory needs to earn its money back over time.
When you add these together with your overhead allocation, you get your pricing floor—what you need to charge before you ever add profit.
Understanding these numbers is what separates staging businesses that grow and thrive from ones that work themselves into the ground.
Let's now walk through the real numbers so you can calculate your own pricing floor.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
How to calculate your people and furniture check What inventory recovery means and why every piece of furniture needs to earn its money back How to calculate your true floor pricing before adding profit How to stair-step pricing increases without scaring yourselfRESOURCES:
Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Join the Staging Business School Growth Track Waitlist: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/growth Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhomeIf you want to learn how to market and grow your staging business, enrollment is open for Rethink You Accelerate. This is a year-long mentorship program, where I help you and other staging business owners plan, grow, flow, and thrive with the results that you've always wanted. The doors are open and I would love to see you in the classroom!
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts so that more Staging CEOs find it. Follow over on Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or Audible. - Show more
