We recently connected with Laura Bohn and have shared our conversation below.
Laura, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Home staging is about as creative as it gets! There is never a day that goes by where I put my thinking cap on and figure out ways to be more creative and stand out in our designs. At Five Star Stagings, we take extra measures in our staging design by creating different coffee table displays, adding extra layers to beds, filling those “awkward” nooks and crannies by giving it a purpose, and highlighting the positive architectural features of every home that we stage. It takes the design team a little more time and effort, but when you walk into a home that we’ve staged, you can tell it was us. It helps that we also sprinkle pieces of branding material throughout the home, such as wine bottles, door mats and stacks of books with our company name and logo. We make homes feel like home rather than “staged” and have always been known for that.
In addition, I keep my creativity alive by staying up to date with design trends. I am constantly browsing through home magazines such as Restoration Hardware and Arhaus for inspiration. As a certified professional home staging company, I use that inspiration to order trending furniture and decor from our multiple furniture accounts so that we consistently have a new look, while cycling in the new furniture for the old as designs change. Lastly, I also attend continuing education meetings and webinars by being a member of RESA, the Real Estate Staging Association, and the local Minneapolis chapter.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Growing up, I enjoyed everything about design and how it makes a space feel. When I was around 7 or 8 years old I had a sketch pad and drew floor-plans, exteriors and designed my future dream home. It’s funny looking back at that and seeing where I am today. I never knew I would own and operate a staging and design company, but my story and how I got here is far different from the rest…
Although I knew I had a passion for design and was told from a young age that that’s the career path I should take, I found myself going in the opposite direction into the medical field for Radiology. Maybe because I was following my mother’s footsteps as she was a nurse at my age. I went to college for a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and an Associate’s Degree in Radiology, and soon after worked for Twin Cities Orthopedics for 3 years. I realized in those 3 years how unhappy I was and that it wasn’t my forever career. However, I don’t regret a single thing as it lead me to where I am today.
Fast forward 20+ years and my dream of becoming an entrepreneur came true. I took a huge risk quitting my 9-5, moving back home, working 3 serving jobs, getting certified in Home Staging & Design and starting a company from the ground up. I taught myself everything I needed to know that they don’t teach you in school on how to run or start a business. Where it all started? In my parents basement, where I had my first sofa and rack of accessories. I attended realtor meetings, spoke in front of audiences and finally found a couple of loyal realtors willing to give me a shot. I grew my business from there and moved from my parents basement in one storage unit, then two, then three. Within 3 years I got our first warehouse space of 2,000 sq. ft and hired my first staging employee. We grew quickly, and two years later we moved into a 6,000 sq. ft space with a growing team of two professional designers, a sales/operations manager, our own in-house movers and an occupied staging specialist. I am beyond honored and blessed to have such an awesome team. We all work hard and truly love what we do!
In the forecast, our exciting news is we plan on having a furniture store! Five Star Stagings recently branched into furniture sales doing business as Five Star Furnishings. We provide customers with NEW great products at great prices below retail. Since we are already skilled design professionals, we know what’s trending and what you are looking for. We can help pull your room together and even make special orders if we don’t currently have an item in stock. We are happy to help with your furniture needs!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
CONSISTENCY. As a new business owner you will try things and fail, over and over again. You will also have to continue to update and enhance your processes, making it seamless so you have more time to focus on other things or your next business goal. You will have to find what works for you and your business model and stay consistent. Never veer away from your goals and dreams. See the big picture. Consistency is key!
COMMUNICATION. There is nothing that bothers me more than a lack of communication. We all have been there, whether you need plumbing fixed or have contractors hired for a house project and they won’t get to your project in time or something was ordered incorrectly, or even worse, installed incorrectly without you knowing. In business you need to be able to communicate effectively so that all parties are on the same page and know what’s happening every step of the way. I always inform our realtors and sellers when we will be to their house to stage, when we are picking up, if something got damaged, if we got a flat tire on our truck and we are delayed, etc. Customers expect good communication, even if it’s not the best news. It’s not worth them leaving a bad company review due to your poor communication.
CUSTOMER SERVICE. I’ve heard it again and again… the customer is always right. It’s true! Most of our clients are awesome to work with, but like with every company, you will receive that “not so easy to deal with” client. I’ve learned that while you still have to follow your business process and treat everyone equal, it’s best to always try to please your customer, even if they are in fact wrong. You can still make your points and come to an understanding, but sometimes you have to bite your tongue and kiss them with kindness. Down the road you can laugh if off and say “Do you remember that time…” It’s fun to look back at those difficult clients and see how you overcame it.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
This is a tough one, because when first owning your business you may need to wear all hats. And as you grow, it gets harder to let go of some of the tasks you’ve been doing for months, or years, because you feel nobody can do it better than yourself since it’s your business and you started it. At least that’s how I feel and what I’m currently struggling with.
I do feel it is best to be more well rounded and hire out your weaknesses (ex: marketing, taxes). You will get burnt out trying to do all the things yourself, and all of a sudden you are working 12-15 hour days. This was me until recently. My strengths are running the company by talking to potential clients, quoting jobs, managing the design team, purchasing inventory, and scheduling all the staging installs and removals. This is a job in itself! My weaknesses are taxes, QuickBooks, building furniture, running the warehouse and selling furniture. Can I do it? Of course I can. Do I want to or need to? No, at least not anymore. The goal is to hire people to do that work for you that you don’t particularly enjoy doing so you can actually run the business.
For instance, I hired an operations manager that controls running the warehouse and movers, pulling inventory off shelves for jobs, restocking the inventory, building inventory, sales & use tax and running payroll. I hired a marketing team. I also have someone that does all of our furniture sales. I have 2 stagers and designers that design and install all vacant staging jobs. I got a truck, trailer and movers to do all of our own in-house moving. Most recently, I hired an occupied staging specialist to do all of our occupied staging consultations and accessory staging.
My point of all this is I’ve learned to let go of a lot of responsibilities, even though it kills me at times, but I’ve kept my strengths and dispersed my weaknesses to others that I have no problem saying “they do it better than me”. As business owners we can’t do it all, or you will exhaust yourself if you try. My business is much more well rounded now that I have invested in others to help in those struggle areas. I now look forward to the next step in the journey and employing more people with a job that they can enjoy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fivestarstagings.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/five_star_stagings/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiveStarStagings
